Last Minute Shopping: Vintage Treasures in Tacoma
Vintage shopping is fun, sustainable, and it provides a surefire way to find a one-of-a-king gift for your family member or friend. Plus, there's the excitement of never knowing what you're going to find in a vintage store, shuffling through racks to find what others have foolishly given away – you can't find that adventure in any old department store! With the gift-giving season in full swing, we wanted to highlight some local stores offering vintage treasures you won't find anywhere else.
Minka Tacoma
821 Pacific Avenue • Tacoma, WA
Thursday - Sunday: 12PM-5PM
Minka is one of the more overtly stylish spots on our list, functioning as both an art gallery and a place to pick up chic furnishings and decorations for your home. Its name taken from the Japanese term for “house of the people,” Minka leans heavily on the side of modern design, providing evocative, artisan-crafted items including jewelry, clothing, artwork, furniture, ceramics and more. With an ever-rotating selection of items carefully curated by keen eyes of Lisa Kinoshita and Paula Shields, it's worth it just to stop in every once in a while to see what gorgeous artifacts they've uncovered! If nothing else, it's just about the most unique shop to browse in Tacoma.
minkatacoma.com
Glenna's Clothing
738 Broadway • Tacoma, WA
(253) 228-9283
Wednesday - Friday: 12-5PM / Saturday: 11AM-5PM
Glenna's Clothing is an exquisitely curated vintage store with a flair for the elegant. Need a fur wrap from the '40s? How about a pillbox hat from the '60s? Do you have dreams of being a flapper, reliving the golden age of Hollywood, or embody the spirit of London in the '60s? Want to feel like Audrey Hepburn on an Italian vacation? Glenna's has you covered, and they only accept clothes in the best condition, so you won't need to sift through piles of mediocre thrift store finds to get to the good stuff. Plus, if you find that you can't make your way down to the physical store, Glenna's keeps a pristinely detailed Etsy shop of all their wares. Ideal shopping for the glamorous clotheshorse in your life!
Visit Glenna's Etsy Shop
All Star Vintage
766 S 38th St • Tacoma, WA
(253) 507-4962
Monday: 12-7PM / Wednesday - Saturday: 12-7PM / Sunday: 12-6PM
A recent addition over in Tacoma's Lincoln District, All Star Vintage has a curated collection that skews toward a young, hip audience, favoring old-school sportswear. Their current featured looks include a classic Tacoma Rainiers baseball cap, a Rainier Beer satin jacket, and a Soundgarden tour baseball cap. Unlike other vintage stores, like Glenna's, which might specialize in upscale clothes from the '30s through the '70s, All Star Vintage has its eyes on casual fashion from the '80s and '90s. Price-wise, this is also on the lower end of Glenna's, though the hand-picked nature does necessitate a premium that makes it spendier than your average Goodwill. You pay for quality, though, and the owners of All Star Vintage have a great sense for what will make you or your gift's recipient look cool.
allstarvintage.myshopify.com/
Scorpio Rising
2709 6th Ave • Tacoma, WA
Monday - Sunday (everyday): 11:30AM-6:30PM
Making a trip to Scorpio Rising is like digging through your trendiest friend's walk-in closet. This store is an ode to those who've realized that everything old is new again. As with some of the other stores mentioned here, this one is carefully curated, picking styles largely from the '60s, '70s, and '80s. Highly recommended if you ever find yourself at one of those hipster outdoor music festivals. The real treasure trove here is in the surplus of awesome t-shirts, pins, and patches, perfect for adding flavor to your everyday looks. It's quite possible to walk in to Scoprio Rising, and leave looking like a different and altogether more stylish person.
UXC (Urban XChange)
1932 Pacific Ave. • Tacoma, WA
Monday - Saturday: 11AM - 7PM / Sunday: 11AM - 5PM
Since 2005, UXC has been buying and reselling lightly used and fashionable clothes from local sellers looking to turn a buck. Although their product is not exclusively vintage, we thought it irresponsible to not include them on a list such as this. Behind UXC's lovely, faded pink storefront, shoppers can find a bevy of hip, unique, and vintage clothing at amazingly good prices. This is your go-to place if you are looking for a hand-painted sunflower romper, high waisted vintage levis, or a flowing bohemian sundress. They also have a wide-selection of men's clothing. Check out this Tacoma gem!
Hi-Voltage Records
2714 6th Ave • Tacoma, WA
Monday - Thursday: 10AM - 6PM / Friday-Saturday: 10AM - 7PM / Sunday: 10AM - 5PM
There are few greater pleasures in life
than spending some of a lazy afternoon strolling through a record store. With
CDs going the way of the dodo, people are increasingly turning to vinyl for its
tactile warmth, aesthetic appeal, relative durability, and innate coolness. For
our money, there's no better vinyl store in Tacoma than Hi-Voltage Records.
Knowledgeable employees and a vast, eclectic inventory make Hi-Voltage stand
above the increasing competition in town. Whether you want to recapture some
albums from your youth, discover something new, or even sell some of your own
collection for a little extra holiday spending cash (Hi-Voltage pays very fair
prices for used records), this is the spot for you.
hivoltagerecords.com
Vessel Vintage Collective
760 Broadway • Tacoma, WA
Tuesday - Wednesday: 11AM - 5PM / Thursday - Saturday: 11AM - 7PM / Sunday: 11AM - 6PM
One of the newest shops on our list (edged out only by All Star Vintage), Vessel Vintage
Collective made a splash when it opened in early August. While it may seem a little too soon to be lavishing praise
on such a recent addition to the Tacoma landscape, Vessel Vintage Collective is
just that: a collective, made up of four seasoned vendors of vintage and
handmade items, combining their talents to provide a bright and vibrant
shopping experience for those looking to inject a little more pops of color in
their life. Vessel offers well taken care of mid-century modern furniture along with clothing and art. By nature of having four different
vendors populating the space, Vessel provides a diverse and unexpected shopping experience. Tacoma's premiere place for the mid century modern junkie on your list.
Visit Vessel's on Instagram
Sanford and Son Antiques
743 Broadway • Tacoma, WA
Wednesday - Saturday: 11AM - 5PM / Sunday: 12-5PM
The behemoth of Antique Row, Sanford
and Son Antiques is a wild labyrinth of a three-story mall, packed from wall to
wall with unique discoveries. In business since 1972, Sanford and Son is a
winding journey of around 20 independently operated shops with a dizzying array
of specialties. You can find collectibles, curiosities, spiritual crafts,
beauty supplies, funky clothes (including one shop devoted to menswear, which
can be a little more difficult to find in thrift stores), furniture, and yes,
antiques. While Sanford and Son doesn't provide the crisp curation of the other
stores we've mentioned, its sprawling selection rewards the effort you'll put
in after doing a little searching.
