VINTAGE CLOTHING PRICES SKYROCKET WITH DEMAND.Byline: -- Barbara Correa No, it's not your imagination. Prices for merchandise at vintage thrift shops thrift shop n. A shop that sells used articles, especially clothing, as to benefit a charitable organization. like Aaardvark's Odd Ark and Decades have gone through the roof in recent years, giving new meaning to the term ``thrift shop.'' Sarah Bergman, manager of The Way We Wore, a high-end vintage shop on La Brea Avenue La Brea Avenue is a prominent north/south thoroughfare in Los Angeles. After Hawthorne Boulevard intersects with Century Boulevard in Inglewood, La Brea Avenue is formed. La Brea passes north through Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, and Ladera Heights. , said demand for vintage is the highest she's seen in her 20 years in the business. It's essentially a reflection of basic supply and demand -- along with the eBay factor. ``It's harder for pickers to find collectible vintage in the world,'' she said. ``You would think it would keep circulating, but it doesn't. There's more of an awareness of what it is worth. People know, `I can sell it on eBay' now.'' John Schoen, general manager of the Roadium, a swap meet swap meet n. An informal gathering for the barter or sale of used articles or handicrafts. in Torrance, said he's been noticing in the last two years that a lot of his vendors scour scour, scours 1. the chemical and physical cleaning of fleece wool. 2. diarrhea. dietetic scour see dietary diarrhea. peat scour see secondary nutritional copper deficiency. Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, for old high school letterman jackets and Levis, then ship it by the containerful to Japan and other Pacific Rim Pacific Rim, term used to describe the nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and the island countries situated in it. In the post–World War II era, the Pacific Rim has become an increasingly important and interconnected economic region. countries. ``The jackets go for over $3,000 bucks in Japan,'' he said. While the outsourcing of Southern California's castoffs may not be enough to tip the U.S. trade deficit, it's significant enough to drive prices higher for used clothing here, said Bergman. She chalks up the demand from Asia to improved local economies. ``In Japan, denim was king in the '90s,'' she said. ``Then that market crashed. A lot of the Americana that went overseas came back. Then the Japanese economy improved. We're seeing a resurgence in Japanese clients, also demand from Koreans and Chinese.'' Despite the higher prices, Asia hasn't completely cornered the market on vintage wear. Bergman said her store gets requests from all over the U.S. too. ``People are hungry for this stuff,'' Bergman said She credits the Hollywood film industry for creating a homegrown home·grown adj. 1. Raised or grown at home. 2. Originating in or characteristic of a locality: "Rock is homegrown music in the United States, evolved from blues and country and Tin Pan Alley" vintage market. ``If the hot and trendy girls here want to wear it,'' she said, ``the hot and trendy girls everywhere want to wear it.'' |
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