Jean Marie Johnson’s Sharing Her Love for Treasures of the Past Are On Display In The Mountain View Inn

By Dorothy S. Pam

Guilded Peacock owner Jean Marie Johnson has long been a collector of period clothing and accessories.

Norfolk’s Gilded Peacock, a vintage clothing boutique, is both a passion and a business. Jean Marie Johnson’s homage to the workmanship and materials of the grand age of dressmakers, The Gilded Peacock, is fittingly ensconced in The Mountain View Inn, the beautifully restored Victorian inn that she and her husband Dean have owned and managed since 2004. Years before she opened her boutique, Jean Marie Johnson began collecting period clothing and accessories. Some she wore, and some she bought just to treasure and admire. Her dashing European-born father passed on his love of learning and beauty to his daughter, and taught her to admire things that were both beautiful and useful. Today, Johnson travels around the country as a corporate consultant with specific emphasis on communication, interpersonal and change management assignments. When Dean Johnson decided that he wanted the next act of their lives to be as owners and innkeepers of the Mountain View Inn, he added as an enticement that she could then share her love of vintage clothing and open a boutique in the inn. The Gilded Peacock gives her a place to display the beautiful items she has been collecting for years. Throughout the redecorated inn, visitors will find her items creating vignettes and dressing the scene. A Norfolk tradition, The Mountain View Inn has long been a part of the town’s past and figures in many family stories. Now, under the Johnson’s, it has established itself as a picturesque bed and breakfast creating personalized getaways, retreats and intimate weddings with elegant five course dinners. In the Gilded Peacock, dresses and coats go for $50 to $275 in sizes the equivalent of 4 to 10, with some larger sizes. The clothing ranges from simple yet sophisticated well-made cocktail dresses of the 1940’s to the ultra feminine beaded or fur trimmed sweaters, beaded dresses and regal velvet evening coats. She also has lawn skirts and some of the circle skirts and crinolines of the 1950s, as well as beautifully made lingerie of the 1940’s, including a “starlet” gown. Ever alert to finding the perfect item, Jean Marie Johnson’s collection ends up not only in her shop, but also in theatre and film productions. The movie “American Gangster,” with Denzel Washington, has many of her pieces bolstering its authenticity. As she is connected to a network of collectors, Johnson may be able to locate individual items on request. Accessories, priced from $20 to $100, include delightful evening bags, straw bags, fringed shawls and scarves, vintage pins, jeweled combs and beaded gloves, each a perfect example of its type. Johnson’s passion extends to elegantly cut shoes, many in sizes seven to 8 ½. Her collection of cloche, pillbox, sultan, and picture hats includes the perfect straw hat with cherries. To encourage Norfolkians to dress up for the 250th anniversary celebrations, Johnson is offering a 10% discount. She is also a personal style consultant and welcomes visitors by chance or by appointment.