Brothers Shane and Jared Perlin, sporting recent U-M Ross business degrees, have teamed up on a subterranean shop near campus reselling mostly vintage U-M clothing.
When they were growing up in West Bloomfield, Shane says, their mom would often shop at thrift stores. “So we’d always run to the sports jerseys. And it kind of started there.”
He started reselling online with a friend as a U-M undergrad in 2017. “We did a pop-up shop at a sorority, and we made a ton of money in like two hours, and I was like ‘This is fun!’”
Jared, two years younger, enrolled at Michigan State and had even faster success with Spartan gear, suggesting that it could become a full-time pursuit for the pair. He completed a one-year master’s program at Ross in 2023. “Everything I was learning, I was actually applying to the business at the same time,” he says.
They wrote up a plan and got financed through Hebrew Free Loan, so Shane moved back from Dallas, where he had marketed Frito-Lay for PepsiCo. They opened in a S. State St. basement space not far from The M Den, which they see as both a competitor and a complement. “We have a lot of people come in with an M Den bag and still get something here,” Shane notes.
Some 300 to 350 “one of one” items are for sale at any given time, sourced from thrift stores, estate sales, online finds, or anyone who walks in and wants cash or store credit. Jackets and crew neck clothing have been hot sellers, as are Rose Bowl and 1997 National Championship gear. They also offer U-M memorabilia and other vintage clothing finds, particularly graphic T-shirts.
“Everybody’s got different memories and different experiences, and that goes back to the nostalgia of why someone wants to buy a certain piece,” Jared says.
“The fun part is meeting people, hearing the stories,” adds Shane. “It’s just being part of the community.”
University Vintage, 324 S. State. Wed.–Sat. noon–7 p.m., Sun. noon–5 p.m. Closed Mon. & Tues. universityvintage.com
