Pre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl S10 Ep1 RED LIGHT: Tacee Webb, original founder of grunge era's Red Light in Seattle started in 1996 - on buying back her iconic store 30 years later, a piece of vintage fashion history.
On today's show, we're chatting with Tacee Webb, the original founder of Red Light Vintage in Seattle – a store she first opened in her early 20s in 1996 and is now buying back from its current owners 30 years later! Full circle story! Red Light has been a Seattle institution since the grunge era, known for its eclectic mix of vintage finds from the 1930s through the 1990s, its vibrant community spirit, and oh yes – its legendary naked shopping sprees.
In this episode, Tacee takes us on a journey that starts on a tiny island near the Canadian border, where she grew up surrounded by her family's belongings dating back to the 1860s – from her Native American grandmother's furniture to Victorian dresses in the old log cabin. She shares how selling rusty anchors and clay pinch pots on the beach as a kid planted the seeds for a career in retail, and how an encounter with a glamorous vintage dealer in her teens changed everything for her.
We dive into the wild days of Red Light in the '90s – when MTV was filming there, Courtney Love was tearing through the store, and Tacee became one of the biggest sneaker resellers in the business – at the time she was featured in the Wall Street Journal, Vogue, NPR, People, CNN, and tons of magazines in Japan.
"We would get 100 voice mails a day – people calling me to sell their sneakers from all over the country, it was WILD!" Tacee wrote me.
She shares stories about styling Alice in Chains for Rolling Stone, hosting bands like Modest Mouse in the store's cafe, and why she old Red Light in 1999, the bittersweet reality of watching Seattle boom and price out the creative class.
Late last year, when she saw the Vanishing Seattle post announcing the original store's potential closure, she knew she wanted it back. Now, partnering with her daughter – who's been part of the Red Light story since she was a baby – Tacee is bringing back the beloved traditions while reimagining vintage retail for a new generation.
It's a conversation spanning decades of vintage fashion history from someone who's lived it all. This episode is SUCH a fun one, so let's dive right in!
DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:
- [7:09] Growing up on the San Juan islands in Washington, and her first "store" called The Rust Factory.
- [10:42] How Tacee's style evolved from small-town vintage fashion lover, influenced by Madonna, her Pan Am flight attendant mother's Pucci collection, and family heirlooms.
- [15:46] Her first encounter with vintage dealer Gloria and putting a 1890s wedding gown on layaway as a teenager.
- [18:59] Red Light became a vintage hub on the Avenue in Seattle after it opened in 1996.
- [22:12] Red Light was grunge rock headquarters including a cafe space where bands like Modest Mouse played, and MTV filming there constantly.
- [26:34] How Red Light approached vintage retail like traditional retail in the '90s.
- [28:15] The reworking and upcycling happening at Red Light in the '90s
- [29:38] Stories from the grunge era: styling Layne Staley for Rolling Stone, having Kurt Cobain's clothing in the store, and Courtney Love's shopping sprees.
- [37:36] Why Tacee sold Red Light in Seattle back in 1999.
- [42:15] How seeing the Vanishing Seattle post about Red Light potentially closing made Tacee realize she wanted her store back.
- [44:06] Partnering with her daughter – who has been part of Red Light since she was a baby– to take over ownership.
- [48:27] Red Light will re-open under Tacee right in time for its 30th anniversary, with a celebration weekend including a fashion show, and the return of the naked shopping spree.
- [56:42] Reimagining Red Light for a new generation with a membership-based vintage wardrobe lending library.
- [1:05:08] People kept asking Tacee when vintage would "go out of style" in the '90s, and her philosophy on fashion cycles.
- [1:08:33] How Tacee created vintage denim and sneaker buying guides in the '90s (pre-internet!) to educate dealers and pickers.
- [1:09:58] Tacee's massive sneaker buying operation and trips to Japan.
- [1:22:54] Her parents' incredible vintage collection on the San Juan island
- [1:25:12] Plans for an anti-fascist themed fashion show as a benefit for ACLU and other local organizations, including other vintage shops and dealers.
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