Last summer, I found a pair of on-trend black smoking slippers at Wal-Mart that cost less than my lunch earlier that day. I knew they wouldn’t last for more than a season, but this didn’t deter me. In fact, it made me buy a second pair for when the inevitable happened and the first ended up smelly and holey in my garbage.
I know I’m not the only one who shops this way. I’ve watched so many friends pick up a $20 t-shirt, only to put it down, disgusted at its “high price.” We’re all strapped for cash, so we’re happy to reap the immediate benefits of buying a $5 tee regardless of the fact that it’ll likely be a mess after just one wash.
These days, one of the only ways to ensure quality on a tight budget is to buy vintage. Anyone over the age of 50 will wax poetic about the days when appliances and electronics lasted longer than a year, and the same goes for clothes. Not only were they better quality, but the consumer’s attitude was better. Pieces were hand-mended and re-purposed and passed down like they weren’t going out of style, lasting long enough to make it to the racks at your local vintage store.
But what will happen to this practice of reincarnating clothing if consumers continue to shop unsustainably? If $5 disposable t-shirts are all we’re purchasing, we don’t expect to be wearing them ourselves in a year, let alone passing them down to future generations. At this rate, it seems vintage may just become a thing of the past.
In her book, Overdressed: The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion, Elizabeth L. Cline discusses the dangers of cheap and trendy fast fashion, and how the need to keep up has forced retailers to compromise design and quality. The factory collapse in Bangladesh last May reminded us, after years of criticizing companies like Apple and Nike, that so many are guilty of cutting corners to cut costs with devastating results.
Part of what fast fashion retailers like H&M and Forever 21 must do to keep up is produce and sell clothing quickly, at extremely high quantities. According to Cline, as of 2009, Forever 21 was purchasing more than 100 million pieces of clothing annually. No wonder one often runs the risk of running into someone wearing exactly what you are, hat to heels.
This lack of originality is what sends me to vintage stores, along with unprecedented quality that you just can’t find for a comparable price. But as Cline states, “we can’t go back in time and make more pre-1990s clothing.” The amount of well-cared-for clothing is on the decline, and prices are rising. Like high-end designer pieces, vintage is in danger of becoming something only for the wealthy.
High- end designers continue to produce beautifully made clothing that will likely stand the test of time. But, as the economy continues to slide and consumer needs change, they too are forced to make compromises. Every November, H&M bears the signs of this with their designer collaborations. These collections are produced in higher quantities and at cheaper prices so that your average-income shopper can own a dress with a Versace or Marni label on it. It’s great that people who normally couldn’t afford the chance to wear high-end designs now can, but it’s still a watered-down, lower-quality version.
Along with worrying about future generations and their ability to sustain the planet and its resources, I fear that vintage stores will go extinct. Best-case scenario is they’ll be full of worn-out clothing mainly purchased to stock a rag collection. Vintage clothing may be yet another casualty of the unsustainable model of spend little, wear for a year, and throw out. So hang on to that sturdy leather purse your grandma gave you. It may, ironically, be worth a lot someday.
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Tara is an East Coaster at heart and a freelancer based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter at @TaraMacInnis.
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