From Secondhand to Vintage: The Presentation and Valuation of Used Clothing

This thesis explores how used clothing becomes “vintage” through its interpreted value as authentic. Through an analysis of three popular used clothing markets: Etsy, flea markets, and thrift stores, I explain the ways in which three dimensions contribute to the ways in secondhand clothing is perceived as genuine both in terms of its source as well as style: the personalization of used clothing, their presentation and curation by the seller, and the experience of the shopper. I additionally explore the world of vintage as a reaction to fast fashion and to the mass-production of clothing through its ability to portray itself is individual and personalized. Ultimately authenticity is revealed to be authenticities as it becomes difficult to distinguish between the world of fast fashion and that of used clothing, or seemingly reinterpreted fashion. It is through this analysis as well as the three dimensions that the created value of vintage clothing can be understood as separate from the value of fast fashion