Everything Old is News Again

Go vintage shopping with an Adult School Expert

Hardly anyone asks fashionista Emma Sosa “What’s new?” these days. Instead, her friends and followers now want to know what’s old, or at least old enough to be called “vintage.”

In fact, “vintage” is exactly what is new. Today’s hottest fashion trend is shopping for and wearing other peoples’ clothes from yesteryears’ closets. It’s already a $43 billion business in the US, according to a Future Marketing Insights report, and it’s trending, world-wide, especially among women too young to remember pre-polyester days when most clothing was made of natural fibers, cotton, linen, silk or wool.

Better fabrics is just one reason shoppers are searching for other peoples’ “old clothes,” according to Sosa, an Image & Color Consultant who graduated from FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York where she also taught classes like “Secrets from a Professional Shopper.”

“Young shoppers today are also concerned about recycling, about saving the planet,” she reports. “They want to stop buying fast fashion to help reduce the glut of clothes that go into landfills.

“Today, if you aren’t buying designer pieces, you are buying fast fashion, which consists of cheaper fabrics made in large quantities which are not meant to last.”

Sustainability may be a new consideration, but most of all, Sosa points out, “Today’s clothes shoppers still want to buy better quality at a lower price.”

Fashionista Emma Sosa in '60s Chic

Sosa, a long-time teacher at the South Orange-Maplewood Adult School,  led eager shoppers on two tours this fall, and is offering two special excursions  in December:  a non-vintage Hudson Yards Holiday Shopping Tour in New York Dec. 15 and 18: Adult School Course 1501 and 1502.

After conducting shopping tours for more than 25 years, it’s no surprise that Sosa’s own closets overflow with great finds. There’s the killer Burberry jacket (lined in red leather) she found for $200 (“probably worth $1,000 today”). It hangs next to a vintage Missoni cashmere cape, a leopard print jacket, several smashing print dresses, and an exuberantly technicolor handbag from Dooney & Bourke.

“But,” she recalls, “my best deal was going into a thrift store where all skirts that day were $25 and finding a gorgeous Chanel wool pencil skirt,” Emma recalls. “I later resold it for a good profit.”

Doing so many shopping tours, Sosa amassed “quite a collection of clothing and accessories, so I decided to open up an online shop, EmmasVintageShop.com, to sell some of my items.” She also gifts items to friends for birthdays and holidays and/or donates them to community organizations.

How to recognize a great buy when you’re shuffling through a rack of vintage clothes? Sosa has it down to a check list: Is it in great condition? Unique or one of a kind? Does it have great style? Is it made of quality fabric and have quality construction? Does it have a designer label?

What to avoid when shopping vintage? On Sosa’s no-no list: stains or signs of wear under the arms, around the neckline, and sleeve hems. But vintage-fashion faux pas are seldom fatal:

“Most of the shops we visit are Buy or Sell,” Sosa reassures her students. “In other words, customers can bring items they no longer want; the store stylist decides if they want to buy, and the customer can decide to either get credit to use in-store or get cash (not a lot). It’s a great win win concept.”

Editor’s Note: Emma Sosa is also offering a non-vintage Hudson Yards Holiday Shopping Tour in New York Dec. 15 and 18: Adult School Course 1501 and 1502.