Over the course of almost a decade, a select group of well-dressed vintage shoppers have flocked to a hidden store in the semi-empty East Broadway mall in Chinatown looking for some of the city’s best scores. In a red draped room with an iconic heart-shaped doorway, fashion folks could find almost anything, from artisanal Margiela to deep cut Marc Le Bihan, and of course, no NYC vintage spot would be complete without a healthy assortment of Jean Paul Gaultier.Slowly and steadily, James Veloria, founded by Collin James Weber and Brandon Veloria Giordano—first online in 2014 and then IRL in 2017 and eventually in partnership with A Current Affair in LA—carved a niche for itself in a rapidly expanding secondhand scene. Now, its owners have said goodbye to the original store that became a cult classic, but they aren’t going far. They’ve landed over on Henry Street, and, according to them James Veloria 2.0 is going to be the chapter in their lives of which they have always dreamed.
Photo: Aidan Doyle
Though not officially open yet, things at the new location have already started strong. Over the weekend during New York Fashion Week there was a soft opening for customers to get a sneak peak—and to reassure the community that, at first glance, not too much has changed. During the cocktail on Friday night, the space was buzzing with shoppers, friends and otherwise. Weber was behind the register attending to customers while there was already a line for the dressing rooms.
Software engineer and designer Patricia Torvalds had an armful of vintage Gucci and a Junya Watanabe prairie dress and was ready to spend some rollover credit from the original location. One customer came out from behind the curtain in a blush Alaïa dress while another donned a cropped PVC Valentino jacket, and the audience of fellow shoppers urged them to get it. “I just moved back from LA and it’s so great to have this family again,” said photographer Aidan Doyle.
