I felt like this piece of clothing resembled someone's life. The reason I started an online vintage clothing store.

The moment I get excited when dealing with vintage clothes.

When I go to source vintage clothes and pick up each item one by one to look at it, there are moments when I can feel the previous owner—like a name scribbled on the tag, a receipt left inside, or just the other day, a shoelace.
This is a story about how I feel at those times.

"I wonder whose life this piece of clothing has walked through."

When I'm choosing vintage clothes for my shop, I sometimes find myself thinking that unexpectedly.

The clothes hanging on the racks,
they are all just there as a matter of course,
but I can't help but feel that each and every one of them is packed with 'someone's time somewhere.'

For example, the piece that inspired me to start my online vintage shop.
It's a 90s Levi's denim jacket.

Perhaps this piece of clothing was cherished.

The moment I saw them, I somehow felt, 'I bet they were reluctant to let this piece go.'

The way the shoulders drop, the fraying on the cuffs, the way the color has faded.
All of that felt like 'the time it had been worn.'

All the buttons were there, and on the tag, there was a faint trace of writing.
Was it a name? Maybe a nickname.

When I saw that, I suddenly started to imagine.

The morning they wrote their name and put their arms through the sleeves.

Probably somewhere in a town in America.
On a slightly chilly morning, that person put on this jacket and went out.
Stopping by a convenience store with a coffee in hand, or dropping by a friend's house.

The letters on the jacket's tag
are written casually, as if to say, 'This is mine.'

I imagine that maybe the owner had an older brother who would say, 'This is my jacket, so don't wear it!'

In that little detail, a bit of attachment seeped through, and I fell in love with this piece.

Vintage clothes don't have the 'face' of their true owner.

That is precisely why there is room for imagination.
In the atmosphere that dwells in the clothes and in the texture, I can sometimes see that person shining through.

At my shop, we sometimes attach a 'fictional story' to our products.

It's not the story of the actual owner, but
I carefully weave a fantasy of 'I wonder if they lived like this.'

Before a new story is layered onto that piece of clothing.
Because I want to at least share the 'blank space' that existed until now.

I choose by 'atmosphere,' not by value.

My sourcing isn't what you'd call expert appraisal.

I don't choose based on whether the tag is rare or the price is skyrocketing.

I honestly source things that I think, 'This is nice' or 'I'm drawn to this.'

This denim jacket was the same.
More than the price or the era, my heart was moved by the 'scent of life' that was there.

And I believe that if there is someone who resonates with that, it will surely reach them.

Clothes that carry on someone's life.

Vintage clothes aren't just used goods.

I think it's an act of gently receiving the 'presence of someone' behind the clothes
and handing it over to someone else.

If you happen to get your hands on this jacket,
I hope you'll look at those traces of writing and think for a moment about that person's life.

I'm sure it will accompany your life next.


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Click here for the 90's Levi's denim jacket

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