Abstract
This paper historicizes when wearing vintage clothing first became fashionable in
the United States. I trace when the trend emerges in the U.S. and explore various
ways the press framed secondhand/vintage clothes and anachronistic dressing. I
contend that the emergence of vintage occurs as a form of alternative consumption
alongside changes that occurred in the U.S. garment industry such as outsourcing
and product licensing. These changes led many consumers to seek more authentic
consumption experiences. Consumers with cultural capital found in vintage an
alternative market for sourcing fashionable street style. Consumers attribute char-
acteristics to vintage clothing that are typically part of authenticity discourse such
as it being of exceptional quality, original, handcrafted, made from natural fibers,
and providing continuity with the past. The authenticity of vintage is symbolically
deployed in opposition to contemporary mass
-produced clothing and standardized
retail shopping experiences.