By Anne Taylor Hartzell, on May 20, 2014

Shopping vintage style in Seattle

For this style maven, there is no better cure for the rainy Seattle blues than to spend the day doing some serious damage shopping with my best girlfriends. I especially love to troll vintage and consignment stores to uncover unique and one-of-a-kind items such as mid-century mod dresses and hippie 1970s owl jewelry. (Another favorite pastime: Sifting through old polyester prom dresses.) I’m still relatively new to this vintage “thrifting” game, but my road-warrior, vintage-shopper friends assure me that with time, practice, and patience, I will uncover some killer finds that are both easy on the eyes and on my wallet. 

Fortunately for retro-loving fashionistas like me, there is no shortage of fun vintage and thrift stores right in my backyard. Many of these shops offer a range of historic frocks and jewels for every budget. Whether you are visiting and staying at a Seattle hotel, or you are local and planning a shopping trip out with the girls, check out these vintage stores for retro fashion finds.

Anne checking out some vintage finds

 

Red Light Vintage and Costume

Red Light Vintage, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, is famous for its huge selection of vintage items and costume gear, particularly during the busy Halloween season. If you are looking to earn your stripes as a member of the young, hipster crowd, this is the place to go for retro finds in Seattle. 

Trove Vintage Boutique

Just over the Ballard Bridge, about 15 minutes north of downtown, is Trove Vintage Boutique. This Seattle neighborhood has gone totally hipster and you will love spending the day perusing the many fun shops and restaurants along Market Street. Trove owners Cyrena and Sara call themselves “avid treasure hunters and collectors,” and you will discover an eclectic mix of vintage pieces behind this beautiful Ballard storefront. Trove Vintage is open seven days a week.

Beats and Bohos 

I love the focus on vintage records at Beats and Bohos, located in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood. The store also has vintage clothing, shoes and accessories, as well as vintage home decor. Get your groove on with some vintage vinyl and you may just come out with some groovy new fashion finds too!

These are just a few of the countless thrift, consignment, and vintage shops to be found in and around Seattle. But what if you want to take your love of vintage with you on the road?

Viewfinder Tip: If you purchase lots of vintage items while traveling, consider shipping them home to avoid the hassle of lugging them in a carry-on for your return flight.

How to shop vintage when you travel

One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is to seek out vintage stores when I travel. I ask friends for recommendations and map out my game plan before I go. I also ask my hotel’s concierge for their recommendations to get new ideas and a pulse on where the locals go to shop for vintage. For example, last summer, on a recent California road trip with the family, we visited “Retro Row,” a street lined with retro and antique shops in Long Beach, California. We found many wonderful items, including vintage, mid-century luggage pieces. My only regret? Not being able to take an entire store of wonderful vintage discoveries home with me. 

Want to take your love of vintage shopping with you on the road? Here’s some good advice that came from a Tracey Hilton, a friend who recently spent a year challenging herself to shop only at vintage and thrift stores, “I tend to do every other week rotations and will hit up two a week and keep cycling through; it’s the only way to find really good stuff; go early and go often,” Hilton said. “Weekends are generally to be avoided as that’s when most people go and it’s harder to really comb through the racks.”

What is your favorite city for discovering vintage finds?