LOGAN SQUARE — Lost Girls Vintage is expanding to Logan Square.
Owners Kyla Embrey and Sarah Azzouzi and collaborator Britteny Riordan of Luvsick Plus have taken over a double storefront at 2708-2710 N. Sawyer Ave. and have plans to open a new vintage store/event space there after the stay at home order is lifted.
It will be the second Lost Girls Vintage shop in the city. The first opened about a year ago in West Town at 1947 W. Chicago Ave.
The trio also ran a Lost Girls shop Downtown in Water Tower Place this past winter, but that was only a temporary holiday pop-up. Before Water Tower Place and West Town, Embrey and Azzouzi ran Lost Girls out of a painted camper van.
Embrey said the Logan Square shop will be “a little darker, a little sleeker” than the West Town shop, which is known for its hot pink walls and neon sign. But it’ll offer the same curated vintage finds Lost Girls is known for with inclusive sizing ranging from 00 to 28.
One of the storefronts will serve as the vintage shop and the other will serve as an event space. The combined square footage is double that of the West Town shop, which made it the ideal choice.
“We were looking at a lot of different neighborhoods. Logan Square was pretty high on the list,” Embrey said. “We knew it was important it was the right space for us. [The storefront we chose] has the private event side and the store side and we already have such great ties with all of the local businesses so it felt really right.”
The Lost Girls trio has been itching to throw more events and workshops with local businesses and makers and the dedicated Logan Square event space will allow them to do just that.
Azzouzi said the event space is also about paying it forward.
“Our business started out being such a collaborative business with the truck,” she said. “We want to extend that to other businesses that are starting out and make the community aspect of Chicago a really big part of this shop.”
As for the store, Azzouzi said to expect more women makers and designers represented. Cloina, a Chicago-based brand that modifies second-hand garments, will have its own rack.
Plus-size vintage finds from Riordan of Luvsick Plus will make up about a third of the store’s inventory.
“Britteny has been a part of the team for a little over a year now. It’s been so amazing. It feels crazy to think about a time when she wasn’t there,” Azzouzi said.
The trio has been planning the Logan Square opening since January. They wanted to build on the success of the Water Tower Place pop-up. Plus, the Water Tower Place employees — and the 6,000 square feet of product — needed a home, they said.
The Logan Square store/event space was supposed to open last week, but that didn’t happen because of the coronavirus crisis.
Now the plan is to open after the statewide stay at home order is lifted. Azzouzi said they need about a month to finish the build out.
Thanks to support from customers and friends over the past month, the trio is optimistic the Logan Square opening will go on as planned despite the pandemic. Embrey and Azzouzi have been selling their vintage clothing and accessories on their new website and on Etsy. Riordan has also been selling her wares online.
“The best we can do is continue to do the best we can and hope things go back to a safer state so we can all open back up. All we can do is take it day by day and be careful about anything we do,” Azzouzi said.
Embrey said they were planning on having a big grand opening party “like we always do,” but the world has changed and “now we have to change along with it.”
“We don’t want people to feel uneasy when they come into our shop. We want them to feel happy and safe and welcome and we want to do whatever to make people feel that way.”
Follow Lost Girls Vintage on Instagram for Logan Square shop updates.
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