We love the name Goodbuy Girls. How did it evolve and what has been your best buy/find this year?
Our boyfriends are in a band, (of course, this is Nashville right?) The Branded Sons, and they have a song called "Goodbye Girls" that we've probably heard 500+ times, so it was a spin off of that. Our best good buys this year are probably any pair of over-the-knee boots. We have had vintage Italian red leather 5 inch stacked heeled ones, a Stella McCartney canvas and Vegan-friendly pair and an Amanda Smith black suede over the knee flat boots which you can currently find in-store and on-line. They make any GG (Goodbuy Girl) look tough as nails. (Psst...click on the Goodbye Girls link above for a free music download!)
What made you decide to finally open a store?
The answer to this question varies depending on who is asking. Sometimes the answer is Tanya's mom's hidden closet full of vintage stage clothes, embellished cowboy boots and suede fringe jackets. Sometimes the answer is that we wanted something of our own to do while our boyfriends were having band practice (Sister's Doing It For Themselves a la Annie Lenox), also the books, How To Make A Living Without A Job by Barbara Winter and My Life and Other Unfinished Business by Dolly Parton were very helpful, but mainly, this is something we both have been passionate about for a long time and we were ready to make it happen! It's now or never.
Describe the vibe of your store in four words.
Cozy, relaxed, Dolly, Americana
If you had a mascot for your store what would it be?
A wild mustang
What is your favorite era of vintage clothing?
The Woodstock Era - Awesome styles, but also because that's when you could finally do whatever you wanted in fashion and go to the grocery store in it.
The Woodstock Era - Awesome styles, but also because that's when you could finally do whatever you wanted in fashion and go to the grocery store in it.
What three items should we all be hunting for this summer?
Native American style Jewelry (Beaded, Turquoise, Coral)
Modified Vintage Tees with fringe and beads
The perfect pair of Vintage Cowboy Boots with a boot-kerchief
Let's talk about the cowboy boots. We see at least a few pairs a week on your blog and you have quite a collection in the store. What are your favorite ways to wear them?
There's only one thing you're not allowed to say in the store, "I can't wear cowboy boots." Everyone can wear them - with skirts, dresses, jeans, leggings, shorts - no excuses. Every GG deserves to have one cool pair!
There is such a variety of items in the store. We talked about how you find a lot of them when you travel to small towns. Is it hard to edit everything when you get back and decide which items actually make it into the store?
We are very selective on the front end, especially since we are a small store, no room for fillers.
When vintage shopping, are there any tips you can give our readers on how to spot a "good buy"?
Look for high quality, well-made and hand-made items, genuine fabrics, vibrant patterns, embellishments, etc.
Look for high quality, well-made and hand-made items, genuine fabrics, vibrant patterns, embellishments, etc.
What are five of your favorite places in Nashville?
1. Manuel's Studio- We stop by to say "hi" and end up staying for 5 hours pretending like we work there. It's fun.
2. Brown's Diner- It's classy like us and there's only one beer on tap which reduces our risk of consumer anxiety
3. Robert's Western World- when we want to get our honky tonk on. They always have live hillbilly, rockabilly and classic country music playing and their veggie burger is exceptional.
4. R Squared Salon- Hair Ecstasy! They have custom mixed organic oil and aromatherapy hair treatments that will make you not want to get out of the wash chair, and a blown-out style that will have you sporting a whole new attitude.
5. Lauren Wray's Backporch on the East Side- it's kind of like our tree/club house where we girls check in with each other. Neil Young on the record player, pizza from Italia and cheap red wine.
What inspires you?
All the amazing people we get to meet in our everyday adventures! Whether it's a GG customer who is kicking ass on a non-profit project to help the community, the fabulous classy Golden GG's who supply us with vintage goods or the local merchants who have taken us under their wings because they believe in us. We don't think these people know how much of what they are doing truly inspires, motivates and helps us. We're going to have a party for them one day soon. You're totally on the invite list Stella!
We can't wait for the party! Make sure you visit the Goodbuys Girls this month and if you receive Stella emails, you will have a sweet little deal in your Inbox very soon. You should also check out the GG's blog and follow them on Twitter. They post special items all the time, so you have no excuse to miss out on all of this fabulousness.
For more GG photos, visit Stellashops.com on Facebook.
Goodbuy Girls
307 N. 16th Ave in East Nashville
Hours:
Thursday & Friday 12pm-6pm
Saturday 10am-6pm.
Photos courtesy of Jessica Rai Photography.
