Like most teenagers, I flew all over the charts when it came to being obsessive and extreme. Take for example my freshman year “Blue Lagoon” phase, where I refused to wear anything that wasn’t white cotton eyelet. This coincided with refusing to brush my hair for months. (And I mean months!). All the time I was hoping I would grow dreads. Of course, I needed to remember one important element: I’m Irish.
Most of us have found some relative mental equilibrium as adults and only tip the scales when tragedy strikes (Like when stirrup pants came back, or the when first couple episodes of season 5 of “The Office” SUCKED). Some of us, myself included, still bear the telltale marks of our younger years. Perhaps you got the regrettable “friendship” tattoo (that none of your friends got… but you did) and sometimes--- like in my case---it’s the scars of 8 piercings in my ears. Those holes, while completely ridiculous at this stage in my life, remind me of a bohemian time when I really, really believed in something….
And that “something” was keg parties.
The Little Big Store in the mid 90’s was a dark, tiny hole-in-the-wall, and like many other Gen X locals, it was my bedrock. If you got to know the owner Avi, well enough to become a regular, he would take a picture of you and put it on a giant collage that covered every square inch of wall space and part of the ceiling. It was a really big deal to be inducted into the collage. Sort of like being tapped for a fraternity. I distinctly remember the day when he asked me to “smile” for my photo. Of course I remained stoic, because being a disgruntled teen in 1994 was a full time job, but you better believe that inside I was joyously moshing away to “Smells like Teen Spirit”.
While the Grove as a whole has seen substantial changes over the past 14 years (including the uproarious “Just Say NO!!” to Home Depot campaign) not too much has changed in The Little Big Store. Avi has moved across the street, adding a more Miami-style clothing to the repertoire and shedding some of the 90’s grunge and Grateful Dead paraphernalia that made him famous.
Clothing wise, there are racks of pricey brands such as T-Bags, Alice & Olivia, Da-Nang, Ella Moss and True Religion at 25-75% off their regular retail price...and no one, I repeat NO ONE likes a bargain like Miss Kat. One of my favorite dresses in The Little Big Store was a steel blue silky wrap dress by our own home-grown designing diva, Alexandra Vidal Trullols. Alexandra gained some serious KatSmack respect when she appeared on Project Runway and staunchly defended her teeny bikini with moxie right before Fraulein “Hot Legs” Klume gave her the axe by saying, “Alexaaandra, You’re Owt”.
But in my biased, unwarranted and often unwanted opinion, this gem of a store is all about the JEWELS. In that department The Little Big Store is still cooking up some of that old magic. Enter yon doors and be prepared to find some serious accessorizing BLING. Avi designs and creates many pieces in the shop and uses semiprecious stones and other natural wonders such as Lapiz Lazuli, Tigers Eye, Amber, green Malachite and Ocean Jasper.
And Avi, like most of us, believes that the size of the jewels really does matter. In The Little Big Store there are some well endowed necklaces and a few chandelier earrings that are hung like, well, earrings. You’ll surely be the lust of every woman and the envy of every man when they see how big your package of accessories from The Little Big Store is. Maybe you’re wondering who’s got the biggest bangles of them all? Well Avi does of course, and I don't need to say it, but us Miamians...well we love us our big bangles. 
Get your mind out of the gutter people!
All tasteless euphemisms aside, my opinion has always been that The Little Big Store is a little store with a big heart. While the generations have changed from one who wore black Doc Martin boots and watched “My So-Called Life” on TV, to one that dons skinny jeans and watches “Gossip Girl” on TiVO, Avi’s shop has rolled with the punches and learned to cater to its audience.
RANT:
In an unassuming converted warehouse, Las Tias sits on the corner off North Miami Ave and NW 28th street. I can’t decide whether or not I like their logo, but I'm pretty sure I do... kind of. It’s a mural of three women silhouetted in what appear to be Victorian age gowns and boots, or possibly what my sister Lauren wore to her wedding. (She was married back in 1990 where the resurgence of everything puffy—hair, veils, shoulder pads and skirts---was the very regrettable rage).
While perusing, I came upon a large floral cerulean blue sectional sofa that was in pristine condition, though it must have been at least 40 years old. The sofa was paired with a kidney-shaped white and gold coffee table, which was jarring at first, but it absolutely grew on me. So retro-chic, I have a very clear vision of myself sitting on that sofa wearing a caftan and capris and sipping a dirty martini...or three.
While used shoes may not be my vintage cup-o-tea, the sorbet colored dresses from Las Tias certainly were. They are from a time when women revered their curves and while I couldn’t comfortably wear them in public (because, frankly, my invisible audience complex would stage a coup) it didn’t make the experience of running my fingers over the tulle and taffeta any less appealing. And baskets of beaded clutches...Oh Lawdy, I’ve died and gone to a bedazzled heaven!
Reluctantly leaving the clothing section, I came upon a glossy white and yellow bedroom dresser with brass knobs. It was so shiny and in such good condition that this cheery piece of furniture had me complimenting it. Out loud. To myself. It's a sad day indeed when you realize that you talk to furniture. 
While walking through the maze of glittering acrylic chairs, brightly patterned fabrics and giant end table lamps, I was transported back into the living room of my youth trying to play “Pick Up Sticks” in our yellow and orange shag carpet. Why that game was so fun I'll never know. I would also spend hours sitting on that shag collecting and then losing "Light Brite" plastic pegs which became arch enemy #1 for the vacuum. 
While vintage is not for everyone, it certainly does have an affect that few things have; it brings long forgotten memories to the surface. While my favorite place on earth to be, Miami is missing some really great cultural aspects that other cities have embraced. As a whole, we don’t have enough down-and-dirty dive bars for my taste, we could stand to have more local live music and there certainly aren’t enough stores like Las Tias to get lost in.
