Vintage tees and hoodies are top drawer at new Stan’s Vintage locale in McHenry

Mick “Stan” Johnson is on the lookout for a “Wayne’s World” T-shirt, circa 1992, with the film’s “Exsqueeze me?” catch phrase imprinted in neon pink.

That may be his holy grail of vintage clothing, second only to one he already owns: a T-shirt from Disney’s 1999 “Tarzan” movie. Only a few copies of the Tarzan shirt are still known to exist among collectors, and he has one of them, Johnson said.

“That T-shirt is one of the rarest made,” Johnson claimed.

Johnson has loved vintage fashion since he was a teenager in Indiana. He moved back to the area – his family is in the Woodstock area – to attend Elgin’s Judson University and later got a degree in social work online from Liberty University in Virginia.

Now 33, Johnson spent his 20s as a child protective services social worker, most recently in Milwaukee, before burning out.

But fashion – particularly vintage fashion – was something Johnson was into since high school.

“What drives vintage is uniqueness, finding a nostalgic item from the 1990s or early 2000s that no one else is wearing,” Johnson said.

That love of fashion became Johnson’s passion project, leading him to open his first vintage clothing store in Hebron, Stan’s Vintage Thrift, in October 2021.

His second store, Stan’s Vintage, opened Feb. 14 at 3409 W. Elm St. in McHenry. He picked Valentine’s Day on purpose, hoping couples would come in looking for hoodies they might want to steal from each other.

“My test run was in Hebron,” Johnson said of his store concept. Rent there was affordable, “there is a quaint little downtown” and he was able to attract customers who were on their way to Lake Geneva.

“It was just close enough to civilization for Woodstock, Crystal Lake and McHenry” clients to find him there. “But no one showed me more love and support than the McHenry residents,” Johnson said. “Kids in college and high school started finding me through social media, Instagram and Facebook. The high school was a huge part of it. Kids going to college stayed with me and made the drive out to Hebron.”

He was also impressed with what McHenry is doing to bring small retail back to the downtown “like the Riverwalk shoppes. Those are a good test run for those businesses,” Johnson said.

Building on the Riverwalk Shoppe’s successes, McHenry is working with retail businesses like Johnson’s to find them space in McHenry, said Economic Development Director Doug Martin.

“There is not a whole lot of available retail space. That is part of the problem,” Martin said. “We are working on some plans for redevelopment in the downtown area for ... more retail space.”

Johnson’s Elm Street location is small, with just 400 square feet of retail space. The racks are filled with tops: hoodies, sweatshirts, T-shirts, sweaters and jackets no newer than about 2005.

Where he sources the clothing is a trade secret, Johnson said. “Of course, there are people thrifting” who have found some of them. “We have good thrift stores in McHenry ... but that only gets you so far.”

“Even destroyed Carhartt sells ... workwear that looks like it has been through the wringer.”

—  Mick "Stan" Johnson, owner of Stan's Vintage in McHenry

He also attends vintage clothing expos, checks out estate sates and flea markets, and travels to “rag houses” that recycle clothing that would otherwise be turned into rags, Johnson said.

What he has ended up with is a line of curated vintage clothing, carefully selected for his customers.

His sweet spot is sportswear – Nike, Adidas, college spirit wear and all things Chicago sports. Then there is the music and pop culture-related clothing with a side of nature and outdoors thrown in. Carhartt pieces are also very popular.

“Even destroyed Carhartt sells ... workwear that looks like it has been through the wringer,” Johnson said. “A little bit of paint and some staining in the right area adds a texture. It is not for everybody. Some want clean, the street style. The ripped up ... experimental vintage would be the best description.”

Much of his clothing comes from the men’s department, but his clients are a 50-50 mix of men and women. Sizes tend to run large, as most people are looking for oversized T-shirts and comfortable sweatshirts.

Johnson never stops looking for the next vintage piece either. He can be found going back to those thrift stores and vintage clothing sales on the weekend, to keep his stock fresh.

“I have enough back stock to open a third location if I wanted to,” Johnson said. “I am confident in my inventory. I can replace as fast as I can purchase.”