“It’s natural for every man to be a vagabond occasionally.” – Samuel Hammond
Imagine your dream store. Long racks of polished hippie-chic dresses, tops, coats, and trousers. An impressive collection of vintage garments you actually want to wear. Expansive tables and cases filled with cool crystal and wrapped wire jewelry. Finally, all of that ensconced in a warm atmosphere brought forth by the faint aroma of sandalwood. Can you see it? That’s Vagabond Boutique.
Need more inspiration for shopping around Penn and Philly?
Located on 37 N. Third St., Vagabond is a bit of a diamond in the rough. You won’t know you’re near it until you’re there, suddenly looking up at a rustic wooden sign. Across the street from a more by-the-book vintage shop, and just next door to a small salon and a home décor boutique, Vagabond’s homey, cutesy atmosphere starts outside. Once you’re in the door, it feels like you’ve stepped into a personal Narnia or wonderland. You want to own everything, from the flowy chiffon cutout gowns hanging by the door to the vintage leather chairs and skin rug situated in the center of the store. It’s all so perfectly on trend, so obviously carefully hand-selected that you cannot help but be frozen in awe.
It’s not just you. Vagabond is incredibly popular among the Penn community. Mentioning the store’s name brought up strong reactions, more than once characterized by exclamations of “Oh my god, Vagabond is so great!” Dzine2Show and The WALK almost always pull from Vagabond for fashion shows and photo shoots. Despite its remote location, it’s not unlikely that you’ll run into someone you occasionally see strutting down Locust browsing the racks.
The price range is perfect for a college student as well. While some pieces are a little pricey and reserved for formals, such as a roughly $200 black silk-chiffon RoryBeca mullet dress, other pieces, like cozy vintage cardigans for around fifteen bucks, are perfect for every day. Needless to say, you won’t be able to leave Vagabond without picking something up.
You can’t talk about Vagabond without bringing up the store’s vintage collection. As mentioned in HC UPenn’s post about thrifting and Buffalo Exchange, if nothing else in this article catches you attention, Vagabond’s vintage collection is definitely worth the trip down to Old City. There’s a little bit of everything, including sixties dresses, seventies skirts, eighties blazers, and nineties cardigans. Whether you’re shopping for that decade party or just for the sake of shopping, these racks nestled in the back of the shop need to be seen.
Finally, their blog features a lot of their new arrivals, like cool pairs of shorts. Can you say Fling? Make a trip this week!