Secondhand the City: A Guide to Vintage Shopping in NYC!
Author: Kalie Cannon
Over fall break, Ross Retail Club (RRC) embarked on its annual NYC Trek to visit leaders in the fashion and retail space. Among visits to Chanel, Dior, PVH, Madhappy, and Bergdof Goodman, some members of the Trek spent their free time exploring the city in the best way possible: shopping! This blog highlights some of the places we were able to visit— follow along to read about our amazing finds, favorite stores, and the importance of shopping secondhand!
We did not have to look far to come across city gems: Buffalo Exchange, Garage Sale Vintage, and Crossroads Trading were all located on West 26th St., just a few feet away from our hotel! I made visits to Buffalo Exchange and Garage Sale Vintage, both filled with hidden treasures. Buffalo Exchange is a chain-operated resale shop with 40 locations. In my experience, Buffalo Exchange has good prices and a fair mix of new styles and older finds, and this location was no different! I snagged a vintage pink crochet cardigan, a white top with a black ribbon bow (new with tags!), a gold bracelet and a red Kate Spade tote bag— all for a great price. The Kate Spade bag ($30) was my personal favorite find of the trip (see picture) and I would definitely recommend visiting this store. Right next door was Garage Sale Vintage, a unique vintage shop with clothes, vinyls, magazines and an in-house bar! This was the perfect spot to find highly wearable, yet fashionable vintage for great prices— but even just the store's atmosphere makes it worth a visit. Finally, Trek member Coco Villamar visited Crossroads, also on W 26th, where she bought a beautiful blue purse with floral embroidering (see photo).
Around the corner on West 25th, Trek member Libby Zufi visited a jewelry thrift stand at the Chelsea Flea Market. The stand featured an array of vintage lockets, charms, and bracelets (see picture). When I asked her about the market, she “loved how authentic the pieces were, and how they each told a story about where they were made and sourced from. I am trying to stray away from cheap jewelry and would rather invest in nicer pieces that I can have forever. I love the vintage and historic part of thrifting and being able to experience a life outside of mine - let’s say finding pieces that are older - and being able to incorporate it into my own life. I would have bought more jewelry from this vendor if I had more time (and money!). My bracelet (see photo) was 100% worth every penny and I hope people realize how fun it is to spend more for a higher quality piece that already has so much life to it.”
Exploring other areas of the city, Coco had the chance to delve into vintage shopping in Soho, where she highlights her experiences at No Name Vintage on Thompson St and Funny Pretty Nice on MacDougal St. From Funny Pretty Nice, she was able to score a purple slip dress, mesh navy blue fila top, and y2k Ralph Lauren top (see photo). She mentioned the Ralph Lauren top as her favorite find of the trip (hidden in the $5 bin), with the store being the “perfect mix of typical thrift and curated vintage pieces”. She also recommends No Name Vintage as “one of the best; it was a very thought-out store and had amazing pieces.” From No Name Vintage, Coco purchased a vintage Versace top and classic Tommy bag (see picture).
By shopping secondhand, you are not only supporting the movement towards circularity and waste-reduction in fashion, but further have the opportunity to find unique pieces unlike any others out there! If you explore secondhand shopping in NYC, or have the opportunity to join us on the Trek next year, be sure to check out these amazing stores in support of such an important movement.
Images in order: Purchases (Coco), Purchases (Coco), Kate Spade Bag (Kalie), Garage Sale Vintage (Kalie), Bracelet (Libby), No Name Vintage (Coco), Bracelet (Libby)
