On summer Saturdays, shoppers stroll Burlington's Pine Street with their haul from the farmers market: fresh bunches of kale, iced lattes, juicy berries in blue-green cartons. But you might also catch them coming from a different kind of market with some unexpected sartorial scores: a patterned wool "grandpa" sweater, a pair of perfectly worn-in Carhartts, a Pulp Fiction tee sporting Uma Thurman's unbothered expression.
Since 2022, the Burlington Vintage Market has been popping up every other Saturday from June through October just south of the farmers market, on the gravel lot outside the Barge Canal Market antiques store. It makes other appearances, too, including at Foam Brewers in Burlington and the University Mall in South Burlington. Music by the likes of Kendrick Lamar and MF DOOM sets the tone for these secondhand socials, organized by 26-year-old Avery Cyr and brought to life by a network of 40 rotating vendors.
The Burlington Vintage Market draws a bigger buzz with each weekend it runs. At least 1,000 shoppers meander through the Pine Street stalls on any given Saturday, according to Cyr. The energy is infectious — pieces flying off the racks and people sharing excitement over their new-old denim shorts or $5 finds. And these aren't the only vintage pop-ups in the city: Stu Sporko, 31, hosts the occasional Strange Little Market at various venues, and Wildweeds Flea holds near-monthly markets at the Wallflower Collective on South Union Street.
Together, these events offer an array of styles and price points that appeal to a broad range of buyers, from college students to locals to visitors ready to spend. Shoppers will find $5 to $10 piles at nearly every stall, as well as rarer pieces: a $70 cherry-red Prada skirt sourced from Japan, say, or a $200 Gunne Sax princessy prairie dress, cult-classic vintage from the later 20th century. The options at pop-ups are seemingly endless. And their proliferation since the pandemic is its own kind of fashion trend.
Worldwide, the secondhand apparel market is expected to grow 127 percent by 2026, to $218 billion, a rate three times faster than the apparel market overall, according to a 2023 study by online resale platform ThredUp. With brick-and-mortar mainstays such as Old Gold, Battery Street Jeans, Project Object Vintage and the Vault Collective, Burlington has long been a strong thrifting city. The pop-ups are the clearest sign of an increased demand for secondhand.
Cyr follows in the footsteps of Queen City Bazaar, which once held lively pop-ups at the Barge Canal Market location. Those shut down with the pandemic, and Cyr saw a need to keep the spirit going. "There was a real lack [of] a communal space for vintage clothing in Burlington and greater Vermont," he explained, emphasizing the community inherent at these events as central to pop-up culture.
On a recent Saturday, Olivia Welford strolled over to the Burlington Vintage Market from the farmers market. New to the pop-up, she was already a fan, appreciating the confluence of people, pieces and prices. "It's a variety," she said, holding up a skirt in the mirror, "and you can meet the people who have a specific style."
These pop-ups connect shoppers with items they "wouldn't know where to find otherwise," according to second-time browser Tori McCormack.
Around her, resellers stuffed bags with $60 JNCO jeans and $10 tees alike. The StyleBidder stall, run by Ken Pickart, 32, and Dan Hazard, 33, peddled vintage Ivy League sweaters and crisp button-downs. Nearby, Sporko's stall carried quite a different collection: Pop culture ruled the racks, all 2010s Twilight tees and anime apparel.
"Sell what you know," Sporko said, suggesting that success in resale comes down to a mix of knowledge and intuition. To source clothes, he scours sites such as eBay and Facebook Marketplace, trades with fellow sellers, thrifts constantly at Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity's ReStores and Goodwill, and even does the occasional dumpster dive on the streets of Burlington. Sporko doesn't have a car, so he sticks to the immediate area. Others, such as Pickart and Hazard, road trip across the Northeast, hitting estate sales and thrift stores.
As the former owner of Battery Street Jeans, Sporko said store management took up time that could be better spent scouting deals. And the lease demanded much of his profit.
"Rent is too damn high," Sporko said, explaining his transition from a brick-and-mortar to a pop-up operation. His Strange Little Market has made sporadic appearances throughout the city over the past year, from the lawn of the First Unitarian Universalist Society to Radio Bean nightclub. Its stalls are a mix of vintage finds, altered and handmade items, and artwork.
According to Sporko, pop-ups mitigate sellers' issues of time and money. Outside of vendor fees, there's no cost to setting up shop. At events such as the Burlington Vintage Market, run by sellers, there's an effort to keep fees low, currently $100 per week for a 10-by-10-foot stall. "I try to keep it as accessible as possible," Cyr explained, noting that overhead fees are often double or even triple that in a larger city such as Boston.
Location matters, too. The foot traffic from the Burlington Farmers Market helps make the pop-up worth vendors' time. Pickart of StyleBidder pointed out that these secondhand sellers don't have to pull Church Street boutique shoppers into their storefront; the pop-up populace comes to them.
The Burlington Vintage Market's Instagram has grown to more than 7,000 followers, an indicator of local interest. "I think it's gonna continue to grow," Peyton Ceppetelli, 23, said of the market. He runs Cepp's Closet with his girlfriend, 22-year-old Hannah Asbury.
Burlington buyers aren't typically looking for super-old, super-pricey items, Ceppetelli explained. His passion is for pre-World War II-era work wear — think worn-in coveralls and jeans splattered in century-old paint. But he typically saves those items for fairs and the online market, where antiquers pay big bucks for his niche collection. At the pop-ups, Ceppetelli sells affordable tees, along with Carhartts, flannels and quirky sweaters. As he put it: "Stuff you'd expect a Vermonter to wear."
Organizer Cyr has signs tacked up on his stall that read, "Everything under $25." The affordability gets old clothes into new hands, rather than the dumpster. In retail, low prices are indicative of fast fashion; in resale, low prices are simply a good deal. This aspect of secondhand is what attracts shopper Welford, who called the clothing industry an "evil business," referencing sweatshop labor and environmental destruction.
Beyond ethical concerns, shoppers at the Burlington Vintage Market expressed interest in supporting the local community and finding unique fashions. College students make up a large portion of this demographic, but Queen City citizens young and old mill about the market.
This diversity keeps the eclectic mix of sellers in business. There's room for each to have their own niche, leaving little concern for competition. Many pop-up vendors who travel to bigger cities find the culture in Burlington to be refreshingly friendly.
"Since we all have our own thing, there's community," Pickart said. "We know how to look out for each other."
This story was updated on August 15, 2024, to name the Wildweeds Flea events at Wallflower Collective.