Vintage Shopping with Georgia NYC

Vintage Shopping with Georgia NYC



Georgia
Fenwick has always viewed buying vintage garments like
purchasing art. “Even if I knew I would never wear it, or couldn’t
fit into it, I had to buy it because it was so beautiful.” An avid
collector of second-hand treasures, she decided to curate her own
vintage shop on a quiet street in the heart of New York’s
Chinatown.

Georgia
NYC
is a small shop with golden walls on Orchard in the Lower
East Side. Unlike the vintage warehouses and overwhelming thrift
stores
Brooklyn-way
, for second-hand newbies and non-thrifters it’s
the dream situation. A heavily curated selection of pieces from
around the world – affordable, extremely wearable and on trend.


Georgia was born in London but raised in Manhattan for much of
her adolescence. A West London girl, Portobello was always an
inspiration and her godmother, Mairead Lewin, the high-end vintage
collector with her own appointment-only studio in London, was a big
influence. Her shop is filled with pieces from her travels – from
Cleveland Ohio and upstate New York to Scotland’s charity shops
where her mother is from: “Wherever I go, I try to bring something
home.”

Rather than hundreds of denim cutoffs or frumpy polka dot
dresses, at Georgia NYC it’s all about one-off pieces. It’s the
type of place you’ll find a luxe long black crochet jacket for 80
bucks or an elegant lace gown from the 60s but also the perfect
butt-hugging flares or faded NYC high school sweater. This is the
vintage shop you need to know about, and with fans like Kate
Hudson,
Kai Avent-deLeon
and
Laura Bailey
, you know it’s the real deal.

As an authority on the New York vintage circuit, Georgia gives
us some of her favourite spots to shop vintage in NYC.

Amarcord Vintage Fashion

There used to be one in Soho that I loved, but it closed down,
so go to the Williamsburg branch. It has a really nice atmosphere
and the girls that work there are very sweet. They organise the
racks by colour and have a really well-curated, handpicked
selection. And it’s affordable! They have really cool bags and
accessories.

Thrift Stores on the Upper East Side

If you walk around 83rd street there are a bunch of old charity
shops. Not many people go as it’s not downtown but you can find
great pieces. Cool furs, and designer pieces. I found a pair of YSL
trousers for 20 bucks. I love a hunt though.

Beacon’s closet

It’s a big vintage warehouse and you can always find really
great treasures in there. I prefer the Brooklyn one. (See
Lauren Singer’s trip to Beacon’s closet here
.)

Brooklyn
Flea

It’s a quite civilised flea market where they have furniture,
clothes and sometimes new goods.

The
Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show

This happens four times a year at the metropolitan pavilion. I
bought my first piece there for the shop (which I actually ended up
keeping). It’s a show with a bunch of different vendors that have
stalls. I’m obsessed with Lula’s vintage lovelies so definitely
check her out.

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