We live in a creative city full of creative residents, so naturally, most Nashville neighborhoods have an impressive collection of vintage stores.
But none, we’d say, is quite as flush with vintage shopping options as East Nashville, where we spend a lot of our time. From clothing shops to vintage furniture stores, any kind of vintage shopping is represented, and well, and usually many times over.
If you’re gearing up for a day of vintage hunting, we’d strongly recommend heading to the East Side, and setting aside a good hunk of hours. Below, a few of the shops we point every vintage-loving visitor and newcomer we come across to:
The Hip Zipper
1008 Forrest Ave.
You can count Five Points vintage shop the Hip Zipper among East Nashville’s business pioneers — it opened in 1999, well before the independent-business renaissance we see on the East Side today took hold. Through the years, owner Trisha Brantley’s place has provided Nashvillians with cool vintage clothes and accessories at affordable prices, for men, women and children, from brocade shirts to bolo ties.
Old Made Good
3701B Gallatin Pike
Though not as old as Hip Zipper, Inglewood’s Old Made Good is an East Nashville mainstay at this point too, nearing a decade in business here. The shop, which stocks all kinds of vintage stuff but excels in home goods, initially called Riverside Village home (their former cottage is now restaurant Fort Louise), but it’s now in a big Gallatin Pike space that offers plenty of room for a glut of furniture and decor finds. OMG’s Ashley Sheehan is a maker, too, so among her vintage picks, you can find handmade art and jewelry that has a cool factor all its own, too.
Goodbuy Girls
1108 Woodland St.
A 2010 addition to East Nashville, Goodbuy Girls in the Idea Hatchery isn’t exclusively vintage, but the new stuff they carry tends to have a throwback vibe. And their cozy shop is one of the best places in the neighborhood to go if you’re looking for vintage boots — it feels like they’re always finding the best in charmingly roughed-up cowboy boots and perfect old ropers.
Pony Show
723 Porter Road
Over on Porter, Pony Show offers another East Nashville blend of vintage finds and new, curated items: weathered old motorcycle jackets, quirky new pins and earrings and lots more. Owner Pippin Chapman’s motto is “Magic made daily,” and we think she delivers.
Black Shag Vintage
1220 Gallatin Ave.
Musician Tommy Daley runs this place (inside renovated historic fire house The Station), and the selection he and his team stocks reflects his rock ’n’ roll background — vintage concert Ts, well-worn boots, leather jackets, cool retro patches and denim jackets to sew them on. A bonus that’s fairly unusual in the vintage world: It’s easy to buy online through Black Shag, since their website is fully stocked and ready for orders.
High Class Hillbilly
4604 Gallatin Pike
Another musician-owned East Nashville shop, High Class Hillbilly in Inglewood was launched by Nashville roots voice Nikki Lane, and she and her team curate a super-stylish mix of finds, lots with Americana leanings, but not exclusively. Cowboy boots, Western shirts and belt buckles are always in the mix there, as are vintage kids clothes and plenty of , but you might also find a Chinese dress from the ‘40s or a 3-Pc Mariachi Set.
Rusty Rats Antiques & Vintage
1006 Fatherland St.
Over in the Fatherland District, Rusty Rats is your place for unusual vintage home goods — old drum heads turned into wall art, rusty horseshoes to hang over your door, retro toys, repurposed traffic signs… You never really know what you’ll find there, but odds are, it’ll be weird and interesting.
This is just a snippet of the vintage shopping options in East Nashville — it’s fertile ground if you’re into vintage, for sure.
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