You know when someone says, “let’s go thrifting” that’ll be your entire day. Shopping for vintage is a process that involves lots of time and lots of racks to sift through. If this is your problem, Go-Go’s is your solution. Owner Stacey Chambers has brought together vintage frocks, T-shirts, shoes, bags, work from local artists—you name it. Online is great, but hers you can try on. Whatever you’re looking for, Go-Go’s has it all on the coolest bus you’ve ever seen.
Name: Stacey Chambers
Role: Owner, Go-Gos
CollegeFashionista: So when did you start Go-Go’s?
Stacey Chambers: I started it in October of 2010. I was going to do a regular brick-and-mortar but then I thought I don’t want to invest all my money and have it be gone in nine months…so then I thought maybe I’ll put it in a Winnebago (my parents, they camp a lot) or a bus or something!
CF: Speaking of a bus, did you design this yourself?
SC: Yeah, I mean it’s a constantly evolving beast. When I first started, some graffiti artists came to me and said, “hey we’re graffiti artists. We want to do something on your bus.” And I was like, okay, I guess just paint my name on the side of it? I didn’t know what to do because it was that quick. They said, “we want to do something right now.” And I said, Okay! Cool!
Then Matt (Muirhead) walked up to me on the street in Hampden and said, “I sent you an email about painting your bus” (I had put out a sort of Craigslist post) and two days later he painted it and we’ve been best friends ever since.
CF: I was going to ask you about the aesthetic decisions but everything seems to have fallen into place.
SC: It just keeps evolving. I want it to be a pleasant place…I like a lot of color and I like a lot of, not fluidity, but I like a lot of imperfection. I feel when things are too stark, people feel don’t comfortable like they can’t be themselves. All of my stuff, though it’s vintage, I want people to see that they’re wearable things. Everybody’s life is sort of messy and colorful.
CF: In terms of the clothes, where do you find all these pieces?
SC: All over. I get a lot of stuff when I go home to Reno, Nevada to visit my family. I go to a couple of vintage wholesale places but since Macklemore’s song, everybody hits the thrift store so hard so I can’t. The vintage wholesale places, it’s a lot of work. This is stuff that’s been chosen for you by someone who loves you and wants to see you in pretty things.
Learn More: Go-Go’s is always going around Baltimore and the surrounding area. Chambers’ Facebook page let’s you know when and where you can stop by the bus and shop! You can also head to her website to learn more about the BUSiness.
