T’Ahara Willis
You might consider vinyl records and cocktail sequin dresses to be things of just the past, but not Kristen Lamonte.
Lamonte is the owner of 360 Unlimited, a clothing store that has been in the City of Lakeland since 1977.
“Lakeland really needed a store like this,” Lamonte said. “Because there’s really no other stores like this.”
Her intent was to liven up the city, which at the time was only a couple blocks with the occasional grocery store.
When asked why millennials and Gen Zers are interested in her store’s retro and nostalgic vibes, Lamonte said, “I don’t know, it’s interesting, it seems like younger people today are more into recycling”.
When students attending Florida Southern College visit 360 Unlimited with their student I.D. “I will give them 25 percent off,” Lamonte said.
At 360 Unlimited, as soon as you walk in, there is an onrush of many items that scream loudly of the past. There are vinyl records, world globes and many other sights to see.
As you move further into the store you see VCR players, various uniquely designed lamps and alien mannequins dressed with feathered boas and fanny packs.
Throughout the dressing rooms, there are heavily draped curtains and golden ropes, small statues of cherubs, antique mirrors lining the walls and chandeliers hanging from blue sky ceilings, a visual that will seize you into the Renaissance era.
360 Unlimited, because of its unique style could be considered a mediator between the past and present, allotting people of all generations to travel through dimensions of time.
Hanging on the walls are many works of art displaying animals, abstract paintings and naturalistic art.
With your eyes soaking it all in, you see the store is immersed with masquerade masks emulating the sixteenth century, fur coats inspired from the Victorian era, and poodle skirts mimicking the 50’s.
What you would see or experience at 360 Unlimited is unlike any common store, and what you’d find is a journey backwards in time.
A compiled wall of war badges, bowling balls and an arcade machine testify to the eccentricity of this unburied time capsule.
Though every item has its designated place, there is so much in each space that it causes you to feel an urge to search through it all.
Reading about 360 Unlimited truly isn’t enough to experience the store’s splendor, you’ll have to see for yourself.
A visit to the store could be compared to a treasure hunt because you’ll never know what you may find.
At every corner is something different to encounter and to inquire about. Everything you see is its own history book that speaks of treasures from the past.
Someone said time travel wasn’t possible, but with Elton John records, posters pictured with futuristic cars, and racks of cloche hats made from the mid-twenties, you can’t help but see that time is flying around you.
The history lesson that you receive from shopping at 360 Unlimited embodies the definitive meaning of a time warp.
As you scavenge around you will see that your search into the store’s well of history is unlimited.
