Look out Portland: Zebra Club has slipped quietly into your downtown retail scene. The shop, which apparently achieved some notoriety in ’80s-era youth fashion, at least in the NW (can anybody confirm? I spent the ’80s wearing dorky school uniforms in California), has two locations in Seattle, one in Bellevue, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Berlin. And now, apparently they have one in Portland. Kind of. Tacee Webb of Portland Design Collective called to say she hung up Zebra Club signs in the front windows of her shop today, with a plan to split the space—Zebra Club up front, and PDC in the back. Webb also says there’s a potential for Road, a men’s line owned by Shah Safari, which also owns Zebra Club, to eventually share space under the PDC umbrella as well.

For now, Portland’s Zebra Club is just a sign promising a November 15 arrival. I have messages out the striped camp for confirmations of their plans, but Webb seems to think there are some serious Zebra parties in Portland’s future.

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UPDATE! Confirmation from Shah Safari’s Director of Communications Julia Rice, though maybe not on the date: “You are correct that Zebra Club and ROAD will be moving into the PDC space. The opening date isn’t officially nailed down yet and I am waiting to find out this timing before sending the press release. I can tell you that this will happen before Black Friday.”

Marjorie Skinner is the Portland Mercury's Managing Editor, author of the weekly Sold Out column chronicling the area's independent fashion and retail industry, and a frequent contributor to the film and...

5 replies on “Zebra Club”

  1. I TRIED SHOPPING AT THE ZEBRA CLUB IN SEATTLE ONCE. IT DIDN’T WORK OUT FOR ME; I COULDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY A PEACOAT WOULD COST $1000.

  4. I used to work at Pike Place Market in Seattle and the Zebra Club on 1st Ave. was the place to shop in the 80’s. It was sort of a precursor to Urban Outfitters, but better quality of clothing. I’m curious if they will be bringing the huge amounts of cocaine all the employees were doing back then to this location.

  5. I remember the Zebra club from the 80’s. I would stand outside, wearing my hideous Sears Toughskins, peering through the window with cupped hands, like Tiny Tim looking at the Christmas Turkey which was so far out of his reach. There was a girl who worked there, who I fantasized about regularly throughout my teenage years, but the only attention I got from her, was mockery over the haircuts my mom would give me. The years haven’t been kind to Vicky since then, however, and now I can afford 1000 Peacoats without a second thought, so I guess every dog has his day, even if it’s 25 years later.

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