Old is the New New
I feel like I'm always mentioning this, but my secret day job is retail real estate. I have a lot of experience in this, and I really do enjoy it. If I didn't have to do it, I would still do it.
One of the things I'm finding, and especially the news today is all panic, stock market, blah, blah, is the old stuff.
Now, we know a lot of the old stuff is better. It's been well taken care of. I myself have a very old Precision bass, and it has some magical qualities. I also have a 2017 guitar. No, excuse me, 2014 guitar. And after 12 years, it's getting better.
I don't know the science behind all that. But I do think stuff gets played in.
And when you talk about my day job, one of the things we're seeing here in Central Austin is a huge move to vintage shops.
If you have kids, you know that they are huge vintage shoppers, and they don't want new stuff. I don't think either of my boys has worn new blue jeans in I don't know how long. I myself have a pair of $3 jeans on, Levi's, good stuff.
And that is an undercurrent that people continuously are not talking about.
I see no one talking about the rise of super high-end vintage stores. Curated. The old ones, yes, everyone goes to Goodwill and all that garbage. But I'm talking about these vintage stores are the thing.
And I don't know how. It's about 100 times cooler to get a cool old shirt, cool old pair of pants, whatever. Except for shoes and hats. That's gross.
It's always better to get the vintage thing.
And yes, the same with guitars and stuff like that. But they get expensive. I still like the long-term on vintage guitars. Or keyboards or basses or whatever.
This is all to say that I think folks are going to start realizing they need a lot less stuff. And also that the stuff they have needs to be great.
I've certainly realized this around here as I've gotten rid of a ton of stuff. And I'm about to get rid of a ton more, just keeping the things that are great.
So that's all to say, when the global panic comes, one of the things that you don't have to do anymore is buy stuff.
You're getting attacked by ads every day, but that doesn't mean you have to buy the stuff.
And social media is eating itself. The news is eating itself. You never know what's true. And I would say, in large part, maybe that was always the case, but...
I think, as someone who has a 19-year-old and a 21-year-old, they're on to all of it.
They like vintage stuff. They like buying stuff here and there. But they're not little consumers.
Because they're super selective.
So there's hope for this world.
Don't despair.
Don't read the news.