Fashion and home decor are infinitely cyclical industries, and what goes around always comes back around. But perhaps never before has the desire to fill both one’s closet and living spaces with the styles of yore been so fervent, thanks to several trends.

Social media continues to have a big impact on the vintage aesthetic’s current resurgence, with influencers, celebrities and vendors all helping inspire shoppers with creative ways to style pieces, whether going all in on one decade or mixing and matching.

When it comes to clothing, a major reason driving many to buy vintage — especially among younger generations — is sustainability, and a growing awareness of how harmful the fast fashion industry is to the people making it and the planet. The same can be said about home decor. As a result, more are eager to bring home beautiful, solid-wood mid-century or antique pieces because of their built-to-last quality.

For local shoppers, the Spokane region’s vintage scene has exploded, with many new shops opening in the past few years. This makes each shopping excursion — whether treating yourself or seeking the perfect, one-of-a-kind gift this holiday season — an exciting adventure. You never know what you’ll find.

One of those new shops, opened in early 2021, is TELEPORT VINTAGE CO. near the Spokane County Courthouse, which mostly focuses on clothing across the decades and is stocked by numerous local vendors. The shop also offers unique, high-quality furniture, art and decor.

Teleport owner Paul Forster has been involved in the local vintage scene for over a decade, and knew he wanted to collaborate with fellow vintage vendors in a format different from the traditional vendor mall, where individual sellers rent individual spaces to display their wares. Instead, Teleport mixes all its goods together to create a more cohesive overall feel.

“The merchandise is highly curated by the team, because Teleport would not be successful without them,” Forster says. “That was how I built the model, because all these people have very good skills in their niche.”

Teleport is one of many vintage must-stops in north-central Spokane, along with the nearby BOULEVARD MERCANTILE on North Washington Street. Originally opened in 2015 in a historic building at the intersection of Indiana Ave. and Northwest Blvd., the shop quickly outgrew that spot, so its trio of owners moved it not too far away in early 2020. With more space, Boulevard’s well-established vendors have been able to expand their inventories of rustic home decor, vintage clothing, furniture and much more.

“What we do is not an exact science, but trying to meet the needs of our customers, and to stay fresh — that is the word we use,” says co-owner David Jeffers, who operates Boulevard with his wife Joellen and business partner Dan Webb.

“We still struggle at what we want to call this store, because it’s not like any other store. It’s not an antique store, it’s not a vintage store, it’s not an upcycling store — it’s all those things,” Jeffers says.

While these two shops aren’t far from the North Monroe Business District’s convergence of vintage vendors — including 1889 SALVAGE CO., TOSSED & FOUND, PAINT IN MY HAIR and others — the entirety of Spokane is dotted with quality vintage shops.

One of those operating the longest is CHOSEN VINTAGE, which opened 15 years ago in its massive, 6,000-square-foot space on downtown’s east end. A collaborative shop featuring some of the area’s most well-known vintage vendors, Chosen is a go-to for lovers of vintage fashions from the mid-century to early 2000s. Find everything from band T-shirts to perfectly worn-in denim, plus vintage dresses, boots and more, and lots of vintage furnishings and decor.

From the Inlander's 2021 Spokane Holiday Magazine. To read more Inlander coverage of the Inland Northwest, visit inlander.com