我们都爱二手衣！越来越火的二手市场

Do you take care about what you wear? Some people are very fashion-conscious有时尚意识的, carefully selecting the clothes they buy and how they dress. Fashionistas 时尚达人 always want to be seen in the latest designer gear 衣服. But that trend is changing as retro 复古 or vintage 复古二手的 clothing is becoming a popular and often cheaper alternative.

Of course, ‘vintage’ clothing is really second-hand 二手的 clothing, worn before but given a new lease of life 旧衣服的“新生命”. The fashion industry has rebranded 重塑形象 this stuff to make it look trendy 新潮的 and possibly give it a higher price tag 标价. Whereas we may have seen an old faded 褪色 pair of jeans or a gingham-patterned 方格布图案的 dress sold at a jumble sale, now there are boutique 时装精品店 and pop-up shops 快闪店dedicated to the stuff. And in the UK, one supermarket chain has started selling second-hand clothes in some of its stores under the brand, Preloved Vintage Wholesale. Its managing director Steve Lynam told the BBC:  “The more people that buy into the circular economy 循环经济 and shop vintage and retro, the bigger impact we will have on climate change.”

Certainly, buying vintage does prolong 延长 the life of clothing. It cuts down on waste and helps to reduce the environmental damage caused by manufacturing 制造 new clothes. It’s also led to the rise of retro-fashion – items that your mum or dad wore decades ago that now look ‘cool’ again! It’s a big thing with younger people and has been helped by the rise of platforms like Depop and Vinted, which sell ‘worn 破烂的；磨损的；穿’ clothes online. Ianina Lucca from Depop told the BBC: “The new generation is… looking to make choices that reduce their impact on the environment, with 77% of Gen Z saying that their biggest environmental concern being that they want their choices to reduce waste.”

Another popular way of buying old clothes is in a vintage kilo sale. People pick what they want and then pay according to weight rather than per item. Some items are upcycled 升级制造 – re-modelled or re-worked by adding embroidery 刺绣图案, patches and other additions. But however these second-hand clothes are worn or re-designed, the sustainability 可持续性 of vintage fashion means it’s here to stay for some time to come.

Vocabulary

fashion-conscious 讲究时髦的，有时尚意识的

fashionista 时尚达人

designer 出自著名设计师的

gear 衣服

retro 复古的

vintage 古着的，复古二手的

second-hand 二手的

a new lease of life 旧衣服的 “新生命”

rebrand 重塑形象，重新包装

trendy 新潮的，时尚的

price tag 标价

faded 褪色的

gingham-patterned 方格布图案的

boutique 时装精品店

pop-up shop 快闪店

circular economy 循环经济

manufacture 制造，生产

upcycle 升级改造

embroidery 刺绣图案

sustainability 可持续性