The new vintage store stealing our hearts
Favorites on State Street with the good Levi's and band tees
True Picnic-heads know that both Cami and I buy most of our clothes second-hand — so we were thrilled to hear about a new vintage store opening on State Street. Favorites, founded by Teagan Ross Giffin, boasts an expertly curated selection of vintage tees and Levi’s — plus cozy grandpa sweaters and rare Chouinard Equipment finds. We spoke with Teagan about how he got started in the business, the holy grails of vintage shopping, and why, when it comes to jeans, they simply don’t make ‘em like they used to.
Teagan’s origin Story
My mom took me thrifting a lot when I was a kid. She’d find pretty cool stuff for me and my brother. I’ve always been a vintage buyer — I remember going to Yellowstone Vintage on Lower State when I was like ten years old. Then it became really cool in my friend group in high school. I had a couple of older friends and they loved to go to the Goodwill on Carrillo and just get the weirdest possible clothes. We wanted to be different — to have clothes that other people didn't have. Looking back, the outfits were not good, we would just get funky clothes because they were so cheap. It was fun to get weird stuff and have something that you couldn't get at the mall.
During COVID, I started selling online. I had a van and would go up and down the coast between SLO and San Diego looking for clothes.
When I’m buying for myself, I go to stores and flea markets, but to have room to make money on clothes you have to look in other places. So literally anywhere you might find old clothes, I’m looking there. Estate sales, swap meets, online. I have friends who pick full-time and they’ll sell me wholesale bundles of clothes for a price that makes money for both of us, which has been fun, getting to pay my friends.
Holy Grails
There's a really small number of people that are going down into mine shafts and finding Levi's from the 1800’s and stuff. But that's a pretty small selection of people. Then there is a bit of a movement of people picking inside of abandoned houses, which isn’t something I’ve ever done. It's a little controversial, since it’s not technically legal, but there's a lot of really cool clothes that's been forgotten in these homes.
There's generally agreed upon grails in the community, like certain band T-shirts. Nirvana is a big one. A lot of nineties grunge bands or nineties hip hop T-shirts go for a lot of money and are hard to find. But I also think there's a personal definition of ‘holy grail’ that’s different for everyone.
Me, personally, I love a good deal. I love digging in $1 piles at a swap meet, so when I find something in a pile for really cheap, that's super special. I found a 1980’s Clockwork Orange T-shirt for $1 at a swap meet. It's not for sale, but I've had some pretty high offers on it.
A Source of Inspiration
I like to go to LA every other week to see my brother and I get inspired by what people are wearing down there. I also love movies from the seventies and eighties, seeing the costume design, like in Dazed and Confused.
I grew up watching MTV and music videos. I think my personal style now is very influenced by nineties grunge bands, Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder, and their style.
Buying for Santa Barbara
I don't actually think about that too much, other than pieces that aren't climate appropriate for here. I don't bring in the super heavy coats and jackets. There's been maybe a handful of pieces I've passed on because I felt they were slightly too out there or weird for the Santa Barbara customer. But for the most part I just get what I like that is well-made, interesting, and in good shape.
I would love for people to take more risks and I think seeing stuff in the store is a proposition to them: You could wear this. We also get a ton of customers from New York and San Francisco and Austin, so that's really who seems to get the store more than anyone — the weekend customers from out of town.
Opening a Small Business
I feel really blessed that I had a pretty easy time getting the store open. My dad is a contractor and was a huge help in navigating getting the space and building it out and everything. The ongoing challenge is that during the week there’s a little less foot traffic and we're not getting a ton of customers that know about or are interested in vintage. We really thrive on the weekends with a customer that's already familiar with this market. But it's growing and building, and people are getting excited about it.
Teagan’s Picks
My favorite things are band tees and vintage Levi's. We are about to put out this early seventies Levi's jacket. It's a type three. It's got the big E, they changed the label in the early seventies and it's just this era and older that has that. The denim was just so nice. It has a different feel to it than any newer denim.
I'm really big on texture and hand feel, so I think the older stuff is just so much better. Strong, all cotton denim, I mean even the stitching on the back pockets just looks better on an older pair.
Alex [who works at the store with me] found this Chouinard Equipment shirt, which is the first brand of Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, and super rare and very collectible. We refresh the store every day, so there’s always new stuff coming in.
I think a lot, too, about how the clothes got to where they are. People go to retire in Florida, so there's a lot of vintage there. Arizona is like that — you can find crazy stuff. The Midwest, I got friends from Iowa, and they just talk about the insane amount of workwear and real camo, which is so trendy here.
As the store gets a little bit more established and I can get away to go travel more, I would love to do more picking outside of California. It's cool seeing the different regional stuff. Like in Portland, a ton of Nike comes out because they're headquartered there. Also a ton of Pendleton. Down here we find a lot of Patagonia and old Chouinard Equipment, which is fun. I love finding Dodgers and Lakers merch because we have the fans for it, so it kind of works out to source locally. Any Santa Barbara shirt sells really, really well to tourists and locals — both love it.
Picnic’s hot tips for buying vintage online
If you’re looking for vintage t-shirts, use the search term “single stitch.” Here’s the explanation from Courtney Grow on The Cereal Aisle: “They stopped making t-shirts single stitch in the 60s because they figured out a more affordable way to weave the cotton but the quality on the single stitch is that great almost sheer finish.”
I prefer shopping for vintage Levi’s in person (the sizing can vary so much!), but if you’re trying to find a quality pair online that will only get better with each wear, search "big e levi’s," "redline levi’s," “orange tab levi’s,” or "made in USA levi’s."
It’s officially hoodie season! Search “vintage champion reverse weave” for an OG heavyweight hoodie or crewneck that’s durable and gets more delicious with time. (“vintage raglan” also pulls up some fun sweatshirt and t-shirt options!)
How about a good Oxford button-down? On Gift of Gabs, Gabriella Gofis shared her uncle’s recommendation to search “90s/early 2000s Lands End sail rigger oxford” for a high quality yet still (very) affordable option.
Fave apps/websites for vintage and pre-owned clothing: eBay, Depop, Poshmark, Vestiaire Collective, and Vinted
Let’s chat
Have a style question you want us to answer next week? A thought sparked by this week’s interview? Feedback about what you want to read next? Email zoe@jakeandjones.com.