On a recent blue-skied Saturday afternoon, I made my way uptown to Madison Avenue for The Millennial Decorator’s pop-up at Still Here’s Upper East Side store. Tucked away in a corner, beyond the racks of blue jeans and knits in autumnal hues, stood founder Julia Rabinowitsch at the center of a bustling crowd who had come to shop her latest vintage fashion and accessories edit.

Two neat rows of vintage Chanel loafers, Manolo Blahnik slingbacks, and Tom Ford-era Gucci pumps were lined on a stainless steel shelf next to Still Here’s own rotating vintage pieces. A no-label antique beaded bag from the 1920s dangled from a hanger, while a gold evening purse that Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy had owned was propped up on a neighboring chair. On another table, a trio of jewelry trays held bottle pendants from Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., along with some of her work for Halston—all an intentional curation that Rabinowitsch tells me she’d been sourcing since the summer.

The pop-up opened its doors at 11am; by the time I arrived around 2pm, many of the best finds were long gone, but there were still treasures to be had. As Rabinowitsch and I chatted, we were interrupted by someone eager to purchase a pair of brown Chanel loafers that she’d been after for a long time. “No one has been able to fit in these!” Rabinowitsch beamed as she closed the sale.

“Having that experience of seeing a highly-curated edit, trying things on, and establishing an emotional connection—it’s such an amazing way to engage with my community,” Rabinowitsch says of her third pop-up, which brings to life her love of vintage designer footwear and accessories (with a particular emphasis on Cartier watches and Elsa Peretti jewelry) in a deliberate way. Two days after this one ended, she was already plotting which city to do next.

Pop-ups, of course, aren’t anything new, but the way vintage curators like Rabinowitsch use intimate physical spaces to telegraph their point of view is. More than just a business strategy to boost sales, it’s a way to bring back the romance of in-person shopping with niche curations—and to lean into the thrill of discovery that appeals to both casual browsers and collectors.

Few embrace that idea as authentically as Mariana Vergara, founder of Paris-based Merci, c’est vintage, who has hosted 10 of her signature “Le Pop Up” events (so far) in Paris and New York—each one featuring the participation of emerging female designers.

I met Vergara earlier in the spring, in a jewel box suite at The Fifth Avenue Hotel in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood—the space itself a cabinet of curiosities that reflects Vergara’s own warmth and self-assured eye. Alongside her own array of vintage tassel clutches, pillbox hats, and sterling silver fish brooches were collections from close collaborators who joined from around the world: There was Milan-based Silvia Dusci from jewelry label Le Sundial; Paris-based jewelry designer Olivia Ball, from Laoli; pajamas and socks from Rome loungewear label Schostal; and handcrafted ’50s-inspired blouses and jackets from Puerta Negra in Caracas, Venezuela.

Showing collectively brings about another form of community-building, as many of the women who take part in Le Pop Up don’t just return for multiple iterations, but lift each other up and grow together. That’s certainly been the case for Laoli founder Olivia Ball, whose handmade fine jewelry creations have been present at Vergara’s last two pop-ups, first in New York in March and then again in Paris last month.

“Mariana’s really talented in choosing the right designers to show and knowing where there’s a true story,” Ball says. Most inspiring for her has been seeing how Vergara juggles growing a viable online presence with selling unique, high-end pieces both in-person and via DM.

Visibility is another critical component for Vergara, who invites industry insiders—editors, creators, buyers—to attend her salon-like events. She found a kindred spirit in designer Julia Sloan, of the Mexico-based label Sloan, after meeting her in New York—they collaborated on a shell bag and belt over the summer, then held a small pop-up together in Ibiza at Casa Jondal mid-August.

Vergara’s popups build on the idea of a trunk show, where you can discover a new brand, meet designers and founders, and shop directly from them, whether then and there or later, over DM. (Laoli’s beaded pieces have been seen on fashion insiders like Leandra Medine and Ramya Giangola, Le Sundial’s on Lauren Santo Domingo.) Vergara also encourages participating designers to offer customization or pop-up exclusives as a way to both add intrigue and encourage more mindful consumption.

Merci, c’est vintage will return to New York City in early December with a holiday pop-up at The Invisible Collection, a design gallery-meets-townhouse that gestures toward a new chapter for Vergara as she deepens her connection to discovery, craftsmanship, and community.