Growing up my mother would dress me up as her little cowboy and while other boys got to wear DX T-Shirts and wrestling merchandise. She dressed me up until 7th grade I believe. Dressed me up in the sense that she continued to buy me clothes, but If I picked something out she had to give the green light on it. As I got older I started getting huskier and getting whatasized for the clothing she would buy me. The pants she would buy me had the little handlebar on the side which haunts me to this day. More freedom started rolling in and more freedom meant more clothing styles I can learn about to see what I enjoyed. It was a rough patch because thinking back on it I can't believe my mom would let me dress the way that I did. Shopping at the mall was something new to me, but uneducated on the clothing at the mall I knew nothing about "fast fashion." As I got older I started to understand the term and with the help of a friend by Rocio Villalobos @byrociov she helped me with the idea of thrifting and what I can find along with the possibility of giving clothing a second home. Of course, sometimes I can't exactly find what I'm looking for thrifting, but before I consider shopping at the mall I look into all my choices before it comes to my last resort.
I may have been able to find polos, t-shirts, jackets, and such from thrifting, but from clothing/vintage plugs such as @turt956, @heatsince99, @cristiansvintage, @lazarus.vintage I have been able to explore more and purchase nice gems for my wardrobe. Giving the clothing a second home rather than it decaying away in a dump take a look into their Depops and Instagram for anything that may catch your eye. One of the plugs of the valley we are looking into today I met at @saucehousetx during a show that involved @pillowsnake956 and @lucid.den and there was just so much clothing. Essential pieces by the stacks basically and at a good price as well. I began looking more into his stuff and just buying from him every time at sauce house, but it lead me to also learn more about the resell scene of the valley and the importance of it as well. This is @ghosttownvintage956 one of the valleys plugs's I am covering today lets dig right in!
This is Jose Nerio @ghosttownvintage956, but he goes by Chema which is how he will be mentioned throughout this post.
When it comes down to food Chema says "pizza or Hot Cheetos with lemon." When it comes down to pizza I'm picky due to toppings and the pizza type. I enjoy myself a good thin-crust or a pizza topped with chicken and bacon which are topping I always recommend and stand by.
Just like food we got different tastes such as music and Chema shares his "Playboi Carti, Erykah Badu, MF Doom, SPM." I like Playboi Carti especially the transition on the song "Flex" around 2:15 minute mark and its like "everybody gangsta until the beat switches up." I have listened to MF Doom, but when it comes to SPM I recall my next-door neighbors in middle school would play SPM outside after school. I'll check out Erykah Badu for sure though.
What about some love for the 956? Well, when it comes down to local bands, artists, and businesses he says "TV Flesh (@tvfleshband), No Paradigms (@no_paradigms), Puro Jugo (purojugo.rgv), Retro Fuego (@retro_fuego), Lazarus Vintage (Lazarus.vintage), Ragzrevenge (@ragzrevenge)" I know a couple of these and of course I follow them as well! As for the ones I don't know I'll be sure to check them out!
We all have our first building block into what we do now or have. The first introduction Chema had into vintage clothing was brought to him by "finding really cool shirts and jackets when I would go to the thrift stores with my mom when I was like 10" he says. Man has the freedom of clothing by the racks, but as long we were clothed that's all that matters. Although as you get older you learn a couple of things such as "In high school is when I found out I could make money from clothes by selling online" which Chema continues to add in by saying "I would say I have been formally selling for 6+ years now." Which all those years of experience and learning on the resell scene along with the connections you make along the way sounds like there will always be more up ahead due to the demand for vintage clothing.
The excitement of the first sell and the possibility of returning customers as Chema mentions his first sold item "I think one of the first pieces I’ve sold was a 90’s Adidas jacket or maybe just a random t-shirt." Comparing that to one of his latest sold items being "a 90’s Insane Clown Posse tee" which follows the era of the 90s, but it also goes more into "anything made in the ’70s-’00s" he says. Every seller has their clothing interests and clothing they wish to sell/collect such as @heatsince99, for example, he has a variety of sports merchandise on sale and in his collection. You are a seller, but there has to be something you look out for as well as Chema mentions "tee shirts are a priority, but I do love buying and selling hats, jackets, pants, and accessories. Anything from art tees, band tees, music tees, novelty tees, etc." You may have your priority, but branching out and collecting more items that people have an interest in is also a good idea.
Being an RGV based vintage seller means you find the items, even trade, and buy for yourself. Of course, this can be done online, but what about in person? Well, Chema says "I’ve sold at a handful of local events both big and small. I love the unique vibe of each event I’ve sold at" and what comes with these events are the people who share the same interests and are always seeing something new that they enjoy. Having a community coming together he says "It’s always such a fun time socializing with people from all demographics, either they are vintage lovers or someone who wasn’t aware of the value of vintage clothes" even if we don't know what the pricing is for a shirt we agree that what we witness was a hot piece. A piece of a brand we enjoy or just something we think is cool and falls under our own personal tastes. As a community that shares an interest and different tastes in clothing styles, it must be nice to see new things being brought to the table at events.
Meeting up with the vintage/resell community comes with making friends and other possibilities as Chema mentions "I have collaborated with a lot of members in the vintage community. I’ve been blessed to network with different resellers and collectors all the way from Brownsville to Laredo. Traveling to San Antonio and Austin has also allowed me to network and collab with resellers in Texas." Being able to trade with one another and hype each other sounds really wholesome work within the community. Being a vintage collector and a reseller this must allow members to also as mentioned see new clothes they never knew existed. As an example I know recently @ghosttownvintage had a collaboration with @throwbackontenth which is a store owned by @vintagebrah which sells clothing but also held and still holds some pieces of the "Ghost Town Collection" which are pieces on sale by Chema. This is just an example of the collabs that can be possible with the people met and connections made.
From the first piece of clothing sold to the most recent, there must be a favorite from the entire collection which Chema states "one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever found was a 90’s Polo Ralph Lauren ski jacket. I was at the pulga one morning and saw this lady selling jackets and I saw it on a hanger. I asked her how much she was selling it for expecting a high price, but she had all jackets for $5 each. Such an awesome piece I totally regret selling." Although you may regret selling it rather than the lady throwing it away she was trying to find a home for it as well and in the end, you did the same with it. Someone must be enjoying that jacket wherever it may be!
Chema stated to collect clothing from the 70s to the 00s, but his priority being t-shirts along with the addition of other apparel as well. With this comes to branching out as time comes and he says "I’ve considered branching out into the hype market which consists of Supreme, Jordan’s and other hype brands." I know about 1 or 2 sellers who sell hype streetwear and 1 of them is in the mall well 2 of them are actually. I've walked in just to see, but it isn't a scene just meant for certain people anyone can certainly jump in. There is no need to isolate vintage and hype wear to certain circles because clothing is just a way for us to express ourselves as he says "Collecting older Supreme and older Jordan’s would be really sick to have available for the community as well." That's the thing when it comes down to the selling of clothing it's as mentioned "have available for the community" so I understand the consideration of branching out because we all have different tastes and with the idea of providing a little bit of everything.
As an artist having people own their pieces there has to be feeling to a reseller seeing people wearing their finds to which Chema says " I think it’s incredible when the community wears my finds because they appreciate the shirt as much as I do and they are expressing themselves through a t-shirt, such as art being the expression of the artist. It also feels good to see the community practicing sustainability by buying secondhand clothing.
With the idea of giving clothing a second home and the big world of fast fashion Chema shares his opinion on the matter "I think fast fashion is a big scam. Fast fashion companies exploit workers and sell cheap clothes with zero substance and bad quality for expensive prices." With my experience shopping from shopping at the mall as anyone else, I have experienced some really bad t-shirt qualities and jeans that have holes within months. I only really trust 2 to 3 big name companies but they are my final resorts If I can't find what I am looking for through my primary resources. I can't compare a flimsy $12 blank t-shirt from the mall which won't last long compared to a nice beefy tee which can be thrifted for less or found through your local reseller. Comparing a big brand clothing items which we can all name a few which use cheap material when we can go second hand as Chema says "If people were to buy used clothing, they’d see that it would have a longer life and it would not contribute to companies that don’t have consideration for its workers or the environment." Buying second hand as stated takes into consideration those who work creating fast fashion and the environment due to again fast fashion clothing ends up being in a landfill. Take that into consideration and look into your local resellers or try your hand at finding your new favorite t-shirt at your nearest thrift shop.
Of course, anyone can enter the scene of reselling, and here is some advice from Chema for those who wish to resell from vintage to hype or in general "Don’t give up! If you really want to succeed it’s important to have patience and not give up. It can be discouraging sometimes not finding anything good, but it’s worth it when you come up." For example, I have clothes sitting on Depop because it doesn't fit me, but I also gave clothing away to friends because I know they'd enjoy it and because it was also their size. Whether my clothing sells or not It'll find a new home one day and as Chema said "it's important to have patience" when it comes to selling. So keep posting up your clothing I'm sure you'll have your first sale in no time.
Being patient and "don't give up" as he stated because his thoughts on the local vintage scene in the valley are as followed "the local vintage scene hasn’t always been great, but with local markets and more people starting to resell, the valley has a lot of potential to blow up the vintage scene." Put up on your Depop, your hype/vintage Instagram reselling page, or any platform you'd like to put up your clothing on. Every time I see new local resellers or resellers that have been doing this for a long time and its new clothes being witnessed. There's no limit to how many resellers there can be and of course, it can be discouraging, but all you have to do is be patient as Chema says "There has been progress for the local scene in the past couple of years and I only expect for it to go up from here."
With people making their own brands such as @psychwardmike to the resellers I mentioned and the ones Chema mentioned as well we are progressing and creating an environment to support one another and taking a step away from fast fashion and seeing what sellers and local designers have to offer as well.