who we are.

At Stories of the Street, we know that following rapidly evolving trend cycles is unsustainable for our planet and our wallets. We believe personal style comes from self-discovery and through a well-curated collection of pieces from past decades of fashion.  This understanding gives us the opportunity to re-purpose quality fabrics and materials found in the closets of our mothers, grandmothers, and even perfect strangers.  We’ve established an eye for timeless elegance like the women who came before us. 

Stories of the Streets is more than just a vintage shop — we’re a community aiming to push the world of fashion forward by turning around to look at where we’ve come from

Meet the Team.

  • Co-Founder & Brand Strategist

    Chloe is a Milwaukee-based brand strategist who is passionate about social responsibility, stakeholder ethics, and environmental sustainability. Her love of second-hand clothing began in high school through thrifting on the weekends with co-founder Mallory and scavenging through her mom, dad, and grandmother’s vintage pieces of their younger days. In her free time, Chloe enjoys sewing her own clothing and altering thrift store finds. Her passion for hunting down unique pieces is what drew her to creating this vintage shop.

  • Co-Founder & Creative Director

    Mallory is a Milwaukee-based graphic designer who thrives on developing innovative, creative solutions. She has established a foundation for her creative process through the marriage of research, strategy, and conceptual thinking. What trained her eye as a young creative was the world of fashion and beauty, especially designer vintage with a business casual flair. Mallory and co-founder Chloe set out to create Stories of the Streets, a thoughtfully curated vintage shop with community integration. When she isn’t working, Mallory spends time with her cat Pooty.

BEHind the name.

Inspired by Leonard Cohen's song Stories of the Street, our vintage shop pays homage to the lives of our clothing before they’ve reached our closets. Fashion is cyclical and the modern acceleration of trend cycles is driven by profit. What once was in-style will come around again. Trends fade — instead, as a consumer, developing personal style is the sustainable response to the fast fashion business model. Finding colors, cuts and patterns that compliment your body type and complexion will never be passé.

Stories of the Streets is a celebration of life, past and future, while honing in on the art of textile design.

Image of Leonard Cohen. (n.d.). The Mac. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from https://macm.org/en/exhibitions/leonard-cohen/.

based in Milwaukee, Wi.

Stories of the Streets is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a city with strong communal ties and a thriving local art scene. The understated charm of this urban hub has yet to be fully divulged. The German, Polish and Italian cultural roots of Milwaukee leave unique styles and traditions to be rediscovered through the sourced antiquities of our journey resulting in new style perspectives.

Our values.

  • The current state of fashion is unsustainable — it has cultivated a disposable culture around clothing, a leading culprit of climate change. Sourcing second-hand prevents quality pieces from ending up in landfills.

    At SOTS, we strive to function for a higher purpose beyond profit. As a small business, we realize our impact may be minimal in scale, but our passion for personal expression and the environment motivates our desire to create new perspectives around style.

  • SOTS is more than a vintage shop, it’s a platform. We recognize the power of community — how it can support, shape and drive significant change on a small and large scale. We hope to be a space where individuals can experiment with their style and stay informed about the fashion movement.

    Beyond the realm of fashion, being born and raised in Milwaukee, the local community is important to us. We believe critical, tough conversations and service are important to promote stronger communal ties.

  • As a vintage shop, we recognize the difficulty in sourcing material for all shapes and sizes. For SOTS, this is a core value that we put effort towards when sourcing new items. We are proponents of actively work towards unlearning unconscious biases we may hold, through education and diverse perspectives. This is a pillar to achieving inclusivity as a brand. We all have a story to tell. All are welcome.