Entry No. 35 — the Memphis file — filed under: vintage clothing
Blue Suede Vintage
Casey, a Memphis native who went to Tennessee, took an MBA in Austin and came home, moved Blue Suede into a bigger space at 486 N Hollywood in early 2025. The racks run 1920s to 2000s across men's, women's and kids' sizing, but the reason to dig is the local archaeology — tags from Helen of Memphis, Lowenstein's and 1970s Chelsea Ltd., department stores and labels that only exist now as labels. Around the clothing she stocks other Memphis makers and dealers: Firefly Vintage 901's rewired lamps, LimeTree Handmade bolo ties, Rattlesnake Betty sunglasses, Adams & Main home goods. The shop also organizes rather than just attends — a September market at the reopened Stomping Grounds on Central, co-hosting the Broad Avenue Art Walk in October. Monday through Wednesday the door is locked unless you've booked.
→ Three more vintage, record & maker shops in Memphis — never the same twice
The story
Casey grew up in Memphis, went to local public schools and then to the University of Tennessee, took an MBA in Austin, and came back because she wanted to spend the degree on the city she was from. The shop's name was pragmatism as much as an Elvis nod — she picked it partly because the digital handle was actually available. In early 2025 she moved Blue Suede Vintage into a bigger space at 486 N Hollywood, on the edge of the Broad Avenue Arts District.
The racks run 1920s to 2000s across men's, women's and kids' sizing, alongside accessories, a jewelry edit of pieces at least a century old, and a limited run of home goods and furniture. The reason to dig, though, is local archaeology: Casey hunts labels from Memphis's dead retail — Helen of Memphis, Lowenstein's, 1970s Chelsea Ltd. — department stores and houses that now survive mainly as tags sewn into collars. She has also absorbed entire collections, including Tako's Treasures Vintage and Erica Qualy's. "Sustainability is the impetus for everything I do," she told Choose901, with the stated goal of evangelizing secondhand to people who wouldn't otherwise consider it.
Around the clothing she stocks other Memphis makers and dealers — Firefly Vintage 901, LimeTree Handmade, Rattlesnake Betty, Adams & Main, New Harbert Candles, Andrew Sellz Stuff — and the shop organizes as much as it sells: a BSV Market at Stomping Grounds on Central in September, a co-hosting role in the Broad Avenue Art Walk in October, clothing swaps and sustainable-fashion talks between them. The website is unusually honest about its own limits. "Hey, we know our website kinda sucks!" reads the homepage, on the grounds that one-of-a-kind stock is impossible to keep listed. The instruction is to come stand in the room.
What it's like
Thursday, Friday and Sunday are noon to 5 and Saturday is 10 to 5; Monday through Wednesday the door stays locked unless you've messaged ahead for an appointment, which she will set. There's a large step up from the parking lot into the shop and Blue Suede says plainly that easy access isn't there yet — ask in advance and arrangements get made. Inside, stock is sorted by size rather than by decade, so the game is flipping collars rather than scanning silhouettes. Ask about anything carrying an unfamiliar Memphis label and you'll get the store's history thrown in. Check the events page before you drive over: on market weekends a real share of the good stock travels with her. Broad Avenue's storefronts start a two-minute walk from the door.
The move: Go Thursday or Friday afternoon, hand each other forty dollars and set a rule: the only thing that counts is a garment with a dead Memphis label in the collar. Fifteen minutes, then compare tags and let Casey settle which one is actually older. Broad Avenue is a two-minute walk in either direction from the door, so the losing tag buys the first round.
📍 Before you go Thursday, Friday and Sunday noon–5, Saturday 10–5; Monday through Wednesday is by appointment only, so message ahead rather than driving over. There's a large step up from the parking lot into the shop and limited accessibility otherwise — the shop will make arrangements in advance if you ask. Check the events page before you go; on market weekends a chunk of the good stock travels with her.
- 📍 Memphis
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 486 N Hollywood Street, Memphis, TN 38112
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Flashback — The department-store end of the same hobby, about two and a half miles southwest on Central — 2,800 square feet where the furniture matters as much as the racks; both close in the late afternoon, so stack them in one day.
- Bad Timing — Three miles south on Minor Street, the 1980-to-2005 band, wrestling and movie-tee half of Memphis vintage, run as buy-sell-trade; between the two shops you cover about eighty years of what people actually wore.
- Memphis Listening Lab — Two miles west inside Crosstown Concourse, a free archive of 35,000 45s — the same impulse to keep the physical object, applied to records instead of clothes.
More weird in Memphis
Good to know
What are the hours, and do I need an appointment?
Thursday, Friday and Sunday noon to 5, Saturday 10 to 5. Monday through Wednesday is appointment-only — message the shop through its site rather than turning up.
Is the shop accessible?
Not easily. There's a large step up from the parking lot and the shop states it lacks straightforward ADA access, but it will make arrangements if you contact it ahead of your visit.
What are the "Memphis labels" worth looking for?
Helen of Memphis, Lowenstein's, and 1970s Chelsea Ltd. — local department stores and houses that no longer exist except as tags. Casey curates for them specifically, so start by reading collars.
Can I just shop the website instead?
You can, but the shop advises against it: one-of-a-kind items are hard to keep listed, so the site carries a fraction of the floor. New arrivals go up on social media, and in-person is the stated best option.
Where else does Blue Suede turn up during the year?
It runs a BSV Market at Stomping Grounds (2166 Central Ave) on Saturday, September 19, helps host the Broad Avenue Art Walk on Saturday, October 24, and hosts Small Business Saturday at the storefront on November 28.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · choose901.com
last checked: 2026-08-26