Entering Decades is like leaving the modern world behind. The air is rarefied at the top of these leopard-print stairs — it’s not the type of place you pop in for a last-minute dress purchase or an impulse buy. More than anything, you get the impression you’ve stepped into a tiny jewel box full of the clothes that you imagine socialites and movie stars wore at Studio 54 or while rubbing elbows with the Rat Pack at the Sands in Vegas.

Owner Cameron Silver opened the shop in 1997 and later launched a second location in London’s Dover Street Market. He has dressed celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman, and Renée Zellweger in his distinctive “upscale vintage” look. These days, it’s not uncommon to bump into stylist Rachel Zoe or actress Chloë Sevigny as they browse the racks to enhance their signature styles.

Mr. Silver focuses on fashion from the ’50s through the ’70s, with the ’80s now being added to the mix. It’s here — flanking zebra throw rugs and gold velvet couches — that you’ll find sweeping couture gowns, Louis Vuitton steamer trunks monogrammed with an anonymous someone’s initials (“E.K.A.”), and Chanel costume jewelry galore. It’s like a museum where everything is for sale — and it’s priced accordingly. 

If you’ve been wanting to one-up Katie Holmes with your very own Hermès Haut Au Corrois (the oversize Birkin-style satchel better known as the HAC), you can find one sitting on the floor in all its pristine orange leather glory for $9,500. You can pair it with a Christian Dior mink coat dyed sky blue, found on a rack in the back of the store, for $4,800. One standout gown was a Valentino creamy silk column with a beaded neckline that would be right at home on the finely boned physique of a vintage-loving bride — only $1,800.

Lovers of vintage shoes are also in luck, as a rack in the back of the shop is populated with Charles Jourdan peeptoe heels in small sizes, all priced around $225. Halston, Givenchy, and Yves Saint Laurent are also well represented throughout the store. One of the most intriguing pieces is a rhinestone-bedecked white crepe dress from the late fashion commentator Mr. Blackwell, who unbeknownst to us dabbled in design in the late 1950s. 

Decades is worth shopping in person but if you’re a serious collector, the store’s management has clients all over the world and is willing to ship. On one level, the shop is a sublime testament to the value of buying high-quality items that the owner cherishes over a lifetime. On another, it’s a trip back in time that will leave you with stars in your eyes (and possibly moths in your wallet).

Decades, 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, Calif. (323) 655-0223.

All images courtesy of Decades. Click on any image to launch the slideshow.