Fun Vintage Stores in the DC Area
Part 1: A Guide for Vintage Shopping with Friends & Family
Happy almost Thanksgiving! Since it’s a holiday weekend, there are no Estate Sales, but I wanted to take this time to publish an initial list of stores that have a fun vintage/secondhand vibe. I’ve been slowly making a list for a while based on recommendations I’ve gotten from vintage obsessed friends. If you like this list, let me know and I will make a part 2 or a master list. This is in no way an exhaustive list, but I am very confident in each of these recommendations if you’re looking for vintage shopping with friends or family this weekend.
As a disclaimer, I’ve included mainly curated vintage stores, with one non-profit secondhand shop. The curated vintage stores will generally be more expensive than buying something at an Estate Sale, but when family or friends are in town, sometimes a cute, curated day is good.
On last week’s episode of Estate Sale Baby, I did a show-and-tell of some of my personal Estate Sale finds that I have in my house. I talk about how much I paid for them and a little bit of their origin story. It’s a fun episode. I’ll be taking this week off for Thanksgiving, but next week I have a comedian friend, Winston Hodges, joining me on the show. This past Saturday, we went to his first Estate Sale (!!) and my first time at a thrift bin store, so we’ll be talking about that. Winston does some light reselling which I find is super interesting to talk about.
Okay, here’s my list, let me know what you (your family and friends) think!
The first two stores are basically DC institutions, and it would be easy to go to both in one day:
1. Good Wood
1428 U St NW Fl 2nd, Washington, DC 20009
Hours this weekend:
FRI (11/29) 12 - 6
Sat (11/30) 12 - 6
Sun (12/1) 12 - 6
Why I selected it: I love Good Wood’s selection, the store has furniture, clothing, homeware, candles, etc.. I think the furniture and art are actually pretty reasonably priced as well. It’s got a real authentic cool adult vibe. When you walk in it smells incredible.
2. Miss Pixies
1830 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009
Hours this weekend:
FRI (11/29) 11 - 5
Sat (11/30) 11 - 5
Sun (12/1) 12 - 4
Why I selected it: This store has a real sense of humor which I love. It has an eccentric vintage feeling that is very much my aesthetic. You’ll be looking at some random art in the store and be like “what does that say??” When I was in there yesterday, they had $1 solid color vintage glass ornaments.
3. Vintage Vintage Vintage
1256 4TH ST NE, Washington, DC
Hours this weekend:
FRI (11/29) 10 - 7
SAT (11/3) 10 - 7
SUN (12/1) 10 - 7
Why I selected it: Vintage Vintage Vintage is a really fun vintage store in Union Market that features great local, vintage vendors. It really feels like a young, fresh take on vintage. The store has clothing and home decor, but especially a lot of great vintage clothing. Union Market is obviously also a great spot to shop, since there are so many stores and restaurants nearby. If you have cool family or friends from out of town this is a great option.
4. Community Forklift
4671 Tanglewood Dr, Hyattsville, MD 20781
Hours this weekend:
FRI (11/29) 12 - 7
SAT (11/3) 10 - 5
SUN (12/1) 10 - 5
Why I selected it: This is one of my favorite places in the DC area. I wish I had known about it back when we first bought our house. It is a huge warehouse full of houseware, furniture, doorknobs, paint, tiles, lighting, doors, etc. anything you could need for a house. It’s a nonprofit reuse center, so the mission is great and the prices are excellent. A lot of people ask me where unsold Estate Sale items end up, and this is one of those places. Every time I’m there I’m like “oh there’s that bowl from that sale a couple weeks ago”. The inventory changes pretty regularly so it’s also fun every time you go. The team at Community Forklift very much care about Community Forklift and you can really tell with how well (and fun) it’s all arranged. Could gush about this place forever clearly.
Bonus: Check out Something Kind of New which is very close by to Community Forklift. I posted a video about this store in July, it’s a consignment store and another place that a lot of Estate Sale items end up. This weekend, they’ll be having a sale, but currently their inventory is mainly art.
5. Evolution Home
861 S Pickett St, Alexandria, VA 22304
Hours this weekend:
FRI (11/29) 10 - 6
SAT (11/3) 10 - 6
SUN (12/1) 11 - 5
Why I selected it: This is a large consignment store, with different vendors. Each booth has a different aesthetic which is fun. They have furniture, homeware, clothing, records, etc. You could spend a really nice couple hours walking around.
Let me know if you go to any of these and what you think!
Maddy Brannon || Estate Sale Darling