Entry No. 132 — the Chicago file — filed under: vintage clothing
Knee Deep Vintage
Trent Marinelli and Carlos Lourenco opened this in 2008 because they were sick of traveling from Brighton Park to the North Side for anything decent, and in 2017 they moved into a 1,500-square-foot storefront in the historic Thalia Hall building on 18th. The inventory is genuinely dated rather than resold fast fashion: 50s party dresses, 60s denim and workwear, buttery 70s tees, grunge-era 90s duds, with harder-to-find 1920s–50s pieces mixed in. They also buy from the public, usually on weekends when a buyer is in, and they're specific about it — pre-1990s T-shirts, pre-1960s denim and workwear, and anything 1940s or earlier in good condition. Hours are posted seasonally and they'll shut for the occasional special event, so the phone number on the site is not decorative. It's the rare Chicago vintage shop open seven days a week, which is why it survives a spontaneous evening.
→ Three more vintage, record & maker shops in Chicago — never the same twice
The story
Trent Marinelli and Carlos Lourenco opened Knee Deep in the spring of 2008, in a small room on 18th Street near the Jumping Bean cafe, on the straightforward logic that people living on the Southwest Side shouldn't have to ride to the North Side every time they wanted a decent 1960s work jacket. The shop outgrew that first space. In 2017 it moved a couple of blocks east into a bright 1,500-square-foot storefront on the ground floor of Thalia Hall — a considerable upgrade in address, since the building went up in 1892 for the saloonkeeper John Dusek, was designed by Frederick Faber and William Pagels in heavy Romanesque Revival limestone, and has been a Chicago Landmark since October 25, 1989. The concert hall is upstairs. Punch House is in the basement below the racks.
What hangs on those racks is genuinely old rather than resold fast fashion, and the shop is specific about the difference: 1950s party dresses, 1960s denim and workwear, soft 1970s tees, a deep 1990s section, and harder-to-find 1920s–50s pieces when they surface. Marinelli's stated filter is clothes "that you can wear now," which is why the store reads as a wardrobe rather than an archive.
The buying counter runs the same logic in reverse. Knee Deep buys from the public on Saturdays and Sundays — call first, since a buyer has to be in — and they will tell you exactly what they want: T-shirts from the 1990s and earlier, denim and workwear from the 1960s and earlier, and anything from the 1940s or earlier in good condition. Large collections can earn a house call. They also style for film, television and theater, and sell wholesale to a short list of dealers by appointment. And they're open seven days a week, which in Chicago vintage is close to a miracle.
What it's like
The storefront sits at street level on 18th with big windows, so you can size up most of the room before committing. Inside it is bright and unusually orderly for a vintage shop — racks sorted by category and era, a wall of tees, glass cases for the small things, mirrors where you actually need them. Someone will greet you and then leave you alone; ask and they'll pull sizes, but nobody hovers and nobody upsells. Try everything on, because period sizing is not modern sizing and the tag will lie to you. Prices are fair by Chicago standards, though true 1940s pieces are priced like true 1940s pieces and nobody pretends otherwise. Weeknights before eight are the quiet window; weekends bring sellers hauling duffel bags to the counter, which is its own entertainment.
The move: Arrive around 6 on a weeknight while they're open late, and set the rule that you each pick one thing for the other person, under a shared budget, and it gets worn out of the store. No trying-on veto until it's on. Then eat dinner somewhere along 18th Street in whatever you just bought.
📍 Before you go Inside the Thalia Hall building in Pilsen. Summer hours run noon–8 Monday–Thursday, 11–8 Friday–Saturday, noon–6 Sunday; hours shift with the season, and they close New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas — call (312) 850-2510 if you're making a special trip. Pink Line to 18th, or the 9 or 60 bus. Prices skew fair, but true 1940s pieces are priced like true 1940s pieces. If you're selling, come on a weekend and call first; wholesale is appointment-only and separate.
- 📍 Chicago
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 1219 W 18th St, Chicago, IL 60608
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Punch House — Same building — the 1970s-rec-room punch bar is in Thalia Hall's basement, so the entire second act of the evening is one staircase from the fitting room.
- Simone's Bar — A quarter-mile west on the same street, and thematically matched: a bar built out of salvage is the right place to sit in clothes built out of somebody else's decade.
- Gulliver in Wonderland (Hector Duarte's House) — A ten-minute walk southwest to Hector Duarte's mural-wrapped house, which turns the browse into a short Pilsen walk with an actual destination at the end.
More weird in Chicago
Good to know
How do I get there without a car?
Pink Line to 18th, which is an accessible station at 1710 W. 18th St. — walk about five blocks east along 18th and you're at the door. The shop also lists CTA bus routes 8, 9, 18, 21 and 60, and the Metra BNSF Halsted Street stop. Pilsen street parking on 18th exists but is a contest, especially on show nights at Thalia Hall upstairs.
What are the hours, and can I just turn up?
Mostly yes — it's open seven days. Summer hours are noon–8 Monday through Thursday, 11–8 Friday and Saturday, and noon–6 Sunday, but hours shift with the season and they close for New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you're making a special trip, call (312) 850-2510 first; the number on the site is not decorative.
Is it expensive?
It sits in Time Out's cheapest price bracket, and most of the 1970s–90s stock is priced to be worn rather than collected. The exception is the older material: genuine 1940s-and-earlier garments and pre-1960s denim and workwear are priced as the scarce things they are. Come with a number in mind.
I want to sell them a bag of clothes. How does that work?
Buying happens on Saturdays and Sundays only, and you should call ahead because it depends on a buyer being in. What they're actively after is T-shirts from the 1990s or earlier, denim and workwear from the 1960s or earlier, and anything 1940s or earlier in good condition. Big collections can get a house visit. Wholesale is a separate track, by appointment, for dealers.
Can I build a whole evening around it?
Easily, and without moving far. The shop is in the ground floor of Thalia Hall, Punch House is down the stairs in the same 1892 building, and 18th Street runs west with restaurants the whole way. Go to the shop first while it's still open, eat second, drink third.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Time Out
last checked: 2026-08-26