As the BART screeches through the Rockbridge station, vendors set up their booths, turning the once-empty parking lot into a world of timeless treasures. The world, known as The Wardrobe Project Flea, is a marketplace compiled of the Bay Area’s art, culture and fashion. Serving as a space for like-minded, yet perfectly unique people to come together as a community.
Talia Brown, founder of The Wardrobe Project Flea and 2014 Palo Alto High School alumna, first created her store, The Wardrobe Project, to cultivate a sustainable fashion community in Rockbridge.
After two years at her consignment store, Brown and her partner, Jon Jon Prejean, had the idea to expand into a larger setting, taking a leap of faith to start The Wardrobe Project Flea, a market accommodating more vendors and buyers along with her store.
Brown specifically picked the Rockridge BART station in Oakland, just a block away from The Wardrobe Project store, because she said she felt that the Rockridge area has a booming economy. She wanted the area to have a special community space, or a “third space,” where like-minded people can congregate.
“We just noticed that there was a void for accessibility in the more curated vintage world, and they [the community] wanted to create an accessible space also in Oakland,” Brown said.
Brown said she also wanted to have a space to shed light on organizations, communities, and fundraisers she felt passionate about, which she can’t do at her store.
“I feel like, especially now, it feels like a need in every community … to highlight the organizations and the causes that matter a lot to us,” Brown said. “At every flea we’ve had either anti-ICE, or Palestinian fundraisers, or People’s Program Oakland, which is people working with local community organizations.”
Over the years, Brown has acquired a collection of vendors, small businesses and organizations to create a space for people to shop, learn and connect with others. At the flea you can find anything from clothing, bags, stickers, home goods, jewelry, watches, cameras and more.
Sarah Hyde, whose business is known as Fruity Femme Vintage, is a clothing vendor at The Wardrobe Project Flea. For Hyde, selling vintage clothes and fashion has always been her aspiration.
“This has been a dream since I was very young because when I was in middle school, high school, I was obsessed with thrifting,” Hyde said. “I was obsessed with vintage. I was that kid that was wearing a dress and heels to high school and falling over in the hallway because I was not walking in heels very well.”
Hyde found out about The Wardrobe Project Flea when she started to shop at Brown’s store located in Oakland.
“Over time, we [Hyde and Brown] became friends and they’ve been really mentoring me and encouraging me and starting this business,” Hyde said. “I just love this event in particular because it brings so many communities together.”
Fruity Femme Vintage is one of the many vendors at The Wardrobe Project Flea who feel this kind of support and community from Brown. Verynormalgoods, an organization that donates 100% of their profits to displaced families in Gaza, also felt this encouragement from Brown as she let her set up for free.
“She [Brown] let me set up for free because she knew all of it was getting donated,” said Frances, a vendor at Verynormalgoods.“We’ve donated our time into designing and creating these pieces in hopes that you’ll like them enough to donate to one of the causes below.”
Shopping at flea markets is also a great way to support local businesses. David Ruiz, whose business is known as Goodboy Jewelry, curates vintage and newer jewelry to sell at The Wardrobe Project Flea.
Ruiz found out about the flea when Brown reached out to him, asking him if he would like to join the group of vendors.
“They [Brown and Prejean] reached out and we were so happy to join and be part [of the flea],” Ruiz said. “I’ve been doing vintage jewelry for about a year now, and to pair it with an event like this, that’s so busy, has been nothing but wonderful.”
Brown said that she feels like the vintage-selling community is very tight-nit and strong in itself, with her and Prejean making the effort to build connections with all of her vendors at The Wardrobe Project Flea market.
“We’ve seen other markets get really disconnected from their vendors,” Brown said. “They’re not as focused on their vendors succeeding. And for us, it’s like, this is a wash if our vendors aren’t succeeding.”
The community-focused approach not only strengthens the vintage market ecosystem but serves a greater purpose. Brown and Prejean recognize that by supporting their vendors, they are empowering a sustainable alternative to fast fashion.
Shopping second-hand has grown into a great alternative to purchasing nearly anything. With about 92 trillion tons of textile waste going into the landfills every year, according to The Rouung Up, vintage shopping is a great way to live a sustainable lifestyle. Vendors at The Wardrobe Project recognize this and curate pre-loved pieces to be bought and loved again.
“Some people don’t know that sourcing things from somewhere like the Goodwill outlets is the last stop before those do go to the landfill,” Hyde said. “Every piece of clothing that we can rescue and give to somebody who’s going to love it is a win and is one point against the fast fashion industrial complex.”
In addition to being a sustainable shopper, vintage clothes are timeless pieces that are truly one of a kind. In today’s day and age many brands don’t use sustainable materials and are only producing fast fashion over all creating more waste.
“Vintage things are just better made,” Hyde said. “I want something if it looks gorgeous and [if] it’s already 30 years old, then I know it’s going to look gorgeous when it’s 40 years old.”
Brown wants shoppers to know that even though second-hand shopping may be time consuming, she said she feels like it’s worth it.
“It’s more of a treasure hunt…so I feel like just having that patience of, ‘okay, I might not go in and find something that fits me immediately, but when I do, it’s going to be really special and it’s going to be something that lasts in my wardrobe.’” Brown said.
Brown said she feels that shopping second-hand is not only good for the environment but a better experience for the shopper and wants more people to take time to understand where their clothes are coming from.
“There’s so much more value in things that are made well,” Brown said.
