urban jungle

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That Vintage Store That’s Been On Bedford Avenue Forever Has Left Williamsburg

(Photo: Daniel Maurer)

(Photo: Daniel Maurer)

securedownload-1If you’re doing some last-minute costume shopping, a) don’t even think about going as zombie Lou Reed, and b) don’t bother going to Vice Versa, the thrift shop that’s been on Bedford Avenue for some ten years. The wall of plaid and flannel has come down and the place was being completely cleared out earlier this evening.

Luis Perez, a manager, said the store was moving to 71 White Street, near McKibbin,and will reopen in larger digs —  “the same store but more quality” — sometime between November 15 and 20. “The rent is almost the same but the space is huge — maybe 8,000 square feet,” he said. Plus, the new shop will be conveniently located near Bogart & Moore Vintage. “It’s good when you have competition, because they go to the first and then the second,” said Perez.

Vice Versa’s parent company also owns No Relation Vintage and Village Style in the East Village, Urban Jungle in Bushwick, and Atlantis Attic in Williamsburg — so yeah, pretty much everywhere you’ve ever bought an ironic Member’s Only jacket.

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A Tale of Two Thrift Shops, Side By Side and Worlds Apart

Precious and Shauna (Photo: Erika Smith)

Precious and Shauna (Photo: Erika Smith)

On Knickerbocker Avenue, two neighboring thrift stores have nearly identical prices — and yet there doesn’t seem to be a heck of a lot of crossover between their clientele.

At Urban Jungle, artfully arranged bric-a-brac (a toboggan! a skateboard!) hangs from the ceiling and the colorfully painted walls. Twenty-somethings snatch up the type of cut-off jorts and camo jackets that are featured on the store’s blog (sample post: “Vintage Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch Cassette Tape”). Outside, they pose against one of the nearby murals for Instagram shots of their own. More →