StyleNews: American Apparel's New California Vintage Store

Massclusivity, a term created by Trendwatching.com, is a perfect word to describe American Apparel's new retail venture, California Vintage.

Opening last month in LA's Echo Park and building on the success of California Vintage stores in Berlin, Cologne and Mexico City, California Vintage offers hand-picked vintage clothing from the 1950s through the 1990s alongside a bit of the usual American Apparel fare. It seeks to combine the exclusivity associated with vintage clothing with the mass-market retail shopping experience from a recognized brand.

So will the concept take hold and a national mass-market vintage brand emerge? That will depend on whether young fashionista consumers continue to embrace vintage garments when they're easily acquired as part of a mainstream retail experience. And whether shoppers who once trolled flea market stalls for one-of-a-kind finds will miss the thrill of the hunt.

Considering that American Apparel's typical hipster customer probably already buys and wears vintage and assuming that California Vintage follows through on its promise to keep racks fresh with near-daily replenishment and to carefully edit the stock it obtains from rag houses, thrift stores and secondhand apparel dealers worldwide, I believe at least one segment of the vintage-wearing crowd will find it appealing.

As for me personally? I'll probably still dig through racks at thrift stores and continue to shop at my favorite local vintage boutiques where I know the owners and the owners know me. Where I'll get a personal phone call when the perfect dress for me arrives. Where not just wearing vintage clothing but buying vintage clothing is a unique experience.

Mary Kincaid is the editor of ZUBURBIA, a vintage clothing blog for contemporary women that features the VPOD (Vintage Pick-of-the-Day) plus tips, information and advice for current and future vintage fashionistas. An avid vintage collector and former eBay Powerseller, her vintage clothing finds have been sold in both New York and Los Angeles boutiques. She currently buys for private clients (including one Beverly Hills vintage boutique) and plans to re-launch her own online shop in 2008.

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