Meet Bridgette Thomson of Old Gold Boutique in Long Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bridgette Thomson.

Bridgette, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been collecting vintage since I was 13. Visiting thrift stores and rummaging through my mom’s closet for vintage clothing. Even when things didn’t fit, I’d still bring them home to cut up and make my own pieces. I’ve had a dream from a young age of having my own store. Even though I worked a steady corporate job at Costco for a decade, I was still collecting vintage clothing and selling online. I began actively seeking opportunities for a brick and mortar in our town. Long Beach is off the beaten path but maintains a thriving creative community filled with people who are open and supportive. We set our sights on Retro Row on 4th Street since it’s already a vintage shopping destination and because we have great relationships with other business owners and employees. The challenging part is that these stores rarely go to market and often get passed along from business owner to business owner. After two years of spreading the word within our community about our store concept, we finally found the right place! We love our location and don’t mind that it’s more under-the-radar than other LA neighborhoods. We often hear praise from new customers that this store could be on Abbott Kinney or in other more design-forward locations.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Getting there has been surprisingly smooth. There are plenty of challenges in building a small business from the ground up but having the support of my business partner, family, and friends in the community helped my dream become a reality. My partner, Dan Rossiter, runs Camp Design in Long Beach and has been designing and building for retail for almost ten years. He worked with our local friends and business to turn the space from a pretty dumpy empty room to a beautiful minimal boutique in less than a month. Scaling Old Gold from an online side business to a fully functioning retail store with constantly rotating inventory has been a learning process. Again, I couldn’t have done it without support from friends like Stacy McDonnell from Fancy Disaster Vintage who were generous in sharing their time and resources.

Old Gold Boutique – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Old Gold Boutique believes in bringing vintage to the people. I choose ready-to-wear, timeless items that are on trend. My taste and aesthetics are aimed at selecting pieces that work perfectly with one’s everyday wardrobe. We wanted the boutique to bring fresh life to current vintage aesthetic landscape which can be cramped and grungy. I believe in the pieces I choose and wanted the store to reflect the importance of vintage and personal style. From our staff support to our bright, open store, I’m proud of the shopping experience that we offer. It’s friendly, creative, inviting and the perfect environment to connect with our customers.

What are your plans for the future? What are you looking forward to or planning for – any big changes?
My partner and I both have a love for unique home goods and furniture. We plan to carry vintage home goods shortly.

One of the challenges with one-of-a-kind vintage pieces is that there aren’t many size options. Each piece is the size that it is and if it doesn’t fit, then that’s that. To address this, we’ll soon be offering in-store measurement appointments to our customers. That way, when a piece comes that matches a customer’s size and style preferences, we can offer it to them directly.

We’re currently planning out a line of vintage-inspired clothing to carry in the shop and are aiming to have items in production within the next year or two.

Contact Info:

• Address: Old Gold Boutique
  2146 E 4th Street
  Long Beach, CA 90814
• Website: oldgoldvintage.com
• Phone: 562-270-2733
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oldgold.boutique/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oldgoldboutique/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/old-gold-boutique-long-beach

Image Credit:
Ely Phillips

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.