So I'm not really a vintage kind of gal. Every time I'd been vintage shopping, I was underwhelmed by quality (hello Golden Girls muumuu reject dresses) and overwhelmed by the smell of mothballs. Yet I'd heard such great things about Knee Deep that I had to check it out today while on a trek through the city. Heaven, I say! First, the store is immaculately organized. All the t-shirts live together, the dresses are all on the same rack, even the shoes and belts jive in harmony on the same table. Knee Deep even has a whole shelf of cool, leather traveling cases. Yes, I had to physically restrain myself from buying the whole lot. Okay, yes, there are some, shall we say, specific, styles (80s prom dresses, odd looking floral shirts, etc.) but the dress rack had some incredible finds. One of my girlfriends found quite possibly the most slammin' 70's Hawaiian floral dress that fit like a glove... for $24. While I didn't have the same luck she did (hey, it happens) I had a blast trying on all kinds of wild stuff I would normally never pull of a rack. Also, don't miss the cool retro scarves, ridiculously cool sunglasses and lots of leather clutches in the front glass case. You know those weird 80's looking sunglasses all the hipsters wear? You can get a vintage pair at Knee Deep and be cooler than them. Just a little tip from me to you. read more

haha this place is beyond fucking awful and i feel really bad for all of the people giving five star reviews. the people who run this place have their heads so far up their asses you shouldn't even bother trying to ask them anything because they are rude and unhelpful you can't even call them cause sometimes they'll just hang up on you! everything is retardedly over priced as well, i can easily find all of the things they have in any number of the terrific other thrift stores in pilsen for like probably 20% of the price they have it here i truly despise knee deep vintage read more

I'm very happy with my Irish fisherman's hat and some less-classic purchases (polyester scarf, and coffee cups with embossed flowers and botanical lore that I would have turned up my nose at in the 1970s but now see the beauty of). And I love the decor and have become, in ten minutes, emotionally enslaved to the puppy. This is a great space with friendly and intelligent owners or staff or whatever combination they are, but the best part for me was the tug of war over the Kermit toy, missing an eye, with this enchanting Border Collie-Australian shepherd mix. And now my cat has sussed it and is jealously attempting to walk on the keyboard and bite me. Sigh. read more

I always stop here when I visit Chicago. They have great prices... especially for this city. I always find more than one thing and when they see me buying several items, they knock a couple dollars off without me ever asking. Good men's selection as well. The staff is very friendly & knowledgable. They carry clothes from the 40s (some earlier) to the 90s. The shop is very well curated, with a lot to choose from. - these other reviews- I do not understand them... Okay, the people giving one or two stars b/c they mistakenly thought this is a thrift store clearly just have no business writing the review. I don't remember seeing a lot of modern stuff in here, ever. And please shut up about hipsters already. Isn't that just a go to insult when you find yourself in a place you don't understand and maybe you are not creative enough to pull off a cool vintage dress? Geez. read more

I kind of wish I could just live here. The store is filled with amazing vintage decor. Everything is very reasonably priced and the staff is more than helpful. I dare you to try to walk into this store and not see something you absolutely need. This is my new go-to place for those days when you just gotta have a new dress to boost your mood! read more

Me? I'm a big fan of the show "Good Times" and often wish that the fantastic 70's jacket sweaters that Willona sports would come back into vogue. As that hasn't happened yet, I have to go thrifting and paw through rack after rack of high school athletic tee-shirts hoping to find a gem in my hard to find size. As I'm size mega-mega tiny, this is more often than not an exercise in frustration. So, I was very pleased today to find Knee Deep Vintage right in the heart of Pilsen. This is the kind of place you would expect to find in Wicker Park, but these guys charge half of what you would normally pay. Fantastic vintage threads from the 40's to the 80's for men and women, with shoes, handbags, furniture, art, and housewares to boot! I spent about 2 hours down there today and walked away with a great Willona sweater, a nice 1950's shirt with ducks and such on it, and a great vintage tee-shirt from the 80's advertising Kevlar, all for about $30.00. I had to restrain myself - they had a kabillion gorgeous dresses that I wanted to walk out with, from cocktail party style to Izod shirt dresses. The fella was salivating over their extensive Western shirt collection and their amazing tee-shirt collection. Lots of sizes available and, unlike most vintage places, this store actually has a wide selection of items in size large for the guys. I'm told that a lot more stock is coming out soon, so I'll be checking back regularly. Clean fitting rooms, super friendly owners, very good prices, great selection, hard to beat. Bonus point for the fact that I don't have to paw through endless racks of crap to find really nice items. read more

After reading the positive reviews on here and being an avid vintage shopper, I decided to check it out. When first walking into the store, I noticed that it smelled awful. The staff seemed like they could have cared less that we were there and never said anything to us. I sifted through the racks and noticed that everything was really over priced, stained, missing buttons, or ripped. The clothing was old, not vintage. Such a disappointment! read more

I ventured to Pilsen to check out a hotel liquidation spot (a flop) and stumbled upon Knee Deep on the way home. Carlos and the Girl in the Adorable Poncho were warm and welcoming from the get go. The first piece I picked up was a wicked snake-print jumpsuit with interesting straps/back. Carlos pointed me towards a rack with more jumpsuits where I found a beautiful black knit, floor length, long sleeve dress. When I tried it on I fell in love with 1)how great the fit was, 2) how well it had been kept, and 3) the sleeves--don't know how to describe them, just know I love them. When my boyfriend told me about his office holiday party (happening next week!) I focused my browsing. I went in to the fitting room with about 8 pieces. All in great condition. No stains. No rips. No seam tears. Carlos sought out a pair of black suede pumps that brought each piece to life. I wanted everything (including the white summer frock with embroidered red roses; it was snowing outside) but left with the previously mentioned black knit dress, a Chicago boutique original LBD circa 1958, and a luscious cranberry velvet shift that fits like a dream. Oh, AND the pumps I had been prancing around in for about an hour. XTRAS: Lots of sunglasses, awesome bags, interesting hats... BOTTOM LINE: The owner has a good eye for what transcends eras--a HUGELY important quality as I love my vintage to be timeless. read more

This is my favorite vintage clothing store in Chicago. The gentlemen who run this establishment are very classy fellows. It is non pretentious, and they have such great taste. I just found out they will swap clothing. I love to shop for vintage clothing. You will find me at the thrift stores five of the seven days of the week. I tend to buy items that will never fit me, but I cannot help myself when I find a size two pair of sasson jeans. My heart screams you must have those. You will surely fit into them someday. Over the years I have come to collect a rather large amount of jordache, sasson's, and wrangler's, that I will most certainly never squeeze into. I think I might visit these chaps down the street and see if they are ready to make a deal. If you love vintage clothing without the japanese buyer price tag you must visit this wonderful shop read more

I love when Carlos starts picking out clothes for people in the store.

Meow! This place rocks! Spotted a gee-orgeous velvety leopard opera coat on my first peruse. Twas gone when I came back later that day flush with a freshly cashed paycheck... Still managed to drop a wad wading through rack after fabulous rack. Hooray for this delicious gem of a store, I'll be back in two weeks so long as my rent clears... read more

I adore Knee Deep! The prices are always reasonable. Everyone who works there is incredibly nice and attentive. The mix of things you can buy ranges from only fit for a costume party to everyday essential. Things are clean and well-organized. They have a great selection of shoes in larger sizes for those of us tall gals with large feet. The clothes don't have that godawful just-consigned smell. I'll be sad to move away from this place. read more

I tend to get really overwhelmed in vintage stores and pretty much avoid them due to high prices and way too much stimulus. I passed by this place after dropping my bike off for a tune up and decided to check it out. The guy working there was really nice and the selection was great! They had some really unique pieces without being TOO clownish (as vintage can get--I suppose it's a matter of opinion) but anyway... great selection with fair prices! Can't beat that! I bought a wool scarf for $3.28. read more

My friend got some great lace up Converse canvas boots from there! I stopped in once just to look around and the selection is great for women! Wish there were more skinny jeans for men, but they are hard to find so. Anyhow, when I am done saving up for expensive purchase (please note I am a broke college student) I will come back to splurge; seriously the things you will find here are a steal! Also can't wait for the next art show :) read more

I was so happy to see a new vintage shop on 18th (it's about time). I was pleasantly greated as soon as i walked in, the place was a vintage lovers dream: very clean and well kept, huge variety of great men and wemens vintage wear; not the typical overpriced vintage with stains and rips that smells like your grandma's basement. I can already tell that this is gonna be a pilsen fave. Not to mention the two guys that run the place are full of charecter with an eye for good detail. read more

This is one of the most diverse, interesting, and fun stores anywhere. Great vintage shopping with a mix of cool local at. Big thumbs up!

knee deep is by far one of my favorite places to shop in chicago. not only do they have an amazing selection of cloths, they just opened a whole room of housewares! i am so in love! their prices are right on, always reasonable and never outrageous. they have monthly sale parties and the best dog ever, augie. everyone at knee deep is freindly and helpful. i feel so lucky to have such a great place around the corner from my house. read more

This is not the vintage Mecca it's made out to be. It was like a slightly edited thrift store, but with "vintage" prices. Maybe I just came at a bad time, but I didn't find anything particularly exceptional or unique at all. This is the only vintage store I've visited in the city where I've managed to walk out empty handed and apathetic. Guy working at the time wasn't very welcoming either. read more

everyone in here is always extremely nice to me! I am a huge thrifter so I appreciate good deals, this stuff is def higher priced than salv army or unique, but it also doesnt smell like piss and have super rude underpaid angry employees.It just depends on you. I dont love every thrift store and i stay away some for a reason. They have great belts, purses and little nick nacks. They also have truly vintage, often handmade dresses. Im giving them 4 stars not 5 because they do not take trade ins but thats the only reason why read more

I really enjoyed myself in this shop. Tons to choose from. I was only coming in to scope the place out but did find a deal on a plaid button-up. Owners were really helpful and I loved the music playing, a little Fleetwood Mac anyone? Parking wasn't hard and I will be back for sure. read more

Very reasonably priced - especially considering what happened to Knee Deep's foresisters in Wicker Park - vintage! Great selection, wonderful, charming owners/clerks, AND, makes for a perfect afternoon in combination with 2 things: (1) one good girlfriend and (2) jumping bean for lunch and coffee! read more

its an interesting store for dealfinders and used clothing shoppers....nothing exciting for me.

Can I give this place 6 stars? I've been to vintage stores coast-to-coast and this might just be my new favorite. The great thing about Knee Deep is that these clothes are wearable. You would not come here right before Halloween looking for a costume and you don't have to dig to find something great. Everything is in great condition and I found items in every size for very reasonable prices. I tried on a bunch of things and liked almost all of them, but walked out with a shirt and a sweater for $26 total. This place is definitely worth going out of your way for. read more

What a great place. I bought a great journal and great sweaters for half off. And there are truly friendly owners.

This place reminds me of my favorite vintage/thrift store back home! Everything in here is worth looking at, and they have A LOT of clothes! And its not just silly stuff like tacky sweaters and the like - they legitimately have vintage clothes that are tasteful and really cute. My friend took me here and I fell in love with it. The prices are pretty reasonable ($10-24 for shirts/dresses/flannel, a little bit more for nicer shoes, etc) and when we went, most of the items were on sale! (25% off $10 is pretty good, don't you think?) They also have a back room that has more sale items and housewares. My friend was selling some clothes here and the owners/staff were so nice! I will absolutely be back here soon. I love this place. read more

This place looked really cute but was closed when I got there. Call ahead and take a CAB unless you're used to the area. Not a place to walk to. The coffee shop next door was great. read more

Great selection of clothes. Everything in good condition not musty and well sorted. Most dresses were in the $35-$60 range with some true treasures priced higher. The owner was really helpful without being pushy. I spent way too much money because I found so many great pieces. read more

This is my first review on Yelp and I'm glad it's this place! The first time I went to Knee Deep Vintage was in October 2009. After reading so many good things about this place, I was so excited to go. When I walked in the store, I saw lots of clothes grouped by color. I must say the majority of the Yelpers are right. This place has awesome clothes! I saw so many cute pieces, but I didn't find anything my size. However, I still left with two purses and a belt. So I was still happy. I visited this store again last night for the midnight sale and it was great! My little cousin and my big sister were with me. And even though they're not really into vintage clothing, they had a good time. My sister bought a cool vintage hat. And we had a good laugh when my skinny little cousin tried on a 70's jumpsuit that made her look like a disco diva. As for me, I ended up with two great vintage dresses. I was told that a lot of girls come there and buy the larger sizes. But I did some digging and found gold! One dress is a sassy brown dress from the 70's. The other dress is a cute and flirty orange number from the 50's. I'm in love. The store can get a little cramped, but the owners have managed to fit a quality piece in every corner. They also have nice clothing for men, nice shoes, and cool housewares in the back. And the people working there are helpful and nice. I felt comfortable there, and I would love to go back as soon as I can. This store is one of my favorites now. read more

The best thing about this place was the surprise factor. Really great finds, cool owners, reasonable prices and tons of guys clothes for the love of my life. A nice warm atmosphere to accompany a great selection of original vintage clothing....what else could you ask for on a snowy March afternoon? read more

When in search of old fashion clothing for fashion shows that you will only use one time on your model ..maybe twice then this is the right place. You can find a selection of skirts, dresses, etc. The staff is very friendly and welcoming. read more

Much more of a vintage store than a thrift store so the clothes are cheaper but quality and cool. Friendly owner, good staff. Big selection for men and women. If this is your scene I would definitely give it a chance. read more

I am so pleased to give Knee Deep five stars; they deserve every one. The staff are always friendly and helpful, and if you catch the owners they are especially helpful. You can tell they love vintage and the hunt for cool treasures. The store has lots of great, truly wearable items for men & women, the prices are affordable and the selection turns over pretty well so you'll always see something new when you go. They also have some cool housewares in the back, as well as a limited selection of off-season items. They have special events at the store as well, frequent 25% or more sales. Party and shop, hey hey! I don't frequent vintage stores as often as I used to because frankly, many of them have gotten douchey and snobby, acting all uppity about their racks & racks of old fusty clothes. Not Knee Deep. I actually have fun when I come here. You will too I bet! read more

Awesome vintage store and super helpful owner with no attitude other than wanting to help you look your best. Prices were fair and owner was very respectful of what we wanted to spend. Have a 60's party to go to and he found an ADORABLE dress, perfect for the party! I must have tried on about 20 different ones, most of which he picked out, and he was still bringing me other, lower priced options to see if I also liked something else at a lower price. He's a great salesman because his enthusiasm and positive attitude is infectious - we left totally psyched to be gussied up for the party! Went to about 5 other vintage stores before this one and this definitely had the best selection and the most enthusiastic owner! Highly recommend for all your vintage needs! read more

I am new to Chicago and have had such a hard time finding a vintage shop worth spending hours in. This store is awesome! These is a variety of different decade pieces from the 30's to the 90's. I found an amazing wool coat at a great price. It is organized well and offers small sizes which is sometimes really hard to find. This is my new favorite vintage store in the city. read more

Carlos has great style and knows his inventory! Put yourself in his care and you will be thrilled. Shopping for Mad Men era dresses for a wedding weekend in Napa. I'm a curvy gal, so this has not been an easy task. Carlos asked me to try several dresses and I no time, he found one I love, plus the perfect shoes! Great experience. Thank you read more

I visited about 5 vintage stores in Chicago (my first time in the city/state) and this was my absolute fave. Top 3 reasons why: 3.) FABULOUS accessories: earrings for $4-6 2.) Helpful, welcoming staff who answer questions, point you in the right direction, but aren't in your face. Example: one of the staffers (manager?) noticed one of the dresses my coworker was holding and pulled a few more from the same owner. She ended up buying almost all of them. 1.) A large amount of inventory with varying sizes, including smalls/mediums. El fin. read more

I got a red blazer type outwear for seventeen dollars. most of the clothes are little pricy for vintage shop, but they definitely have good stuff! read more

I had a fun time shopping with friends for a 70s inspired outfit. Knee Deep has a great selection of vintage clothing. Carlos is very helpful and friendly. I would shop there again. read more

WOW! What a great vintage store. Every time I go to Knee Deep I have to pick something up. Good prices and friendly employees.

Had amazing vintage and a lot of unique finds. Smaller store but the workers were friendly and sold me on the jacket I was looking at. A little pricier then I would like it to be but still a great place! read more