This local market turns Hotel Congress into a monthly hub of vintage clothing

When the Tanque Verde Market started searching for vendors for their first event last year, Gabby Smoyer filled out the application.

For the last 2½ years, Smoyer has been running Cowtail Vintage, finding and selling vintage clothing: a 1900s antique corset cover, a Rolling Stones tee from their 1975 tour, a gingham top from the ‘50s.

However, when the Tanque Verde Market finalized the vendor selections, Cowtail Vintage wasn’t one of them. Smoyer understood completely and had no ill will toward the decision, but wanted to reach out to the market’s organizer Michelle Bullock to get feedback.

Bullock was sweet as can be and had nothing negative to say about Cowtail Vintage. Instead, Smoyer wasn’t selected because the Tanque Verde Market had received so many applications from vintage vendors that Bullock couldn't accept them all.

“She was like, ‘A lot of vintage clothing vendors applied’ and she said, ‘There really should be a vintage clothing market,’” Smoyer says. “That was sort of this catalyst and this lightbulb went off in my brain. I was like, ‘What am I doing? That needs to be a thing.’ I thought about all the people I spent time with — either in vintage when I’m sourcing or the people I talk with — and there’s not really a place for us all to be together all at once. We need that space, so I was like, I’ll just create it.

“Michelle pushed me — at the time, I felt let down but it was this positive thing that happened out of it,” Smoyer says.

In August 2023, the Desert Haze Market was created. The teeny market originally held at Crooked Tooth Brewing Co. quickly became a hub for vintage clothing.

When that first market came to a close, it was clear Desert Haze had already outgrown the space. Smoyer sent emails to three potential locations, hoping another venue — one at least a little bigger — would be interested in playing home to the market.

Hotel Congress responded first and the rest is history.

“We got together and talked logistics and we really connected and liked the ideas we were talking about,” Smoyer says.

Desert Haze is now held on the Hotel Congress patio once a month, sometimes in conjunction with a live band or other events. Desert Haze returns to the Tucson icon, 311 E. Congress St., 6-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, alongside a performance by Jenny Don’t and the Spurs. Admission is $5. After that, Desert Haze will be at Hotel Congress from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 with no admission fee.

At each market, you can usually expect to find 13-15 vendors with racks upon racks of vintage clothing. Most of the vendors are from Tucson, but there are a few who make the trek from Flagstaff and Phoenix.

“I feel like that says a little about the market in terms of the vendors wanting to participate,” Smoyer says. “And then our clients — I’ll never forget this experience I had with a couple. Sometimes I just check in with people. I’m like, ‘Hey, how did you hear about the market?’ and they were like, ‘I saw an ad online and we’re from Casa Grande so we decided to make a day trip out of it and go to the market and get something to eat.’ That impact is so special.”

“I’ve never been part of a community where even if they don’t buy anything, they show up,” Smoyer says. “It makes me emotional thinking about it. It’s this overwhelming support no matter what. There are certain people that just show up and they’re like, ‘You’re doing amazing,’ and they’ll go to every single (vendor) and say that to them.”

The best part for Smoyer, though, is watching the community grow and succeed. Smoyer is from Michigan but moved to Tucson five years ago — in their time here, they have not only strengthened bonds within the vintage community, but they’ve also collaborated with outside organizations like Femme Photo Club to source local photography.

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“When I see my friends that are also vending, seeing them win and seeing them succeed, that’s the biggest gratification for me,” Smoyer says. “With the market, I always try to have two new people that have never done a market before. Seeing them finish a market and they’re not destroyed and they made money and they’ve sold some items and they’re like, ‘I did it!’ That’s the biggest gratification for me and I’m like, ‘Yeah, and you can do it again!’”

“It’s created a cohesiveness between people that participate in the market,” Smoyer says. “That’s kinda what I saw, not that that was lacking, but there was a little bit of a need for that — for people to help each other more and share ideas. I see that now. We show up and we’re sharing ideas with each other and supporting each other’s small businesses and sharing best practices during down time at the market.”

Smoyer has always been a customer of vintage, but imposter syndrome struck when it came to the idea of starting a business of their own.

“I think one day I just woke up and I was like, I think I just need to do it and take that step forward,” Smoyer says. “I think the quality (of vintage clothing) is amazing. The history of it is so cool and thinking about what might have been going on in the world at that time when it was made, politically or economically or all those things that impact fashion and clothing.”

Of course, it’s also about sustainability.

“I think right now there’s really a lot of overconsumption and I think personally people need to step back from needing a new coat every year,” Smoyer says. “Pick this one coat — maybe vintage, maybe new — that’s going to last 10 years. And that’s your coat.”

Some of Smoyer’s favorite vintage finds are bowling shirts (they said this to me as they were wearing a vintage bowling shirt with an embroidered “Henry” under the collar). Smoyer doesn’t have a closet packed to the brim with clothing, though — it’s actually quite minimal. It’s what they say is part of their ethos to not be excessive.

“We talk about (sustainability) a lot but I think it still needs to be said always. I go thrifting a lot and there’s just so much fast fashion out there and it just breaks my heart,” Smoyer says. “If I get the chance to have a conversation or slow down with someone to talk about why (this) is important, I totally will.”

Follow the Desert Haze Market on Instagram to see future pop-up dates. 

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