Shop And Chop
New vintage store has a 'shop-and-chop' philosophy with an in-house tailor

Fun, gorgeous vintage trends are back in fashion, but sizes from another era don't often match up with today's close-to-the-body fit and styles. Vintage enthusiasts Lindsay Beale and Emily Hynds have come up with the perfect solution: They have opened a new one-stop “shop-and-chop” vintage store, El Bambi, that features an in-house tailor — a special service they say is not found at any other vintage store in Houston.
"We wanted to bring the tailor to our customers because we think it's important that everyone can wear the vintage clothing they love. We've known people who have passed up vintage pieces due to the size," Beale says.
What started as a bar friendship has blossomed into a retail passion. Beale, 30, and Hynds, 32, met four years ago in a Houston bar and bonded over a love for vintage clothing and shopping. With retail experience (Beale worked at H&M for eight years) and a stylish love of the arts (Hynds has worked for a decade in the Houston arts community and co-founded the non-profit theater company BooTown), the duo decided to open their own vintage store together.
They found a location that previously housed the women's boutique Iko Iko on North Main in the Heights (in a trendy shopping center alongside Foreign Correspondents, Lakota Room and Canard) and offer a curated selection of clothing and accessories from a variety of time periods for men, women and children. While some vintage shops are stuffed to the rafters, El Bambi is tidy and neat, with a rustic, warm atmosphere.
“Lindsay and I have both been vintage enthusiasts all of our lives so we are pumped to turn that hobby into providing a service for fellow like-minded shoppers," says Hynds. "The location is such an added bonus!”
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El Bambi, located at 4721 N. Main, is open Wednesday through Saturday 10 am to 9 pm and Sunday from noon to 6 pm.