Easton was flooded with a sea of locally sourced vintage goods on Sunday, marking the first of the city’s new monthly vintage fair and bringing its secondhand sector to the forefront.
“Easton has a great community, lots of vintage lovers and vintage shops around, and we thought it’d be a good idea to start one here,” said Justine Lavoie, the co-owner of Lucky Gal Vintage and co-founder of Easton Vintage Market.
The market hosted over 30 vendors selling goods in front of the Easton Public Market, united under the “vintage” label. Canopy tents and stuffed racks of colorful clothes lined the block, with mostly young people meandering through.
“I heard about the market through someone who saw me on Instagram and asked me if I wanted to join,” said vendor Bill Hoh, the owner of the pop-up vintage store Old is Gold, which sold clothing and comics from the ‘90s and 2000s. “It’s a fun hobby to get into, and it’s a good time.”
No Separation, a vintage store located not far from Easton’s center, also made an appearance. Their setup, among racks of jackets and other clothing items, included a large pile of clothes known as the “dig station,” which an employee said attendees particularly enjoyed.
“Anything that you need for your closet that is going to be vintage, that’s what we have here,” said Matias Haddock, an employee of the store.
Haddock explained that recycling vintage clothes is more sustainable than buying directly from major clothing brands, which manufacture massive quantities of clothing overseas.
Julian Cruz, owner of Blessed Image, sells vintage men’s and women’s wear imported from Italy, France and Japan.
“We already have a great turnout on this beautiful day, so I’m looking forward to more,” said Cruz. “More than just the sales, I’m happy to just meet people and network and connect with them.”
The event was well attended by passersby.
“It’s a nice layout, I like that the music’s going, a food truck would be awesome, but otherwise everyone here is really cool,” Matt Seaman said. “A lot of well-dressed individuals.”
Instagram and local signage proved to be an effective source of advertisement for the event, which drew people from Phillipsburg to Bethlehem. Some, like Kylie Transu, drove 45 minutes to attend.
“We are blessed to have Easton, because Easton shows up a lot more than Bethlehem and Allentown,” said Joseph Castillo, owner of vendor Castillo Conture.
“It brings people together, dude, it’s about like-minded people celebrating their interests,” Joe Glorioso said. “It’s cool, this whole street is shut down for this, it’s like you’re a part of something.”
Those who missed the market can mark the next pop-up in their calendar, held May 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pop-ups will continue to occur monthly through October.
