Imagine a place where matters of fashion expression know no bounds. Every corner is an opportunity to explore a new aesthetic. You discover pieces that don’t exist in large malls or fast fashion enterprises. This place you’re imagining is the Memphis Vintage Market: a place where vendors and resellers come together to retail clothes, jewelry, accessories and more. Memphians gather at the market place to enjoy food, live music and shopping. One vender is Lydia Tankersly, the owner of Studio GF, a store selling upcycled items in women’s fashion.
“It’s fun to be able to go to an event like [the Memphis Vintage Market],” Tankersly said. “If you’re someone who loves shopping or you love vintage clothes or you love fashion or you love going somewhere with your friends—it just creates a space like that where people can go.”
The Memphis Vintage Market has created a space for a diverse crowd of people to discover new genres of fashion and stylish items. The market has recently gained popularity through its presence on Instagram. By promoting on social media, the Vintage Market has created a hub for fashion-forward Memphians.
“So the first time I went, I actually saw [information] about it on Instagram,” Amy Le (11) said. “[I saw] my sister’s friend who was holding [a booth]. So I was like, ‘Hey, do you need some volunteers?’ [I] hooked them with Key Club and volunteered with them, and I had so much fun.”
Members of the Key Club helped vendors by setting up their booths, taking them down and getting vendors food. Through this, they not only engaged in community service, but created connections with the vendors they assisted.
“I love talking to the vendors and getting to know about their stories, and you can make great connections over there,“ Le said.
The amount of vendors increases each time the market comes around, and so does the variation in the items sold. The items of the market stand out to consumers because they are different from the ones seen online and in retail stores.
“I guess people are trying to find more unique goods, because nowadays in retail stores, everything you see is the same stuff, but in different fonts,“ Le said. “I can’t find any pieces that I find at the Vintage Market anywhere, like Hollister or any retail stores online even.”
The Memphis Vintage Market gives shoppers an opportunity to express themselves in a way retail stores cannot. At the market, consumers resonate with the new items and brands they come across.
“I think it’s a privilege to be able to dress the way that you want to, if, you know, maybe some people don’t get to choose how they dress,” Tankersly said. “Some people don’t know how they want to dress. When you finally get to do that, I think that it’s really cool. I wanted to create a business where I could kind of be involved in the things I was interested in, but also making it accessible for other girls and for women.”
The Memphis Vintage Market gives resellers and vendors a place to shine through their businesses. Before selling at the Memphis Vintage Market, Tankersly felt discouraged in growing her business.
“I was just not feeling very motivated; I was feeling like something that I really wanted to happen was just maybe not going to happen,” Tankersley said.
That changed after her first booth at the market. The Memphis Vintage Market allowed Tankersly a space to evolve her brand.
“It was a really great market. It went super well. I made the most money that I had ever made at a market,” Tankersly said.
The market not only is a place for entrepreneurs to spread their wings, but is a mecca for Memphians to connect. At the market, volunteers forged new friendships by assisting vendors with their booths.
“It connects Memphians more,” Le said. I feel like at the Vintage Market, so many people come together, bond and have and make great memories overall.”
The market makes a statement about the direction Memphis is going in terms of sustainability, art and community. Eve Li-Harms (11) was a Key Club volunteer for the market. Through volunteering at the market, she has observed progress in the city.
“I think Memphis is also moving in a more sustainable direction,” Li-Harms said. “The place where they had it last time—they had a sustainable eco-friendly playground there.”
The Memphis Vintage Market has risen to be a notable and popular event in the city. The market offers Memphians a place to express themselves fashionably, engage with the community and grow as entrepreneurs.
“Memphis is such a creative city,” Li-Harms said. “I feel like this just ties it together because, you know, we’re coming together and we’re recycling items, but then we’re also getting to find new pieces of ourselves, and then also [we get to meet] new people.”