By
Lisette
Dennis
VINTAGE or
VERY NEW?
Good Question
Vanity Gee spoke animatedly about buying clothes—vintage clothes. The
twenty-something newlywed offered her age-old reasons for buying thrift—great
style, good quality and bargain prices.
“I bought this beautiful Italian coat from the 1960s. It looks like something
that Reagan’s mom wore in The Exorcist,” Vanity said. “It is sophisticated, and
I feel like an adult when I wear it.”
That all-wool cape coat cost her $150.
Since the success of AMC’s Mad Men, vintage is newly novel. Not only have
sales increased, but resale stores—thrift and consignment shops selling secondhand merchandise—rose by twelve percent, according to the National
Association of Resale Professionals. Goodwill Industries International, Inc.,
which was mentioned in the Macklemore and Lewis 2013 chart topping rap,
Thrift Shop, recently recorded annual sales topping $3.5 billion.
Additionally, performers often rely on retro to express their individuality.
Singer Janelle Monáe, who sports a pompadour and a tux onstage, said in a Huffington Post interview that she “loves to rock used clothes, simply because others
can’t jock her style.” She added, “I like one-of-a-kind pieces. I ۸