There’s a distinction between vintage fashion and second-hand clothes. Dan Ahwa provides a guide that will help you separate the wheat and the chaff as mass retailers begin to realize the tactics used by greenwashers who sell second-hand clothing marketed under the vintage label.
If you head to any mass retailer these days, you’ll discover
A large part of the public messaging relies also on the notion that chain retailers are committed to circular economies — A business model that is built on the idea of producing clothes every week would be in total opposition to sustainability’s core values.
The only real way fashion brands can ever truly be sustainable is to consider how many new clothes they’re creating, because herein lies the vicious cycle of fashion.
The change in the fashion industry can only be slow, no matter how hard brands work to reduce their carbon footprint or invest time and resources into researching and developing certified, ethical fabric.
Here’s why vintage clothing is gaining popularity. — It’s not like they left, especially here in New Zealand. We love to browse charity shops throughout Aotearoa in all the small towns.
In recent years the resale industry has experienced a significant upsurge as Gen Z seeks to understand the world in a nostalgic way. Designers continue to embrace the comfort of vintage pieces with the hope of finding a common ground between themselves and their customers.
So the time is right to relook at people’s unabashed use of the term ‘vintage’, particularly when the offering is used as another greenwashing ploy. Take, for example, the term ‘pre-loved’, another example of a marketing buzzword employed as a way to make the term ‘second-hand’ sound sexier than it actually is.
Chain stores like Glassons include descriptions of ‘vintage’ finds as being “handpicked by our team who travelled to LA to get the coolest vintage styles for you”. Pre-loved clothing is not in line with its fast turnover of mainline collection.
Should these T-shirts, jeans and other common items be classified as vintage? It’s all subjective, of course.
This word is composed of the French words vin (wine), age (age), which means to improve over time. This is an example of how to use the term in reference to used fashion.
Vintage is not the casual band tees or ripped denim that often circulates the vintage stores of LA, or a Zara or H&M top that’s five seasons old. Vintage is the hard-to-find designer gems that you’ll sometimes find at places like Scotties Recycle or the designer racks at Tatty’s, and at some of our beloved independent vintage boutiques where owners painstakingly and lovingly source and curate their finds with a focus on ‘vintage’ quality garments that adhere to specific criteria.
Vintage clothing is often more focused on design and fashion, while second hand clothes tend to be everyday items.
“It is easy to dilute the term ‘vintage’ when marketing second-hand, re-imagined, pre-loved and thrift or, simply ‘used clothing’ in today’s world,” says Painted Bird Vintage stylist and founder Stephanie King. “It is also difficult to be passionate about keeping the words used for pre-loved clothing — What they do to the society — Very different from vintage. In the end, circularity and sustainability in the fashion industry are vital. Using it all and re-using it all should be the aim.”
Stephanie continues: “At Painted Bird Vintage, garments were designed, created, and then worn from the 1940s to the early 1980s. We curate true vintage that is 50+ years old, worn and unworn (deadstock), and this constitutes what we believe to be true ‘vintage clothing’. Anything else is retro, second-hand, thrift or pre-loved.”
In New Zealand, there are many op shops and second-hand stores that sell a mix of vintage and fast fashion. To find these special items, you need an eye for detail. I recently found Versace trousers with pinstripes as well as a Nina Ricci 80s skirt suit. For a keen eye, finding these treasures is what makes browsing pre-loved clothing racks so much fun.
The key to a vintage piece is its quality. Second-hand clothes are readily available on the market. Vintage garments are often more expensive than a new item of the same brand. The vintage piece from the brand may cost as much as double or triple what a new item would.
Vintage designer clothing often increases in value with time, just like art. As the cost to create a garment increases, designers are forced to choose fabrics of lower quality. This makes vintage designer clothing even more sought after.
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These older styles are the remnants from a period in which premium fabrics and trims were easily available. They immediately acquired the aura of exclusivity, making them unique. Here is It is a good idea to use a different language. Vintage in its purest, most natural form.
“I believe that the value and artistic appreciation of an authentic vintage garment is denied its importance by lumping it in with newly made clothing less than 50 years old,” adds Stephanie.
“The craftsmanship, fabric and detailing in design of these original pieces is unable to be recreated in today’s fast world without significant cost. It is essential to pay respect to original designers who have helped shape the fashion industry today. Second-hand clothing has a long way to go to get the coolness kudos that true vintage offers — if that Shein top even makes it through more than five washes.”