LAFAYETTE PARISH — Dakota Gary has always chased meaning in the moments most people overlook. Inside his downtown Lafayette vintage shop, Advintage, racks of old clothing and shelves lined with retro games, movies, and memorabilia say as much about his story as they do about the things he sells. Gary describes his work simply: “I sell vintage clothes and nostalgia, even the clothing is nostalgia based.” He never followed a traditional path and says that began early. “Well one, I guess I just never had a job like a sit down and clock in job,” he said.
Gary grew up closely shadowing his older brother, spending time around him and his friends. “Me growing up as a kid and him being in high school and stuff and hanging out with him and his friend, just that kinda stuck with me,” he said. That early influence led him to create his own lane. As a kid, he sold chips and candy in school. When asked if that meant he always had an entrepreneurial spirit, he didn’t hesitate: “Oh yea.”
That drive continued into his teens and early twenties, when he and a friend detailed and washed cars for extra money. “I really had no clue what I was gonna do like in highschool for sure until we started doing that for money,” Gary said. But by his mid-20s, he felt pulled toward something different. He just didn’t know what it was yet.
Walking through his store today, the connection becomes clearer. He points out the old clothing tags, the faded movie posters, the worn denim jackets — all reminders of the history that keeps him hooked. “I love being able to learn, I learn a bunch of history stuff like through these clothes, just finding it still always get the excitement seeing something different and I’m always looking at something different,” he said.
One of the things that stands out the most in his shop is his love of retro signs. He paused in front of a bright, weathered one and said, “I don’t know what it does to me or why but they make me feel like I’m at home.” For Gary, those moments of recognition tie together the many phases of his life — the kid selling snacks, the teenager washing cars, the young adult searching for direction.
He said it’s never been about building a spotlighted business or chasing a title. It’s about filling his time with purpose, the same way he always has. “It’s always just been about filling my time and providing some sort of meaning. Whether it be the meaning of you can get chips and candy from me or I can fix your car, or I can sell you clothes,” he said.
In a shop shaped by memory, Gary continues writing his own story one piece of nostalgia at a time.
