Vintage clothing store to open in Haymount in Fayetteville

Vintage clothing enthusiasts in Fayetteville can rejoice, as a new venture is set to enhance the city's shopping landscape in Haymount this fall.

Michelle Clark and Jamil Rashad, owners of Westdale Vintage, recently announced with a Facebook post that "the secret is out," their first store at 1225 Fort Bragg Road is set to open in September.

Inspired by the enthusiastic reception of their previous pop-up events, Clark said, they are excited to embark on this new store which will feature a curated collection of vintage clothing and vinyl records among its treasures.

"We're doing a lot of work on the interior of the building. Not only is it going to be a place where people can come and shop for vintage clothing, accessories, jewelry, housewares, some furniture," Clark said. "We also want it to be a place where people can hang out."

Origin story

Rashad and Clark met five years ago in Raleigh and bonded over a love of vintage clothing and mid-century modern furniture and architecture. The couple is now engaged and excited to set down roots in Fayetteville.

Clark said the idea for Westdale Vintage came about when she moved back to her hometown of Hope Mills a year ago to care of her father. Upon returning, she said, she noticed a lack of vintage clothing stores in the area. As avid thrifters, the couple purchase vintage clothing from across the country as Rashad travels with his band, Boulevards.

Clark said they started thinking about doing pop-ups in Fayetteville and sharing their combined vintage collection with residents since "there was nothing like that here."

"The space opened at Haymount and we drove by it one night while the store was empty. I reached out to the owners of the building, and it was around that time that my father passed, so I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands," Clark said.

Having grown up in Hope Mills and witnessing the development of the Haymount area firsthand, she said she thought it would be an ideal location for this new venture.

"There's so many things that are on the horizon in Fayetteville and we just want to be a part of that," Clark said.

Westdale Vintage's collection

Clark said their collection includes vintage pieces ranging from the '50s to the 2000s, but their fondness for the '60s and '70s is particularly evident. The racks feature an array of dresses, suits, pants, skirts and a collection of vintage jazz shirts, courtesy of Rashad's father. There are also a few furniture pieces, and they have plans to expand into accepting consignments after opening.

"A lot of it is very timeless, classic pieces that most men and women would like to have. It's going to be very curated, and we want to be consistent," Rashad said. "It's going to be cool for everybody, but a lot of it is our personal style and things that we like and enjoy."

He said the store renovations include a lounge where patrons can relax, browse the vinyl collection and watch friends try on vintage pieces from the racks. He said that it would be something positive for Fayetteville's youth to have "a place they can come to play dress-up, feel cool and vibe."

Reporter Lizmary Evans covers growth and development for The Fayetteville Observer. You can reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Vintage shop to open in Fayetteville's Haymount district