Space City Vintage: Take a trip in this time-traveling rocket ship
Sometimes transporting yourself to a whole other world is just as simple as climbing some steps.
Just go up the stairs that are set incongruously among the store fronts and restaurant windows in Little Tokyo and you’ll find yourself transported into a world filled with all your favorite things, vintage, vinyl and vivacious attitudes.
Space City Vintage poses as a lighthouse in the city of Los Angeles, on 339 ½ E 1st St, a beacon for all things rock n roll, welcoming those of all ages to dip their hands among the many racks and bring forward a treasure, once thought buried long ago by the sands of time.
For Zac Vargas, curating vintage is just a small portion of what he does as owner of Space City.
Vargas states, “What we do here is, first of all we have affordable prices, we try to promote 40s and 50s but you know 80s was 30 years ago so we do 80s too, we throw rockabilly shows, we have bands playing for free for all ages, try to get the young generation to get involved with rock n roll, the vinyl, music, teach em the history of what I like to do, the rock n roll stuff.”
Every square inch of the studio-style collective houses paraphernalia catering to the aesthetic and fashion of any Los Angeles native or transplant.
Once inside, one will find that It is more than just cuffed jeans, petticoats and slicked back hair that make up the rockabilly, and vintage, community, it is the music as well.
With each twang of the guitar, each thump from the bass, a thrill of exhilaration that takes hold and rattles your spine and shakes your bones.
This sense of excitement that comes from listening to live music that dates around the same time of the clothes that you are donning, can’t help but make you feel like you are the true embodiment of vintage aesthetic.
All sense of self-confidence wanes, and you no longer worry whether you look authentic enough or not, all you do now is listen to the band and watch them wail and play into a frenzy.
You look behind you at the rows of racks, they remind you of the rows of green you see on farms, but instead of grapes hiding underneath leaves, there is an even greater harvest to be had on the hangers.
Sure, clothes never look like much when you first encounter them, but just like sprouts, there is a budding potential along those racks to grow into the person that makes you feel the most like yourself.
It’s through music, guidance and fashion, that Vargas and Co, encourage young people to embrace their interest in the rockabilly and vintage scene.
However, free,and occasional live performances, featuring local bands, and guidance isn’t the only point of interest in the world of wonders that is Space City Vintage.
Go past the rows of clothing racks and find Ryota Sakai, who owns and operates his brand, Delinquent Brothers.
Sakai, who has had his brand for 10 years, says the line is “inspired by the real 1950s style,” with wavy-haired, red-lipped pin-ups adorning shirts, jackets and snap-back caps.
Right beside Sakai’s space, you’ll find leather worker Guillermo Cuevas, who helps add to the retrospective atmosphere that is ever present in the collective.
Cuevas can be seen hand making belts and wallets, inspired by designs originally fashionable during the 1940s and 1950s, for his brand Dunrite Leatherworks.
If you look across from Cuevas, you’ll find a haven for almost every vinyl lover, Wild Records, which houses not titles from more notable musicians but local, aspiring artists as well.
Now that the scene has been set, it is time to introduce the key player in the performance art that is being a business owner who has over 20 years worth of experience doing what he loves.
Part of the most vital aspect of running a vintage shop is picking items to stock the racks with, Vargas shares what he looks for when finding items for Space City, “I’m always hoping to find 50s, that’s my main thing, good 50s, 40s, I get very few pieces here and there and unfortunately that’s what I’m looking for but it’s not out there like it used to be
“so I do a lot of rock t-shirts, punk t-shirts, a lot of New Wave, even hip-hop, whatever comes my way that sells but like I said I select it and hand pick not just anything, this is not a second-hand, you’ll see that when you go through our racks, it’s hand-picked.”
Have a specific piece in mind but can’t seem to find it anywhere? Simply ask Vargas and watch him put his expertise to the test and find the right piece to add to your arsenal of cool.
Vargas states, “I would call our little place right here like the school of rock n roll, some people come in and we try to influence them, we’re not pushing anything they don’t want on them, if you come in and you ask me, ‘ hey, can you find me boots?’ Give me some time and we’ll make them look good,
“we are getting in some people that are totally changing their style, they came in and now they’re like look and they come back to me like, ‘Zac can you find me more because some girls gave me a compliment, nice style’ and they like it, it makes me happy, that’s my job since 96.”
Vargas describes the rewards of running a vintage shop, “Early 90s I used to dress a lot of artists and bands and stuff and that’s my payback is, besides the money, for them to tell me, ‘hey man thank you for this piece, I got compliments’ and they feel good, that’s the good part.”
20-year-old Allen Mahan, located in Ohio, is a returning online client of Vargas’s for about two years, and relies on Vargas’s eye for mid-century style when purchasing items to cater to his mostly 1950s aesthetic.
Mahan describes his threads of choice when consulting Vargas, “I look for 1950s garments, specifically loop collar short sleeve shirts, Hollywood waisted pants, Hollywood jackets, flecked suits and so on. With Zac, I can be selective as he has what I’m looking for.
“He lets me know whenever he has items I’m trying to find as he knows what I want, he has plenty of customers he does this with since he builds a bond with them, he’s a very supportive guy and his business he runs is one of the best out there.”
Vargas’s main area of expertise is 40s and 50s clothing which is evident when one steps foot into Space City and sees signs of mid-century scattered about every inch of the collective.
Rachel Tovar, who co-owns and picks items for the shop, explains the dynamics of a vintage and/or rockabilly wardrobe, “I feel like it’s just like any style, you gradually upgrade your wardrobe, buying your stuff, it becomes your everyday, you might invest in a good piece of denim but you just score too sometimes you go and score a good piece for like a decent price and then you just go home and collect them and then before you know it, its consumed your closet.”
Tovar continues, “I feel like maybe it might be intimidating if you don’t know anybody, you don’t know who to ask but once you’re in there, it’s like we’re one happy little family.
Despite how hesitant a person can be about adopting a new aesthetic or expressing their interest in a particular subculture, such as rockabilly, Tovar, Vargas and Co, extend open arms and offer nothing but words of encouragement and comradery.
Cuevas lends a few words to those new to the rockabilly and/or vintage scene, “Enjoy it and don’t take yourself too seriously for sure just cause there’s some people that are just with their heads so far up their ass, its like you just gotta have fun with it but also do your homework and also try to help people, just try to teach people, once you get to their level just keep passing the knowledge.”
Vargas shares his thoughts on the rockabilly scene, which has played a major part in helping establish himself and Space City Vintage, not just in LA, but in other parts of the world including Europe, which holds a large population of rockabilly and 50s Americana enthusiasts.
“Things just spread, it’s a cool scene, it’s a cool life, to me it’s a lifestyle, don’t let this fool you, “ Vargas said as he tugged on the front of his pullover sweatshirt,
“When I go out I’m 100 percent and influence kids, I always grab kids and try to teach them, ‘wear this, buy this. Save your money, don’t buy this,’ Try to make them look good, and I have a lot of followers and I have a lot of people that love going, ‘Zac, I’m going here, please dress me.’ and I’m like, ‘come.’”
Mahan also expressed the allure of rockabilly and dressing in clothes that garner comparisons to one’s grandparent, “the vintage and rockabilly community as a whole are open to newcomers from all backgrounds, it’s also an amazing feeling to wear a garment you know nobody else has, with vintage, you won’t hear, ‘I got that same shirt from Target!’ So by all means, it’s something worthy of looking into, I’ve been doing it for five years now and it’s been nothing but fun.”
Space City Vintage and the people that keep it going strong, have far more to offer than desirable historical pieces of fashion, they offer a gregarious nature that makes anyone feel at home among the stacks of vinyl, the sound of leather being riveted and clothing racks just waiting to be explored.
