Why Vintage?

by Nova

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Sustainable  –  Unique  –  Accessible  –  Quality  –  Timeless

 

  • Sustainable

By shopping vintage (second hand, thrift, etc) and choosing to reuse an item already in existence, you reduce your footprint in several ways:

  1. Extending the life of an item lessens it’s impact. Think of it as a formula:

 product footprint = resource used to produce ÷ time in use

  1. Reusing also keeps things out of our landfills and reduces the amount of energy spent to process our waste.
  2. Reducing our consumption of new products greatly cuts our impact as there is an enormous amount of natural resource used to create each new item available for purchase.  By choosing a vintage alternative, you help diminish the ruthless and unsustainable drive to produce, consume, discard, produce, consume, discard, repeat.  Vintage shopping is part of a sustainable lifestyle with the message we all know well: reduce, reuse, recycle.
  • Unique
  1. Fashion is about self-expression, not about consumption.  When you choose to shop vintage, you will always have more options, not just the styles that fit the dictated trends of the current season.  True style comes from being creative, finding what works for you, and having fun!
  2. Vintage does not mean dated.  Maybe that 80’s dress you loved with the huge shoulder pads doesn’t feel right (you may even doubt it will ever be cool again – but just wait. Everything comes back around).  Let’s consider for a moment some 80’s items you would wear.  After all, 10 years is a long time, and there were many different phases and trends throughout the 80’s (and that’s only one of many decades to choose from!).  How about those sleek wool pants?  The slinky silk jumpsuit?  That sexy leather dress?  Absolutely.

We fashion our store into collections, bringing together vintage pieces from all different time periods to create a group that is fresh and fashion forward, not retro.

  • Accessible
  1. Vintage – or second hand – shopping is available to everyone.  Yes, you may have to choose where to shop based on your budget, just like with contemporary stores.  But it’s out there.  I promise.
  2. Throughout history, along with fashion trends, there have also been “trends of body”.  Different body types have been the “ideal”* at different times.  When you shop vintage, you find clothing made for every body.

*We take issue with the culturally prescribed “ideal” body type.  Every woman’s body is beautiful.  There is no such thing as a “perfect” body, though our current culture works very hard to keep every woman believing she is less than ideal.  (Look for another story to come on this subject very soon.)

  • Quality
  1. With an older garment, the quality of the material, the durability, the way it was made, sewn, tailored to fit is far higher than anything available today.  Things made in the past were made to last, to be passed down, repaired, and loved for generations.  When you fall in love with a vintage piece, it will love you right back.
  2. For example, with vintage boots, you will find that the quality of the leather on the inside is just as high as that on the outside.  In today’s production, they skimp on the interior, using poor quality leather or synthetic material.  When you have a boot with sturdy, durable, pliable leather on the inside and outside, you get a boot that will last much longer, will mold comfortably to your foot while keeping it’s shape. (To read more about our footwear, check out this story.)
  • Timeless

Because older things were made to last, they were also meant to stand the test of time.  We often hear from our customers, “All of my favorite clothes come from your store.  I wear them all the time.”  We believe this is in large part due to the fact that these garments are outside of the realm of the quick fads that fade just as quickly. Instead, they become staples in your wardrobe, those items you rely on, that make you feel like you can conquer the world when you put them on, because they show you and let your light shine through.

 

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