Austin: Vintage

One of the biggest things I loved about Austin was the vintage shopping. I've never seen so MUCH of it in such a concentrated area. And i know we only skimmed the surface. Most of what we saw was around South Congress and Guadalupe.. we mostly went by this awesome Vintage Guide around Austin, but we missed a lot. Can't wait to go back. :-)

Another great thing about Austin Vintage was the amount of vintage *clothing* stores. I actually walked away with 2 dresses and a cute shirt. It was SO nice to be able to try things on. I'm always making mistakes when I buy vintage clothing online because I can't try them on. I was in heaven.

The second best thing was that most of the stores were very affordable which was very refreshing.

The first shop we went into was the MUCH recommended Uncommon Objects. It did not dissapoint. This was one of those places that if you blink, you might miss a priceless treasure. I want to go back there again! It was beautifully curated as well. Not your average vintage store. It was beautiful. I asked permission to take photos because I could tell it might be one of those places that cares if you take photos or not. The owner was very nice and appreciative that I asked and granted me three photos max after I told him I wanted to blog his store. ;-) (Note to self: Design some blogger business cards asap!)

Here's what I got:

 

 

This shop was super cute.. lots of kitschy vintage and the owner was a bit eccentric and charming. I fell in LOVE with these portraits and inquired if they were for sale, thinking that 2 would be super-cute in the boys joint room... but alas, they were family portraits of the owner and his two brothers! :-) Not for sale!

 

 

He asked me which one I thought was him and after a few seconds I guessed the one on the far left.. and I was right! I'm very good with faces, but horrible with names. :-) These portraits make me want to have some done of the boys. I love the vintage feel to them of course, but also the sort of awkward quality to them. : ) Would love to capture this age of the boys.. it's such a cute age.

Unfortunately I can't remember the exact name of this shop, but it's on South Congress if you visit!

This next shop was I think on Guadalupe. It was definitely more of a rough-around-the-edges shop.. off the beaten path. The owner was super rad and had a Barry White voice. I know this because he had an intercom system in the store and when we were browsing toward the back of the store, all of the sudden his voice bursted over the intercom telling us something, I'm not sure what. I think I was too caught off guard by the whole thing. It was hilarious. Toward the back of the store was a lot of this..

 

This was the backyard of Amelia's RetroVogue & Relics. (I'm pretty sure this is the name of the store... I'm going by memory and the map!) This lady was super charming and informative and told us lots of history about some of the items in her shop. The shop is in this old house and when you step out into the backyard you see this...

 

 
Yup, an  Airstream in the backyard. AWESOME. I also loved her miscellaneous vintage lawn furniture. I've been keeping an eye on Craigslist for some chairs like these.  
    
Next door was an amazing record shop.. again I'm going by memory but I'm pretty sure it was End of an Ear. I've been thinking of maybe buying a record player for the boys so they can listen to music. We actually don't have music playing much in the house, it always seems like the TV's on instead (something I'm trying to change!) But i think with a record player, it would be a more tangible experience than playing songs from iTunes on the computer. I looked in this record shop for some children's records, there were a few. I'd love to start collecting some and make a decision on a record player.

   
 Prototype Vintage Design (furniture & fashion) was right off South Congress. AMAZING furniture & housewares.

 
  
 

I think Austin is going to be one of those places that I go back to visit often. Next time I'll take Ethan with me. Kind of like NYC was for us a few years ago. We would go every year. I want to go back and uncover more treasures in Austin. Soon.      

Comments

[Kayanna]

I absolutely love all those hanging cowboy boots! Like candy :) You take the most beautiful pictures Danielle. Love, love

[micheleBlue]

it looks like you had an amazing time and found some amazing places!
also, i love that you dare to take photos inside of the shops! as an avid (amateur) photographer, i fear getting yelled at by store clerks, and tend to avoid taking photos inside of shops. so i LOVE that you snapped so many wonderful photos! xoxo

[Aura]

Oh my god, I'm dying. Thank you for posting this! My husband and I are heading to Austin next weekend, and I'd love to find a few of these places. I am a huge sucker for vintage anything. My best friend moved there 2 years ago, and lives on 6th street. That girl STILL buys all her clothes at the mall. I'm always telling her she's NUTS! She has so many options there.

[Charlotte]

I am so in love with those great big posters. They're awesome, would love one above my desk!

[Karli Plant]

i want EVERYTHING in EVERY photo! ;)
just gorgeous.
you have sold me on Austin :)

man!
your a good photographer!!!! ;)

[VioletteCrumble]

The shopping here is pretty awesome for those of us who love vintage. There are even a ton of actual thrift stores around town to shop in, so check them out too next time.

The funniest thing at Renegade was when my husband approached a guy at a booth selling vintage western shirts. He asked the seller how much the shirts cost, and the guys said, "Oh those are vintage 'pearl snaps,' they're really hard to find. Each one has a different price". We laughed a bit, as the guy was obviously not from Austin, where these shirts are a dime a dozen. It was like taking a bunch of bagels up to NY and trying to sell them for ten bucks each.

[Meredith Williams]

I moved back to Atlanta from Austin a year ago -- and Uncommon Objects is still my absolute favorite store. I worked in Development at the Austin Food Bank and would often spend my lunch breaks getting a cupcake from Hello, Cupcake and then hopping over to Uncommon Objects for awhile. The most fantastic thing about the place is that it's so dynamic -- it seems to change weekly -- the people who run the place are brilliant at always changing up the staging -- yet it looks like the items have been there for 50 years.

[Andee]

Austin is so fun. Walking South Congress is always a treat. Next time I'm going to do it without the kids, though. :)

[the green gal]

I never really knew anything about Atlanta or Austin until I started reading blogs, now I think I'd really like to visit them both next time I get to take a holiday in the US! Your shots of the shops set them off perfectly, I'm not sure where the equivalent is in the UK. In my little town there are quite a few good charity shops (which I think is the equivalent of your thrift shops) but nothing on this scale!

[Lu]

I know you were in vintage heaven!

[Dacia]

fun! i was in phoenix last weekend and went to an awesome antique mall that had the best vintage patio furniture I've ever seen! i really wanted to buy it but imagine the shipping costs would have been double the price of the pieces!

[Orit]

So, Austin is the new NYC? Before my children were born we used to visit NYC couple of times a year (Long way from Tel-Aviv...). I haven't been there for almost 4 years now. Maybe next time i will include a visit to Austin! Thanks for sharing.

[Emma]

Ms. Thompson- I am a frequent silent reader but I was moved to comment on this! My brother recently graduated from UT Law and I was in Austin (my first time) for a few days and LOVED SoCo! Especially Uncommon Objects. :) I picked up a couple of 60's store signs. Glad you loved it too, it really is a vibrant city!

[Rach]

WOW what fantastic shopping there.........love it all + very green that we don't have shops like that here!!
Yes you so have to get your kids into music!! I thought you would of been a real musio + maybe even played some yourself!!