When I returned home from Evanston this summer, I opened my closet door to make an alarming discovery: Apparently my dad had transformed my closet into an “attic” for all his unwanted clothes. Faced with an array of hideously passé shirts, I immediately burst out laughing at the mental image of Dear Old Dad, decked out in some of these loud, mismatched, plaid, collared. Wait a minute…
The realization came quick and heavy: These would be a modern-day hipster’s dream come true! The shirts, purchased in the late ’80s and early ’90s, would fit right in today in a room full of Buddy Holly glasses and skinny jeans.
What changed? Plaid used to be something to avoid at all costs (except in discussions with my great aunt on the Scottish side of the family, who could ramble for hours about our family’s specific pattern). In my youth, the only experience I had with specs that looked anything like today’s “artsy glasses” came from depictions of losers on TV, so I always made sure my frames were thin and unobtrusive. Cardigans were the domain of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Clothing once considered undesirable is now being championed — why the sudden obsession with yesterday’s rejected clothes?
The answer could lie in the economic climate. Today, amid the recession, thrifty shoppers can bring in clothes they’re not using anymore to consignment shops for tax deductions, cash, or store credit. Says Lauren Halfen, manager of Rag-O-Rama in Indianapolis, “People have been coming in and kind of trading things out as opposed to spending their money [...] We do get about 80 percent [of the clothing for sale] from the public.” As a result, the thrift shops themselves appear to be weathering the economic downturn quite well. “We’ve definitely seen a rise in sales during the recession just because people are looking for an alternative [to retail stores],” says Halfen.
Closer to home, the Crossroads Trading Company on Sherman Ave. is experiencing similar growth. The manager Meghan Bailey said “more people who would never shop resale before are starting to [...] try our store out because of the recession.” This trend holds true for resellers across the country: The National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops stated in a press release that in the second quarter of 2009, 64.1 percent of their member stores experienced increases in sales, with an average increase of 31 percent.
The proud recycling of fashion is a bit easier to swallow when one takes economical practicality into account. The stylistic elements of today’s “indie” look are still a bit baffling, though; practically speaking, my father’s loud plaid button-downs are no cheaper or more “useful” than something tamer that could just as easily be found pre-worn.
“I think more often than not, people are just looking for one-of-a-kind items,” says Halfen. “People say, ‘I want something that looks kind of like this, but nobody else has it.’ That’s why we mix in the vintage with the current stuff [...] Everybody’s looking for skinny dark denim, and the plaids are coming back, it’s all kind of nerd chic and kind of — hitchhiker?”
The Hitchhiker Couture Revolution. Fascinating. But it does make sense. People are always searching to define themselves as unique individuals, and often these styles catch on with the public, which is how today’s lumberjack-inspired vintage movement became as big as it is. More than any look in particular though, it’s the D.I.Y. spirit that defines contemporary attitudes toward fashion and culture. “It seems like right now there’s no particular style at the moment, which is interesting,” Bailey says. “It seems like people are just mixing and matching vintage with new and high-end designer with cheap brands.” Thanks to thrift shops, shoppers looking to create their own styles have access to the entire body of past and present fashion movements.
A sure sign that fashion has come full circle is that the trendier stores now make their killing on vintage-inspired clothing. “We share our customer base with Urban Outfitters and American Apparel,” Bailey says. “Of course, people are always going to love Urban, always going to love American Apparel, and are going to want to buy their items brand new [...] but people will see an item at Urban Outfitters, then come here and see something that’s the same style, the same brand, for maybe $30, $40 less. They can buy something really similar here for a lot cheaper, it’s just that it’s been worn before.”
It’s true. Shirts in the style of my father’s retail from $40 to $60 at Urban Outfitters.
So how do places like Urban stay in business when old clothes — which new clothes now emulate — are infinitely cheaper? According to Bailey, “a lot of people are just turned off by the idea of thrift stores. Not everybody is willing to re-wear clothes. But because of the recession, I think a lot of people are now willing to give it a try.”
I’ll take my chances. I bought a pair of shoes at Rag-O-Rama for $20 that would have run me $80 elsewhere. I’m beginning to like this “thrifting” business. But that doesn’t mean I’ve embraced fugly plaids; I think my father’s shirts will be my first trade-ins.