Shoppers don’t brush shoulders as they browse through spaced out racks of clothing. Unique pieces, like a green U.S. Army military jacket and a traditional red Lacoste wool V-neck sweater, hang in the store’s cozy interior. The walls are lined with party dresses that are both frilly and austere, both retro and fancy. The women’s shoe collection boasts skinny-heeled pumps and round-toe flats stacked elegantly in mod-looking white box frames.

One of two prominent vintage shops on The Commons, Petrune isn’t a typical thrift store. Each piece, whether it be an authentic Victorian-era dress or a vintage 1970s Christian Dior bag, is distinctly of its time.

Despite the variety of clothing, Jennifer O’Leary, the store’s manager, said the store’s goal is to keep prices moderate.

“[The store owners] wanted to keep their prices competitive and low,” O’Leary said. “Knowing it’s a college town, you’ve got to work with a college budget.”

Thrift-store connoisseurs and seasoned vintage shoppers will be elated at the sight of late ’70s Gucci and Louis Vuitton designer bags in extremely good condition at the low price of $80 or $90. Many of the store’s bags and accessories would easily sell for at least double the price in downtown Manhattan. Storeowners Domenica Brockman and husband Justin Hjortshoj make it a priority to sell quality designer pieces in good condition and at practical prices.

“We try to have it as high end as we can get but still have it be reasonably priced,” Brockman said. “It’s always as good as we can get.”

Brockman, who graduated from Cornell University in 1990, met Hjortshoj in Ithaca during her college years. The two managed and owned a vintage store in Brooklyn before coming to Ithaca again three years ago to sell antiques at the Ithaca Antiques Mall on Route 96. When the mall closed temporarily in October 2005, the two decided to sell vintage apparel once more.

“I wasn’t sure it would work,” Brockman said. “I thought ‘oh antiques, this is the way to go,’ I was really surprised at the positive reception. People really want fashion.”

Petrune covers clothing and accessories from the 1880s to the 1980s. The owners hunt for items at auctions and estate sales, as well as from people who can provide designer fashions representative of previous eras. Rather than buy in bulk, Brockman and Hjortshoj pay close attention to each item’s historical value.

“Some of these brands went through phases,” Brockman said. “Like they’d either make [sweaters] in wool and then all of a sudden they’d do nylon and the nylon would get pilly while the wool stayed nice.”

Brockman and Hjortshoj differentiate between such subtleties in order to offer their customers quality garments and accessories that last forever.

Trend-seekers commonly look to the mall or online shopping as resources for vintage-style clothes that are mass-produced to look old and worn. Rather than surf Urbanoutfitters.com for popular vintage “inspired” T-shirts, or browse through Banana Republic for a glam ’20s-style dress, shoppers can find the real thing downtown on The Commons.

“All of fashion is totally derivative anyway,” Brockman said. “Why not have the real thing, the original?”

Alana Cox, a resident of Ithaca and student at Lehman Alternative Community School, has been purchasing clothes from Brockman and Hjortshoj since the two sold items at the Antiques Mall. Her favorite pieces include a Chinese full-length bathrobe, a pink, ’50s evening dress and a green and blue leather tie-around belt. Cox pointed out how trendsetters can best pull off the vintage style.

“Some people can just wear vintage all the time, and they can always seem fashionable,” Cox said. “They just have that personality.”

Shoppers looking for hip clothing on The Commons can also venture to Loose Threads, which features vintage clothing on its second floor. Downstairs, the store sells current dresses, jeans, shoes, jewelry and other clothing and accessories. Employee Jessica Clark said the store always keeps two racks with sale items, one with 30 percent off and the other with 50.

“We always keep those two racks full of merchandise,” Clark said.

Clark said in addition to the popularity of their sale items, stylish customers often come in seeking vintage apparel.

“They don’t really follow anyone else’s trends. They’re not trying to be a jock. They’re not trying to be a prep,” Clark said. “They have their own unique style of how to put themselves together. They might make some of their clothes, or the patterns that they use.”

Clark said her own personal style is important to her and said she has an affinity for brand-name clothing. She said used clothing is just as valuable as new.

“I’m not ashamed to go and get a good deal on a name brand that’s been marked down or has already been worn,” Cox said. “As long as it looks good, I don’t care what the price is.”

Freshman Johanna Hiller, who purchased a vintage short, beige cotton dress at Loose Threads, said buying used clothes is not a problem for her. She said buying vintage clothing is a chance for her to repeat hot trends from other decades.

“I love clothes from past generations,” Hiller said. “You have to remember that they weren’t unique back then, they used to be ‘something at the mall.’ But now that nobody else wears that type of stuff, you stand out and look great.”