A flood of fashion lovers and samba enthusiasts took over Roxbury Crossing Saturday, Sept. 13, to attend Select Markets’ second annual Back to School Thrift Market. Pairing free refreshments and vintage apparel, the line wrapped around the corner with tote bags and eager shoppers.
The thrift was presented by a collaboration between Adidas and Select Markets, with Adidas introducing its new sneaker, the Adizero. With a live DJ, free Redbulls, Topo Chicos and temporary tattoos, Select Markets featured over 80 vendors at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury.
With the rise of second-hand shopping taking over the fashion industry, many sellers have taken note. Johnny, a long-time vendor, has been in the fashion industry for over seven years.
Throughout his career, he has noticed that vintage “prices started to surge and people started to take more notice.”
While finding cheap second-hand clothing might be more challenging than it was a few years ago, many shoppers and vendors agree it is more sustainable than fast fashion, hence their motivation to be involved in the sustainable fashion opportunity that Select Markets promotes.
With this passion on the pavement, vendors traveled from near and far to attend the event, lugging their carefully curated closets of vintage. Some even brought their mom for emotional support.
Lex Konstantakis, sole owner of Vintage by Lex, drove four hours from New Jersey with her mom for the market. Semi-new to the vintage world in the last year and a half, Konstantakis has quickly jumped into the space, amassing a following of almost 10,000 on Instagram and running her own company.
“This has become my full-time job, but I usually do events in New York City,” said Konstantakis. “I thrift everything myself, so at least three times a week I’m out thrifting.”
Konstantakis is not the only vendor who traveled to attend the event. Eric and Jessie, co-owners of 161 Vintage, travel from San Diego to Boston. Drenched in well-loved Carhartt overalls, the duo specializes in used Nirvana merch, vintage band tees and work-wear jackets.
“Eric has family here, so we travel to and from Boston a lot. We usually find out about these markets from social media and we also sell through our Depop,” said Jessie.
While it is easy to visit each vendor in tandem with eyes peeled for solely clothes, the vendors at these events have put their heart and soul into their pop-ups. With a true love for sustainable fashion, even well-known faces in the industry popped out and popped up.
Fashion influencer Jaclyn, known as @lollfashiondump on TikTok, showcased an array of second-hand clothes at her pop-up shop. When asked how she’d describe her collection in merely two words, “eclectic and funky” took the cake. With nearly two million followers on TikTok, her vibrant personality online translated seamlessly throughout her booth.
Jaclyn is known online for her maximalist essence and being an emblem of creativity in the space. In her opinion, the days of beige are over, and authenticity is on its way back.
“We took a little slowdown and everyone was on the minimalist wave, but maximalism is back. Being yourself is back,” said Jaclyn.
Each vendor displayed their unique and personal style, allowing all different styles a place to shop. From food trucks to tooth gems to thrifting, Select Markets made for the perfect end-of-week pick-me-up this back-to-school season.
Select Markets will host a Halloween thrift festival Oct. 4 and 5. More information is on their Instagram.
