Over the years I have been asked many times how Bootyland got it’s name. It all started back in the 90’s when the shop was being created. On of the original owners Katia was looking for a name for her shop that was envisioned as a like shop on the hill that had a mix of new and used. With a selection of local made goods, vintage, and culturally inclusive clothing as specialties. Her friends were a gay couple with a little vintage shop on lower Pine St came up with the name Bootyland! It was a innocent, sweet, and silly merge. As new parents know when you have babies life is full of lil booties. The drawings for the logo and sign tell the story of that mix. Two kids were merged as the models for the sign. The name and the sign came together. The sign was on the front of the shop from 1995 to 2005.
When the building was remodeled the sign came down and a new one was born. Simple and revealing only the name many had grown to know. It was around 2006 when The Stranger named Bootyland as the most inappropriately named shop. In true Capitol Hill style we were pushing the boundaries.
We we are often confused with Babeland and they with us. It makes phone calls interesting and delivery drivers confused. At one point in the early 2000’s we had a drawing to try for a new name. We were surprised at the cheer and persistent love for the name Bootyland. It stuck and is one you won’t forget. One is the funniest things today is no only all the people taking pictures of the sign but also all the ways in which passers by can’t resist but to call out Bootyland as they walk up the hill.
We are moving the shop to a new neighborhood and wondering for the name will take there. We will let you know the details as they come about.