Vintage finds at the Andersonville Vintage Market offer a trip down memory lane

CHICAGO (WGN) — As the saying goes, one person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Dozens of vintage vendors pulled their finds together on Sunday, hoping shoppers would think just that at the Andersonville Vintage Market.

Nestled in the 1500 block of Winona Street in between Clark and Ashland, treasures from the past filled tents that dotted the streets of the North Side neighborhood.

And while this is her first time at this particular vintage market, photographer and vintage fashion collector Alejandra Guerrero said she is no stranger to bringing new life to old clothes. Within minutes, she said she spotted purses she liked that were from the 1940s.

“I just have a closetful of things so, whatever I find has to be extremely outstanding,” Guerrero said.

Aria Machinski, whose business is called Memory Hoard, searches all around to stock her collection of clothes from the 1970s to the year 2000.

“I love estate sales. That’s probably my favorite,” Machinski said. “I love to go in and it’s like a time capsule of their collection over their whole life.”

Along with sharing her favorite old school trends, Machinski said the shoppers at the Andersonville Vintage Markey make it easy to return.

“It’s been really fun over the last couple of summers like, building community and meeting people that I’ll then see at a coffee shop,” Machinski said. “Everyone is really supportive.”

Next to Machinski was Fad 2 Fresh’s Alexandria Jones, who specializes in vintage clothing from the 1920s to the 1990s, and curates items that celebrate Black history.

“I think the quality and everything is just different. It feels different. It has a different style, a different cut,” Jones said. “Collecting things like old Ebony magazines, Jet magazines, R&B records—things like that—that I grew up on, also tell a story of my past.”

After Sunday, the next chance vintage clothing shoppers will have to hit the Andersonville Vintage Market will be the third Sunday in September.