VOA文化艺术2022--越来越多的美国人购买旧衣服

Old Clothing Gains New Popularity at Vintage Stores

Americans in greater numbers are buying used clothing.

Fans call it vintage clothing. They believe buying old, used clothes can save money. They also consider it good for the environment and stylish¹. Vintage stores sell clothes from previous time periods. The stores often carry famous brands and sell them at low prices.

Vintage clothing has been on the rise for about 10 years. It is driven largely by a new generation of people who are concerned about sustainable ways of living. That means they want to waste less and use natural resources carefully.

In 2018, the United Nations said that the fashion industry causes "around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions²." The U.N. said the industry uses more energy than the airplane and shipping³ industries combined.

Jen Mason is the owner of Underground Vintage in Lewes, Delaware, a town on the Atlantic coast. She said that clothes in the store that do not get sold are provided to local people. They use the material for different purposes such as making blankets. Unsold clothes never go to waste, Mason said.

"We're a coastal⁴ community. So we're always thinking about how to be sustainable. And we also live on a peninsula, so, you know, it takes a lot (of) resources to get stuff out and back to here. So we're very much thinking about how to give something a new life."

Large fashion companies are beginning to join the used clothing movement. Levis Secondhand is a new program from Levi Strauss & Co., the blue jeans manufacturer. The program buys back worn jeans to repurpose and resell them.

The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action is an agreement under the U.N. to reduce greenhouse gasses. Organizations that sign the agreement promise to create fewer gasses linked to climate change. But many people buying clothing are hoping to help the environment by looking to the past.

A recent report in Utah's Deseret News notes that 20th century fashion is currently the most popular in Utah's used-clothing market.

Delorean 88 is a vintage store in Washington, DC. Much of the store's clothing comes from the 1990s and early 2000s. The store carries mostly t-shirts, many with band logos and sports teams. One t-shirt features the faces of all the members of the 1996 Chicago Bulls, including Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the team's stars. Another shirt is from the rap music performer Eminem after his first album released in 1999.

Michael Diaz works at the shop. He said customers have come in and noticed shirts their parents might have had.

"A store like this is just— it's nostalgia⁵ for a lot of people...They'd rather have this, like a shirt...that has, like 10 years of history, 20 years of history—rather wear that over a new shirt."

Mason from Underground Vintage thinks part of the popularity in vintage shopping for younger people has to do with the time before the wide use of computers. Young people can disconnect from the internet and visit a physical store to try on clothes from a different time period. And the shop does not separate clothes for men and women.

"So that's...another way that I think that vintage shopping really fits well with that generation—it's sustainable, it fits the goals of obviously having a planet to live on, but also having some pieces that mean something... You know, like we say on the sign ...wear what you like."

Words in This Story

stylish — adj. following a popular way of dressing⁶ or presenting oneself

brand — n. a category of products that are all made by a particular company and all have a particular name

fashion — n. the business of creating and selling new clothes

logo — n. a symbol or sign that is used to identify a company and its products

nostalgia — n. the pleasure and sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past

1 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

2 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

3 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

6 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。