Rumors Boutique - Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC

Rumors Boutique is a buy, sell and trade store in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The thrift boutique offers a wide variety of vintage clothing for women and men, as well as accessories and a small selection of new items purchased from wholesalers. Rumors handpicks its pre-owned garments to provide “high quality clothing at starving artist prices.” The store caters largely to young people and college students in the Triangle. Most of its profit comes from in-person transactions, but Rumors’ Instagram page gives out-of-town customers the chance to buy featured items and reserve them for pickup.

History

Owned by Casey Longyear and Marshe Wyche, the store opened in 2013 after Longyear visited Carrboro and latched onto the town’s unique vibe. The business partners and friends opened the first Rumors location in Richmond, Virginia, in 2007. At just 22 years old, Longyear and Wyche funded the storefront without asking their parents for financial help or taking out loans from the bank.

The name Rumors comes from people asking Longyear and Wyche about ‘rumors’ that they planned to open a clothing store, but in a tone that hinted the women might fail. The pair recently opened a third location in Durham.

Location

Located on North Graham Street behind Al’s Burger Shack, Rumors is just a short walk away from UNC Chapel Hill’s campus. The store’s affordable prices and quickly adapting fashion trends attract many college students, while the selling and trading option keeps them coming back.

Sell/Trade Process

Rumors normally has regular hours during the week for customers to bring in clothes they’d like to sell. These items are inspected by an employee while the customer is free to shop. After the clothes are inspected, the employee offers two selling prices: one for store credit and one at half that price for cash. The store buys, sells and trades to give items a second life, promoting sustainability and avoiding fast fashion.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the store has canceled all in-person consignment buying until the ban on non-essential businesses is lifted in North Carolina. The store will be opening online from 1-5 p.m. on weekdays until further notice and continues to sell individual items on its Instagram account.

Typical Hours