Meet Lesly Washington of Tchoup Vintage in Midtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lesly Washington.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve been an avid thrifter since I was 13, all thanks to my sister and brother, and have been collecting vintage clothing ever since. I knew at a young age that I wanted to be a “ladypreneur.” I would spend hours in the library with my mom reading business books on entrepreneurship and trying to figure out how to make money at a young age. As I got older, my priorities naturally started to shift, but owning a business always stayed with me.

My dad was always one of my biggest supporters and cheerleaders. He pushed me to work hard and to play even harder. He encouraged me to work for everything that I wanted and to never depend on anyone else to give it to me. I talked to him often about my dreams of owning a business, investments, traveling the world, and the real estate market.

Unfortunately, he passed away in 2013 after a six-year-long battle with cancer that left me in pieces. I knew I needed to do something so I thought to myself, “How can I make this grief a little bit more bearable? How can I turn this sadness into something positive?” It immediately clicked. This is the perfect time to finally launch my vintage shop in order to stay productive and distract myself a bit. I had all of the resources, skills, and business savviness to do it myself, plus the endless support of my family and friends. I spent the entire summer working out the kinks and Tchoup Vintage was born three months later. It has been a whirlwind ever since then, but the entire experience has helped me find my independence and voice in the world.

Has it been a smooth road?
Of course not! Running a business for five years is expected to come with some type of unfairness and uncomfortableness. I’ve dealt with people trying to copy my business model, “supporters” who were plotting my downfall, people blatantly ripping off my creations, collaborations that went left because of unbalanced expectations, and people looking to pick my brain to bypass the hard work and experimentation that goes into building a business.

For most of this year, I was in the works of opening up a concept shop in ATL but decided to not go through with it because I dealt with so much sexism, racism, and classism in the process. My wellbeing is way more important than trying to compete for a space and trying to prove to people why I’m qualified to do something that I’ve studied for most of my life. I believe that if there are any external factors in your career that makes you doubt yourself, downplay your strengths, or makes you second guess your passion is most definitely the universe telling you to let it go. I’m not completely turned off to opening up a space but now is not the time. It forced me to strengthen a few weak spots in my business model, but it also reenergized me to continue growing Tchoup Vintage.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Tchoup Vintage – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We curate imperfectly perfect clothing and accessories for babes. I’m responsible for photographing new arrivals, buying inventory, designing our graphics, managing social media accounts, copywriting, and building out our booths for festivals and markets, and all of the digital marketing.

We specialize in vintage clothing from the 1970s- 1990s, consisting of bright colors, geometric prints, rare designer labels, and flattering silhouettes. We travel all over to find vintage pieces to add into Tchoup Vintage’s inventory. In August, we celebrated our 5th year anniversary by releasing an exclusive HEAUX collection of tote bags while paying tribute to our hometown of New Orleans.

Our customer service and clothing definitely set us apart from others. We really connect with our customers, listen to their stories, and help them find that special piece they have been looking for. We carry pieces that are somewhat trendy but rare enough that no one else probably has it.

We’re very proud of how strong our brand is. We knew who our customers were pretty early on. It has helped us in how we market ourselves, what we buy, what models we use, what our brand language is, and what markets we participate in.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I’ve been living here for nine years and have seen this city change so much! I love how diverse and progressive the city is. Atlanta has definitely made me more politically involved, more connected to the community, more aware of what I put into my body, more obsessed with dogs, and more supportive of local businesses, especially ones owned by people of color. It’s a perfect place for creatives.

I really hate how gentrified the city has become. Gentrification kicks out generations of people who have inhabited the city for years only to make a way for transplants who have no appreciation or respect for the culture and history of the neighborhood.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shoptchoupvintage.com
• Email: hello@shoptchoupvintage.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/tchoupvintage
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/tchoupvintage

Image Credit:
Marcus Gholar, Jamie Hopper, Brittany Wages, and James Acai.

Getting in touch: VoyageATL 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.