A storefront Image of the Mooch Vintage Store located in Sheffield City Centre, taken by Maka Mutamiri.

BY MAKA MUTAMIRI

27 July 2020

Like with a lot of trends and clothes people share different opinions. Not everyone is a fan of flared pants or animal print. For some vintage fashion is old clothing that should just be forgotten and to others, its purpose means so much more…

Describing preloved clothing as ‘Old’ is a way of just touching the prejudged surface of what it’s about without looking deeper. If you were to look a little further, you would see the fascinating history behind the clothes and how ageless they still are today.

Lucie Cookson, 28, the Store Manager of Mooch Vintage, located in Sheffield, told me what vintage fashion means to her: “I have never been one to follow fashion trends and so I like the idea of mixing up your style through personal interests or musical influences” She believes “Vintage fashion allows you to do so as it has come from every subculture possible throughout history”.

It’s more than just 2nd hand clothing.

Thrifting is part of slow fashion, a movement devised to make shoppers more ethically conscious on their purchases. “In order for the planet to get better we need to start shopping smarter and starting with what we wear is a good and easy way to change” Lucie is passionate about the direction we consumers need to take; she believes with her role at Mooch and love of vintage clothing people can become more aware of slow fashion. “As a brand, we create awareness using social media, we encourage shoppers online and instore by letting them know how it’s benefiting them but also the planet”

Luxurious coats and accessories section in Mooch Vintage, taken by Maka Mutamiri.

Vintage fashion is truly an essential part of the fashion industry, playing a role bigger than anyone has ever expected it to play. Who would have thought that there would be over 4,000 stores specialising in selling second-hand goods in the UK? “When I was a teenager it was there, but it wasn’t as popular, you had to travel far to go to a vintage store and now 6 years later you can walk down nearly every street in Sheffield and find a little antique thrifty vintage store” Events such as the Preloved Kilo sales that tour the UK every year have become monumental to the influence vintage fashion has on consumers.
As Sheffield has become a student city with two excellent universities in the main city centre, “The younger generation and student community have benefited thrifting by adding to its growth”. Mooch Vintage has listened to their new weekly customers by holding exclusive student nights with amazing sales and offers. Progress in taking more ethical approaches in fashion has been made. “Shoppers are more interested in wearing clothes that will last them longer, cost less and make them look different from what everyone else is wearing.” But we still need to advance into slow fashion to really make a difference. Each year an estimated amount of £140 million clothes goes into landfills causing an unsustainable and unimaginable amount of environmental damage. We don’t see how much damage is being done and so we often forget that it is happening.

Good news: It’s never too late to make a change

By making a conscious choice to buy clothing with an amazing past behind not only brings you the opportunity of looking unique and retro but also the opportunity to save the land that we walk on. Consciously purchasing that vintage leather jacket means you have upcycled clothing, stopped it from becoming nothing but waste and that is the future of shopping.

Vintage fashion was relevant yesterday, today and it will be tomorrow.