About
THE BRAND.
Neutral Ground was founded in the spring of 2017 by Alysha Cassis-Shaw. After attending FIT and working extensively in fashion design and development, she relocated from NYC to the Bay Area in 2014. Alysha knew she still wanted to be involved in fashion but wasn’t exactly sure in what way. Inspired by craftsmanship, timeless fashion, and unique styles, she recognized there was a niche in vintage that wasn’t quite being addressed in the local market.
At Neutral Ground, we are committed to conservation, style preservation and conscious consumerism. That means, we do not sell fast fashion pieces. We know that while the term vintage gets thrown around a lot for previously-owned items, we are committed to selling well made, unique finds. While we may feature items that are less than 20 years old, it is because these more recent finds are rare, collectible, or one of a kind.
Neutral Ground is a beautiful collection of intentionally curated vintage and designer pieces for those who want to dress up. Every Neutral Ground piece is a special, previously-owned, quality-controlled garment that maintains a modern color palette— everything neutral with an occasional metallic accent or pop of color.
THE FOUNDER.
Why not go to the source? A question that founder Alysha Cassis-Shaw asks when sharing why she started Neutral Ground.
Her interest in fashion started at a very young age— her mother was an avid sewer, and made a lot of her clothes growing up. Before she was old enough to use a sewing machine, she was hand sewing items for her dolls, her pets and eventually herself.
I loved the idea of creating things no one else had.
— Alysha Cassis-Shaw
Her first real break in the fashion industry was when she was hired as a production assistant at the legendary house of Halston. It was here that her interest in vintage really grew after spending hours researching vintage archives to develop the Halston collections. Not only had these items stood the test of time, but they were the basis upon which so much of modern fashion was built.
I really became enamored with how things used to be made- the craftsmanship, the beauty you often saw inside and out, the individuality of items. It was then that I began to incorporate vintage into my wardrobe more and more.
— Alysha Cassis-Shaw