Cult Shop: Pristine Vintage Fashion With A Tucson Twist

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Pull up a picture of Georgia O’Keeffe and chances are she’s wearing a crisp white shirt, perhaps a casual, voluminous black jacket, and a wide-brimmed gaucho hat. She could stand next to a huge consecrated moose skull, as captured by Cecil Beaton in 1967, or hold a painting in front of the New Mexico landscape that so often inspired her.

Such images give a quick glimpse into the aesthetics of the Tucson-based boutique Desert Vintage, whose owners cite Salima Boufelfel and Roberto Cowan O’Keeffe as both dream customers and fashion influences. “She was wearing some kind of uniform, but it wasn’t boring. Her style was unconventional and quietly eccentric, ”says Boufelfel, who applies the same aesthetic to her inventory of popular womenswear. “Our selections have a sense of timelessness – we love to wear pieces that span epochs but don’t necessarily refer to specific time periods, pieces that feel modern and easily fit into a contemporary wardrobe.”

Roberto Cowan and Salima Boufelfel in Desert Vintage © Home Teerapat Phuangfueang

That could mean a cream colored Yves Saint Laurent blouse from the 1970s or a black wool blazer; a white lace and crochet dress from the 1920s; or a raw silk jacket from the 1900s with a delicate hand-sewn lace yoke with eye-catching oversized sleeves – something of a Desert Vintage trademark. Likewise the subtle coloring. “Our cut almost always has a sandy, neutral undertone,” says Boufelfel. “It is reminiscent of the southwest.”

Desert Vintage: reduced style with sandy undertones © Tory Willis

Bringing a stash of vintage fashion to the middle of the Arizona desert wasn’t Plan A for the two Tucson locals who met while working as buyers for a resale store that donated its profits to local charities. “Our original idea was to open a store in Paris,” says Cowan, who worked with Boufelfel on visa formalities in 2012 when the opportunity arose to take over the local business. Opened in 1974 in downtown Tucson, Desert Vintage was “more of a costume shop, a corner shop, but really accessible and super charming.” The couple immediately recognized their potential and put their Parisian plans to move the tiler’s former studio back to white walls and concrete floors. They also took their business to the streets, performing in markets and pop-ups across the United States (today, 50 percent of Desert Vintage sales are online).

A 1970s turtleneck kaftan, $ 698 © Roberto Cowan
A Hermès cashmere wrap coat, $ 3,998 © Roberto Cowan

Many of these designs have never been reproduced – they are unique

The store has developed into an unusual hunting ground for stylists: the actresses Demi Moore and Sophia Bush are customers, as is Rihanna’s stylist Nini Nguyen. Design teams from The Row and Bode are also guests – the latter sparked a mutual relationship. “Almost everything I wear is from Bode,” smiles Cowan.

They describe many of their holdings as “archival”: pieces with a well-known fashion history and provenance, such as those acquired directly from the archive of US designer Geoffrey Beene from the 1960s to 1990s. “Many of these designs have never been reproduced and are therefore one-of-a-kind,” says Cowan, adding that many customers do not even realize that they are vintage because of the way they display their immaculate merchandise in coherent collections. “You don’t believe how many times people ask, ‘Oh, can I get this in a small size?'”

Inside the shop a former tiling studio © Tori Willis

But a bigger issue that the two treasure hunters notice is the growing number of vintage shoppers. “I’ve witnessed a crazy development in the industry,” says Boufelfel. “When I started it was super niche and mysterious – now it’s a lot mainstream, more accessible. And the sustainability factor is a built-in bonus. People’s interest is gaining in importance every year. ”

403 N Sixth Avenue # 119, Tucson, AZ 85705, desertvintage.com, @desertvintage

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