Fashion Statement: Vintage is the New Green

With all the buzz about "going green" all over the media nowadays, it’s not surprising that the top fashion magazines have joined the green movement as well. All sorts of media, fashion-oriented or not, have pledged their allegiance to cleaning up our environment with the newly formed Sprig.com (with many taglines, such as "Sexy People are into Green") from WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive, to multiple page spreads in Vogue and Vanity Fair about ‘Eco Chic’ or sustainable organic clothing companies, you name it and someone’s touting it as green.

The green movement is supposed to be about making smart, conscientious choices to limit our negative impact on the world around us to lessen our carbon footprint. Right? Well, it turns out that a choice you make everyday could lessen your impact on the world around you. No, I’m not talking about changing your light bulbs to the energy efficient ones (but you should). I’m talking about the choice you make with what to wear each morning.

So what is the easiest way to be green? Wear vintage! Vintage or second hand clothes are the best way to recycle something other than plastic bottles or beer cans. When you buy something vintage or second hand, you’re extending the product’s lifespan and buying something that didn’t emit more greenhouse gases.

Not convinced? There are a ton of good reasons to start incorporating vintage into your clothing repertoire.

1) Let’s say you’re really into designer clothing but you just can’t seem to save enough to actually buy anything. Vintage or consignment stores have loads of designer items on the cheap. Check out eBay or portero.com for second hand luxury items in your price range.

2) Vintage clothing is conducive to creativity. Bored of the same polo shirts? When you shop vintage the selection is ridiculously large. You’ll find 80’s t-shirts, shoes from the 60’s, polyester leisure suits from the 70’s all under one roof (or website). Since going to the mall can sometimes seem like it’s the same style over and over, vintage is a welcome change to all that sameness.

3) Vintage is trendy. Nylon Magazine recently published a book, Street: The Nylon Book of Global Style. It’s filled with tons of trendy people from Paris, Tokyo, New York… and the unifying style? Almost everyone was wearing something vintage or second hand.

Still not so sure about wearing vintage clothes? Check out girlsgonestyled.tv and check out episode two or three. These two fashion editors from New York might just as well convince you.

Maybe you’re saying, "We’re in Blacksburg, the thrift shops are kind of barren, and anyways, don’t thrift shops kind of smell like old people?" No worries, vintage is easier and easier to find. You can go online to eBay or even Craigslist, or you can just google "vintage clothing" and tons of shopping options will spring up before your eyes. Or, you can shop in a friend’s closet because lots of people have clothes they’re sick of but haven’t given up yet. Here’s your time to use you’re persuasive skills to get them to give up that concert tee you’ve never seen them wear.