Sugar House threads ~ Finding the best shops in town

Add new style to your wardrobe this season by shopping around Sugar House, a clothes horse’s dream spot known for its array of eclectic and vintage clothing shops. We shopped our way through this beautiful area of Salt Lake to find the best threads in town. Listed are four local Sugar House gems to find some interesting threads.  

Daley’s Clothing

817 East 2100 South

Atmosphere: Daley’s Clothing is relaxed, has dark mood lighting and feels like you’ve entered into an art music venue with stylish clothes on display. Mid-century lighting fixtures adorn the ceiling. There is artwork on the walls and windows opening into the next room. A slightly overweight, friendly cat named Ula greets most customers. 

Relevant youth culture is what Daley said describes his store. The artful spray-painted wall at the entrance of the shop exemplifies that artsy, youthful feel.

The ambiance isn’t just for show because Daley’s Clothing has an art gallery in the back, a music venue in the basement and a friend’s vintage shop in Daley’s space. 

Price average: Women’s $30 to $60, Men’s $50 to $100 

Style: Mod best describes the store, Daley said. Daley brings in higher-end brands for the men’s section and stylish, lesser known brands for the women’s section. “It just worked out that way; the style of my shop called for higher- end brands in the men’s section such as Penguin, Ben Sherman, Fred Perry and Timberland,” Daley said.

History: Daley was studying business and dropped out of school to start his clothing store. He previously owned a screen-printing company and wanted to get back into a fashion-focused business. 

A couple months after leaving school, Daley found a storefront lease on 2100 South and started Daley’s Clothing. He was thankful for the opportunity to lease a commercial space since other landlords wouldn’t rent to him.  

“No one would rent to me since I was still 20 years old and had no previous professional rental lease. I saw this place for lease and thought, it’s not ideal but I can work with this. Now I’m happy here. We have the freedom to change what we want in the building,” Daley said.

To follow Daley’s Clothing: 

www.instagram.com/daleysclothing

Pib’s Exchange

1147 South Ashton Ave.

Atmosphere: Pib’s Exchange is clothing thrifting at its best. Customers are immediately greeted with colorful wigs, fringe jackets, stylish dresses and fun costumes. Pib’s feels like a quirky costume shop mixed with a clean, updated thrift shop. This is the kind of store you can spend hours digging for the perfect coat or skirt. 

Price average: $10 to $15

Style: The style is a mix of everything with a majority of recycled clothing. “We range from skater to punk to mall fashions to Bohemian. We have lots of different styles. I think that’s what’s great about our store,” said Sarah Snow, who co-owns Pib’s along with her husband Phil Snow.

History: Sarah and Phil opened Pib’s in 1995. The two were selling vintage Levi’s jeans to overseas buyers and once the demand slowed down, Phil brought up the idea of opening a clothing exchange shop and Sarah went along with it. 

“It took six months to a year to get into the building and get it up and running and remodeling,” Sarah said. “We started as a vintage shop, we went around the country before we opened and picked a variety of vintage clothing, then we started morphing (after we opened) into a more contemporary style with the buy, sell, trade,” Sarah said. 

The name stems from Phil’s childhood nickname, Pib. They liked the name ‘Exchange’ seen on other stores. The duo enjoy working in Sugar House because of the eclectic feel, and they plan to keep Pib’s in Sugar House.  

To follow Pib’s Exchange: 

www.instagram.com/pibs.exchange’’

Unhinged & Cosmic Wolf Vintage

2165 South Highland Drive

Atmosphere: The relaxing scent of lavender and the eye-opening smell of mint immediately embrace the senses as you walk into this store. Kristen Thomas, owner of Cosmic Wolf Vintage, said the fragrances are from the handmade soaps she sells. From cards to handmade jewelry to soaps, Unhinged & Cosmic Wolf Vintage are like a unique gift shop mixed with an earthy Bohemian clothing store. 

The walls are lined with natural materials and quirky signage. The interior of the store is similar to a cozy yet thoughtfully decorated living room. 

Upstairs, Cosmic Wolf Vintage adds a more retro feel. “I hope people notice the carefully selected curated selection of vintage. Everything I pick out is unique and has a purpose,” Thomas said. 

Price average: $20 to $40 

Style: Unhinged has a modern Bohemian flair with a touch of vintage. The pieces have nature inspired prints and earthy tones, matching the atmosphere of the store. 

Cosmic Wolf Vintage upstairs has a 60s and 70s feel. “I was inspired by the underground sound of the 60s and 70s, rock ‘n’ roll and the psychedelic movement,” Thomas said. 

History: Unhinged opened in September 2011. Corey Folster, owner of Unhinged, chose Sugar House because he grew up coming to fun shops in the area. He saw Sugar House as a funky neighborhood with a great mix of people and wanted to add to the limited local shops. “It (Sugar House) seemed to need more local shops as many big chains had moved in,” Folster said. 

Cosmic Wolf Vintage opened in September of 2016 at its current location upstairs from Unhinged, but originally Thomas opened her business in 2011 at a different location. Thomas learned about vintage clothing and curating by working at a vintage shop in California. She started selling vintage clothing online after she had her son and didn’t want to put him in daycare. 

Thomas met the owner of Unhinged at an urban flea market and stayed in contact through Instagram. Living in California at the time, she moved to Utah for the vintage movement and opened a store at Mayberry Vintage, then moved her store to Unhinged. 

To follow Unhinged/Cosmic Wolf Vintage:
www.instagram.com/unhingedut, 

www.instagram.com/unhingedut

www.instagram.com/cosmicwolfvintage

White Elephant Exchange

1305 900 East

Atmosphere: The walls are lined with bold green and pink palm tree wallpaper along with black and white stripes on adjacent walls. The shop gives off a Palm Springs circa 1960s feel, thanks to the palm trees. 

Rachael LePrey, owner of the White Elephant Exchange said her shop is filled with statement pieces. Her shop interior goes alongside with her clothing: it makes a statement and stays unique.

Price average: $15 to $20 

Style: Fashion-forward with a mix of vintage, lightly used and some new. LePrey uses the word fearless to describe her shop. 

“I look for anything in fashion and good quality. Other stores have style without quality, a lot of times vintage has the quality base I’m looking for,” LePrey said. LePrey is always looking for new trends to bring into her store. She said metallic, furs, velvets and grunge are in style at the moment. 

History: LePrey lived in San Francisco for four years out of college and fell in love with thrifting while she was there. “I’ve always loved clothing since high school and when I lived in San Francisco you have to figure out how you can pay for clothes while staying fashionable. Thrifting and exchange stores were a good way to stay fashionable and find awesome rad clothes without spending a ton of money,” LePrey said. 

She started working at an exchange in California, and that’s where she got the inspiration to start her own store. The White Elephant Exchange opened June 2015 at its current location but started in 2013 at the Two Dancing Cats store. 

Follow White Elephant Exchange: 

www.instagram.com/whiteelephantexchange_boutique