#2_What is the delicate consideration that WITTY, a store that is environmentally conscious, continues to show?

A sense of value that does not waver in the ambiguous definition of vintage. This is due to the high quality that withstands the passage of time. In this day and age, when even secondhand clothes from the 80s and 90s are starting to be called vintage, I would like to think about the value of secondhand clothes that should be preserved, and the value of clothes themselves.
　
The items on display in the Witty Vintage store include American vintage clothing, Western antique lace dresses, and used clothing from designer brands. The fact that the items are from different eras and genres yet somehow have a sense of unity is exactly as the word “witty” suggests, and it makes customers’ hearts flutter. “I pay particular attention to the hanging. I want to add a Witty Vintage feel to the composition,” says director Reiko Akamine. Her husband Yuki Akamine is in charge of buying, and he travels abroad directly every two months.
“We don’t handle used products that have too much of a plastic product feel. We select products from the perspective of their future value, without being misled by the fixed reputation attached to popular brand bags and shoes, etc.”.

Since opening seven years ago and establishing a physical store in Yutenji, Tokyo, four years have passed, and Witty Vintage is now focusing not only on the sale of secondhand clothes, but also on the planning and sale of original products. Upcycled” sweatshirts made from a blend of recycled and organic cotton, and color shirts dyed with ‘botanical dye’ from secondhand clothes.
“As we continued to run the shop, our desire to give something back to society through what we can do gradually grew stronger. Now that the number of high-quality vintage items is gradually decreasing, if we are going to make original products, we would prefer to use fabrics that are as environmentally friendly as possible, and if that is difficult, there are several options, such as donating a portion of the sales. The essence of sustainability lies in sustainability, and the challenge is how each of us can create a world that is easier to live in. It’s easy to take this too seriously, but surely there is a better future ahead of us if we choose to do things that we enjoy and can continue to do without strain.
　
Witty Vintage dares to call their original sweatshirts “upcycled” and encourages customers to bring their own bags because they have realized that some things can’t be conveyed without words. Now, most customers who come to the store bring their own bags. There is no denying the various costs involved in environmentally friendly behavior, such as the annual fee for displaying the biomass mark. However, taking action first will increase the resolution of things that lie ahead.

“We don’t think that the world should be able to get by with just the clothes we have now. It is only because there are people who try to create something with new ideas that factories, craftsmen and other production backgrounds can grow. We want to continue to take action, even if it is only a little at a time, while keeping in mind how we can continue to grow in the future.”
　
The appeal of vintage clothing is that it encompasses the high quality that has maintained its shape over many years, and its significance as a “heritage” item that cannot be reproduced even in this day and age of advanced technology. In today’s world, where the development of secondary distribution systems has made it easy to buy and sell secondhand clothes online, the word “vintage” is bandied about like a casual sales pitch. Furthermore, there are also many brands that seem to have stripped away the vintage elements and just stuck them on. What is a vintage item that you can trust, and what is the value of a piece of clothing? The expectations we have for the actions that go beyond the boundaries of vintage shops, and for the connoisseurs who select only those items that will accompany us for a long time, are not small.