Pastport Vintage LA opened its storefront Nov. 8 on York Boulevard. In the Making CFO and co-founder Edward Chang said the new vintage store is the child of In the Making and Outfits and Oddities. In the Making CEO and co-founder Maribel Valdez said the non-profit works closely with youth development programs, such as LA County’s Youth at Work. Together, Valdez said, these organizations have opened a new store where they can employ people ages 16–24.
“I feel that we’re all in agreement that fun should be the first part and the second part, because it’s so important,” Valdez said. “I’ve known Frank for a while now, and I always knew we were going to work together, but I didn’t know in what capacity. So now that we’re here, and I see the vision come to life, I’m really excited.”
Owner of Outfits and Oddities, Frank Serna, said he partnered with In the Making after meeting Valdez and Chang on Facebook Marketplace.
“I have a history [of] working with youth myself, so I loved what [Valdez and Chang] were doing,” Serna said. “[The collaboration] was a no-brainer for me.”
Serna said Outfits and Oddities started as a vintage adventure, where people could try on his curated collection, and turn the experience into an event, rather than only a shopping trip.
“I turned my house into a giant vintage clothing marketplace and wonderland, like Narnia,” Serna said. “You walk into this random East LA house, and it just opens up to really cool vintage clothing everywhere. I would throw events and have people come, and I was able to have a sound system and a dance floor.”
Ivet Palacios, an employee at Pastport Vintage and intern at In the Making, said she runs an alternative fashion business called Dar Eve, which she hopes to grow into a store similar to Pastport Vintage. Palacios said In the Making has helped her run pop-up shops and create a friendly environment.
“We don’t just want Pastport to be a store,” Palacios said. “We’ve come up with the slogan: come for the clothes, stay for the vibe. We just want people to come by and enjoy the space, play dress up, hang out and just have fun.”
Serna said he wants to keep Pastport Vintage as reasonably priced as possible, and that pricing items is a group discussion amongst employees. Many items in the store are under $50; however, Serna said some rare items can reach around $300.
“There [are] alternatives in LA for vintage clothing that are really cool, but unfortunately, sometimes it’s something that, disappointingly, a lot of people can’t afford,” Serna said. “You walk in, you fall in love with an item, and then, it’s kind of out of reach. So we do want to try to keep prices as reasonable as possible.”
According to Valdez, the shop intends to host events on the second Saturday of each month. Valdez said she is planning an event, dubbed “Cosmic Vibe,” where the storefront will celebrate the zodiac sign that falls under the second Saturday, and visitors will have the opportunity to prove their birthdate and receive a discount on their purchases.
“We want to have some kind of event that happens on a regular [basis] over there, so [the interns] started coming up with some ideas,” Valdez said. “It’s a reminder that it’s not just about shopping, but hanging out and celebrating and building community.”
Chang said Pastport Vintage has already become part of the York Boulevard Business Association.
“We participated a little while ago in the Mercado Festival,” Chang said. “We’re putting lights across the next two blocks […] and they used to have an art walk over here, so there has been a lot of talk about bringing something like that back.”
Chang said he works with the county and government agencies in a way where In the Making can help the agencies showcase their policies, while the non-profit receives some support, creating a working relationship. The government offers support to In the Making, which Chang said can be critical to their operation, but the organization also knows they cannot depend on government funding at all times.
“We found a way to build a boutique that allows us to serve as a training ground for young people to learn everything from retail merchandising to financial planning,” Chang said. “We educate and elevate local youth to get to the point where they, if they want to, [can] become young entrepreneurs. We can give them the actual resources they can use to become self-sufficient down the road.”
Valdez said she enjoys working with youth and offering them services she would have loved to have had growing up.
“Seeing the young adult interns see what we’ve accomplished is so satisfying to me,” Valdez said. “I have found that my thrill is in watching other people’s dreams come true.”
Contact Abigail Montopoli at montopoli@oxy.edu
