By Malieva Hedberg, Class of 2017

If you are looking for a one-stop shop vintage outfit, VERY Lifestyle Shop is your destination. Located in downtown Jersey City just off of Grove Street, it is a small but lively store, with everything from home goods, collective music records to real leather cowboy boots from the 70’s. 

Co-owner Israel Bermeo has worked here for years, and his passion for rare clothing pieces and eccentric style shows throughout the store. Bermeo is also a stylist, which is where he gets his creativity to pick out certain pieces to bring into the store that he feels will sell accordingly to his customers.

“We have some of the best denim to choose from,” Bermeo claims.

Their denim pieces such as Levi’s or Guess jeans, as well as one-of-a-kind decorated denim jackets are the star of the store, according to Bermeo.

“We also put our own style on some of the vintage items we get,” Bermeo says.

For example, a pair of classic white Christian Dior high heels were changed to a more modern style with multicolored paint splatters that Bermeo added himself.

They price their items according to how rare or how vintage the items are, which can range anywhere from $10 to $300. But even with the high pricing on some items, they still sell frequently.

“Things here go super quick,” Bermeo says. “If you like something and come back to get it a week later, there’s a high chance it’ll be gone. That’s why we get new items in weekly.”

VERY was voted one of the best vintage stores in New York City, before they relocated from Manhattan to Jersey City (9 Erie Street, Jersey City, NJ)