There’s a vibrant community of local entrepreneurs located in Salt Lake City who pride themselves on personal expression and inclusivity. Through the lenses of clothing and body art, three local apparel shops—A ’La Mode SLC, Copperhive Vintage and Twisted Roots—celebrate expressive clothing styles, while tattoo studio Everybody Tattoo is at the forefront of the modern body-art movement, offering unconventional art styles that you can’t get in any other city.

Celebrating Yourself with A ’La Mode SLC

265 E. 900 South - 845-393-4446 - alamodeslc.com

“We want to make women feel empowered in their shopping experience to try something new, maybe out of their wheelhouse,” says Angelique Gordon, Co-Owner of A ’La Mode SLC. She and her sister, Co-Owner Jasmine Gordon, schedule in-person consultations in their location, adjacent to SLC hotspot, Liberty Park. A ’La Mode stylists offer their services to help clients feel empowered to take their style into their own hands.

“We try to examine all of their needs and wants to get them the best looks possible,” says Jasmine. This enriching endeavor comes through in the collection of eclectic, on-trend styles—ranging from sun dresses, mule shoes and neckerchiefs—that are meant to accentuate the features of women’s bodies of all sizes.

As a Black-owned business, A ’La Mode’s website and promotional material brings diverse representation to the forefront. A ’La Mode’s celebration of inclusion on all fronts underpins the welcoming atmosphere of the shop. “Representation of different types of people will forever be important,” Jasmine says. “Not only is it important to include all races, but also all sizes and different ideas of beauty.”

Throwback Thursday Every Day at Copperhive Vintage

2219 S. 700 East - 801-702-9884
copperhivevintage.com

Timelessness is a quality that’s difficult to achieve, but rising to the challenge are Jacqueline and Logan Whitmore, Owners of Copperhive Vintage, who specialize in curating an array of mid-century or mid-century-inspired apparel. Copperhive Vintage is a family-owned and -operated business, and Jacqueline feels like she’s honoring her past and LatinX cultural background through the dedication she puts into the store. She describes her familial values as “make do” with an importance on hard work. “I’ve taken these daily values into the shop everyday,” Jacqueline says.

Inside Copperhive Vintage lies a lot of history in the available items. “We give our customers the opportunity to own a daily relic of a past era, and reuse it into something that they can love in this present life,” Jacqueline says. The store swims in an aura of charming mid-century sensibilities. They have two in-house brands—Obnoxious Plastic and Chubby Dust Bunny—emulating that same feel. Copperhive Vintage has an outstanding selection of vintage items that appeal to everyone, such as graphic T-shirts, bolo ties and patterned frock dresses. They source vintage clothing from many eras, making it easy to coordinate your modern closet with what you find in the shop!

Twisted Roots and Representing Reggae

156 S. Main St. - Instagram @twistedrootsut

Twisted Roots wears many hats—“reggae,” “smoke shop,” “hippie” and “African,” among others—and appeals to a wide variety of people. Owner Ibou Fall is from Senegal, where reggae culture and the “chill island vibe” are popular, and he incorporates these sensibilities in an assemblage of other cultural movements that make for Twisted Roots’ distinct feel. Fall says, “I am actually trying to provide the valley with an outlet that’s here for Africans, Pacific Islanders, Caribbeans and anyone who’s open-minded enough to see themselves in it.” Twisted Roots’ wares range from swimsuits, skirts to small statues and tobacco products.

As far as Twisted Roots’ overall presence among SLC shoppers goes, Fall says, “We want them to be part of the experiment called Twisted Roots, that they feel like it’s the community’s.” The immersion into the culture of Africa and reggae is potently felt within Twisted Roots’ environment upon setting foot inside amid Bob Marley merchandise, Pan-African-colored accessories and items such as Rasta slouching beanies and Jamaican wax-fabric pants—perfect for those who grew up in these cultures. They also “do well with hippie clothing,” Fall says. “You come to the U.S. and realize all that go along with incense-burning, festival outfits, smoking accessories, etc.” If you’re feeling like a shopping spree, Twisted Roots’ central Downtown location has got you covered.

Unconventional Tattooing by Everybody Tattoo

401 N. 300 West - Instagram @everybodytattoostudio

In the burgeoning area of 300 West, next to Blue Copper Coffee, is Everybody Tattoo. Owner Victoria Minji Lee has intriguing roots in the art of tattooing. She began to teach herself stick-and-poke tattooing in 2012, and as she finished up her fine arts degree, she began to consider tattooing more seriously. During her professional career, Lee created a tattooing appellation—“Minjiyang.” Lee says, “‘Minji’ is my given Korean and middle name, and ‘yang’ is translated to sheep in Korean. When I was coming up with this moniker, I knew that I wanted to include my Korean name.” Lee strives to produce an all-inclusive environment within Everybody Tattoo and is proud of what she’s accomplished so far.

Everybody Tattoo chiefly inks “flash” tattooing, which refers to pre-drawn designs that can be chosen and tattooed on a client as is, usually without multiple appointments. Everybody Tattoo’s flash style features human figures, faces, animals and flowers as subject matter. These stylistic traits are executed with a detail-oriented blackwork and illustrative technique that’s distinctive to Everybody Tattoo. When compared to more conventional tattooing forms, the work at Everybody Tattoo features softer lines and an interpretive, whimsical approach to the centuries-old practice.

Each business owner speaks proudly of the close-knit and multifaceted small-business community located in Salt Lake City. In exploring these shops, you can be assured that switching up your look will be easy with the multitudinous styles here for you in Salt Lake.