Meet Liam and Aly of Kismet Vintage | Collector/Seller of Fashion & Styling

We had the good fortune of connecting with Liam and Aly of Kismet Vintage and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Liam and Aly, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
We think taking risks is a necessary step to propel yourself forward. How someone manages risks, is the key to their success. For us it was risky when we opened our business in 2008 during the Great Recession. We faced an uphill battle against a wavering economy, and uncertain times. Each year and season we’ve been open, there are more risks to take as we evolve with the changing world around us, and ultimately that keeps us on our toes and open to new ideas.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Kismet Vintage opened 13 years ago in downtown Delray Beach, in a tiny space. When everyone was dealing with the economic fallout of the housing crisis we took a risk and moved to a larger space. We got a lot of comments about being “crazy” starting a business now. We prevailed, we stayed open late, we came to work early, we accommodated our clients and offered services, filling a niche that no one was providing. We offered editorial work, cross-promotion, we had live shows in-store giving a platform for bands to play a comparable living room/ house party, radio shows, live interviews, live recordings, YouTube series. We’ve been a jack of all trades and over the years built up a name, and a following. When the chance came we moved to the 500 block of Clematis in West Palm Beach. This was one of the biggest risks, but after years in the downtown music/ art scene, it made sense to relocate near the new Brightline Station. Most recently we took a big risk, when a lot of businesses were closing down during the Covid shutdown, we stepped it up; although we had to close our storefront for 7 months, we did not want to waste any time when we could finally reopen. We wanted to be able to come back stronger than ever, so we did little things like re-painting our facade, we added new showcases to display things like high-end scarves, sunglasses, jewelry, and collectible analog cameras. We also significantly upped our inventory of designer and vintage clothing, to refresh our racks for the re-opening. We invested time and money to sell our archival collection and back stock of clothing online through shopthrilling.com. We also have added a bigger selection of vintage cameras, film, books, and vinyl throughout the years. For us, this gamble was very risky as we were going against the grain of what other businesses were doing and looking forward to a time when things could bounce back. There are not a lot of shops like ours left, and we feel it is important to preserve collectible clothing, share knowledge with others and continue to help people find one-of-a-kind things that make them happy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If you are in WPB, go check out Planta on Monday nights for $8 sushi. Tuesday Grab a smoothie at Celis and walk around Royal Poiciciana check out Art Galleries like Gavlak. Wednesdays hit up Pizza Paradise in Grandview Market for $10 pizzas, Thursday, hit the beach, go check out Peanut Island, get Thai Rolled ice cream at Crema with a ligers cookie. Friday, go to the Norton Art Museum and get food at Cholo Soy Cocina or Grato. Saturday, check out West Palm Beach’s Award Winning Farmers Market near Flagler Drive, after that stop by our shop Kismet Vintage, we’re open late on weekends and there are lots of things happening on our block between pop-ups at Subculture Coffee, legendary shows at Respectable’s, great drinks at Lost Weekend and Voltaire, and late-night food at tons of restaurants on Clematis St. Sunday check out Candid coffee in the warehouse district, Rohis Readery for bookworms, The Garden Shoppe back in Rosemary Square and more great food at Indus Ayurvedic Indian Brunch. Bonus point if you can view the Bunker Art Collection and not drink too much Cuban coffee at Havana. Always check the local PureHoney magazine to see what is going on.

Alright, so let’s jump right in! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there a person, group, organization, book, etc. that you want to dedicate your shoutout to? Who else deserves a little credit and recognition in your story?  
We were both inspired by our friends, and the music scenes we grew up in, art, and movies to think outside of the box and wear eye-catching, interesting clothing which developed our own personal styles, and individual fashion sense.

Website: kismetvintage.com

Instagram: @shopkismetvintage

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kismetvintage

Image Credits
Kismet Vintage shopthrilling.com Liam Milano