JOHNSTOWN — The Vintage Bop, an all-vintage indoor market, returns to Johnstown for the second year this Saturday.
Vintage clothing, jewelry, collectibles, art, furniture and more will be available at this year’s market, which will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Johnstown Area Community Center.
The free, indoor vintage market is hosted by McLemon’s, a clothing store in Johnstown that offers unique vintage and new items. Jessica Henry McClements, who owns McLemon’s and organizes The Vintage Bop, said the event has something for everyone.
“At The Vintage Bop, it’s all genuine vintage,” Henry McClements said. “All the vendors are selling clothing, jewelry, decor, furniture, books, household goods, dishes, things like that. It’s not like a flea market. These are all curated collections of really nice vintage items. It’s a great market to be able to shop vintage.”
The Vintage Bop is a “big party,” Henry McClements explained. The event will feature live music from Tim Vee, a snack bar where food and drinks can be purchased, and a tarot card reader. The event space also has a pool table, air hockey and foosball games for anyone to play.
“You can really come in, do some shopping, listen to music, get something to eat, and hang out with your other vintage-loving friends,” Henry McClements said.
Saturday’s event will have about 20 vendors offering a variety of different items, Henry McClemens explained.
Last year’s Vintage Bop took place in January in less than favorable weather with temperatures below zero, Henry McClements noted. Although it was very cold, a steady stream of people still attended, so Henry McClements expects this weekend’s Vintage Bop to be well-attended.
Vintage clothing items have unique cuts, colors and prints, Henry McClements explained. Utilizing and recycling vintage items is also a benefit to the planet.
“There’s a movement that’s about sustainable fashion,” Henry McClements said. “The fashion industry … from a historical perspective, we used to make our own clothes, we used to have clothes made custom fit to us. We used to get something made and we’d wear it over and over again. Now we have fast fashion, which is really hard on the environment.”
The fashion industry is known to be wasteful and produces a lot of waste products, Henry McClenents noted. Cheaper clothing is often not made through ethical means, she explained, and is often made by people making poor wages or by child labor.
“So, there’s a huge movement to shop second hand, to shop vintage,” Henry McClements said. “Vintage is a great way to continue to reuse clothing, especially clothing that was probably made better than some of the stuff that’s made today.”
