Vinnies Styles: From Mom & Pop to Household Name

June 22, 2011 3 comments

One of the greatest things about hip-hop is that it’s a culture, not just a genre of music. Since its beginning, the dancing, graffiti and fashion aspects of hip-hop have been just as important as the beats and rhymes, especially the fashion. From Run DMC and their Adidas, Dem Franchise Boyz and white tees to the resurgence of snapbacks in 2011, rap artists have always shouted out their favorite fashions—as well as where they got them from.

Such is the case with Vinnies Styles, a Brooklyn clothing store and one of New York’s premier shops for new fashion.

“Pretty much the customers know when they watch MTV or BET and all of the videos—they’ll say, ‘I love what so-and-so is wearing,’” says Jacob Parris, who runs the shop with his brothers Desta and Paul. “The first thing they’ll think is, ‘Let me call Vinnies and see if they got it.’  So they kind of relate the artists to the shop and the shop to the artists. “

That correlation is an easy one to make when hometown heroes like Fabolous are namedropping the store in their lyrics. In his song “Body Ya,” Fab spits:

“…I’m a Brooklyn nigga anyhow, closet lookin’ like I opened up a Vinnies Styles.”

Not only was the shout out flattering, but according to Jacob, it also helped expose the shop to out-of-towners who visit the city.

“Due to that song a lot of folk from out of town will be like, ‘Vinnies, that’s the store Fab knows about. I know they have some dope stuff in there,’” he says. “They kind of already relate it to a store that has cool stuff in it. We want folks’ closets to be all Vinnies Styles like the Fab song.”

The three brothers opened the shop in 2002 after the death of their grandfather, who also ran a clothing shop out in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

“He started his shop in the early ‘70s and it’s still there now,” Jacob says of his grandfather’s store. “So you’re talking about 40 years. It’s a small shop so it’s still family operated. It’s a community shop out there. Whenever we had time we’d go see what was going on out there because it always amazed us that someone in our family owned something,” he says. “After his passing it kind of just gave us the energy to move on with it.”

Since fashion and entrepreneurship already ran in their family, Jacob says it was a “no-brainer” that they started a business in that field.

“It’s all about quality and good detail,” says Desta, “but exclusivity as well. This market is really saturated so we have to provide something different. Our slogan is ‘Something different’ because that’s what we try to have for our clientele.”

According to Desta, one of Vinnies’ main focuses is bringing new trends to their home borough first. Collections such as Paulies, Blood Sweat & Tears, Brown Paper Bag, G-Star, Cult Revolution, Charlie Appleseed and TI$A can all be found in the “Street Sheek” shop.

“We do a lot of research on upcoming lines,” he says. “You will see new collections and new things that our customers will gravitate to, that they can’t really find elsewhere. We break a lot of lines.”

Today, after nine years, one location change and the opening of a junior’s store aptly named Little Vinnies, the brothers Parris are enjoying the fruits of their labor. Outside of Fabolous, who also name-dropped Vinnies on his “Brooklyn We Go Hard” freestyle, the store also gets love from a good deal of other celebrities as well.

“We did a nice in-store launch with TI$A from L.A.,” Desta says. “Taz Arnold is pretty much dressing all the kids now from Lil’ Wayne to Chris Brown. He came through and did a cool in-store with us. Malice of the Clipse came through and did a book-signing as did Maino and his brother Mouse. It’s been pretty good.”

Vinnies also has its fair share of A-list athletes that fancy the shop as well, including New York Knick Carmelo Anthony, who recently paid the shop a visit.  But just like the city, the shop will soon be shared by two NBA teams when the New Jersey Nets relocate to Brooklyn in 2012, a block down the street from Vinnies on Flatbush Ave.

“It’s going to be good for Brooklyn and good for the economy as well,” Desta says. “So far, Brooke Lopez has stopped by to do some shopping. It’s starting to get that vibe where they’re starting to come around and treat this like their neighborhood.”

Although they’re proud of the celebrity clientele they attract, Jacob says they treat their famous customers exactly how they would a patron who works a normal nine-to-five.

“If a celebrity comes through, we don’t go crazy and try to press it if they don’t want it to be that way, Jacob says. “If it’s on some cool stuff, it’s generally left that way.”

Desta echoes his brother’s sentiments.

“People who know about Vinnies, they know that everyday people can mingle with celebrities and shop together and hold a conversation,” Desta says. “Its that type of environment. Vinnies is real down to Earth. They know that the customer service is good customer service. We treat everybody like celebrities.”

For more information on Vinnies, visit their website at http://www.vinniesstyles.com/. Vinnies is located at 239 Flatbush Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11217.