Vintage Clothing Paradise in Charlotte: Discovering Unique Finds at Park Expo

‍By Jessica Hatton

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Charlotte, North Carolina

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Vintage Connect Con was held at Park Expo Charlotte. It was a breezy spring day, so I ran into the building and was greeted with hip-hop music through the speakers. When I opened the door to the conference center, I could not wait to start digging through all of the clothes- this was a vintage clothing lovers dream.

Park Expo Charlotte is located at 2500 E Independence Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28205 in the heart of city held events. This event center holds anything from kid events such as, The Dino Stroll interactive exhibit to Dessert Wars, the largest dessert festival in America. The Dessert War event will be May 21 where dessert eateries from all over North Carolina will compete to see who has the most loved sweetest treats! Attendees will get to try desserts from these local hosts and then vote on the “People’s Choice Champion”. 

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Private events can also be booked in this event space to accommodate to your parties needs. Catering services and other services can be booked in this venue to help make an event a success. There is also a large amount of outdoor space for events that would be better suited outside.

These types of events are a great way to get people connected with local vendors and small businesses. More than 99% of businesses in North Carolina are registered as small businesses (https://boostsuite.com/small-business-statistics/north-carolina/). It helps the businesses in our state to thrive.

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At Vintage Connect Con there was more than 100 vendors selling items. Clothing articles from head-to-toe were sold and shoppers could walk out of here with many complete outfits. There were popular rare brand names, as well as one-of-a-kind items. Styles ranged from streetwear, western, sportswear and many different genres in between.  The Park Expo website mentions that this event is,” is a sustainable fashion public shopping event for all things vintage and thrift -apparel shoes and collectibles.”

My personal favorite finds were from Wrangler, which is a Greensboro, North Carolina originated company. Following in the Charlotte niche, there were many Charlotte Hornets items and NASCAR themed graphic tees. Attendees could see the joy that these vendors had for their job as well as their city, as they were selling items and interacting with guests.

While shopping, I was able to speak to one of the vendors. Courtney, from, SAUCEYY Made Me Do It, says she will “turn socks into shirts, pants into dresses, I turn graphic tees into pants”. This shop specializes in reworked ITEMS, vintage pieces, and body jewelry. Her shop can be found on Instagram at @sauceyymademedoit. As far as working with vintage clothing she says, “it’s natural for me”, as many attendees would agree that their love for this type of clothing comes naturally to them. 

I highly suggest attending an event in your city to meet other locals and the dedicated workers who own these businesses. These events are great for enjoyment as well as networking. Follow along with ilovecarolina, as the summer months are ahead, bringing new events and news.

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T-shirts at Vintage Clothing Paradise in the 704 at Park Expo Charlotte. Images by Jessica Hatton for I Love Carolina News

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