"What used to be a bunch of nice old ladies selling beautiful antiques has popped off into an inter-generational shopping bonanza."
Online vintage retail exploded during the lockdown. Depop grew to over 2 million active users buying and selling second-hand clothes.
While many Depop users cashed in on their closets or browsed affordable, hidden gems, a subculture of savvy resellers turned thrifting into niché online businesses.
Sellers are now taking their online shops to local flea markets for IRL pop-ups.
GenZ resellers have found an edge over the competition.
For most legacy antique and vintage shops, '90s & y2k fashion isn't considered truly vintage. Traditional outlets have widely overlooked stonewashed denim, bucket hats, and '90s-inspired baggy sweatshirts.
Suitable for the planet AND wallet.
This sustainable shift comes in perfect harmony with fast fashion's failure to meet the ethical demands of modern-day consumers. We are aware, more than ever; discarded clothes end up in landfills, burned, or shipped to rot in developing countries.
Giving a second life to overlooked threads is good for the environment and comes at a discount at the register. Cost-conscious shoppers can breathe a little easier knowing price tags are not unnecessarily marked up to appease capitalism. Additionally, supporting small, independent businesses warms the heart and benefits the local community.
Dive deeper:
Silverlake Flea Market (Los Angeles)
Nostalgic Threadz (Youtube)
Melrose Trading Post (Vox)
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