VINTAGE VINTAGE VINTAGE | VINTAGE CLOTHING & HOME DECOR — Local services in Washington

I’ve shopped here before and usually enjoy it, but my experience today (June 27) was extremely uncomfortable. While I was browsing and holding a few dresses, one of the employees—the woman wearing a leopard print dress, who later rang me up—approached me and asked if I needed any help. I said, “No, I’m good.” Despite that, she came up moments later, snatched the dresses out of my hands, and said, “I’ll take these and put them in the dressing room for you.” I was caught off guard and asked, “What?” She replied, “Oh, I just don’t want you to carry all these heavy things around—I’ll put them in the dressing room so you can try them on when you’re ready.”

It was bizarre. I hadn’t asked to try anything on, and I’ve never had this happen in this store or anywhere else. She didn’t do this with any of the other customers walking around holding items—only me. It was hard not to feel like I was being treated differently for no clear reason.

Shortly after, I found myself near the plus-size section, which is close to the front of the store. I noticed the same associate following me around again, pretending to rearrange racks as I browsed. The hovering was so obvious and uncomfortable. Again, this wasn’t happening to anyone else. She wasn’t greeting other customers or taking their items. It felt less like customer service and more like surveillance.

After I finally went to try on the dresses, I gave the ones I didn’t want to a different associate, who also took the clothes I was buying to "hold them" behind the register until I "was ready to purchase". I went to look at some jewelry—and suddenly, all the staff disappeared from the floor. It was clear that they had been closely monitoring me earlier and backed off only once I no longer had the clothes in hand.

When I went to pay (after selecting three dresses and spending over $250), the tone completely changed. The same associate who had snatched the clothes earlier suddenly became friendly, apologized for the wait, and invited me to come back for their next pop-up. It was an obvious shift in energy once she realized I was a paying customer.

I left with some beautiful pieces, but also with a lingering sense of discomfort. I came in wearing a dress I bought from this store six months ago—clearly someone who values and supports the business. But after this visit, I don’t feel comfortable coming back. No one should be made to feel like they’re being watched more closely than others just for browsing.

Update (6/30): VVV responded to my original review within 10 minutes — clearly anticipating it.

In good faith, I followed their request and emailed them. It then took them two full days to respond — and what I received was a PR-crafted message that avoided any real apology, failed to name the harm, and asked me to contact them again, this time by providing my phone number for a “voice to voice” conversation. As if I hadn’t already explained what happened twice.

At no point did they take accountability or name the harm, which was profiling. It’s 2025 — businesses should not be able to take our money while treating some of us like suspects.

I strongly encourage people to spend their hard-earned money elsewhere — at Black-owned vintage shops, or at Georgetown Flea or Eastern Market. You’re only paying more here for curated clothes — but it’s not worth the cost of...

Thought the clothes looked good, I love the aesthetic of the pieces but once I picked up a few items (2) and was still looking around the person working asked to hold my clothes and took them from me before I could say “no I'm fine holding them” and then took them to wait with her at the cashier until “I decided to try them on”. I felt uncomfortable once I saw other people carrying multiple things and she didn't ask to hold them with her. After this I chose to leave and not purchase anything. Not sure if it’s policy but it wasn't being upheld for other people.

Follow up: Looks like this keeps happening to certain people based on previous reviews. I def recommend...

Infuriating price gouging. I saw the most common type of modern military surplus jacket priced at $70. You can get this at any surplus store or online for $10 or under. My high school theater got a bunch of these for cheap costumes. Marking this jacket up to $70 goes beyond “sourcing cost” and you can tell the people who “curate” the item doesn’t know much about the quality or rarity of items.

I have also seen 100% acrylic (so plastic) sweaters from the 90s priced from $80 to over $100. A very common find at local thrift stores for less than $10. Save your money and...