Tagged up: An Interview with Nick Taglianetti

A CHAT WITH THE MAN BEHIND THE NEW CENTRAL CT POP-UP, @tags.thrift

Photo by Mar Pelaez

The Central CT thrift scene is growing, with the newest addition being a pop-up at 70 Lasalle Road in West Hartford. “Tags” is Nick Taglianetti’s project, his first foray from online clothes selling into a brick-and-mortar location. The temporary pop-up is quietly tucked between a hair salon and Song (home of some incredible Szechuan cuisine). Taglianetti has set up this otherwise unassuming space beautifully with his collages, ambient lighting, and an eclectic accessories collection. Go check it out for the next few weekends and keep reading to hear from Nick.

Photos by Mar Pelaez

Tell me more about this pop-up and what you are hoping to accomplish, how did this idea come to fruition?

Yeah, so the pop-up's name is tags. It's an old family nickname that comes from Taglianetti and I'm playing off clothing tags. I started in retail in high school. In college, I worked at Abercrombie and Urban Outfitters for a long time. And I never really thought I would do much with retail but I learned how to do changeovers with stores and fixtures, displays, all of that. And [the pop-up] was spur of the moment. I just started selling my wardrobe on Depop because I had too many clothes and people were buying them. I thought about just doing a pop-up here when I saw there was a space. I inquired with the landlord, and she let me have it and it went from there. It's kind of an accident. 

You said you started in retail, but can you tell me more about how you got into thrifting and reselling? 

Yeah, so in college, I went to Central and I would go to the downtown Goodwill and get all the slouchy old vintage stuff, which wasn't really fashionable then, but that was what rave culture was going towards at that time. I kind of just found an eye for thrifting. My grandfather was always into collecting. My family is known as good finders. If you lose something, one of us will find it.

Some of Nick’s favorite items at the pop up.

In your opinion, does Connecticut have its own unique swag/sense of style and if so, how would you define it? 

Yeah, so I'm actually from the Philly area, but I mostly grew up in Connecticut. [I pull] some inspiration from San Diego too. I lived there for a while. I think Connecticut has its own thing going on. It’'s a fusion of Boston and New York influences. We're good at picking here and there from different genres of clothing and piecing it together. 

Where do you do most of your scouring? What do you look for in a good item? 

Actually a lot of it stems from art. My eyes go towards color first. I look at patterns. I look at textures. So I'm always looking for those things first and then from there I look at shape. Not so much the brand, I just try to give every item that I'm looking at like an honest view because sometimes might overlook something because you're not giving it a chance. It also all depends on your mindset when you're in there. You have to stay present and not in your emotions or thought processes. If not, picking can get weird because there's so much to look through and there's so much different energy around you from all the people there and all the different articles of clothing. So I found the best thing to do is stay as empty as you can, to properly be an observer. 

What is the coolest item you have ever sold? 

Oh, that's a good question. I have to think about that for a minute. It was a sun-washed, yellow, Bottega zip-up card holder. 

Did you end up keeping it for yourself? 

I kept it. Yeah. 

Does that happen to you a lot? 

It doesn't happen a lot. Actually, since I've been doing this I've bought fewer things for myself than ever. Ironically, doing this pop-up helped me detach from my belongings. 

What's a recent fashion trend you hate and a recent fashion trend that you love? 

Maybe the over-generalization of classic Adidas trainers, like the ones that are spin-offs of classics that Adidas is putting out that people are willing to put on their feet. Shoes that are styled to look like Sambas or Gazelles, but they aren't — that bothers me a little bit. Something that I really like right now is the interpretation of denim. Another thing that I'm really into right now is any hue of yellow.

Tell me about the inspiration for the branding for Tags?

I worked at the New Britain Museum in high school, and I was inspired by sculptures and objects for collage. I use museum pub domains to source digital materials and history books for analog materials. That's where the curious eye for the thrift store comes from - looking for the find.