From Executive Chef to Vintage Shop Owner - Chefs Vintage of Daytona Vintage
Brandon of @Chefsvintage (Instagram) is a Daytona Beach, Florida entrepreneur who has been a part of the vintage Instagram community since 2020. He has been thrifting for over two decades and has incorporated 90s apparel into his wardrobe from the beginning. In 2010 Brandon was living in Oklahoma and came across an explosively designed vintage Houston Rockets sweatshirt, and he describes this find as really sparking his passion for beginning his reselling journey. Soon after, he began selling vintage clothing on Etsy to generate some extra cash, and continue to help build his vintage collection. Brandon’s favorite vintage items to collect include pop culture related t-shirts and hats. Also he describes having a love for collecting mid century decor / wares, and pyrex glass as well. Brandon goes by Chefs Vintage on Instagram, but also has a brick and mortar store named Daytona Vintage (Daytona_vintage@Instagram).
Daytona Vintage - 114 N. Beach Street
Brandon describes one of his favorite aspects of the reselling/vintage community as the mutual appreciation we share. To him there is something special about how vintage clothing combines fashion and art in a unique way. Furthermore the assurance of quality and originality that has stood the test of time really provides great value, and a product unlike anything else on the marketplace. In Brandon’s personal collection you will find Nike snapback hats, Disney and Marvel promo shirts, and concert tees. His most prized find is an Oi! Punk (A subgenre of Punk Rock) Studded Leather Jacket that he was able to flip for $5,000! A favorite clothing “haul” of his is when met a diecast car collector who happened to purchase the entire contents of an old NASCAR shop. This resulted in Brandon coming up on copious amounts of NASCAR all over print t-shirts that are very stylish, sought after, and “loud”. When asking about what motivates Chefs Vintage to scale his business and grow within the community he has a very compelling answer, “It’s one of those things that you can take as far as you’re determined to. All while playing a very strategic game. I’ve always felt I’ve made some sort of progress and that alone is motivation”. This is honestly such a true and profound statement. Collecting and reselling vintage clothing is more than just putting items online and waiting for them to sell, there is a deeper allure than that. We all have the potential to scale and grow a business through hard work, passion, and dedication.
Chefs draws inspiration from the community through the many connections he has made. Watching many Instagram resellers who start with a couple hundred followers scale into something much bigger is very inspirational to him. He also mentions inspiration coming from Chris, who runs “1980something co” he was one of the pioneers in the Instagram live auction format during a time of uncertainty (2020) for many brick and mortar businesses. The best way to shop with Brandon is in person at his store Daytona Vintage, but if you are not in the Daytona Beach area you can check out his instagram @Daytona_vintage, and he also hosts shows on the app “Whatnot”.
Vintage clothing has impacted Brandon’s life in many positive ways. Prior to Covid he was an executive chef, and once he saw the explosion of the vintage clothing scene he took it as a sign to transition into reselling full time. This has allowed him to live a better life overall. He would leave for work when his kids were still asleep in the morning, and not return from work until they were asleep for the night. Since making the career change he has much more time to spend with his family, a type of happiness money truly cannot buy.
His advice to new collectors and resellers is to remember that these items are more than just shirts and accessories, there is collectibility and nostalgia in nearly everything. He advises to start with items that personally bring you joy (buy what speaks to you), and you will have a strong foundation from a collecting and reselling standpoint.
A satisfied customer at Daytona Vintage’s Store
Daytona Vintage offers quality and variety. They have always taken pride in being diverse and size inclusive. Sustainability is a huge driving factor for their business as all of their items are original and sourced with low ecological impact. Instead of being a shop that offers a full size run of the latest sneakers or fashion trends, they focus on affordability and the thrill of the hunt (finding that perfect item in your size). Brandon of @chefsvintage and @daytona_vintage is looking to improve the customers' experience and add awesome and original pieces to their daily fashion rotation.
Article by Greyson Kail - Underscore Vintage