It’s been a while since I last scrolled my Instagram timeline looking at new clothing being teased by brands for imminent drops. I can’t remember the last time I was up at 8 AM refreshing the Supreme website for a piece of clothing that was bound to sell out. I don’t even go on the Aimé Leon Dore Reddit the day before a drop to see what leaks the early access users are posting of the drop and price lists. The time in my life when I had clothing drops cataloged in my head like the Dewey Decimal System is over, and while I still buy some basics new and unworn, I’ve shifted my mindset to be less consumerist.
San Francisco’s retail scene is pretty abysmal at the moment. There are still some diamonds in the rough, but retail giants like Abercrombie, Uniqlo, Gap, Banana Republic, H&M, and more have shuttered their doors in Union Square leaving empty storefronts on a barren Powell Street. The retail experience has been slowly dying over the last decade or so as shoppers make the shift to online - a phenomenon that was exasperated by the COVID-19 pandemic that saw many San Franciscans working from home, all but eliminating weekday foot traffic from the already-struggling downtown retail district. I don’t understand why people wouldn’t want to shop in stores. Sure, I buy a lot of stuff online, but the retail experience is unmatched. Being able to run your hands along the fabrics, smell them, and try them on, helps you get a better sense of whether or not you jive with a given garment. I love talking to store associates about product; it’s one of the best parts about shopping in real life. Alas, we’re seeing less and less of it these days, which is a tragedy.
I was let go from my job at a big fashion company a couple of months ago. I’m not technically allowed to talk about it, but if you want to know what company it is, you can Google which big San Francisco clothing company did a mass layoff recently. I got severance and unused PTO (which was a lot because I’m a workaholic and never took vacation time), which is enough to support me for a few months. While using severance to pay my mortgage and living on unemployment, there’s not a lot of room in my budget to be able to splurge on the latest clothes. There are brands that are doing some cool things right now. Corridor, Second Layer, Our Legacy. 4SDesigns and Bar Knuckles are a few brands that I’ve really been enjoying lately, albeit from the sidelines. Keeping up with clothing can be difficult, especially if I know I won’t be buying any, so I know that I’m behind the eight ball when it comes to what’s trending.
Instead of buying new clothes, it’s been a fun experiment to lean back into the wardrobe that I’ve been building for a long time and build new outfits. I’ve always loved clothing, and, lucky for me, I’ve been the same height since I was 12 (I’m 29 now). I have a decent-sized archive of clothing to dig from. I have Ralph Lauren circa-2010 that still fits me and Gap Oxford shirts from 2012 that I still wear regularly. I’ve owned some of my hoodies for over a decade. The only letterman jacket from 2009? I still rock it to this day. I have pieces that I wear more often than others, but on any particular day if I am having somewhat of a “sartorial writers’ block” then I just go through all the cases of old tees, hoodies, and jackets to see what I can throw together.
In the case that I must buy something, instead of going to the mall or a niche menswear store, I now turn to eBay. Business of Fashion published a piece about how vintage Gap has been flying off of the metaphorical shelves on sites like eBay and Depop lately, but the brand’s revenues continue to decline. So why are vintage Gap clothes so hot, while the brand continues to struggle? Well, the answer is multifaceted. For one, younger shoppers are more environmentally intuned, and they are aware that shopping secondhand is better for the planet. They also embrace originality, and one of the quickest ways to achieve this is to shop used because the chances of running into someone on the street in the same vintage anorak you just bought are slim to none. Also, the quality of clothing has deteriorated over the last decade or two. Massive clothing brands all have the same goal: maximize revenue while keeping costs low. They’re outsourcing production to cheaper regions like Indonesia or Bangladesh. You can feel the modern product and be able to tell that it may not stand the test of time or even just the test of the washing machine. Old clothes were made better, stronger - built to last. So many old brands used to be made in America. Old Russell Athletic hoodies and Levi’s jeans used to be made in the USA. They were built like a rock. These days many major brands have compromised on quality at the hands of the almighty dollar.
To add to the idea that clothing brands are all about their profits, there’s one more glaring reason that new clothing is not it right now: there’s too damn much of it! Why do brands need to release every week? Why are major clothing conglomerates doing massive monthly releases? Why are luxury houses doing a dozen collaborations per year? The world did not need Gucci and Balenciaga to come together and supply the guy with the worst taste in the world with new gear for a whole season. Why are luxury brands releasing so often anyway? There used to be two seasons: fall/winter and spring/summer. Now there are pre-fall, pre-spring, cruise collections, and more. There are collaborations between two brands, a brand, and a pop culture reference, brands and movies. The list goes on. Fashion feels too corporate right now, and it’s taking the fun and creativity out of it. Once something cool goes corporate, it’s hard to keep the same recipe.
The last reason that I love old clothes is simply that they feel better. I want my clothing to feel worn in and loved whether by me or someone else. There’s more soul in clothing I’ve had for a long time. They really feel like mine. I want to appreciate my clothing and be thankful for that. It’s difficult to do that when you’re buying new stuff every week.
New clothing isn’t doing it for me at the moment. That can change any minute, but for now, I want to stick with what I already have and learn to love and cherish all of my pieces. If I have to buy something, I’ll buy vintage. There are so many good finds out there. Check out old J. Crew, Ralph Lauren. Abercrombie, Banana Republic. If you really feel adventurous, look up vintage Brioni, Armani, Prada, or Missoni. You’ll be surprised by the prices that you can find for these ultra-luxury houses. There are things, I’ll always buy new: plain t-shirts, socks, underwear, most hats, but these days, it’s fun to dip my toes into the past and see what kind of magic I can recreate. You can too. The treasure hunt is on.
Peace and Love