The Garment District, the thrift megastore in Cambridge, is celebrating 40 years in business this spring. If you could describe it in one word, what would that word be? For assistant manager James Deal that word is “pink.” 

Walk into the store at 200 Broadway and you’ll see plenty of pink, accenting a storied building where memories of the past mingle with the present. The painted wooden floor is peeled and scuffed, revealing neon green and blue patches of another vibrant time. Posted on the walls are old codes of conduct, which forbid rollerskating, skateboarding, and, famously, requesting that customers, “please do not harass the cats.” The quirky decor is the first thing you notice, but there are layers of rich history beneath.

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The Garment District resides in a massive warehouse that dates back over 130 years. The building started out as a soap manufacturing plant in the late 1890s, then transitioned through a number of tenants until Harbor Textile Waste Co. made a decisive pivot to textiles after World War II, manufacturing “wiping cloths and gloves.”

In the 1960’s Harbor Textile opened its doors to the public to sell scrap fabric by the pound. A Saturday shopping exclusive was open all day, giving residents in the area access to cheap deals on clothing. When the Garment District opened and Harbor Textile Waste Co. closed, the store owners adopted by the pound and expanded its size to occupy the entire first floor. By The Pound is a fully integrated part of Garment District and is open seven days a week with the rest of the store, but still stocks new clothing on Saturdays in homage to its business predecessors. 

The clothing inventory is broken up into different sections: men’s, women’s, contemporary to vintage, and subcategories for each type of clothing. As the seasons change stock on the sales floor is slowly cycled out. This wasn’t always the case – longtime employee Binky Rice recalls the now abandoned practice of “flips,” where over the course of one epic night the entire sales floor would be cleaned out and prepped for the coming season. 

It’s easy to miss all of the work that it takes to keep The Garment District running. Says Deal, “our business is much larger than some people might even be able to comprehend.”

A workforce of 46 employees at the store is divided into four main departments: warehouse, processing department, sales floor and the two-person team at Boston Costume, which joined The Garment District in 2007. Despite the laid-back appearance, at least 20 people across all departments are working at any given time, with sales associates organizing and maintaining the store over 9-hour shifts. As donations are received they pass through each department of the store to be sorted, tagged, steamed and prepared for the sales floor. 

Weekdays are spent stocking and preparing the store for the Saturday and Sunday crowds. Already-busy weekends became even busier in the summer of 2024 when a TikTok post about The Garment District went viral. The longtime neighborhood staple, established before the age of social media, now finds itself navigating influencer culture. Content creators vie for partnerships and gift card giveaways with the beloved clothing store to ride the wave of the popular #GarmentDistrict hashtag. 

With more than 40,000 garments on the sales floor, the store has a deep selection that can satisfy increased demand without chasing every online trend that dominates smaller boutiques and consignment shops. One recent trend among young people made store manager Susan Rowe take notice, though: to push away from fast fashion and support ethical businesses. It’s a movement that dovetails naturally with a store that recycles clothing.

The longevity of the store is a charming point of reference for many shoppers. “I haven’t been here for 25, 30 years,” said one customer, casting a nostalgic glance around the store. “It’s exactly the same. Probably some of the same clothes.”

But longevity is not without its challenges. In March the freight elevator broke down, which affected business operations and accessibility at the store. 

In terms of operations, the elevator was used to transport massive bales of clothing to different floors. And for accessibility, which Rowe called one of the biggest issues facing the building, a broken elevator means wheelchair-bound patrons can’t safely reach the sales floor on the second level. The timeline for repairing the elevator has yet to be determined. Improvements are expensive and permitting requirements can be complex due to the age and condition of the building. In the interim, the store is looking for creative workarounds to keep business moving. 

Despite the challenges, employees express a fondness for the space, working there and what the store means to the city. One sales associate says his favorite part of his job is working for a low-tech business that’s a “service to the community.”  

One special way in which The Garment District provides that service is through its partnership with Second Chances, a nonprofit that connects clothes to people in need. Before business hours, a small group of Second Chances shoppers peruse the sales floor, building free wardrobes for homeless and low-income residents of Cambridge and Somerville. Provided with a list of sizes and style preferences from their clients, the Second Chances representatives use what is already available to the public. 

In a tech-dominated neighborhood such as Kendall Square, the Garment District is a testament to longevity in the face of change. Throughout the day an intercom blares to life, cash registers ring and shutter while ’90s classics play through the speakers. The store is in many regards a  time capsule reminiscent of an earlier era. In a city that is constantly coming and going, the Garment District is a brick-and-mortar standby. 

“We’re just here for some reason,” remarks Deal. 

For 40 years that reason has been fun fashion and good bargains available seven days a week. Rowe, sitting in her office decorated with Polaroids of a beloved cat, smiled at the thought of still working at The Garment District in another 40 years. “I think,” she said with a laugh, “everyone would like to keep going for as long as they can.”

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Gabriella Collin

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