Vintage is the New Black

Let’s face it, even if you aren’t a fashionable person you can still be aware of the trends surrounding you. Just take a look around at the mall or a busy downtown area. If you grew up in the 70s and 80s you’ll easily see items that make you think, “didn’t I give that to the Goodwill a couple years ago?”. Fashion is frequently regurgitating itself (pardon the disturbing image in your heads) through old trends getting subtle face lifts. While there are only a few people who enjoy digging through musty old clothes in dimly lit Goodwill and thrift stores, it is becoming easier to find reasonably priced vintage items in popular retail stores.

One example would be Urban Outfitters which offers what it calls “Urban Renewal” clothing items. Vintage clothing are altered to be more attractive towards current buyers. Some items include high waisted Levi’s cut into distressed shorts or old band tee’s cut up into loose fitting tank tops. In the quest to be “different” it isn’t always easy. It can be difficult for a lot of individuals to see a diamond in the rough. Stores like American Vintage or Wasteland provide some of the digging for you. What I would call an upscale thrift store, these retailers are picky with their purchases from walk-ins. Buyers have the difficult task of visualizing old used items that could be transformed into everyday fashion wear.

Vintage finds are in the eye of the beholder and it isn’t always an easy task to find something you will like. Some people just seem to have the ability to see a shoulder padded, cropped and bedazzled top as a perfect match to high waisted black denim jeans and neon wedges in their closet. With the ease of finding vintage clothing there also comes a price increase.

A few months ago I traveled to Arizona for my cousins baseball tournament. Amongst all of the nothingness to do we decided to make a quick trip to the local Goodwill hoping to find some cheap golf clubs. As I normally do, I instead made a b-line for the denim section of the store. Usually there is no luck finding high waisted jeans in my size at the local thrift stores of Orange County but to my dismay this Arizona Goodwill was a gold mine. I immediately found two pairs of jeans and ran to the fitting rooms. While it is hard to see the beauty of what most consider “mom jeans” I knew once they had been cut and distressed, they would be just as good as those $50 finds at Urban Outfitters. Ten dollars later I am one happy camper.

For those hardcore thrift shoppers I’m sure it is difficult to see good thrift finds thrown into overpriced retailers, but it does show how easy it is for trends to pick up once they are placed in well lit areas. A huge chain like Urban Outfitters and American Apparel which offer a limited variety of vintage clothing gives off the signal to consumers that THIS is what is in right now. It is interesting to see how much of a reliance many have on local retailers for their fashion know how. While some can find it from the Internet or local thrift shops, shopping is much easier and less risky when you can purchase from a well known retailer. For those who don’t have the luxury of living in downtown urban areas it is near impossible to spot new trends on the street. Suburban areas tend to stick to what they know, and that is, what retailers in your local shopping center or mall provide. There aren’t many trend setters in the world and most trends don’t catch on until these trend setters have found something new to follow.

My question that then comes to mind is this, is it really vintage if you are getting it from a current retailer? Is it simply convenience shopping or someone just following the bread crumbs retailers are leaving them? The world may never know.