Chicago's vintage shoppers finally get their shot at the show New Yorkers have been raving about for decades. Manhattan Vintage opens in Chicago this weekend, running Saturday from 1:30pm to 6pm and Sunday from 11am to 5pm, with general admission tickets starting at $25 and a $40 Preview Hour option for first dibs on the racks.
The market takes place Saturday and Sunday at Morgan Manufacturing in Fulton Market, according to Axios. A company press release confirms the show will debut October 24 and 25 at Morgan Manufacturing, per a PR Newswire announcement. Not every source agrees on the location, though: Manhattan Vintage's own ticketing page tells shoppers to join the event at the Ukrainian Institute, while Time Out lists the address as Morgan MFG at 401 N. Morgan St., so Chicago attendees may want to double-check before heading out.
A First-Time Stop in Fulton Market
Whichever address proves correct, the event marks Manhattan Vintage's first appearance in Fulton Market and what Time Out calls an inaugural two-day market for the brand in the city. The lineup is expected to include vintage dealers such as Closet Case Vintage, Elite Repeat and Molimo, the outlet reports. Flagship Manhattan Vintage shows typically feature more than 100 curated dealers, according to the PR Newswire release.
The Chicago stop is just one piece of a larger expansion. Manhattan Vintage plans to return to Chicago in spring 2027 and continue with editions each spring and fall, and the brand is also launching in Los Angeles on March 20 and 21, 2027, at Hudson Loft, per the same release. Company materials describe the overall push as twice-annual events landing in both cities.
From a Highland Park Shop to a National Brand
Manhattan Vintage got its start back in 1992, and Amy Abrams and Ronen Glimer took over the business in 2021, according to Axios. Since taking the reins, the pair have expanded Manhattan Vintage to the Hamptons, Austin and Miami, and the brand says it plans to head to Los Angeles in the spring.
Abrams traces her own love of vintage back to Hearts Desire, a Highland Park store that has since closed, Axios reports. She said the shop, once owned by Bonnie Arkin, felt magical and stocked vintage buttons, vintage jewelry and handmade jewelry boxes. Abrams grew up in suburban Highland Park and said her mother loved the thrill of the hunt and collected lucite purses.
Those early influences still shape how Abrams builds each show today. She said she curates every market to represent a range of price points, styles, eras, viewpoints and categories, and that her goal is to make each show vintage for all, according to Axios. The events are designed to bring together collectors, vintage lovers, stylists and consignment newcomers for weekend-long markets, per the same report.
Riding a Resale Boom
The Chicago debut lands as secondhand fashion keeps climbing nationally. The global resale apparel market grew 17.6% in 2024 to reach $204.7 billion, its fourth straight year of double-digit growth, according to GlobalData. The firm forecasts another 13.3% jump in 2025 and projects an 11.4% compound annual growth rate between 2023 and 2028.
In the U.S., secondhand apparel grew 14% in 2024, its strongest annual growth since 2021, outpacing the broader retail clothing market by five times, per ThredUp's 13th annual Resale Report. Online resale alone grew 23% that year and is expected to reach $40 billion by 2029, with the overall global secondhand apparel market projected to hit $367 billion by then. Shoppers appear to be putting real money behind the trend, too: consumers plan to allocate 34% of their apparel budget to secondhand purchases over the next 12 months, according to the same report.
Manhattan Vintage has leaned into that momentum well beyond its anchor shows. The company expanded in 2025 with smaller Editions on the Upper East Side, in Brooklyn and in the Hamptons, and it says it has welcomed hundreds of thousands of guests since Abrams and Glimer took over in 2021, according to Manhattan Vintage's own account.
Chicago's Deep Roots in Vintage Markets
Chicago is hardly new to large-scale vintage and antique shopping events. The Randolph Street Market has long been a major antique and vintage show in the city and throughout the Midwest, featuring curated vendors selling fine art, mid-century décor and high-end vintage designs alongside music, food and cultural programming, according to Antique Trader. The market runs multiple times a year, including branching events focused on vintage clothing and holiday décor, with its next installment, a Holiday Market, slated for November 14 and 15.
That tradition traces back to the mid-1990s, when organizer Sally Schwartz started three large Chicago Antique and Collectibles Festivals along the Chicago River, Antique Trader reports. She later added an indie designer fashion market after the 2008 economic crash. Manhattan Vintage's arrival this weekend adds a new, nationally known name to that long-running local scene.
