Lillian Jiang put on a dark blue shirt patterned with oversized plantain-leaves, one item of unique “outdated” clothing she selected from vintage shops in downtown Northampton, an activity she does as entertainment on weekends.
Recently, more young people have been willing to build their wardrobes as Lillian does by buying vintages and resales. The ThredUp’s 2019 annual resale report indicates that the resale fashion business satisfies the two biggest demands of the Instagram generation: to be seen in new styles constantly and to be a sustainable conscious consumer.
Kaitlin Larue is the business manager of Urban Exchange in downtown Northampton. She folds clothes that customers try on. Some of the best sellers in the store, Dansko clogs, Patagonia outwears, and other sporty, brand-name clothing surrounds Kaitlin while she works.
Western Mass consumers tend not to embrace other world-renowned upscale brands such as Gucci and Chanel. Although Urban Exchange carries some luxury clothes, the most popular products in the store are from less-expensive brands. And so the shop earns a considerable amount of profit, according to Larue, by curating a selection of second-hand clothing.
Urban Exhange’s profit reveals the value of the resale industry. It also tells us that we need to care and value more about our environment and think more about our own lifestyles, “We are creating the mentality that just because it’s second hand or used doesn’t mean it’s worthless. It can still hold life in a second life. It’s very important not just for clothing, but anything we have that we throw away in the society. It’s important for us to value things and make them last longer.” said Larue.
To make things last longer and to avoid the problems of fast fashion, Amber Vokt, an independent fashion designer who sells her vintage designs online, centers her brand around sustainability. Vokt wrote in an email, “Fashion has emerged as a daily movement where things are in and out in the blink of an eye. Shoppers are overindulging which then leads them to throw away more clothing.”
Other people in the business are not surprised by this fast, updating process of fashion. Denise Miner and Timothy Saldo, the owners of Roz’s Place, have been in the business for over 40 years. Denise stands in front of store’s opaque window, showing the floral dresses inside the store, with her dog on the sidewalk of the main street. Tim works indoors at the front table, surrounded by a glass sales desk presenting various vintage accessories. They are used to seeing the quick rising and ebbing of fashion tides.
“History repeats itself. Fashion history repeats itself. Something people are wearing now, they wore it before. It’s just the nature of being human in the world and that’s what happens. A new idea is really a recycled idea of fashion. They didn’t create it. They got it from someone else that was in history. Nothing is really new. It’s all a piece of something that happened before.” said Saldo.
The idea of recycling itself is also not new. “It’s eco-friendly because you’re recycling.” said Frankie Molongoski, the owner of Sassy Pants, “Reusing it and knowing that not five other people are gonna have it on the street. Vintages are one-of-a-kind. People buy things that suit their personalities.” Frankie also misses the Retro Fair, which used to take place in downtown Northampton in the area between Thornes Market and the Parking Garage but just got cancelled this year.
Ultimately, vintage shopping is a way to shop sustainably, but also a way of showing personality and “valuing things make them last longer.”
