Why I Started a Store for Plus-Size Vintage Clothing - TeenVogue.com |
| Why I Started a Store for Plus-Size Vintage Clothing - TeenVogue.com Posted: 12 Jul 2019 12:18 PM PDT  In this op-ed, Berriez vintage shop owner Emma Zack details her experience shopping secondhand clothing as a plus-size woman, and why she started an Instagram account that sells vintage clothing curvy people are often told not to wear. I was 12 years old when I cried on the floor of a Macy's dressing room, one of those carpeted fitting rooms with the harsh overhead fluorescent lighting and three full-length mirrors that make you cringe from every angle. My mom walked in and found me bawling in the corner. Her arm was weighed down by the pile of potential bat mitzvah dresses we both knew weren't going to zip all the way up. I still remember that day, 15 years later. I've been curvy since I was 10 years old, when I was already wearing grown-up bras to match my grown-up hips, arms, and legs. Back then, shopping was usually a traumatic experience: hours of looking through clothing I knew wouldn't fit me but was going to fit my thin mom or whatever friend I was with. Over the years, I've realized that my story is far from unique. Even though 67% of women in the United States are a size 14 and up, "plus-size" women only account for 1 to 2% of the bodies represented in mainstream media. Certainly, there has been a noticeable rise in the representation of plus-size folks in the fashion industry, including models Paloma Elsesser, Ashley Graham, Precious Lee, and Tess Holliday gracing the covers of magazines and posing in worldwide campaigns. Still, in the world of vintage and secondhand fashion, the representation of, and options for, bodies sizes eight and up isn't quite there yet. Like the fashion industry in general, the vintage market tends to favor a more petite body type. As I've grown older, I've learned to love my body and fashion that accentuates it. I discovered vintage clothing through my grandmother, who would have been a modern-day size 12 or 14. When my mom gave me a few of her pieces to try wearing, I remember loving their fit, uniqueness, and knowing I would be channeling my grandmother's energy each time I wore one of them. Wearing her clothing was the gateway into my thrifting obsession, which began when I moved to Los Angeles for college. I realized I had a better chance of finding something at a thrift shop that fit than at most retail shops. A few years ago, I discovered I could shop for vintage clothing directly from Instagram. That is, until I started scrolling. I remember sitting in my apartment for hours looking through what felt like hundreds of Instagram shops and never finding anything in my size. For the most part, the models looked smaller than I was at my bat mitzvah when I was 13 years old. Occasionally, I'd find a shop selling something 'oversized' on its page (still shown on a thin model), and I'd buy it immediately. Even if I wasn't particularly thrilled about the piece, I was just excited there was something in my size. Or so I thought. The clothes usually didn't fit, and none of them were returnable. After amassing piles of ill-fitting vintage clothes from dozens of online vintage stores, I decided to start reselling the pieces that didn't work for my body. My friend Vanessa and I set up a clothing rack in my living room, inventoried everything, came up with a name for my potential shop, and took photos of me modeling the clothing in my backyard. I sent the pictures to some friends and asked for their thoughts. Their genuine interest and excitement led to the creation of my online vintage shop, Berriez (formerly known as Fruity Looms). In November, I started having small photo shoots with more of my friends in my backyard. It was a time when we could hang out, play dress up, be creative, and have fun. And within a few months, people I didn't know started contacting me to ask if they could model, or if I could lend them my clothing for their own shoots. It didn't take long for me to notice the demand for plus-size vintage, and the data exists to prove it: according to Bloomberg, "The plus-size retail apparel market represents a $20 billion opportunity, with growth outpacing the overall market 17 to 7% in 2016, and a consumer base starved for quality clothing." But in an article about why "fashion disruptors" such as Everlane don't carry options above a size XL, a reporter for Vox wrote, "For fat women in the U.S., it's fast fashion or almost nothing." As of late, the fashion industry is shifting its focus toward sustainability and inclusivity, so why shouldn't curvy people have more clothing options, more specifically, vintage and secondhand?  |
| This New Vintage Motorcycle-Inspired Clothing Line Pays Tribute to Triumph - Gear Patrol Posted: 12 Jul 2019 07:43 AM PDT  Heritage, quality and pride: These are the guiding lights that led the new collaboration between American apparel company Left Field NYC, and Triumph Brooklyn. Together, Left Field's Christian McCann and Triumph Brooklyn's Brian Grimes set out to pay homage to the classic American workwear style of the early-to-mid 20th Century, as well as the more-than-a-century-long production of Triumph motorcycles. Of course, while a love of historical style and design was a major catalyst leading to this collaboration, the true driving force was the dedication to durability and craftsmanship that went into the workwear and motorcycle hardware from this era. It's this commitment to vintage style and durability that provided the throughline that makes this collaboration so cohesive. Similar to the work Left Field NYC is doing in recreating classic clothing materials and styles, Triumph also has their hands in a vintage-inspired line with the "Modern Classic" series, where the bike designs are based on the originals of each model, but updated for safety and efficiency. After combing through countless vintage images of bygone Triumph logos and styling from the English cycle company's past, the folks at Left Field NYC sat down and gave the world a thoughtful 12-piece collection, all made in New York City's borough of Queens. While the selection includes a number of tee-shirts, socks and hats that all proudly rep Triumph and Brooklyn, the $300 Muleskinner denim jacket pictured here — made from 13-oz selvedge denim, equipped with solid brass buttons, put together with triple-needle stitching and dripping with classic Triumph logo patches — embodies the heart of the collaboration. But there's plenty more notable items worth looking at, so make sure to check out the full collection at Triumph Brooklyn. Gear Patrol also recommends: |
| You are subscribed to email updates from "vintage clothing" - Google News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
0 Yorumlar