Time to Thrift: A Profile on Urban City Fashion
By Max Thors
In the most recent wave of fashion trends, vintage is becoming increasingly popular among Gen-Z. In fact, a defining aspect of post-quarantine fashion has been a push for individuality and reclaiming silhouettes that were once lost.
As almost a direct response to the fast fashion industry, interest in vintage clothes bucks the trends that dominated the past decade including thrifting, upcycling and reselling. Once overlooked, these forms of fashion commerce are taking the industry by storm.
According to ThredUP, a leading secondhand fashion retailer, the industry is in the midst of a resale boom. Their 2021 industry report projected that the market will double in the next five years to $77 billion.
In the wake of COVID-19 restrictions lifting, the floodgates opened for retail thrifting. This space has given new businesses the chance to pave their own lane for a growing consumer base.
An August 2021 Vogue Business survey found that Gen-Z customers are 27% more likely to purchase clothes second hand compared to other age groups. Additionally, 50% of them prefer to buy clothes in-store. These trends point towards a perfect storm for retail thrifting.
One can see the impact that had in Los Angeles’ fashion market. Urban City Fashion, which opened this summer, is an independently-owned thrift store located at 55800 Sepulveda Blvd in Culver City. It sells, buys and trades streetwear, vintage clothes and accessories.
At only 23 years old, owner Freddy Jiminez has been flipping clothes since he was a freshman at Culver City High School. He started off scouring eBay for deals on just about anything. Along with clothes, he bought and sold video games, electronics and antiques. From that time, he became hooked on the idea of having a space to interface with a fashion-forward community.
[Opening a store] was something I always wanted to do since pretty much I started reselling in 2013. I always had a goal and I always wanted to have a store like this to cater to […] a young adult type of style, and people [who] are into fashion, vintage and streetwear.”
After graduating high school in 2016, Jiminez fully dedicated his time to saving up for a retail location. Opening a store would allow him to grow his inventory and sales by allowing both the product and customers to come to him rather than having to find them.
By the beginning of 2021, Jiminez had the inventory and funds to finally achieve that goal. On June 1, Jiminez opened the doors at Urban City Fashion, located in his home city, for the first time.
“In Culver City, there's not a lot of stores like this that cater to the type of style that we carry here,” Jiminez said. “It’s just been great to be able to, you know, bring in something different.”
Jiminez’s timing was rather fortunate as his business emerged during a wave of post-lockdown retail interest. With this revitalized customer base, he knew that he wanted to cater those looking for the thrifting experience.
“People are excited to be able to finally be able to go out, and fashion is big, so people are finally able to enjoy going out shopping, especially thrifting, which is a big thing right now,” Jiminez said.
In fact, the thrifting experience is part of what drew Jiminez to starting his own business. Coming from the customer side, that experience taught him the skills and strategies needed to be a successful reseller.
Over the years, a big part of building Jiminez’s business was going out to thrift stores and garage sales looking out for new inventory and good deals. One story that stuck out to him was when he flipped a $4 painting he found at a rummage sale for $2000 in a little under a year.
“It's patience, because not all inventory is going to move as fast as you think. Some of it will move faster than others,” he said. “Sometimes the thing that you least expect to move will probably move the soonest.”
Opening the store revolutionized the way Jiminez could build his inventory. Although he enjoys thrifting, being on the other side of the counter has its advantages. By having a brick-and-mortar location, he created a way to have people bring items to him, rather than searching for pieces himself. He said that it allowed his business to grow faster than ever before.
“It just helped me grow my inventory-- almost double or triple my inventory from what I used to have online,” Jimenez said.
Jiminez hopes his store will bring his passion closer to his home community. He plans to use his store to expose fresh faces to the resale market. Because thrifting is such a unique experience, Jiminez encourages hopeful sellers to understand the environment. He said that the easiest way to get involved in the business is to learn the customer experience.
“The best way to acquire inventory is actually thrifting. Going out and thrifting and just flipping a few pieces for, you know, making a few dollars,” he said. “You don't have to make thousands of dollars a month, but you start off slow and trust the trial and error process again. The more you do it, the more you're going to learn along the way.”
As almost a direct response to the fast fashion industry, interest in vintage clothes bucks the trends that dominated the past decade including thrifting, upcycling and reselling. Once overlooked, these forms of fashion commerce are taking the industry by storm.
According to ThredUP, a leading secondhand fashion retailer, the industry is in the midst of a resale boom. Their 2021 industry report projected that the market will double in the next five years to $77 billion.
In the wake of COVID-19 restrictions lifting, the floodgates opened for retail thrifting. This space has given new businesses the chance to pave their own lane for a growing consumer base.
An August 2021 Vogue Business survey found that Gen-Z customers are 27% more likely to purchase clothes second hand compared to other age groups. Additionally, 50% of them prefer to buy clothes in-store. These trends point towards a perfect storm for retail thrifting.
One can see the impact that had in Los Angeles’ fashion market. Urban City Fashion, which opened this summer, is an independently-owned thrift store located at 55800 Sepulveda Blvd in Culver City. It sells, buys and trades streetwear, vintage clothes and accessories.
At only 23 years old, owner Freddy Jiminez has been flipping clothes since he was a freshman at Culver City High School. He started off scouring eBay for deals on just about anything. Along with clothes, he bought and sold video games, electronics and antiques. From that time, he became hooked on the idea of having a space to interface with a fashion-forward community.
[Opening a store] was something I always wanted to do since pretty much I started reselling in 2013. I always had a goal and I always wanted to have a store like this to cater to […] a young adult type of style, and people [who] are into fashion, vintage and streetwear.”
After graduating high school in 2016, Jiminez fully dedicated his time to saving up for a retail location. Opening a store would allow him to grow his inventory and sales by allowing both the product and customers to come to him rather than having to find them.
By the beginning of 2021, Jiminez had the inventory and funds to finally achieve that goal. On June 1, Jiminez opened the doors at Urban City Fashion, located in his home city, for the first time.
“In Culver City, there's not a lot of stores like this that cater to the type of style that we carry here,” Jiminez said. “It’s just been great to be able to, you know, bring in something different.”
Jiminez’s timing was rather fortunate as his business emerged during a wave of post-lockdown retail interest. With this revitalized customer base, he knew that he wanted to cater those looking for the thrifting experience.
“People are excited to be able to finally be able to go out, and fashion is big, so people are finally able to enjoy going out shopping, especially thrifting, which is a big thing right now,” Jiminez said.
In fact, the thrifting experience is part of what drew Jiminez to starting his own business. Coming from the customer side, that experience taught him the skills and strategies needed to be a successful reseller.
Over the years, a big part of building Jiminez’s business was going out to thrift stores and garage sales looking out for new inventory and good deals. One story that stuck out to him was when he flipped a $4 painting he found at a rummage sale for $2000 in a little under a year.
“It's patience, because not all inventory is going to move as fast as you think. Some of it will move faster than others,” he said. “Sometimes the thing that you least expect to move will probably move the soonest.”
Opening the store revolutionized the way Jiminez could build his inventory. Although he enjoys thrifting, being on the other side of the counter has its advantages. By having a brick-and-mortar location, he created a way to have people bring items to him, rather than searching for pieces himself. He said that it allowed his business to grow faster than ever before.
“It just helped me grow my inventory-- almost double or triple my inventory from what I used to have online,” Jimenez said.
Jiminez hopes his store will bring his passion closer to his home community. He plans to use his store to expose fresh faces to the resale market. Because thrifting is such a unique experience, Jiminez encourages hopeful sellers to understand the environment. He said that the easiest way to get involved in the business is to learn the customer experience.
“The best way to acquire inventory is actually thrifting. Going out and thrifting and just flipping a few pieces for, you know, making a few dollars,” he said. “You don't have to make thousands of dollars a month, but you start off slow and trust the trial and error process again. The more you do it, the more you're going to learn along the way.”