Noah “Nemo” Vizzerra, 22, manager and creative director of Wang’s Vintage in downtown Phoenix, hovered over two sturdy Carhartt jackets and utility pants that were lying on the floor in front of him. His little gold chain and the shock of faded blonde highlights dangled just above his phone’s screen as he set up his frame and took a picture. Genuine vintage Carhartt work jackets cost up to $ 190 and trousers easily cost $ 30. He shared the photo with the store’s Instagram story, where it was sandwiched between vintage t-shirts embossed with pop culture icons and logos, which ranged from $ 25 to $ 300 each. Established in 2019, Wang’s Vintage is one of the first Phoenix stores dedicated to a new wave of vintage resale specializing in t-shirts, jeans, and outerwear from the 1970s to the mid-2000s. The trend started with resale apps like DePop and Poshmark and has spread to brick and mortar stores across the country and, more recently, across Phoenix. ALSO READ: Antique Sugar Adds Style to Downtown Phoenix Since 2020, three more stores have opened in the Valley. And a growing community of online vintage t-shirt resellers is amassing sales online and through pop-up markets in the Phoenix area. “Every day there are more people interested in vintage,” said Vizzerra. Heaven’s Closet and Ivory House Vintage entered the vintage segment in early 2020. And in 2021, more online shops will announce their entry into stationary shop windows or go to new outdoor markets, namely Pickers Playground, to trade and sell Ts. But Vizzerra’s entry into the vintage space came much earlier than most. Growing up, Vizzerra’s father, Steve, ran a consignment shop for vintage blue jeans and western clothing, Blue Jean Buyer, in a small shop on Scottsdale and McKellips streets in Tempe. Vizzerra would inherit most of his vintage expertise from his father. But it wasn’t until high school that Nemo became interested in vintage – his own kind of vintage. His first love was ancient music, which grew into a passion for outdated bands and touring. Vizzerra favorites include Pink Floyd, Sublime, and the Smashing Pumpkins. Heaven’s Closet has a wide variety of vintage t-shirts, from band shirts to well-known brands, similar to these shirts from Michael Jordan and Bill Goldberg. (Photo by Kelly Richmond / Cronkite News) At the same time, older brother Nate, 29, began buying and selling high quality streetwear and sneakers. Vizzerra followed in tandem. The two began to market their finds through the online thrift stores OfferUp and Depop. The brothers called themselves “Wang’s”, a common Korean and Chinese surname, which they reinterpreted as a rough acronym for Wake and Grow. They unofficially opened their first shop, Wang’s Closet, in the living room of their family home. “My mother was always in the kitchen to fry or cook bulgogi,” said Vizzerra. “Smoke is coming from the kitchen and people in the living room are saying, ‘Damn it, that smells good,’ looking through shirts all day.” At one point, her mother got tired of fashion fans cycling through her living room at all times of the day, and so the brothers took over a little corner of their father’s vintage shop. “The whole place grew from this corner very quickly,” said Vizzerra. Wang’s Closet officially opened in 2017 after the Vizzerra brothers took over their father’s storefront in Tempe and closed a fashion gap in the Valley. The store started out with stores selling “hypebeast” clothing or high-end streetwear and sneakers from brands like Supreme and A Bathing Ape. Vizzerra started collecting vintage t-shirts on the side, depending on what he came across. It started with music ts and then spread to other areas of pop culture – sports, movies, television shows, memorable characters and phenomena with a certain nostalgic pull. He stored them in bins at the back of the store. And then those containers became a storage unit, and then the storage unit got out of hand. With a full inventory of retro clothing and an empty storefront on Seventh Avenue in downtown Phoenix, Wang’s Vintage 2019 came to fruition. Vizzerra separated Wang’s Vintage by niche, each with its own section. Although the t-shirts all share the same stitching and a strong sense of nostalgia, the graphic palette is sufficient. Popular cults include television and movies – with Disney shirts and Looney Tunes usually selling for a pretty penny – music merch from Nirvana to the Rolling Stones, sports jerseys and fan-ts from basketball to wrestling, and skatewear from brands like Welt Industries. “I know the kind of people, when they come in, I know which shelf they’ll go to,” Vizzerra said. Reselling generally gained in importance with the popularization of Depop, Poshmark, Grailed and similar apps and with the renewed interest in second-hand clothing. Wang’s second storefront, Wang’s Vintage in downtown Phoenix, preceded the widespread popularization of vintage t-shirts and jeans. In 2019, ThredUp’s Resale Report predicted that the value of the second-hand clothing market would double in value in the next five years as people move away from fast fashion. Fast fashion or cheap mass-produced goods make a significant contribution to textile waste. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that around 15 million tons of clothing end up in landfills every year. Fashion conscious and environmentally conscious are turning to used goods, with a large group devoted to vintage clothing. The result is a trend in both style and clothing consumption. This trend is now on the rise. Industry experts at ThredUp, an online consignment and thrift store, predict that by 2024 the resale market will overtake the traditional thrift and donation market, bringing the entire market to a net worth of $ 64 billion. The vintage t-shirt market is only a small part of the resale. Others use resale platforms to sell things that range from delicate 60s antiques to contemporary streetwear. Resellers typically source Ts from thrift stores or wholesale sellers, but the market is aloof from traditional thrifts and donations. And the resale market of vintage t-shirts is characterized by certain attributes – real vintage shirts are typically identified by the material, the seams and the wear and tear. The renewed interest in vintage t-shirts retains its strength due to its universal but diverse appeal. “The graphics and nostalgia are very easy to attract no matter who you are,” said Allen Pettenger, reseller and founder of the vintage pickers Playground. “No matter what you fancy, I have the feeling that there is a vintage T-shirt out there for you.” Pettenger also noticed the difference in quality. “If you felt a recently printed t-shirt compared to a shirt from the ’70s,’ 80s, or even ’90s, you just can’t get those soft, thin t-shirts anymore,” he said. For a brief stint in California, Pettenger began reselling at markets, pop-up events, and in his own store, Nothing’s New Vintage. He saw potential for more events in Phoenix after moving from Los Angeles. He thinks the trend is seeping across state lines. “The proximity to Los Angeles has a direct impact on the people here and the vintage community,” said Pettenger. “Everyone looks at LA, at what they’re doing. It’s kind of a Mecca. ”Markets have become synonymous with the vintage t-shirt market itself, with resellers selling successfully at the Rose Bowl Flea Market and the Silver Lake Vintage Flea Market in California. Pettenger launched Pickers Playground in Phoenix in November 2020, an outdoor street market dedicated to reselling vintage t-shirts. Only more than 20 suppliers took part in the event. “To be honest, I was afraid of organizing an event for a long time,” he said. “But being a seller myself, I felt it was important for the community that we all have a place to sell.” Pickers Playground evolved into a monthly event with a few breaks depending on demand. Now dozens of white pop-up tents and racks stocked with Ts populate the sidewalk and street in front of the Modern Manor in Midtown Phoenix. Markets and online sales dominate the vintage community, but Pettenger doesn’t think physical storefronts will be going anywhere anytime soon. “It’s a meeting place for people. It’s a place to shop. It’s a place to talk. It’s a place where you can sell your items, ”he said. “It’s an important part of the community and I don’t think it will ever go away.” However, if you look at the current trends in stationary retail, the new spread of physical vintage stores is going against the grain. The pandemic has posed new financial challenges for retailers everywhere. Shops closed across the country. And with the advent of e-commerce on the heels of traditional retailing, brick and mortar stores faced a brutal financial slump. Heaven’s Closet, a vintage store on 16th Street in downtown Phoenix, began sales on March 14, 2020, the same week that lockouts and home stay orders began to spread across the country. The store was open for two weeks and attracted steady business. But when Governor Doug Ducey issued Arizona’s stay-at-home order on March 30, 2020, Heaven’s Closet was closed for a month. “It was great up and down,” said owner Savanna Ruscetti. “We don’t know what is normal.” Ruscetti started selling women’s clothing online with a particular interest in what is known as the Y2K fashion of the late 90s and early 2000s. Ruscetti noticed the universal appeal of t-shirts. “It’s what people are looking for the most, it’s the easiest to sell, it’s the easiest to find,” she said. Ruscetti soon decided to open a shop. She quit her job and jumped upside down. “I kind of just had one dream in my head,” said Ruscetti. “I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but I knew I wanted to. So I just did it. “By the time Heaven’s Closet opened, Wang’s Vintage and Ghost Vintage were both established stores in Phoenix. But more stores were opening around the valley.” I only knew a few other stores and then about the same time, as if several others had just shown up, “said Ruscetti.” They’re exploding now. They’re everywhere. ” Ivory House Vintage in Goodyear also opened in early March 2020. AAA Selective Vintage on Grand Avenue opened a few months later in August, and Vintage World AZ plans to open a storefront in May. Although shop fronts keep popping up, Ruscetti doesn’t see this as a cause for concern. “Some people will obviously see it as competition and at the end of the day it will be,” said Ruscetti. “But as I’ve seen, they’re all really cool to each other and really support each other.” Story by Kiera Riley, Cronkite News
[ad_2]
