The Red Petticoat Wants Their Sign Back!

The Red Petticoat Antiques, located at 113 West Lane, is missing their sign. Where it once hung, they have place another sign asking anyone with information to email them (theredpetticoat@gmail.com) or call the Ridgefield Police Department (203-439-6531). There are posters hung throughout the center of town that look just like the one you see here. The Red Pettiocat, a 1740 Benjamin Rockwell Homestead, is a Ridgefield landmark. 

I wrote a story a while back titled "The Story Behind the Name: The Red Petticoat Antique Shop". Here is an excerpt from it: 

The Red Petticoat Antiques on West Lane in Ridgefield is the town’s oldest and largest antique shop.  For one hundred years, antiques have been sold at this location.  For the past forty years, it has operated under The Red Petticoat Antiques, a name appropriately chosen by legendary antique dealer Florine Maine because of the historic nature of its site. Today, it is owned by Ralph and Gloria Perschino who purchased the antique shop twenty four years ago.  The Perschinos continue to sell beautiful, quality vintage antiques out of their “antique” home which was built in 1740.

There are actually two stories behind the history of the shop’s name.  According to Mr. Ralph Perschino, “The legend is very simple: the British burned Ridgefield during the Revolutionary War and the woman of the house saw the British approaching so she waved her red petticoat out of the window in pretend sympathy for the Tories…  it was one of the few buildings not burned.” Mr. Perschino chuckles when he recounts the embellished version of the story, “Then, [author] Joan Palmer seized upon the idea of the red petticoat and wrote a book.”  The book Mr. Perschino is referring to is longer in print but available at The Ridgefield Library.  In it, Palmer has added much detail to the story rendering portions feign whereby the woman not only waves her petticoat, but saves a wounded Patriot and delivers a message from the soldier to General George Washington.  Because she concealed the message by sewing it into her petticoat, Washington shows his gratitude for her patriotism by sending the woman a beautiful piece of red silk.

Ralph and Gloria Perschino liked this version of the story so much that a synopsis of it is written on the shop’s business cards.