Taylor Swift Gets Vintage Chiefs Sweatshirt From Local Business
It was late October when Chris Harrington's boutique in Kansas City, Missouri, received an online order for more than $1,200 worth of vintage clothes.
The receipt, he told Business Insider, was unusual. The 38-year-old business owner said that curated secondhand items were more expensive than other merchandise at his store, Westside Storey, and shoppers typically bought only one or two vintage pieces at a time.
So when this mysterious online shopper requested five vintage Kansas City Chiefs sweatshirts priced at more than $100 each, the store's online-commerce platform, Shopify, sent a "medium risk" fraud alert.
"It was a larger dollar amount than we typically get, and there was a medium alert on it, so our online manager did some digging," Harrington told BI.
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After looking into the account that made the purchase, Harrington's team felt confident that the order was "tied to Taylor Swift somehow."
But when the "Midnights" musician attended a game on December 3 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and wore designer duds instead of vintage Chiefs gear, the Westside Storey team began to doubt that they'd see her wear the clothes.
"I was holding out hope but also giving up hope," Harrington said.
That's when Swift arrived at Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Chiefs play the Buffalo Bills a week later.
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"I started getting text messages — I had told some friends previously about the order — and they were going crazy," Harrington recalled. "And then my girlfriend came running downstairs 30 seconds later, and I was like, 'It's happening. She's wearing it. This is amazing.'"
Harrington said he wasn't sure where Swift or her team heard about his business.
One possibility is tied to Swift's boyfriend, the Chiefs star Travis Kelce. He follows the store on Instagram, and Harrington recalls the athlete shopping at Westside Storey on at least one occasion a few years ago.
But even if Kelce had nothing to do with it, Harrington said he was thrilled about the experience.
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"We've had hundreds of orders over the last 48 hours," he told BI. "Sometimes our online store lights up after a Chiefs game when we win, but this is 100 times more than that, and we lost the game. It was the Taylor effect."
The Taylor Swift effect: Kansas City edition
Harrington's journey with Westside Storey began more than 10 years ago. He lived next to a then-empty storefront and purchased it with a group of friends who wanted to see "what would stick."
As the store grew, Harrington eventually bought out his partners and "leaned into the local movement," selling artisan products made in Missouri and Kansas City-themed merchandise that appeals to tourists.
Another part of his business is secondhand clothes. Harrington said he'd always kept a few racks of vintage pieces on hand but really leaned into classic Chiefs merchandise five or six years ago.
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"We were selling Chiefs sweatshirts for $20, and people weren't really buying them," he said. "It was pre-Patrick Mahomes and before vintage really took off to the level it's at now."
But as the Chiefs rose to nationwide fame, so did interest in Harrington's vintage collection.
"Every year, it gets harder to find stock, and everything becomes more expensive and sought after," Harrington said. "But I have searches set up. I go to all the different fleas and markets that I know might have Chiefs stuff. And really, as a religion, I search for this stuff every day."
Of course, Swift's impact will probably make Harrington's job harder in some ways. Now, it's not just football fans who want vintage Chiefs gear — Swifties do, too.
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But Harrington said he only saw that inevitability as a positive.
"I think it's so cool that she's leaning into it and making it more of a mainstream thing," Harrington said of Swift shopping secondhand. "I've always been an advocate for vintage — not just for coolness, but for our economy and the environment — so I think she's very thoughtful about her purchases, and I appreciate that as a vintage lover."
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