The Vibrant World of Chicago Vintage
How Chicago women breathe new life into historic styles
Put your game face on. If you love it, buy it. Get it or regret it.
Chicago vintage sellers give this advice to first-time buyers. The Chicago vintage scene is a close-knit community dominated by entrepreneurial women and consumed by people seeking unique stylistic expression.
In recent years media like Mad Men, Downton Abbey, Hidden Figures and Carol have piqued consumer interest in the historic and aesthetic appeal of vintage clothing. ’90s clothes are trending worldwide, with everything from crop tops to chokers making a comeback.
Chicago women are making waves in the world of vintage. Heather Stumpf-Popio of Vavoom Pinups photographs modern women, Melisser Elliott of Flair Chicago sells vintage pins, Britteny Riordan of Luvsick Plus curates plus-size vintage clothing and Ashley Harding of Vintage Refined left corporate America to customize vintage furniture. With plenty of others like Sashsa Hodges of Kokorokoko, Kristy Kladzyk of KripsyFringe Vintage, Francesca Lund of Quasinu and Sally Schwartz of the Randolph Street Market Festival, the Chicago vintage scene is alive with powerful women.
These women are mothers, college students, restaurant managers, drag queens, creatives, deep thinkers, and savvy business people. Many buy and sell online, in shops, at street festivals or pop-ups. Their love of vintage fuels their passion for history, self-expression, and sense of community.
“Wearing vintage clothing is like a wearing a part of history.”-Tammi Savoy
Tammi Savoy’s Instagram is a curation of glamorous beauty shots reminiscent of Elizabeth Taylor and Eartha Kitt. Savoy, real name Temeka Estes, has over 14,000 followers that observe the mother, wife, and now full-time musician’s every move because of her dedication to Old Hollywood style.
“My first true vintage purchase was a beautiful 1950’s baby pink dress,” Savoy says. “It had a deep V and bow detail in the back. I purchased it to wear to my big brother’s wedding. It was a hit with everyone and from then on I was hooked.”
The Chicago-based rising star wants to “bring class and elegance back into every aspect of life.”
“In high school I was only able to afford bell bottoms, flared jeans and peasant tops,” explains Savoy. “ Now that I’m older I can finally wear more styles that I have always loved.”
Savoy describes her style as vintage with a modern flair. Some of her favorite vintage pieces are her Jonathan Logan and Suzy Perette dresses, both 1940’s manufacturers known for their Parisian-inspired silhouettes of cinched waists and full skirts.
Though the small size of the Chicago vintage scene can make it difficult to find like-minded people, connections can be made through other interests, such as how Savoy began singing for the classic ’40s and ’60s R&B and soul group, The Lovettes.
“It all started with a Vavoom Pinups calendar that I had shot and made for my husband in 2014,” explains Savoy. “The Lovettes were already singing as backup singers of the “Lance Lipinsky and The Lovers” band, before I came along. Lance needed a third girl with a Diana Ross look for a music video he was shooting and asked the photographer that shot my calendar, Heather Stumpf-Popio, if she knew anyone. Initially I was only supposed to lip sync the song for the video, but we actually sang it and it was instant harmony.”
Savoy loves the details and the craftsmanship that were put into vintage clothing as well as the high quality fabrics.
“What I love most about vintage clothing is that it is timeless and classic,” says Savoy. “It will never go out of style in my mind.”
“The cellphone in my hand is going to be vintage one day. I have finally stepped into my mortality of vintage just like the women in my family before me.”-Heather Stumpf-Popio
Heather Stumpf-Popio is the woman behind the lens at Vavoom Pinups, a vintage head-to-toe photography experience. She has shot over 3,000 women in a decade in various stages in their lives, including boudoir calendar shoots, bachelorette parties, couples, mothers and children, and gender reveals.
Stumpf-Popio wears a tan yoga outfit as she gives a tour around the vanilla-scented River North studio she shares with her husband, actor and photographer Chris Popio. The top part of the space is simple, sunset peeking through the white curtains and illuminating the hardwood floors and makeup chairs. Downstairs is where the magic happens, with hundreds of color-coordinated vintage clothes and shoes from Pinup Girl Clothing, Modcloth, and Unique Vintage, vintage props like a real motorcycle and a 1950’s kitchen set.
“At Vavoom, I always say that every woman who comes into my studio is beautiful no matter what,” Stumpf-Popio says. “We just have this fancy mirror held up to her because whatever she has is already inside.”
Stumpf-Popio’s positive outlook on life, the female body, and photography began with her grandfather.
“My grandfather was the one who propelled me into vintage,” Stumpf-Popio says. “He was a commercial artist, and in his studio he had some pinups. When I was a student at Kansas City Art Institute a lot of my drawing and painting was figurative, and about the gaze on feminine bodies. This work brought me back to photography, and thinking of how I could make a living doing this.”
Stumpf-Popio’s all-female team of 10–12 hair and makeup artists “set the tone for the whole experience” of a shoot. Solo shoots last two to three hours, while parties last all day.
“For parties it’s so much more fun for everyone else to have their shoot first and the birthday girl or bachelorette last so they can all watch and cheer her on,” Stumpf-Popio says. “It’s this really positive camaraderie of beauty.”
When it comes to her shoots Stumpf-Popio has a formula she uses to elevate trust with her clients.
“We create a game plan of outfits and talk about what we like, just like Say Yes to the Dress,” explains Stumpf-Popio. “I always make sure they feel completely confident in that look. You can see it on people’s faces right away. I do click-by-click post coaching to let them know we’re having this fun experience together. It’s as if we are on a rollercoaster together, just laughing and having a good time.”
For Stumpf-Popio, what vintage means for Vavoom Pinups in the future is expanding their all-female team to include men, trans, and nonbinary people, “so I’m not just holding up my 100% female staff flag.”
“It’s been an incredible almost ten years of doing this,” says Stumpf-Popio as she tears up. “I’ve photographed women who have overcome illnesses and some who have died after I’ve photographed them. When I have these connections with my clients it’s incredible how over the years I have watched people grow and move away, come back, have babies, come in with their Mom, and have these incredible experiences every time they come in. Even if we get a new set or get some more clothes, we’re still here.”
“If you have a plan and are willing to work hard, you can make anything a business.”-Ashley Harding
Ashley Harding is the founder of Vintage Refined, a locally sourced and handcrafted full-scale custom furniture store. She began pursuing her entrepreneurial dream full-time in 2015. Her passion for making spaces look better started when she was young, sketching floor plans in her notebook and rearranging bedroom furniture. Five years ago she had no clue how to rehab furniture but the trigger point was watching a show on HGTV.
“I was watching Rehab Addict on HGTV and Nicole Curtis, the host, was re-doing a dresser to turn into a bathroom vanity,” says Harding as she soothes her newborn daughter while Starbucks espresso machines whir in the background. “I remember thinking, ‘I want to do that.’ I bought an old piece of furniture off of Craigslist and everything I learned was through YouTube videos, blogs and a lot of online research.”
Harding was worried that her dream might just be a flavor of the week rather than something she wanted to pursue long-term but after a year and half of watching Rehab Addict and customizing furniture, she solidified her decision.
“My husband was always very supportive from the beginning,” Harding says. “It took some time to make plans and wrap my head around the idea of leaving corporate America after nine years of finance and deciding to do something on my own.”
Originally, Harding did everything for Vintage Refined in her garage, but in April 2015 she started working with a team of one full-time employee and contracted workers in a warehouse space full of people in various trades.
“Being around that incubator kind of environment where you pick up new tips, products and techniques through talking to people has been great,” says Harding. “Now I’ve been able to step away from the physical aspect of rehabbing furniture in order to focus more on client relationships, customers, setting up all the deliveries and updating inventory on my website. I try and be in the office several days a week to stay involved.”
Harding started off selling on Etsy and was terrified at first thinking, “Who’s going to buy a piece of furniture off of Etsy from someone who has zero sales and zero reviews?” Her first sale was a dresser to a customer in Maine, saying it was a “rough process from start to finish” because she lost sleep worrying. She ended up getting a five star review and built a good reputation on Etsy.
Women ages 30–45 are Harding’s biggest buyers, the most popular items sold being dressers that can be used as changing tables.
“What I’ve noticed is different geographical locations like different styles,” says Harding. “People from the South like the French Provincial style and people from urban areas like a little more modern Mid-Century style.”
Harding cites her customers as her number one source of marketing.
“I’ve been in business long enough now that word of mouth has gotten out, and I can’t tell you how many times people have come to me because they’ve been referred by someone else,” Harding says. “I’ve had repeat customers, and this week I had someone buy a piece of furniture because their daughter had bought something before. That’s a good feeling because I can market myself, but having people out there on the street putting in a good word for me means a lot more.”
“If 14-year-old Margie could see how she dresses now, she’d be so proud.”-Marjorie Woolard
Marjorie Woolard wears her signature ’80s forest green jacket with shoulder pads and a red beanie on a Sunday morning at The Radler in Logan Square. She is the manager of Same Day Cafe, a popular brunch spot a few doors down from The Radler, and the founder of Kitten Surprise Vintage.
The native South Sider was inspired to begin buying vintage clothes in high school by Austin Powers.
“When I was in high school 12 years ago it suddenly dawned on me that I could buy things even if they didn’t fit me but I loved them anyway and sell them,” says Woolard. “One of the first vintage pieces I ever bought was a colorful polyester ’70s shirt in France. I thought it was cool because I love stretchy, tacky polyester. It’s easy to wear and looks good on everybody.”
She sold her first item, a colorful ’60s Danish tablecloth, on Etsy in 2007.
“I love the idea of having an item in my life for just a short amount of time, but then finding it another home,” says Woolard. “I get very attached to items but it helps me not become a hoarder so I can keep the cycle going.”
She gravitates towards buying clothes from the late ’60s and early ’70s at thrift stores and estate sales based on print, color and how she feels when she’s holding it because “if I’m not excited about a piece it won’t sell.”
However, Woolard says she wishes people took more risks in the Chicago vintage scene.
“The Chicago vintage scene is eclectic but a little safe. I want people to explore a little bit more. I notice a lot of the things that are selling in person are very trendy ’90s items that everyone across the globe is wearing.”
When it comes to her personal style, Woolard says she blends “‘60s and ’90s with a little ’70s thrown in.” For her birthday in January she went to an old school tiki bar and dressed up in a ’70s go-go dancer dress and high boots because she “wanted to fit in with the theme.” She loves when she can wear a vintage piece and be transported to another era.
“A vintage item can be 60 years old and still beautiful,” says Woolard. “Somebody made this, wore it and loved it.”
“I don’t understand how small businesses that don’t include the community survive. I don’t think it’s possible.”-Melisser Elliott
Melisser Elliott owns Flair Chicago, a kitschy vintage pins, patches, and clothing store. Elliott started her own pin line, Sabretooth Dream, two years ago to pay for her 2-pound, nine-year-old Chihuahua Strummer’s vet bills. The shop dog wears a pale pink sweater with lime green trim as she skitters around the intimate store with decorative stars floating along the ceiling and pins made by queer, femme, and POC artists arranged along the walls.
“I found Strummer in the streets of California,” says Elliott, who is a San Francisco native. She wears a simple red turtleneck with a matching beret, black and white diamond pants and shiny red shoes. “Strummer has had cancer twice and all these surgeries. I come from a working class family, so there’s no one I can ask for money. I’d met a couple people from Toronto who made pins so when Strumer got sick I asked the person I was dating at the time, ‘What if we make a pin of Strummer?’’
Elliott made 200 pins that did exceedingly well, so when the pin boom hit in the United States and Elliott co-founded Girl Pin Gang, an international collective of over 70 femme, trans and non-binary pin and patch makers, she saw her business start to take off.
“I’ve kind of been lucky over the years by striking while the iron was hot, so that’s how I ended up with a pin line that turned into a store,” Elliott says. Many of the Girl Pin Gang members gave her some of their pins on consignment to start her off.
FLAIR Chicago sits on the quiet corner of Fullerton and Kimball, next to a ski shop, tattoo parlor and Puerto Rican restaurant. When Elliott first came to Chicago after being priced out of the Bay Area, she was insistent that her store not take up space that black and brown residents of the neighborhood might want instead, waiting months before moving in.
“This side of Logan Square is not fully gentrified yet and I didn’t want to contribute to that,” explains Elliott. “I’m friends with a lot of the neighbors. I say hi to the drunks, I say hi to the regulars. I say hi to everyone in this neighborhood because it’s our neighborhood.
The 37-year-old vegan singer, dancer, and drag queen known as “Fayludes” regularly hosts drag and art shows, vintage popups, and food pop-ups for the community.
Inside Flair affordable 60’s era clothing hangs neatly on a circular rack. Elliott describes her personal style as inspired by ’60s psychedelic bands, Jane Fonda and the Black Panthers.
Tables of pins, patches, keyrings, zines, candles and other quirky items accent the storefront. Pins and patches vary in sayings, such as Vegan Power; Support Your Local Girl Gang; Divorced Hags Club: Membership — Better Off and We Will Outlive Them.
The We Will Outlive Them patch is a particular hit. It was made by JB Brager, a genderqueer maker based in Boston. The phrase is related to a Yiddish saying said during the Holocaust, and essentially Brager took that motto from internment camps and translated it into a “modern statement during this political climate as a motto for marginalized people.”
“A lot of the queer community wear these back patches and they love them. I mean, we will outlive them. We’re not going anywhere.”
Elliott is grateful she was able to start a small business with no capital and lots of support from the community.
“I did not know that I would move to Chicago and have everything I ever needed,” says Elliott. “Emotionally I have more than I’ve ever had, support-wise I have this queer community that is so good to me. I have this store where people come in and they’re thankful that we exist. I’m the happiest and most fulfilled I’ve ever been.”
“The excitement of people selling vintage clothing is what keeps me shopping because it is about more than just the price tag or the labels, it is about passion for the clothing.”-Lindsey Wehking
Lindsey Wehking, a DePaul University senior Communications Studies major has always had a fascination with fabrics.
“When I visited my first vintage clothing store in high school I was in ‘fabric heaven’ and soon became hooked on the quality of vintage clothing,” says Wehking. “I’m sure you have heard stories of your grandma wearing the same ‘size 2’ dress her whole life, that’s because the quality of the dress allowed her to.”
Wehking likes the affordability of vintage clothes, spending about $60–70 on dresses and $80–100 on coats, but typically has one staple vintage piece surrounded by ‘trendy’ clothes.
“On most days I wear my 1950’s blue fur coat or my 1930’s beret from Budapest as accessories over my modern clothing.”
Wehking loves the 1950’s and credits current fashion trends with the timeless style of Jackie O.
“The women and men of the ’50s dressed so elegantly,” says Wehking. “From the shapely dresses to the checkered one-piece swimsuit with matching swim caps, to the adorable hats and oversized earrings. At Milan Fashion Week in February 2018, we saw a 1950’s inspiration in Moschino collection. I believe Moschino gained inspiration as I do, from the stunning Mrs. Jackie Kennedy. Her effortless, classic style has inspired many of my looks over the years.”
Some of the DePaul senior’s top vintage spots are Luxury Garage Sale, Lost Girls Vintage, KrispyFringe, Belmont Army (4th floor), Crossroads, Buffalo Exchange, Vintage Garage Sale and Renegade Craft Fair.
“I will never forget when I purchased a red coat from Belmont Army and the cashier was radiating with excitement because I was the first person to notice it on the racks,” says Wehking. “That’s what I love most about vintage, the store owners that are so knowledgeable about the history of the items and are so emotionally invested in taking care of the pieces.”
“Dressing in vintage clothing just to look vintage is not what it’s all about, you want to feel confident looking like yourself.”-Elise Belluccia
Elise Belluccia is a senior Theatre Management major at DePaul University. Belluccia wore a uniform of khakis and button-ups in a private Tampa, Florida high school and did not start wearing vintage until college.
“It wasn’t until I came to Chicago and found other people who liked to dress uniquely that it encouraged me to as well,” says Belluccia. “I came to college and tried to find a different means of outfit self-expression and my vintage interest came at the same time. I love the androgynous ’30s and ’40s look and I simultaneously developed an interest in the aesthetic and historical fun while realizing the style really worked well with my bodily proportions.”
Belluccia would often shop for vintage clothing on school breaks when she was home in Florida, aiming to spend less than $30 per piece.
“I didn’t just wake up and say ‘I’m going to wear vintage clothes’ so at first it was trial and error,” says Belluccia. “A lot of the first pieces didn’t work out because I didn’t try them on first. I always make sure to now.”
Belluccia draws inspiration from musicals like South Pacific and Hello, Dolly!, and loves to shop at Shangri-La Vintage and Vintage Garage Chicago. Her queer identity plays a key role in the looks she emulates from old Hollywood starlets such as Greta Garbo, Rita Hayworth and androgynous icon Marlene Dietrich, who were all rumored to be a part of Hollywood’s ‘Sapphic Sewing Circle.’
“I gravitate between ’40s and ’80s looks because I love Madonna.,” Belluccia explains. “‘80s have a lot of recycled fashion from the ’40s, like big shoulder pads worked in both time periods.”
Her favorite outfits are high-waisted trousers with belts, blouses, oxford shoes and red lipstick.
“The last vintage piece that I bought were these fabulous 1950’s khakis, they come very high and they flair out. I love that vintage clothes are so well-tailored and well-made, that’s something that you typically don’t get with the quality or construction of current clothes.”
“I feel an enormous amount of pride and responsibility to fill the void of plus-size clothing within the vintage community.”-Britteny Riordan
Britteny Riordan is the founder of Luvsick Plus, a vintage clothing collection for plus-size women.
“I have always been plus-size so shopping at a mall really wasn’t an option for me, unless I wanted to shop at Lane Bryant, which at the time no 13-year-old girl would be caught dead in,” says Riordan. “I grew up going to thrift stores with my mom as a teenager, back then it was more of a necessity rather than a passion. I had to get creative with my style and thrifting allowed me to do that.”
Luvsick Plus started as an Entrepreneur 101 class project. Since Riordan already shopped vintage she had friends model her clothes and within the first week she had ten sales. From then on she was hooked and has sold on Etsy for almost seven years.
“This is truly a one woman shop,” Riordan says. “I take my own photos, so if anyone saw me running back and forth from my camera in a vintage dress and heels before the timer goes off they would find it hilarious.”
Although the Luvsick Plus shop has many bold prints and colors, Riordan says 90% of her wardrobe is all-black.
“People always say red is a power color but I would suggest trying an all-black look and seeing how they feel,” Riordan says. “I recently bought a 1980’s leather moto jacket that is completely covered in studs, each one was put in by hand. I love thinking about some kid listening to a punk record in their room, being inspired and making that jacket their very own.”
For Riordan, one of the biggest successes of running Luvsick Plus are the kind messages she gets from people thanking her for selling plus-size vintage.
“I feel incredibly honored to help people find something they love, especially knowing how heartbreaking it can be to go into a vintage store or to search online and not find a single thing in your size,” says Riordan.
She says the fashion industry has “come a long way in regards to its attitude and inclusivity of plus size fashion, but it’s still an incredibly under serviced group, which you can see first hand in the vintage community.”
“There are only a handful of us who deal exclusively in plus-size vintage on Etsy amongst the thousands of vintage shops,” Riordan explains. “When I hear ‘People were just smaller back then’ or ‘There’s no such thing as plus-size vintage,’ I want to scream. Fat people did not just magically appear, we are not all of a sudden trendy, we have been around and clothed for a very long time. The resources are out there and there are customers who are desperate for it.”
In the future Riordan wants a brick and mortar store to create a “welcoming space for people where they can have fun and express themselves. I envision us being a staple to the plus-size community here in Chicago.”
The Chicago vintage scene is a dynamic community of friendship, artistry and innovation. These unforgettable women have created a culture where old pieces feel like new friends.