Do you know that Millennials love vintage clothing. Vintage clothing has been rising in popularity for a significant amount of time, particularly among the younger generations, such as Millennials and Generation Z. There are a number of reasons why vintage clothing is so popular at the moment. These range from the desire to stand out from the crowd to the environmental benefits of using pre-loved clothes. Not to mention, vintage clothing can last a lot longer than the alternative (the dreaded fast fashion!). Items like a men’s vintage jacket can have much more longevity than modern-day pieces. More to come on this later, but for now, we’d like to give you a brief overview of what vintage clothing actually is.
The formal definition of vintage clothing is fairly general; it is defined as clothing or garments that originate from a different era. As vintage clothing has developed, the term has gotten looser and less concrete about what actually counts as vintage. Nowadays, clothing from the early 2000s and 90s can be described as vintage. However, before this recent resurgence, you would only count clothing that was older than a few decades old as vintage. This may also be due to the fact that clothing companies and thrift shops are quick to describe a piece as vintage, as this is now a more desirable quality for clothing to have.
Without further ado, let’s discuss why Millennials love vintage clothing.
Sustainability For The Win
Global warming is a crisis for our world, and it is the younger generations who will have to live with the damage that we’re doing in their later lives. This encourages Millennials and Generation Z to think about the environment more and how to protect it. With sustainability at the forefront of most people’s minds, it’s no surprise that a spotlight has been put onto the fashion industry. The world uses 80 billion pieces of clothing every year, which is a shocking 400% increase on two decades ago. This statistic in itself is enough to explain why Millennials are favouring pre-loved garments, however, we can dive a little deeper into this sustainability issue.
Whilst clothing production has increased at an alarming rate (and is still continuing to do so), the lifespan of a piece of clothing has decreased. The average number of times that a piece of clothing has been worn has decreased by 36%, so it is clear that fast fashion and the fashion industry in itself has caused a massive ecological issue. Vintage clothing solves the majority of these issues as it causes less need for clothing production to occur. The positive effect that vintage clothing could have on the environment is a sizeable reason that Millennials are loving it.
The Return Of Individuality
There will always be trends in fashion, and one of the most popular ones at the moment is to stand out from the crowd. The emphasis on being individual is key to creating looks using vintage clothing, and Millennials are loving it. It’s much easier to find unique pieces when wearing vintage clothes as the clothing wasn’t mass produced so there are less available. This is of course coupled with the fact that most replicas of vintage clothing won’t be readily available, so it’s unlikely that you will be able to find exactly the same piece. This is one of the primary reasons why Millennials love vintage clothing.
Much Higher Quality
Fast fashion is fast in every way, including in the design and production. Unfortunately, this leads to decreased quality, therefore modern clothing is more likely to fray, rip or fall apart. Vintage clothing was created to last for longer as previous generations did not overconsume like we do today. So, a great benefit to vintage clothing is that the pieces will last for much longer, so investing in a vintage clothing will mean less money spent in the long run.
There are many positives to vintage clothing, and Millennials are definitely partial to making it an activity to do with your friends on the weekend. Vintage clothing is for everyone, and we encourage you to get involved and start searching in your local thrift shop. You never know, you might find a men’s vintage jacket or a womens retro pair of jeans that are just your style!
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