“Closet looking like I opened up a Vinnie’s Styles” – Fabolous
Vinnie’s Styles is a staple on the street wear scene in New York. As you can probably deduct from the line above, their customer base isn’t just window shopping. Originally opened in the 70′s, Vinnie’s has always been where people looked for the latest fashion trends in Brooklyn. The contemporary street wear division we know now started in 2002. A family owned business from the start, brothers Jacob, Desta, & Paul made such a name for themselves in BKNY that in 2008 they opened up another store in Little Five Points. We had the privilege of chopping it up with “Shach” (one of their cousins) of Vinnie’s Styles & this is what we ended up with. Enjoy!
SLP: How long has VS been on the block?
VS: We opened up October ’08, so approximately 2 years & 2 months.
SLP: What type of brands do you carry?
VS: We try to carry different brands you normally get a chance to see. For example we now carry Ti$a & just had an in store with Taz Arnold not too long ago. In addition to that we also carry the standard street wear brands. Crooks, POLO, Schott & Soda, & our house brand Paulie’s.
SLP: Your flagship store is in Brooklyn. What’s the difference is there between the store in New York & the one here?
VS: The store in NY is pretty much established. Only because of the time they’ve been there (The Vinnie’s Styles were referring to was opened in 2002). In Atlanta, we’re fairly new out here, but there’s a lot of people that are from NY in ATL. It’s like a melting pot of different cultures. We’re blessed to be out here at a time when the economy is so bad for this type of business. But the people out here show us love. That’s the whole reason we’ve been here 2 years & we hope to be here a lot more.
SLP: Recently, you’ve become more involved in throwing events. You’d done a few events at 595, one of which you brought The Cool Kids out. And even more recent, the Big K.R.I.T. in-store/Block Party. How was that?
VS: Yeah. For our 2nd anniversary we did a block party as well as held an in-store for K.R.I.T. & Smoke Dza. We actually blocked the whole street off. It was crazy out here! Like 1000 people. All cultures. Really diverse. We had a band out here. People were all on the roof. It was really good look for the city.
When it warms up we plan on doing things like that more often. Having a DJ out there. People chilling & partying in front of the sign. We want to do more than just sell people clothes. We want to provide them with that NY atmosphere
SLP: What other events are you planning on having?
VS: We’re working on an event with this company named Mason Dixon. It’s going to essentially be a “pop-up store” for brands that may noy have full lines, but have a following. We’ll give them an opportunity to turn Vinnie’s into their store for a week or two. Local brands from Atlanta and surrounding states.
And a lot of block parties. More events that involved the streetsSLP: That’s dope! It’s not too often you get to see those type of events down here. Being originally from NY i remeber how much fun REAL block parties used to be. If it was summer time, you KNEW that they were having a block party somewhere!
VS: Right! And for the people that aren’t familiar with those type of events, it’ll be a great opportunity to see it!
SLP: How would you describe Atlanta Street wear?
VS: The Atlanta street wear scene is starting to catch up.A few years ago people would say Atlanta was always behind new York or L.A. But now, due to boutiques like ourselves are keeping customers current. Brands like Chilly-O are getting the city national attention. So the growth is happening pretty fast. For instance. We were nominated as one of the premier boutiques at the Atlanta Fashion Awards. And to even have enough stores to have a Fashion Awards says a lot. All of the stores out here work together instead of competing. That’s a good look too!
SLP: One thing I wanted to talk about is the role music plays in the popularity of Vinnie’s Styles. We’ve heard Fabolous drop lines about Vinnie’s Styles in BK. And even here in Atlanta I’ve seen videos shot in front of your sign or out on your stoop. How do you feel music ties into street wear?
VS: Fashion & music go hand in hand. Out here is crazy. It seems like the whole music industry moved out here. We get people like No I.D., to Gucci Mane stopping through the store to shop. We’ve thrown parties for The Cool Kids, The Clipse, & plan on doing something with Curren$y. And these are all people who have a look associated with their music. So it’s safe to say that the music is definitely helping the fashion, and vice versa. We also support all the local artists that we’ve got out here. There’s no genre we don’t listen too.
SLP: Anything else you want to let the people know?
VS: Just to support urban underground culture in general. This is something thats going be here whether Vinnie’s is here or not. So try and make the most of it while its here…
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