The article is from 2014.

Black and Brown is a vintage buy/sell clothing shop in San Jose that specializes in bringing together old styles and new visions. On March 8, it will be celebrating the nine-year anniversary of its opening with a shindig at Café Stritch. The event will be open to the public of all ages and feature sets by several DJs.

“It’s just a party, just to hang out and celebrate that we’ve made it this far,” says Monisha Murray, owner of Black and Brown.

Murray is one of the founders of Black and Brown. She started the clothing shop in 2005 with her good friend, Irene Kim. The shop opened nine years ago in a small, 1,000-square-foot venue on San Carlos, across the street from Mel Cotton’s. It was more of a hidden destination known through word of mouth. “It was one of those places that was easy to pass by if you weren’t looking for it,” says Murray.

After five years of hiding in its place on San Carlos, Murray found a new spot that was more on the forefront of foot traffic. Black and Brown is now on The Alameda and Sunol, where the baby store has stretched its legs and become one of the big dogs on the block.

The new shop is long and open. It has dark, oak wood shelves to hold shoes and boots above the racks. Diffused lights illuminate the parts of the store where the sun doesn’t reach. The clothes are separated by color and style. The army jackets are clumped together with the army green clothing. The leather jackets are all put under the same rack. The tan blouses intertwined with other blouses like uniforms on a playground. Random artifacts are scattered here and there, ranging from a vintage high school t-shirt to a denim jacket your dad had thought was cool 30 years ago.

The journey has been as educational for Murray as it has been hard. “I’ve learned a lot,” she says. “I’ve lost a lot.”

Murray and Kim split up when Kim left the business and went back to school. Murray’s business venture has made her a better, stronger person. The pressure of trying to keep a lease while trying to make others happy has made Murray more business-savvy and borderline cutthroat.

That’s what Black and Brown is all about. They are the aftermath of contemporary fashion’s collision with vintage style. The approach to their vibe and aesthetic is to put those two worlds under one roof. But it isn’t just about getting old stuff and reselling it. Murray trains her team on how to shop for original and desirable items and how to be gatekeepers of the Black and Brown racks. They don’t buy double-knit poly just because it’s 70s; they look for original, one-of-a-kind things that customers can be excited about finding. Murray strives to be more than just a store that sells 70s items because if she did that, she says, she’d only have business during Halloween.

There was a point three years into the business when Murray seriously thought about closing Black and Brown. But the passion to perpetuate her style and love of fashion kept her in the game. “For anybody doing a venture, make sure you love it. And make sure you have a passion for it,” she says.

Nine years later, Murray still has her head above water and proudly celebrates the anniversary of her store and her vision. “It’s crazy to think it’s been that long,” she says. “We’ve done so much with so little since that first stepping stone.”

BLACK and BROWN
751 W. San Carlos St
San Jose, CA 95126
(408) 298-1970 

STORE HOURS
Everyday
11am-7pm

BUYING HOURS
Mon- Sat, 11am-6:00pm

Instagram: blackandbrownsj

Read about Black and Brown’s origin story in our Beta issue “Traffic” .5 from 2009