Introduction

    Introduction

In early 2014,

rap duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis won two Grammys for best

rap song and best rap performance for

“Thrift Shop,” an exuberant celebration of

thrift store culture. The music video of “Thrift Shop” features the rapper Mack-

lemore walking through a thrift store, trying different outfits, and receiving acco-

lades for grandpa’s style in clubs. This is not the first time thrift stores have been

highlighted as a place to get

retro clothes at bargain prices. Nor is the song “Thrift

Shop” the only cultural expression celebrating secondhand clothing. Contempo-

rary fashion magazines often feature celebrity photos whose dress is captioned

“vintage.” For example, in the December 2011

Elle

magazine, actress Jessica Biel

models as many garments described as vintage as from a current designer.

Lucky

magazine has a monthly “City Guide” featuring local boutiques –

including vin-

tage

– from cities around the world. Many cities have vintage

-themed events such

as

Mad Men

parties, Roaring 20s parties or 80s nights at clubs. Moreover, the

ubiquity of street style blogs like “The Sartorialist” have made wearing vintage

de

rigeur

for demonstrating sartorial savvy whether one is in London, Manhattan or

Tokyo (Woodward 2009).

Fashion usually connotes fast change and up-

to-the minute trendiness, yet

sporting “retr

o” by wearing decades

-old clothing is “in.” In fact, vintage dressing

has been fashionable for over 40 years. The aim of this paper is to provide a histo-

ry of when and how vintage style emerged as a trend in the United States. Previ-

ous historical studies on retro/vintage have focused on its emergence in the United

Kingdom; there is an absence of a similar history in the United States. Providing a

U.S. history of vintage is important given that the country represents an enormous

consumer market for both new and secondhand clothing. Moreover, New York

and Los Angeles are global centers of fashion and media production –

films, tele-

vision shows and fashion sites create depictions of retro/vintage style that circu-

late globally. Due to the considerable volume of i

ts media exports, the U.S. has

had more opportunities than many other nations to influence global vintage style.

As I trace the rising popularity of vintage style in the U.S., the various ways

the popular press framed vintage dressing a

re described. The em

ergence of vin-

tage occurs as a form of alternative consumption alongside changes in the garment

industry that led many American consumers to seek more “authentic” consump-

tion experiences. Rebranding used clothing as scarce and desirable through the

moniker

“vintage” is wrapped up in cultural constructions of authenticity and is