420 Moreland Avenue NE / Atlanta, Georgia 30307 | (404) 524-5070 | http://theclothingwarehouse.com/ With a dream of working in fashion, Jim Buckley, an Ohio farm boy, made the move south where he and a friend started a vintage exporting warehouse. As their inventory expanded, Buckley turned the front of the warehouse into a small retail outlet. The Clothing Warehouse opened its doors in 1992 and he started sharing some of his original and unusual finds with the citizens of Atlanta. With word quickly spreading, stylists and celebrities made The Clothing Warehouse the place to go for the world’s most unique vintage clothing. As interest grew in the Warehouse’s items, Erin Faulman joined the team in 1995, bringing with her an inborn style sense and an eye for vintage clothing. Within the next five years, their inventory expanded along with their base of loyal customers, and The Clothing Warehouse opened a second location in Little Five Points. A bright red building in the center of everything, the Little Five Points location buys and sells used, days gone by, men’s and women’s quirky clothing, footwear, and accessories. With the growing success of The Clothing Warehouse, Faulman and Buckley wanted to share their success with the world and opened new stores nationwide, with plans to open more stores. In Atlanta, there are two locations; the Little Five Points and a midtown location. The atmosphere of The Clothing Warehouse is half the fun of shopping there. Styled mannequins randomly stand around the store while aged art decorates concrete walls. Sitting in the middle of the store is a glass island full of bangles, necklaces, sunglasses, and any other accessory you can imagine. Moving around is easy with its openness, organization, and thoughtful merchandising, making choosing the right piece a breeze. Buckley uses and innovative approach in creative display of his product. Unlike most vintage store’s, everything is well organized, with orderly racks of clothing organized by style and color block. Even special attention is paid to clothing protection...
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1111 Euclid Ave NE / Atlanta, GA 30307 | (404) 658-1988 | http://www.ragorama.com/ A clothing and accessories thrift store, Rag-O-Rama is located in Little Five Points and is an icon of the community. Insights Magazine’s 2013 Best of Atlanta for Best Vintage Clothing Store and Best Consignment Store, the always busy and popular shop carries a large selection of both men’s and women’s fashions, in fun and funky styles. Their selection changes daily from the constant influx of new clothes coming in. If you’re looking for retro, alternative, or stylishly edgy fashion, this is the place to go. The store is large and roomy, with everything spread out and not jammed tightly into one little spot leaving plenty of room to shop and try things on. The clothing hangs on loosely packed racks to easily gain access to all the great clothing. Like all thrift stores, some days are a successful hunt for amazing pieces while other days are not so great. But on any day you’ll find a mish-mash of items: name brand and designer, mid level brands like Gap, vintage items and new items. The selections are varied and you’ll find some hidden gems. The men’s selection is expansive with stylish denim, lightweight jackets, tees, buttoned down shirts, shoes and accessories. If planning to sell your items, they pay on-the-spot with cash, check, or store credit for good condition items. They buy based on style, condition, season, color, size, label, and rack levels. However, be aware that they are selective in what they buy and only buy about 10% of the items brought...
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1143 Euclid Ave NE / Atlanta, GA 30307 | (404) 525-3689 | http://envyatl.com/ Since 1998, Envy has made their home in the heart of Atlanta’s most eclectic shopping district, Little Five Points. Run by a mother and daughter duo, Envy has an exciting and different selection of clothing, shoes, and accessories; all cute, hip, and trendy one of a kind. Envy offers items that make you stand out in a crowd. As well as all the great clothing and accessories, you’ll find a large selection of jewelry, with many pieces designed by the owner. Envy’s recent expansions offer a makeup store and hair salon, photo shoot studio, and their program Pretty Party. Pamper yourself with a new hairstyle, makeup, and glamour photo shoot. Pretty Party is for every woman with a dream of having a photo shoot like seen in magazines. Clients have a full glam experience with a talented team of professional makeup artists and photographers, while Envy’s celebrity stylist, Jilene Coggins, creates a wardrobe style just for the client’s photo shoot. Pretty Parties are great for individuals or groups up to 6 people and includes: photo shoot makeup, dry hairstyling to suit your look, and a professional style wardrobe look chosen from the Envy Closet. The photo shoot session includes 100 photos of which you pick 5 for professional editing. Your chosen images are digitally delivered on CD with you keeping the copyright for making prints. Envy’s hair salon features stylists who work with all hair types and offer natural hair services, weaves, relaxers, trims, colors, and more. They also have a professional barber on site for men and women styles. The Envy Makeup Bar carries Envy brand, pigment rich and fashion forward cosmetics as well as accessories. Professional makeup artists are on staff to give you a glam look for a photo shoot, a date night makeover, or just a day look for the office. No matter what you choose, Envy has a full staff of knowledgeable fashionistas, to help you...
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1189 Euclid Ave NE / Atlanta, GA 30307 | (404) 524-0304 | http://www.charisbooksandmore.com/ Charis Books and More, has been a central fixture in Little Five Points since November 1974 and is one of the oldest independent feminist bookstores in the country. The store’s rich history is interwoven with its customers, staff, partners and supporters, as was well as the feminist and lesbian feminist movements. The first ten years of Charis’s history shows how people and politics affect and is affected by one another. Members of a lesbian-feminist community, located in Little Five Points and Chandler Park, patronized Charis in the 1970s. These women identified with the neighborhood, women owned store and recognized how important their written texts were to the lesbian-feminist movement. Atlanta’s lesbian feminists started shopping at Charis and talking to the owners. This led to many of the lesbian feminists becoming volunteers. Eventually, Charis developed into a feminist bookstore, run by lesbians and featuring lesbian-feminist books. Today they specialize in diverse and unique children’s books, feminist and cultural studies books, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer fiction and non-fiction books. The interests and needs of Little Five Points residents shopping at Charis changed the store’s focus and the books they carry. This is a store where people talk about books and ideas; a place where people are treated with respect no matter their background: progressive or radical, anti-war, anti-hate, and anything in between. When walking in the door, you feel valued and welcome by a knowledgeable staff ready to help you. The store is small and the book selection not as large as the bigger stores, but the variety is extensive with regular book rotation so you’ll always find something new. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, ask any of the helpful staff and they will happily order it for you. If you are looking for a service provider, Charis also has updated information for customers looking for services such as therapy, pet sitting, bike repair, and more. Offering a...
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1133 Euclid Ave. N.E. / Atlanta, GA 30307 | (404) 880-8611 | http://www.americanapparel.net/ One of the few chain stores in Little Five Points American Apparel offers clothing all made in the U.S.A. and has a reputation for treating their employees very well. They support ethical practices for the clothing industry by paying their garment workers up to 50 times more than their competition pays. In Bangladesh, garment workers average earnings are $600 a year, while experienced American Apparel garment workers can earn over $30,000 a year. Besides salary, workers receive comprehensive health care and other benefits. At American Apparel, the employees have careers, not jobs and are proud to call themselves “Sweatshop-Free”. American Apparel recognizes outstanding performance and promotes from within the company. Employees are given a voice within the organization for influencing the company’s direction. Unlike their competitors, American Apparel makes their own products in the largest sewing facility in North America. By integrating their creative processes, manufacturing, and distribution, the company is more efficient than others who rely on offshore and subcontracting. With art, design, and technology leverage through their downtown LA campus, they can profit from the garments they sell while paying workers a fair wage. Sustaining and growing the business in this way benefits workers, customers, and shareholders. American Apparel is also a supporter of free and fair trade. Of the company’s 250 stores, almost half are outside the USA, with the company exporting hundreds of millions of dollars of Made in USA apparel each year. Based in California, American Apparel sets a precedent for ethical and sustainable manufacturing. With an operation centered within a few square miles, the company’s carbon footprint is smaller than their competitors. By recycling most of their manufacturing waste, in 2012 they were almost landfill free. They use solar panels and offset about 20% of electric use and ship most goods offshore with excess space on passenger flights and buses, further minimizing their impact on the environment. If all of this isn’t enough to get...
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1125 Euclid Ave / Atlanta GA 30307 | 404-688-4878 | http://www.outback-bikes.com Not your ordinary bike shop, Outback Bikes is modest, friendly, and probably has the least high-pressure sales staff you will find anywhere. While most bike salespeople try to convince you a $5,000 mountain bike is your best choice, Outback Bikes recommends the best bike for the customer’s needs. As you walk into the comfortable store atmosphere, you’re greeted with rows of shiny, colorful bikes, stretching from the front of the store to the back, stacked from the floor to practically ceiling. There are Road Bikes, Mountain Bikes, Fixies, Commuters, BMX, Cruisers, and Hybrids all awaiting your inspection. You will find bikes suited for everyone’s needs from the recreational cyclist to a seasoned athlete, or someone just curious about Atlanta’s cycling trends. These bikes are not what you find in the low price discount stores. Expect to pay anywhere from $250 to several $1,000 for quality bikes built to last. The staff is knowledgeable and always willing to help. Just let them know what you want to use the bike for and give them a budget to work with. Outback employees take the time to fit the rider to the bike, ensuring you buy a bike to ride and not leave it sitting in the garage, gathering dust. You can even take bikes for a test drive before buying. Best of all, with any bike you buy from them, you will receive free maintenance for as long as you own the bike. In addition to bikes, Outback carries specialized items including, clothing, gloves, shoes, helmets, tires, pumps, and saddles. You will find a full range of quality gear for all your biking needs and style. With this type service, it’s no wonder Outback Bikes has been voted Atlanta’s best bike shop by Creative Loafing readers for the past 13 years. Outback Bikes is a supporter of the Atlanta community with sponsorship of local cycling organizations and events, like Dick Lane Velodrome, GA Cyclocross, the...
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