At heyday, a recently-opened Evanston vintage shop, residents can purchase eclectic second-hand clothing, accessories and furniture.
The vintage collective opened on March 27 and operates from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Racks of clothing, ranging from femme fashion to classic Northwestern merchandise adorn the Davis Street location.
Owner Shayne Kelly is a vintage collective veteran. He also owns Prison City Vintage, a second-hand shop in Joliet, Illinois, and runs the Illinois Vintage Fest, which features vintage clothing, artisans, collectibles and home goods from over a hundred vendors.
Kelly said heyday makes for a more pleasurable shopping experience compared to other vintage stores.
“People notice Prison City for being the store that has stuff everywhere,” Kelly said. “Here, it’s a bit cleaner, a little bit easier to look through the racks and enjoy your time here. We have a little more variety here.”
Medill freshman and former Daily staffer Rachel Yoon said she found heyday on Instagram and decided to visit the shop in between her classes.
Yoon said she had no expectations going into the shop, but she was pleasantly surprised.
“I don’t know what expectations I had, but I feel like it has surpassed them,” Yoon said. “I really like the pieces.”
The clothing collection process is multifaceted, Kelly said.
While collecting pieces through garage sales, estate sales and thrifting, Kelly often encounters possessions of people who have passed away or are looking to give away pieces they no longer need.
Kelly said speaking to real estate agents about people who need spaces to put their clothes and meeting other vintage clothing collectors has helped him build connections.
“We kind of go to the ends of the earth to find this stuff before it gets thrown away,” Kelly said. “It’s important to us to save it from getting trashed … or just getting tossed or sent to a different country.”
The pieces curated by Prison City Vintage are also available for purchase at heyday and have tags letting customers know they’ve been purchased or found by the collective, he said.
Kelly doesn’t limit himself to clothes, though.
At Prison City Vintage, he holds monthly pop-ups that feature various artists, a practice he hopes to continue at heyday.
Kelly said he had to be strategic while narrowing down heyday’s location.
He also said he wanted to be cognizant of other competing businesses to avoid “stepping on people’s toes.”
Ivan Deato, an employee at heyday, said working at the new Evanston location is enjoyable as he gets to share his love for clothes with customers.
“Honestly, seeing what people buy, talking to all new faces, all new people and seeing familiar ones, of course – it’s always a joy,” Deato said. “Having the opportunity to open up a store here in Evanston is great, to say the least.”
The store is loved not only by employees but also by Evanston residents.
While shopping, Italian language Prof. Alessandra Visconti said she enjoyed the vintage furniture and variety of music.
Kelly said heyday’s business has received a warm welcome since its opening.
“I can’t even imagine how welcome that we felt being here,” Kelly said. “All those students really love the store, and even the people from the community love the store. We’re just happy to be here.”
Email: [email protected]
X: @betsy_lecy
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