🎧 Returning to Red Light: Tacee Webb Buys Back Her Iconic Grunge-Era Seattle Vintage Store 30 Years Later
NEW Pre-Loved Podcast 🎤 with Tacee Webb, the original founder of the grunge era’s iconic Red Light vintage store in Seattle, which she started in 1996.
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🎧 Returning to Red Light:
On today's show, we're chatting with Tacee Webb, the original founder of Red Light Vintage in Seattle — a store she first opened in her early 20s in 1996, and is now buying back from its current, retiring owners 30 years later!
Red Light has been a Seattle institution since the grunge era when Tacee owned it, known for its eclectic mix of vintage, its vibrant community spirit, and oh yes! — its legendary naked shopping sprees.
In this episode, we dive into the wild days of Red Light in the ‘90s — when MTV was always filming there, Courtney Love was tearing through the store, and Tacee became one of the biggest sneaker resellers in the business, her store featured in the Wall Street Journal, Vogue, NPR, People, CNN, and tons of magazines in Japan.
“We would get 100 voice mails a day – people calling me to sell their sneakers from all over the country, it was WILD!” Tacee wrote to Pre-Loved. 💌
She shares stories about styling Alice in Chains for Rolling Stone, hosting bands like Modest Mouse in the store’s cafe, and why she old Red Light in 1999, the bittersweet reality of watching Seattle boom and price out the creative class.
And late last year, when she saw the Vanishing Seattle post announcing the original store’s potential closure, she knew she wanted to buy it back. Now, partnering with her daughter – who’s been part of the Red Light story since she was a baby – Tacee is bringing back the beloved Red Light traditions while reimagining vintage retail for a new generation.
“At Red Light’s peak, I was in my early 20s. I'm in Vogue magazine, I'm on the cover of the Wall Street Journal, in People magazine, MTV — just endless interviews.
I'm buying hundreds of thousands of dollars of sneakers and denim... one time I came down to Portland and bought $200,000 worth of shoes in a weekend!"
—Tacee Webb, Red Light
This is a conversation spanning decades of vintage fashion history from someone who's lived it all, so let’s dive right in!
DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:
[7:09] Growing up on the San Juan islands in Washington, and her first “store” called The Rust Factory.
[10:42] How Tacee’s style evolved from small-town vintage fashion lover, influenced by Madonna, her Pan Am flight attendant mother’s Pucci collection, and family heirlooms.
[15:46] Her first encounter with vintage dealer Gloria and putting a 1890s wedding gown on layaway as a teenager.
[18:59] Red Light became a vintage hub on the Avenue in Seattle after it opened in 1996.
[22:12] Red Light was grunge rock headquarters including a cafe space where bands like Modest Mouse played, and MTV filming there constantly.
[26:34] How Red Light approached vintage retail like traditional retail in the ‘90s.
[28:15] The reworking and upcycling happening at Red Light in the ‘90s
[29:38] Stories from the grunge era: styling Layne Staley for Rolling Stone, having Kurt Cobain’s clothing in the store, and Courtney Love’s shopping sprees.
[37:36] Why Tacee sold Red Light in Seattle back in 1999.
“It felt like when grunge rock was winding down and ending, everyone got a haircut and went to work for Bill Gates. The city had felt very artistic and free and everything felt really affordable — people were thriving.
And then all of a sudden it felt like some of the best places closed, the best clubs, and people were just... the big money that came into Seattle and it just felt very corporate."
[42:15] How seeing the Vanishing Seattle post about Red Light potentially closing made Tacee realize she wanted her store back.
[44:06] Partnering with her daughter – who has been part of Red Light since she was a baby– to take over ownership.
[48:27] Red Light will re-open under Tacee right in time for its 30th anniversary, with a celebration weekend including a fashion show, and the return of the naked shopping spree.
[56:42] Reimagining Red Light for a new generation with a membership-based vintage wardrobe lending library.
[1:05:08] People kept asking Tacee when vintage would “go out of style” in the ‘90s, and her philosophy on fashion cycles.
[1:08:33] Tacee created vintage denim and sneaker buying guides in the ‘90s (pre-internet!) to educate dealers and pickers.
[1:09:58] Tacee’s massive sneaker buying operation and trips to Japan.
[1:22:54] Her parents’ incredible vintage collection on the San Juan island
[1:25:12] Plans for re-opening with an anti-fascist themed fashion show as a benefit for ACLU, including other vintage shops and dealers as a homecoming to the Seattle vintage scene.
Thanks for listening to Pre-Loved! You can find me across the internet on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn! 💛 - Emily
Possibly the greatest episode of Pre-loved Podcast ever!
This episode was so effing good!!! You simply must do something with her parents!