ONLINE RETAILER

Thrifting for the Masses

photo

Courtesy of Gerry Melendez

Shawn Beach

With a resurgence of vintage clothing, there is a high demand for vintage retail shops to offer unique throwbacks. Those one-of-a-kind pieces and covetable designer threads from the past are becoming a growing trend.

Thrift store purchases aren’t the same anymore; now, flea market vendors have expanded, owning retailer stores or e-commerce sites. Consumers aren’t spending $2 on "Bargain Tuesday's" anymore. The wave of vintage retail has changed the game, but with those transitions, comes quality goods.

Also, there is more variety in their approach. Local downtown Los Angeles vintage store Virgo sells genre bending, re-purposed garments for women. Reformation approaches the vintage market with an Eco-friendly stance, while Scout offers beautiful (and affordable) designer pieces such as Givenchy and Chanel. Notable designer vintage store Decades takes women back to a place of luxury and brings those memories to the present.

Shawn Beach of Dope Junkyard is taking the youth under his fashion wing-s. Beach offers new and used men’s and women’s clothing and accessories with a West Coast vibe. The USC college student / entrepreneur wants to give youth, particularly those in non-metropolitan areas, the chance to buy off the wall, special clothing. So far, the merchandise is somewhat bright and has eclectic pattern mimicking styles from the 90s hit show Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Beach said.

The young owner plans on launching a few pop up shops in the Los Angeles area within the next year and would like to add home décor and art to his online site.

For now, check out the thrift focused items here.