Vintage shopping around Sacramento is not one trip. It is a series of them. The shops run from Midtown and East Sacramento out to Auburn, Placerville, El Dorado Hills and Shingle Springs, with Woodland and Davis off to the west. If you are hunting for one thing in particular, a jacket or a dining set, you will likely drive to more than one town.
People who move here from denser cities ask me where the vintage district is. There is not one. There are clusters, and they are worth the drive.
CLOTHING
Racks Vintage Boutique in Midtown Sacramento specializes in all things vintage: clothing for men, women and children, plus accessories, handbags, outerwear and shoes. It is well curated, so the pieces are true vintage rather than mixed donations. Ragged Glory Trading Co. is in Old Town Auburn and is run by a mother and daughter. The fashion is well curated and leans toward sustainably produced goods, much of it made in the U.S.A. Quirky T-shirts, Levi’s and western wear are part of what they carry, plus crafts from local artisans. Welcome Vintage Boutique sits in downtown Placerville, where you never know what you will find. Vintage sweaters, ties, flannel and cowboy boots are the recurring items, and they sell home goods too. Treehouse Vintage in Davis mixes dresses with vintage denim and keeps a large selection of gently used U.C. Davis merchandise like T-shirts and hoodies. Vintage YSJ in Midtown covers vintage and boutique clothing, from designer dresses to vintage jewelry, and shows new finds on Instagram.
HOMEGOODS AND KITCHEN FINDS
Bliss Marketplace has locations in Midtown, Rancho Cordova and Roseville, so one is usually on your way. Home goods include Pyrex and cooking tools, holiday decorations, vintage china and artwork, and the collections span every decade of the 20th century with a lot of farmhouse feel. Little Bird Mercantile in Auburn is a small shop built around vintage home decor, with kitchenware, garden items and artwork in a rustic style. Vintage to Modern Home in Placerville is locally owned and runs the full range: fondue pots, holiday decor, ceramics and wall art, plus refurbished antique and vintage furniture, and they offer furniture painting. Main Street Antiques in Woodland is an antique store that carries plenty of vintage too, including glassware, fine china, milk glass and a very large selection of teacups.
FURNITURE
Stardust Vintage Emporium in Sacramento’s La Riviera neighborhood is the big one. More than 75 local vendors sell vintage furniture of every kind, from sofas and dinettes to lounge chairs and bookshelves, plus vintage clothing, vinyl and collectibles, and they host special events such as classic car shows. Back Corner Mid Century in Roseville sits inside the Antique Trove and sells mid-century modern only: walnut sideboards, teak tables and Danish-inspired lounge chairs from the 1950s and ’60s, and most of it in pristine condition, with items posted daily on Instagram. L Street Furniture in Davis carries dining sets, couches, dressers, bookshelves and desks from nearly every decade of the last century, plus vintage decor, vinyl and musical instruments. Alchemy in El Dorado Hills is an upmarket store that mixes curated vintage with new items: cabinets, sideboards, dressers, dinettes, lamps, decor and textiles.
VINYL, ART AND A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING
Kicksville Vinyl & Vintage on R Street in Midtown is known for its vinyl, from rock to jazz and everything between, with rare and obscure records from the 1950s to today. They also carry cassettes, CDs and 45s, plus vintage furniture, art and housewares, most of it mid-century modern. Wrecklamation in Auburn is a rustic salvage shop built for shabby chic: upcycled furniture, lighting, decor, garden accessories, vintage and new holiday decorations, and vintage clothing. Superbum in East Sacramento is a one-stop shop for clothing for men, women and kids, plus furniture, home decor and vinyl, and it features the work of more than 30 local artisans. Under the Arbor in Shingle Springs has furniture, kitchen items, home decor and garden items in a rustic farmhouse style, with locally made gifts such as candles. Davis Craft & Vintage has no storefront at all. It is a fair held every other Sunday, with exceptions, where dozens of vintage vendors sell vintage fashion, ephemera, jewelry and home goods, with live music and food trucks.
WHERE THE SHOPS ACTUALLY SIT
The city cluster is easy. Racks Vintage, Vintage YSJ, Kicksville, Stardust and Superbum are all in Sacramento, and the Midtown and R Street ones pair in one afternoon. Everything else is a separate trip. Roseville sits northeast, Auburn is further up the same corridor, and Placerville, El Dorado Hills and Shingle Springs each sit in a different part of the foothills. A Saturday that starts in Old Town Auburn and tries to finish in downtown Placerville is a long day in the car. Woodland and Davis are the other direction entirely.
THE COMPARISON I REACH FOR, AND WHERE IT STOPS WORKING
The closest ordinary thing is a farmers market, except this one sells jackets and dining tables.
That holds up for the Davis fair, which really is a recurring market with stalls and a schedule. It stops working inside the stores. A market restocks. The same grower comes back next week with more peaches. A vintage shop does not. Stock arrives when someone clears out a relative’s house or a dealer tracks down a piece, and the one you passed on in March may never come back. A market rewards showing up regularly. Vintage rewards buying the thing when you see it, because a second visit is not a second chance.
WHAT I WOULD TELL YOU TO WEIGH
- The search takes longer than the trip. You can drive to four shops and come home with nothing. That is normal.
- Inventory is one of one. If you love a piece, ask about a hold. Most of these shops will not have another.
- Hours are limited. These are small shops with short weeks. Call before a long drive, especially to the foothill towns.
- Measure before you buy. A sideboard that looked reasonable in a large room may not fit through your door, and vintage sales are usually final.
- The foothills are a day trip, not an errand. Auburn, Placerville, El Dorado Hills and Shingle Springs do not sit side by side.
Furnishing a house you are about to buy is a different list. I keep every area guide at the neighborhoods hub, and the buying process page walks the order things happen in.
Question for you: are you shopping for the house you have, or for a house you have not found yet? Those lead to different Saturdays.
Adapted from The Sacramento Area’s Best Vintage Shops: Clothing, Furniture & More!, originally published by Windermere Signature Properties at windermerecalocal.com.
WHEN YOU ARE READY
Let’s talk about what you want in an area.
Send me the areas you are considering and what matters most to you. I will tell you what each one is actually like, including the parts that argue against it. Nothing is committed by asking.