Feathers Vintage is inviting Austin shoppers to raise a glass to its newly redesigned South Congress boutique at a grand reopening party on Thursday, September 3.
The celebration runs from 5-8 pm at 1700 B South Congress Ave., at Milton Street. Guests can sip sparkling wine, snack on sweets, and shop museum-quality vintage pieces saved for the event. Shoppers will also have a chance to win a swag bag filled with what the store calls “Feathers-coded treasure.”
The party is open to the public, but guests are asked to RSVP by August 31.
Emily Hoover, who founded Feathers in 2005 and personally curates its collection, closed the store for the summer to renovate its longtime space. The redesign gives the vintage collection she has spent more than two decades assembling a setting that feels more like a retail gallery.
“After 20 years of building a collection of exceptional vintage, I wanted to give the pieces a space that felt worthy of them,” Hoover said in a press release. “I am designing the space I have always wanted, and giving the garments the room they deserve.”
Feathers Vintage mixes high-end designer pieces with Western wear, denim, and other carefully selected vintage finds.Photo courtesy of Feathers Vintage
Feathers’ tightly curated collection, featured online, ranges from antique garments to early-2000s fashion. It mixes delicate Edwardian and 1930s pieces with Western fringe, denim and workwear, concert tees, sequined party clothes, artisan jewelry, and locally made goods. Designer offerings include pieces by Alexander McQueen, Moschino, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Marni, Escada, Kenzo, and Betsey Johnson.
The store also buys vintage from the public by appointment. Feathers seeks pieces at least 15 years old, particularly clothing made from natural fibers, high-end designer items, and well-made independent labels. Sellers can choose payment equal to 30 percent of the retail value or 50 percent in store credit.
The building at 1700 South Congress Ave. is divided into three storefronts. Feathers and Prototype Vintage operated next door to each other, with entrances along Milton Street, while Mi Casa Gallery faced South Congress.
Feathers Vintage occupies a Milton Street-facing storefront at 1700 B South Congress Ave.Photo courtesy of Feathers Vintage
Prototype closed its South Congress store in June and consolidated at its newer North Loop location after its owners learned that the 110-year-old building needed extensive electrical and plumbing work. Hoover made a different choice: She stayed and invested in renovating the Feathers suite.
Mi Casa Gallery, a South Congress fixture for nearly three decades, closed in 2024 after its lease was not renewed. Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott opened in the Congress-facing storefront that November, giving the Austin-based retailer locations on both sides of the avenue. The original Kendra Scott flagship sits directly across the street at 1701 South Congress Ave.
Hoover framed the renovation as an investment not only in Feathers, but in the independent retail character that first made South Congress a destination.
“If you want small businesses to survive, you have to be a patron of them,” Hoover said. “Take action. Pick five local businesses you love and stay true to them.”
Hoover studied dance and costume design at the University of Texas before attending New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and working in fashion. Following the reopening, Feathers will operate daily from 11 am to 7 pm. The entrance is on Milton Street.
