Since the 1990s  the Pacific Northwest, Portland included, has made its own unique mark on the world of fashion. During this time the Pacific Northwest was known not just known for its musicians, but what they were wearing. Along with the grunge music scene came a fashion look- grunge. This look was laid back and easy going and screamed “I don’t care about the world”. While many believed this style was revolutionary and next to impossible to recreate because of its effortlessly easy feel the people who first wore it, such as Kurt Cobain, simply dressed that way because it was cheap.

       Though the ironic part of this all was that these people were just buying cheap flannel, ripped jeans, and Doc Martins from thrift stores and putting together haphazard outfits, that in the eyes of many seemed whimsical. While the 90s are over and grunge fashion isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be Portland is still considered to be one of the more underapprectiated fashion cities. Multiple winners of Project Runway have been from Portland and many other designers call Portland their home. There are also still a plethera of great thrift shops to find great vintage deals.

 House of Vintage

       House of Vintage, located at 3315 SE Hawthorne Blvd., is definetly the largest of all these stores- with a huge store front and a second floor. While definetly a little intimidating because of all the booths, if you look hard enough you can always find something fantastic at House of Vintage, be it an ugly grandma sweater, a sweet pair of cowboy boots, or  the perfect vintage leather jacket. If you are not into fashion you can also find a good selection of cameras, records, and other retro oddities amoungst the piles of “stuff”.

 Red Light Clothing Exchange

       Red Light, at 3590 Southeast Hawthorne Blvd., is considered to be one of the staple re-used clothing stores among  fashionable Portlanders. Amongst the racks of clothes you can always find an epic 80s hair metal band shirt or an ironic western button down. While prices can sometimes be higher good deals can still be found. It is also the place to go when looking for a costume, especially around Halloween when the store turns into a wild costume store. Also keep  up on their Facebook page because once a month Red Light has a one dollar bin sale where bins are set up outside the store and every item is just a dollar. All the profits also benefit a charity.

 Avant Garden

       Avant Garden at 2853 SE Stark while smaller than the other two stores still has a great variety of vintage and retro clothing, jewlery, shoes, and clothes. It also has a very cool retro feel to it and all the people who work there are very friendly. Their prices are reasonable, if not a little on the higher end, but are well worth it for the quality of their clothes.