Vintage Store
“The thing about being vintage is that it never goes out of fashion.”
A vintage store is a sacred place. Vintage is a retail term with specificity, referring to clothing and home goods made at least 20 years ago. “Vintage” is distinct from “antique” as antiques are items crafted 100 or more years ago. Another important clarification is the distinctives between vintage stores and thrift stores. Thrift stores are based on donated items without any curation or specialization. Vintage stores are a unique collection of textiles from a different decade. Vintage stores offer a conscious consumerism operating with the values of sustainability and quality.
Tara Lovato shopped at vintage stores on South Broadway when she was in high school. Vintage items provided both individual expression and a way to avoid clothing made in mass production. She first began selling clothes on Etsy in 2011, and then in 2012 as LaLovely Vintage from a refurbished 1957 Shasta trailer. Tara moved her vintage business into various storefronts in Denver over the years. Tara’s own story came full circle in 2018 when the owner of a vintage store she shopped at in high school contacted her about a space to open LaLovely Vintage on South Broadway.
It took Tara some time to put into words what she valued about vintage. At her core it was about quality and care; care for both the planet and the people who make material goods. “It feels good when you put it on,” she says with sincerity. Tara describes vintage textiles as those with a connection to the heart because you know they were made with intention. “Vintage is caring for something that was made with great craftsmanship,” she shares with conviction. “Vintage was loved by another person. It has its’ own stories. There is soul in it. There is no soul in clothes made in mass production.” It is her clear value of caring for people and the earth’s resources that ground her work.
LaLovely specializes in clothing from the 1950’s – 1970’s, with an extensive collection of vintage denim. “Jeans are a uniquely American story, the only time you don’t want to wear them is at a yoga class.” Tara says with a smile. Alongside the intentional selection of vintage items, LaLovely carries modern fashion that aligns with the shop’s values of quality, sustainability, and ethical employment. Vintage and modern clothing made ethically is not inexpensive. There is more than a transaction being made, there is a story being valued and shared.
Lovato shares the daily enjoyment of seeing someone make more than a material purchase. They walk out with excitement and satisfaction about finding an item with a rich history, and in buying it, they are adding to the story. One pair of overalls LaLovely sold online was made in the 1940’s by the manufacturer Blue Gem. Tara received a message a few days later. “Thank you for the fine condition Blue Gem overalls that arrived today. The attached photo is from a 1941 National Geographic article on cotton. It shows the Blue Gem factory in Greensboro, North Carolina with the owner, my father-in-law.” Her vintage store helped a pair of 1940’s hand-made overalls make their way back to the family who owned the plant 80 years ago.
A vintage store is where stories of quality and care are told daily. It is a place raising awareness in how we care for both how people work and the place we live. A vintage store is a sacred place.
