Vintage Across America: Hinesite Vintage in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Hello and happy Wednesday vintage and vintage store lovers!!

Wow, it’s been quite a while since my last post and I apologize for that! As always I’ve been keeping busy Facebooking & Tweeting [social media addiction!] but sitting down to produce a really great story for you to read has been pushed to the side for the past few days because this past weekend, I spent some time visiting my Mom and brother where I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

If you’ve never been to Lancaster but always wanted to go — well, you know who to ask on things to do now! I spent the first 18 years of my life there as a “child of the corn,” per say. While I wasn’t living on a farm, I was certainly surrounded by them. Fresh corn and produce, regular sightings of Amish horse & buggies, gorgeous landscape on my drive to school every morning and just a slower, more relaxed pace of life were the beats that matured me into a young woman.

As much as I love the never-changing memories of my birthplace, I’m always so happy to return and find something “new,” like this past weekend when I had the chance to visit a new vintage store in downtown Lancaster called Hinesite Vintage.

The catchy name is even catchier when you learn that the founder & vintage maven Elizabeth used her last name “Hines” to inspire this play on looking to the past for the style of our future. I had the lovely opportunity to meet Elizabeth this past weekend and get a personal look at her simply stunning storefront and the amazing vintage fashion, accessories & antique home decor finds inside.

See that picture up there? Well, that’s just a sampling of what you’re about to see if you keep reading after the jump to learn more about Hinesite Vintage — and how you can visit them in MY hometown, if you should ever choose to visit!

The funny thing about hometowns is everytime you tell a stranger where you’re from, chances are they have a few degrees of separation to where you grew up.

This happens to me ALL the time. I’ve mentioned where I’m from to people at parties, on the subway car, at work and on the Internet — and there’s always about a 50/50 chance they’ve either visited sleepy little Lancaster or have a friend/family member who lived there at some point in their lives themselves.

I’m sure many of you have personal connections to a sleepy town of your own somewhere in America — and that amazing vintage store that calls your name everytime you return to visit! I made a call out about two months ago for your favorite vintage store.

If you’re just reading my blog for the first time and missed that post, check it out to learn how you can tell me where I should go shop vintage if I were to ever take that epic road trip I’m currently manifesting!

I’d love to hear what you think of Hinesite Vintage, so please never hesitate to say “hello!” on Twitter, Facebook and little ‘ole email. I love the notes I’ve been receiving lately and try my hardest to get back to each and every one!

with vintage hometown love, everyone!

xx, SD

 

HINESITE VINTAGE: THE STORY

1 – 2 / Hinesite is in a large all-brick building that looks like nothing special on the outside … but once you enter, you’re transfixed by not only the vintage fashions and antique decor within, but the design and structure of the building itself. High vaulted ceilings and large windows give the entire store a light, airy feel.

I almost feel like I’m in vintage heaven! And you’ll agree with me once you see the angel within … scroll down to see him in his full glory!

3 / Hinesite Vintage is on Walnut Street in downtown Lancaster. It’s just a few blocks away from Penn Square the “arts district” of the city, full of cafes, art galleries and yes … antique shops!

If you ever visit Lancaster, make sure you see the countryside AND the cityside. I promise that both are as entertaining and worth seeing to experience the true fabric of the area.

4 / Me and Elizabeth Hines, founder & owner of Hinesite. Note the play on last name and name of store!

Elizabeth has worked in the vintage industry since 1979 — working the late Zap & Co store in Lancaster [which burnt to the ground last January], the famed Brimfield Antique show I blogged about a few weeks ago and the weekly vintage shows which used to take place at the Chelsea Piers.

Elizabeth told me how in the heyday of vintage selling — roughly the mid to late ’80s but she may correct me on this — she could sell thousands upon thousands of dollars in one day at a show! The industry was in full swing arguably because the act of “thrifting” [visiting stores, estate sales, yard sales, house calls and the like] was not a mainstream action. But for the vintage dealers who loved what they did and what they found as a result of those actions, thrifting was as natural as pouring a cup of coffee in the morning.

They did what they could to find what fashionable men & women, plus designers/home decorators/textile artists wanted and needed for their collections.

Elizabeth was kind enough to share her history as a vintage lover with me — although honestly, I know she only began to scratch the surface of it all.

THE CLOTHING SELECTION

1 / If you know anything about my vintage tastes … I’m a SUCKER for sequins …

2 / … and scarves a la tying them around my head …

3 / … and once this Indian Summer quells, vintage fur!

4 / Hinesite isn’t just home to women’s vintage — she also has a fine selection of menswear, too. I overheard her mention something very interesting from the cultural and social point of view related to why it’s always harder to find men’s vintage. Compared to women, men buy less clothes and dispose of them less often, too. So, menswear is not as plentiful in the vintage world simply because statistically speaking, men buy less clothing!

5 -6 / Another demonstration of why Hinesite Vintage is near & dear to my vintage heart: SEQUINS!

7 / My mom holding up a vintage dress with a lovely Puritan-inspired collar! She’s laughing here because she’s so camera shy.

 

THE ACCESSORIES SELECTION

1 / I really loved how the belts were displayed, at the top of a clothing rack and buckled so that they were displayed as an oval shape. Note to other brick & mortar vintage sellers!

2 / Pheasant feather hats were all the rage in the ’40s-’50s. I inherited quite a few of these from my step Great-grandmother, and sadly sold them all when I was selling vintage at The Brooklyn Flea two years ago. I’m glad they found happy homes, but selfishly I wish I’d kept one or two for my personal collection!

3 / I found this belt mesmerizing … it’s made from straw!

4 / I loved that Hinesite Vintage often didn’t just have one of a particular vintage style, but multiples of said piece so that the customer can pick and choose which one fits she/he best — like these multiples of chain strap embroidered purses!

5 / Every girl needs a pair of gold pumps …

6 / … and a set of vintage luggage!

7 / Especially when that luggage is by … GUCCI! as shown here.

8 / I know these have a proper vintage name, but I’m calling them simply “fur purses.” They remind me of a material my grandmother has used to knit scarves for me. Anyone out there know the correct style name?

9 – 10 / Bakelite bracelets … pins … bracelets … necklaces … if you want a vintage accessory, chances are Hinesite’s got it!

 

THE AESTHETIC & DECOR

1 -2 / Remember my vintage heaven reference earlier in this post? Well … upon seeing these pics, I think you get how accurate that really is!

3 / When I have an apartment large enough to do this, I’m totally styling a vintage bike with lights for a bit of athletic bling in my home. Genius!

4 / I may be using the wrong term, but the “rafters” of the building are even interesting to look at it! The building has a loft feel, with vaulted ceilings that peek in height toward the middle.

I didn’t get a chance to ask Elizabeth what the building was before its conversion to Hinesite, but I bet I’d love the history of this vintage building, too.

5 / A blow-up bottle of whiskey. More convenient than a flask, no?

6 / Bob Dylan looks over the store with vintage style & grace.

 

HOW TO GET THERE

Lancaster, Pennsylvania is located in southeastern Pennsylvania. It’s about 1 1/2 hours west of Philadelphia on the PA Turnpike, 4 1/2 hours from NYC and 4 hours from Washington, DC.

I loved growing up here because since I wasn’t smack dab in the middle of the state, I was able to travel to other states quite easily. Maryland, Delaware and NJ are only an hour to two hours away each.

Driving west is a different story, though. Pittsburgh is about 5 hours west of Lancaster and getting to New England is quite honestly an entire day’s worth of car travel.

Staying in Lancaster is cheap, convenient and carefree. The official visitors site lists a ton of great bed & breakfast hotels worth checking out for a weekend stay. I bet the breakfast is bangin’! ;-)

 

Above is a map of Downtown Lancaster, so you can where Hinesite Vintage is in vicinity to nearby streets.

Route 30 [marked with 30 here] is the major highway of the area and the easiest to navigate thanks to signage directing you to where you want to go.

The exact address of Hinesite Vintage is 24 West Walnut Street, Lancaster, PA 17603.

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

No matter where you live now, you can connect to a bit of vintage fashion history thanks to the digital world we live!

I’d love if you could show support for Hinesite Vintage by liking them on Facebook.

If you are a vintage dealer or an interested buyer, Elizabeth can be reached by calling by the store at (717) 392 – 4663. Tell her Sammy sent you!

Also, Elizabeth is in the process of launching a gorgeous e-commerce site to sell her goodies with vintage lovers around the world. So look out for my announcement of that when it goes live so we can help Hinesite spread vintage love!