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From jewelry and leather goods to hand-knit sweaters, the market is a ‘vintage heaven — if vintage is your vibe.’
In vintage, every piece has a past. A great-aunt’s favorite freshwater pearls, found in a donated jewelry box. A grandfather’s dusty leather-bound books. A stranger’s pants, re-hemmed decades ago. Rings that have crossed borders, shoes that have traveled the world. A tagless, hand-knit sweater. SoWa vintage market, in the arts and design district of Boston’s South End, is a must-go for lovers of loved clothing.
Located down the steps of 450 Harrison Ave., SoWa Vintage Market creator Stephanie Pernice called it “vintage heaven, if vintage is your vibe.”
Right in the door, the market is a burst of color. A wide glass display showcases everything from flashy costume jewelry and chunky gold and silver earrings to beads, bangles, hair clips, and arm cuffs. You could easily spend an hour combing through the jewelry counter alone. Among the pendants and pearls, you’ll find Stephanie, welcoming customers through the first section of the market, checking out orders, and putting bracelets and scarves into paper bags.
She said she loves to watch customers come down the steps. You can always tell the ones who are really into secondhand finds, she said, because their faces light up the moment they step into the room.
“Some people come down and expect… a holiday festival. So, for some people vintage is not their vibe,” she said. “[but] this stuff is interesting, and the people who find it are interesting.”
When I took my trip down to SoWa, I brought my dorm roommate, Shirin Soleimani, along with me for the journey. Down the stairs we went into the market, and stood in the doorway, looking at each other, eyes wide.
“It was overwhelming at first, there was so much going on,” Shirin told me. “But that meant I could spend four hours down there and still have little corners to discover.”
A rack of silk scarves towered over me while Shirin made her way over to the jackets, trying on black leather pieces and turning this way and that in the mirror. I sifted through SoWa’s vibrant collection of florals, stripes, pinks and greens — pure heaven for a summertime barista who wears bandanas almost every day. I settled on a purple and white square scarf, patterned with blackberries, and made my way to the checkout.
In between asking buyers if they have Venmo and talking to her associate about showing some ladies a set of holiday champagne flutes, Stephanie made time for a quick conversation with me.
She told me how she started the vintage market in 2010, off of the then South Boston Open Market. SoWa began seasonally and expanded year-round in 2012. It moved into the Harrison Avenue building in 2015, where the market has stayed ever since. The name “SoWa” is short for “South of Washington,” which describes an area spanning from Mass. Ave. to Herald Street and Shawmut Ave. to Albany Street. After some changes during the pandemic, the Vintage Market took on less vendors and spread out the existing ones. Stephanie said the market is stronger than ever, and post-COVID traffic has been great.
To curate her expansive collection, Stephanie sources items from antique and thrift stores, flea markets, and jewelry shops. She builds relationships with shopkeepers and brings in items that she thinks her customers will enjoy.
Around the bend, the market displays premium denims, like Levi’s, Wranglers, Guess, Big Blue Brand, and Ralph Lauren, all with their maker tags. Shirts and vintage sweaters lie neatly folded across a long table: hand-knit Jennifer Reed and Sigrid Olsen. My favorite was a white cotton Carlisle sweater, soft with gorgeous cable paneling.
It wasn’t like most vintage markets where there’s a lot of overpriced stuff. There were cool trinkets and things I never expected to find.
– Shirin Soleimani
For the holidays, the sleepwear section featured a hand-picked rack of red slip dresses, all in different sizes and lengths, some laced and patterned, with a few vintage Victoria’s thrown in. I found Shirin still sorting through jackets, rifling through hangers of leather, right next to an impressive collection of genuine furs.
SoWa’s selection of black, brown, and tan leather includes everything from East 5th and Anne Klein to Wilsons and Boulder Creek, each marked as genuine. I poked through a stack of bags and fell in love with a stunning Brighton alligator purse — one I still regret not snatching up when I found it.
“It wasn’t like most vintage markets where there’s a lot of overpriced stuff. There were cool trinkets and things I never expected to find,” Shirin later told me.
Over the years, the market has been reviewed by Boston Magazine, Yankee Magazine, the Harvard Crimson, and other fashion blogs, and was named one of Boston Mag’s “Best of Boston” for Vintage in 2015.
The market is open year-round, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday, and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. the first Friday of every month. Before the holidays, the market extends its hours for its annual SoWa Winter Festival — the market’s second-busiest time of year.
Between May and October, SoWa’s street market brings striking foot traffic to the area, said John Warren, Stephanie’s partner. On a busy Sunday, they see as many as 2,000 people come through. He said running the market is a real labor of love.
“I always dabbled in haunting flea markets. I love when the right thing goes to the right person,” he told me.
John’s side of the market, around the corner from Stephanie’s counter, is filled with grungy patterned jackets, vinyls, browning old books, leather-bound and gold-spined, vintage board games, candles, glass sets, knives, lighters, and wall art. Sitting at his checkout counter is a wooden peg board displaying an odd collection of mismatched doll parts.
Throughout the store, people mill around, chatting with each other, walking in pairs and pointing out interesting finds, flipping through books and original Star Wars concept art, gazing at paintings, and turning over glass bottles to inspect the bottoms.
After a few hours, we went back up the steps and left the market, carrying our new silks, rings, and Christmas gifts. As the sun came down over Boston, we walked back to the Red Line, paper bags swinging in hand.
SoWa Vintage Market is open every Sunday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., and the first Friday of every month, 5 – 9 p.m. Visit the website to learn more.
