Golden Hour Collective, 2104 18th St., NW
DC’s vintage reseller scene is not for the faint of heart: Pop-up vendors across the city brave bitter cold, sweltering heat, and crowded warehouses to sell their styles. As such, the chance to operate under a brick-and-mortar roof is rare and coveted. For five local independent retailers—Asena Leyla Johnson of Private Collection Vintage, Ashasha Sumbatyan of Tea Life, Cesca Thorne of Albemarle Vintage, Emilie Razuri of Le Savoir Faire, and Sharon Jordan of Shay’s Retro Chic Boutique—that opportunity arose rather fatefully, when they learned that the former home of Adams Morgan’s iconic secondhand shop Meeps Vintage was looking for a new tenant. To secure the space, they pooled their resources. And this Saturday, February 7, they’ll host the grand opening of Golden Hour Collective, a secondhand boutique with a unique business model.
Each Golden Hour co-owner brings her own stock to the operation and keeps the proceeds when her items sell. They split monthly rent and other operating expenses. “The collective is our umbrella and we’re all underneath it, but we maintain our individuality,” Jordan says. “We all have our own brand. We all have different aesthetics, and we bring it all together.” Sumbatyan’s Tea Life brand might seem out of place in the lineup at first glance, but her collection of homemade tea brews and tea accessories is a nod to the collective’s goal of cultivating a cozy customer experience. Upon arrival, shoppers are greeted with cups of tea. “Instead of coming in and feeling dehydrated or cold, you can have something that’s gonna nourish you,” Sumbatyan says. “Tea provides something in this space that most people don’t get everywhere.”
Golden Hour’s communal philosophy extends beyond store ownership: The co-owners, who all met through DC’s pop-up shopping scene, want to share their space with other vendors in search of in-store selling opportunities. In the months leading up to opening day, their pop-up spotlighted a number of indie businesses like Hiraya Vintage, Badland Blues, and Curvy Girl Vintage. “We’re lucky to live in an area that loves vintage and secondhand fashion and items so much, but it’s not the most accessible thing for small businesses to do,” Razuri says. “It’s been cool because we get this feedback that’s like, ‘Oh, I never thought I’d be selling in a store.'”
The women have big shoes to fill inside the Meeps space, which closed in 2024. They all “bow down,” as Jordan puts it, to the late Meeps owner Cathy Chung, who passed away last summer. Apart from some light decorating, the space is largely the same as it was when it was under Chung’s reign. And her legacy hasn’t dissipated, either. “Everyone in the neighborhood knows her name, so I feel like that’s been a huge help to us,” Johnson adds.
Inclusivity is another focus for Golden Hour. While they predominantly sell women’s apparel, they also have a few racks for men, plus an extensive plus-size section and a small selection of children’s items. They’re also focused on keeping their resale prices as affordable as possible. “There are other vintage stores in DC, but the price point of those vintage stores is definitely different than what we are doing here,” Thorne says. “Because at the end of the day, we all know where [the clothes] are coming from—the thrift store. Someone donated it. It was free, and we’re paying a cheap price at the thrift store and then we’re flipping it. People aren’t stupid.”
Much of the co-owners’ curation work revolves around sourcing high-quality thrift finds; Jordan, Johnson, and Razuri all have previous work experience in international development, and they don’t want to promote the harmful environmental and human rights impacts of mass production. “We don’t sell fast fashion,” Jordan says. “If we sell a fast-fashion brand, usually it’s because it’s one-of-a-kind or pre-fast fashion,” including early J. Crew and Forever 21.
Plus, thanks to the group’s age diversity—the co-owners represent Gen Z through Gen X—they feel their items naturally cater to a wide range of shoppers. Their intergenerational friendship helps them run the business, too. “It’s nice because Cesca and Emily are popping out TikToks that bring people in, and then Sharon is in the background setting up our tax ID,” Johnson says.
Golden Hour Collective is open from 11 AM to 6 PM, Thursday through Monday.
