garment district ( clothing retailer )
garment district - can anyone buy clothing at discount... - new york city forum
garment district - can anyone buy clothing at discount... - new york city forum - tripadvisor
an afternoon scene in the garment district in los angeles. (pablo unzueta for the washington post )
- count and package hundreds of jackets scattered all over the floor of a fabric storage room in the garment district .
a man walks past a factory in the garment district of los angeles. (pablo unzueta for the washington post )
the garment district carries contemporary as well as vintage fashions, and the volume of clothing in the store allows cohen to keep the price of most items well under $ 20 .
in comparison to the chaotic treasure - hunt atmosphere of dollar a pound, where the clothing lays in heaps on the floor, the garment district was
the first to categorize and colorize in an organized fashion ,
said cohen .
the garment district is the perfect combination of thrift store and boutique .
- your product can’t compete with mega brands in the mega retailer. the megas will never buy from you again .
cohen has clearly changed his tune about those old rags: today, he' s the owner of two vintage - clothing stores, the garment district and dollar a pound, both located at 200 broadway in cambridge' s kendall square .
we serve new york’s storied garment district, in the heart of midtown manhattan. working in partnership with local building owners and businesses, we improve the quality of life and economic vitality in this authentic new york neighborhood. the garment district alliance, formerly the fashion center bid, is a not - for - profit corporation, established in 1993 .
many people might consider
vintage clothing
to include turn - of - the - century clothing, 1920s jazz - era garb or 1940s fedoras and baggy pants .
hangers, vics specifications, ; mfr and distributor worldwide for display and packaging. made in china and other asian countries, retailer nominated
in 2007, boston costume joined the garment district and by the pound at 200 broadway. boston costume has been a boston institution since 1965, and was previously located in boston’s chinatown neighborhood .
more trimmings / buttons / beads / notions the bead district is around 6th avenue from 36th st to 39th st .
- make special products for an online “core” specialty retailer. give them access to exclusive products that you’re not letting the big mainstream guys in on .
trendy clothing is always here, especially when brand new pairs of hunter rain boots are available .
the garment district is home to thousands of fashion industry businesses. navigating this vast sea of apparel, accessories & textiles can be overwhelming, so we' ve published our database online, allowing you to find patern makers, wholesalers, sales reps and anything else you might be looking for in the garment district. if you have any difficulties, consult the list of popular searches, or email us at info @ urltoken .
anii wearing outlier' s original garment, the og pants. (c. 2008 )
the whole clothing business in 2016 is based on deep discounts, low margins, and massive volume .
- get stiffed by that “core” specialty online retailer. get left with stuff you borrowed money to make. try and figure out what to do with it .
seven months ago, the historic, albeit run - down, old factory building at 200 broadway was in danger of being razed and turned into condos. but that is not going to happen after all, and the garment district, the funky clothing store cherished by halloween revelers and bargain - loving fashionistas, is staying right there .
as truly antique (pre - 1950s) clothing becomes scarce, the popularity of more modern clothing - - from the 1960s and, yes, the 1970s - - is great news for vintage - apparel store owners .
every year, americans throw away millions of pounds of perfectly usable clothing every year. and with constant trend turn - overs and “fast fashion” production, it can be easy to see out - of - style clothing as disposable. however, by “recycling” unwanted clothing by buying and selling secondhand, we can keep these clothes from clogging up landfills, and cut down on the high carbon and pollutant footprint it often requires to manufacture new clothing .
sean martin. a stitch in time: the cleveland garment industry. western reserve historical society, 2015
pedro said nemo’s sews some clothing for forever 21, as the blouses he helped produce were tagged with the retailer’s label. forever 21 said in a statement that it “takes these issues very seriously and requires all of its vendors to comply with federal and local minimum wage and record - keeping laws. ”
the laws of the state of new york shall govern and construe these terms, without giving effect to any conflict of laws provision to the contrary. user irrevocably consents to the venue of new york state court, kings county, or united states district court for the eastern district of new york .
when bruce cohen first encountered vintage clothing in the 1970s, he thought he was looking at a pile of old rags .
the garment district is really a series of maybe three or four streets between 5th and 6th avenues, 39th, 38, 37, 36 dotted with
wholesale only
storefronts that sell inexpensive clothing. there are also quite a few button and bead stores, the beading stores have really taken off big time in the past few years in this area. you can walk into these
wholesale only
stores and ask if they will sell clothes to you for cash, and depending on their mood they will either let you or not. in either case, it will not be a comfortable experience and it' s really not worth the bother. any tour of the garment district is probably just visiting showroom after showroom and maybe peeking into a room with racks of clothing .
pedro said nemo' s sews some clothing for forever 21, as the blouses he helped produce were tagged with the retailer' s label. forever 21 said in a statement that it “takes these issues very seriously and requires all of its vendors to comply with federal and local minimum wage and record - keeping laws .
“casa nonna, market cafe, and il punto are the better places in the hood. the others are the ones that are a step tier down from the first three mentioned, but are still better than most of the pop up food places in the garment district. “
cohen once ran a business that manufactured wiping cloths. the material he used came from bales of old clothing that nobody wanted .
mariela martinez, 24, is an organizer for the garment worker center. (pablo unzueta for the washington post )
for two decades, garment factories, most clustered in los angeles, have produced clothing for some of america' s leading retailers, who have kept production in the us to avoid transportation time and costs and to benefit from higher quality manufacturing processes .
for two decades, garment factories, most clustered in los angeles, have produced clothing for some of america’s leading retailers, who have kept production in the u. s. to avoid transportation time and costs and to benefit from higher quality manufacturing processes .
a fashion designer & apos; s window at a korean - owned garment firm in los angeles. (photo: lauren lancaster )
with a total of 30, 000 items on the floor, cohen takes extra care to research who his customers are and what they' re buying, though not in a high - tech way: the garment district has no computer or scanning system on site, but one is on the way, according to cohen .
the garment district prides itself on having been a “green” business since day 1. although only approximately one piece in twenty is selected, steamed, and tagged for sale in the store, other items are sold through by the pound, and items we cannot sell are sent to a “shoddy mill” and are ground up for other uses .
eric choe, outgoing president of the korean - american garment industry association, acknowledges that minimum wage violations occur in the industry, but argues that retailers bear at least some of the blame. those companies, he said, liked american - made goods because they could reach clothing racks more quickly .
just a short walk from the kendall / mit red line t station in cambridge, the garment district is a large and unique retail clothing store, stocking all styles of women’s and men’s new and used clothes, shoes, and accessories. with over 12, 000 square feet of retail space bursting with more than 40, 000 unique items at any given time, you’ll always find a large assortment of options at affordable prices. the store is open every day, and accepts all major credit cards .
today, forever 21 has its own warehouses abroad to keep up with global demand, but it still maintains some ties to the korean garment district. the company sends agents to the neighborhood—and to other similar markets around the world—to check in with vendors and keep track of what’s trending where. and several manufacturers in the neighborhood say that forever 21 still buys clothes from them .
the name itself dates back to 2007 and abe' s earlier attempts to turn his pants into reality. the black swan logo came naturally as it is symbolic of an outlier. abe' s pants were a bit further along than tyler' s shirts so they became outlier' s original garment, the og pants (pictured left). between the two of them they shared just a years worth of experience in the clothing world; abe had been an animator and graphic designer while tyler had worked in media and a record store before a brief stint working with a shirtmaker. what they did have was new york city' s garment district, where they learned to make clothes the hard way .
the investigation prompted han’s to quickly close, and pedro — with the help of the garment worker center — pressed a claim for unpaid wages with the state .
bookatailor prides itself on being 100% bespoke tailor which indicates that a bespoke clothing is handcrafted by our top bespoke menswear tailors which includes custom tailored suits, shirts in usa .
bookatailor is an innovative pioneer in custom made menswear clothing. we offer the highest quality custom tailored designer shirts, suits, custom made suits in at the most affordable prices .
someone else asked this yesterday. i have seen ads online for tours but don' t know how good they are. you' d be better off (i think) looking on urltoken and urltoken (ny magazine website) for sample sales. there are also plenty of discount clothing shops. look on urltoken / cheap for designer clothing for less .
the parent company of another retailer, tj maxx, said in a statement that it “expressly requires our vendors to pay the legally prescribed minimum wage or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher, and our vendors must ensure that all subcontractors they use comply with these same requirements. ”
next top model: design studio at a garment business in l. a. & apos; s jobber market. the rise of a new generation of design - savvy young korean & apos; s in l. a. & apos; s garment sector has propelled the fast - fashion trend. (photo: lauren lancaster )
tags terms: nordstrom zara korea fashion industry clothes forever 21 t. j. maxx urban outfitters anthropologie los angeles clothing fashion fast fashion manufacturing features inditex magazines: magazine feature story mar / apr 2014
still located in the center of new york city’s garment district, g - iii’s goals for the future are consistent with its storied past…produce great products that enable it to reach a broad spectrum of consumers; partner with nationally recognized brands to appeal to a brand conscious apparel market; and, perhaps most importantly, engage the entrepreneurial spirit that got it here by constantly seeking attractive new licenses and acquisitions to expand its reach and abilities .
direct importer. wholesaler and retailer of czech glass beads, preciosa crystals, swarovski crystals, plastic and metallic beads, pearls, czech preciosa seed beads, chains, tools, jewelry findings, threads, wires, glue, wax cords, leather. hours: m - f 9 - 6; saturday 10 - 5
consider the following itinerary a sampler of garment district attractions that can be collapsed into three hours (if you stay focused and on task and wear either roller - skates or rubber soled shoes). if you need sustenance, try ben’s, a ny kosher type deli at 209 w 38 th street, corner of 7 th avenue, (212) 398 - 2367. many thanks to shirley levine for her clever help compiling this list .
i haven' t been here in a while. the men' s store was completely re - done. good sales and clothing selections. they carry some of the higher end brands now like varvatos .
whether you dream of redecorating your apartment or you’re a professional looking to create the next big clothing line, here are the five best fabric stores in nyc to help you get started. by carly petrone .
if you like to exercise while on vacation, you' ll love our fitness rooms. equipped with all the modern amenities we offer here at tryp new york city, plus an exercise bike and exercise clothing .
while immigrants often face criticism for stealing jobs, they are the ones being increasingly undercut in america’s clothing industry, forced to accept wages below the legal minimum as retailers fight to pass on bargain prices to consumers .
the garment district building at 200 broadway in cambridge is the last standing structure associated with the city’s once - booming soap manufacturing industry. our building dates back to 1893, when an older factory on the site was destroyed by fire. until world war ii, the building housed soap manufacturer lysander kemp & sons. in the postwar years, the building was occupied by several businesses, including the cambridge printing co, a bronze foundry, and harbor textile waste co .
although it might seem redundant after the other trimming stores, a visit to the garment district wouldn’t be complete without trekking a few blocks east to m + j trimming. you might want to stop for a caffeine break on your way over; you’ll need renewed stamina to stand and gawk. m & j is a bit pricier. the view is fabulous bordering on overwhelming. if you’re into embellishment and you’ve only got an hour, you might want to spend it here .
“while forever 21 does not own or operate any of the third party vendors or contractors involved, it is our policy and practice to not purchase merchandise from any companies who violate the law ,
the retailer said. “forever 21 condemns any third party vendor that violates these laws, and takes appropriate action to encourage these independent vendors to improve compliance. ”
the sewing of clothing depends on a hierarchy of immigrants, according to those who monitor or work in the industry. hispanics, mostly mexicans, perform the labour at factories owned often by first - and second - generation koreans .
without language skills or money, most ended up leveraging their ties to the textile trade back home, making or selling clothes. korean immigrants went on to play large roles in the most important clothing markets in são paulo, buenos aires, guangzhou, l. a. , and new york. “all of us—every single person i knew—ended up working in the clothing business, even after graduating with a university degree, ” says mike lee, a korean fashion entrepreneur who came to los angeles from brazil. “it was just one of those things where it was easy to learn the business and easy to get information about it, because everyone doing clothing in são paulo was korean. ”
the sewing of clothing depends on a hierarchy of immigrants, according to those who monitor or work in the industry. hispanics, mostly mexicans, perform the labor at factories owned often by first - and second - generation koreans .
“while forever 21 does not own or operate any of the third party vendors or contractors involved, it is our policy and practise to not purchase merchandise from any companies who violate the law, ” the retailer said. “forever 21 condemns any third - party vendor that violates these laws, and takes appropriate action to encourage these independent vendors to improve compliance. ”
garnett said that competing against big retailers is not an issue. that' s because famous - name designers often get their inspiration from older styles, which makes the clothing he sells compatible with what' s in larger department stores .
clothing should be liberating. what you put on in the morning should never restrict what you do with your day. we make garments that evolve around the boundaries of fashion using a function driven design process and high quality technical fabrics .
su, the california labour commissioner, said in a statement that enforcing penalties against employers “is certainly a challenge”, particularly in the garment industry where violators tend to be “relatively small, fly by night, and open and shut down with some frequency”. she said the state government, though, was confiscating garments made in unlicensed factories and trying to pay workers for lost wages from a government fund created with registration fees from garment companies .
as part of its investigation, the department of labor in 2016 visited at random 77 garment companies throughout southern california. at 85 percent of those places, they reported finding labor violations — mostly failures to pay minimum wage .
su, the california labor commissioner, said in a statement that enforcing penalties against employers “is certainly a challenge, ” particularly in the garment industry where violators tend to be “relatively small, fly by night, and open and shut down with some frequency. ” she said the state government, though, was confiscating garments made in unlicensed factories and trying to pay workers for lost wages from a government fund created with registration fees from garment companies .
he had spent his latest 45 - hour working week hunched over a sewing machine, attaching labels and stitching collars and tightening black and gold blouses that would soon sell at bargain prices at a popular retailer. but now it was saturday afternoon, pay day, when pedro felt the full sting of that bargain: it was his own salary that helped keep the prices down for consumers .
the typical garment worker is somebody like pedro, a mexican who slipped over the hills around tijuana in 1986, spent his first american night in the back of the trunk, arrived in los angeles the next morning, found a garment job soon after, and only now, at age 48, was wondering why things had gotten so hard. pedro, who is still undocumented, requested that his last name not be used out of fear of deportation .
as part of its investigation, the department of labour in 2016 visited at random 77 garment companies throughout southern california. at 85 per cent of those places, they reported finding labour violations – mostly failures to pay minimum wage .
garment of praise: the ttokamsa home mission church in eastern los angeles is the spiritual home of many of the korean families who produce fast fashion, including the chang family—the owners of forever 21. (photo: lauren lancaster )
like most garment workers, he said he was paid by the piece, rather than receiving an hourly wage. he earned 4 cents for every label, 2 cents for stitching across the shoulders, 10 cents for a pocket .
los angeles - - he had spent his latest 45 - hour workweek hunched over a sewing machine, attaching labels and stitching collars and tightening black and gold blouses that would soon sell at bargain prices at a popular retailer. but now it was saturday afternoon, paycheck time, when pedro felt the full sting of that bargain: it was his own salary that helped keep the prices down for consumers .
in 1984, forever 21 was a single retail store in the east l. a. neighborhood of highland park. by 2001, the company had 50 stores. the retailer continued to gain a following because it stocked so many on - trend, knock - off garments, offering new designs almost daily. by many accounts, this constant stream of styles—the secret to forever 21’s original success—came from the jobber market .
federal regulators have uncovered a widespread practise of garment workers, most of them undocumented, being paid below the legal minimum wage, according to a recent department of labour report. those findings were echoed in interviews with workers and workers’ activists here .
federal regulators have uncovered a widespread practice of garment workers, most of them undocumented, being paid below the legal minimum wage, according to a recent department of labor report. those findings were echoed in interviews with workers and workers activists here .
as an anthropologist, i have been coming to los angeles with the photographer lauren lancaster for the past two years to study the hundreds of korean families who have, over the last decade, transformed the city’s garment district into a central hub for fast fashion in the americas. these families make their living by designing clothes, organizing the factory labor that will cut and sew them in places like china and vietnam, and selling them wholesale to many of the most famous retailers in the u. s. —including forever 21, urban outfitters, t. j. maxx, anthropologie, and nordstrom .
the most unexpected part of it all for me was an education in business. when we made our first run of clothing we didn’t even understand the basic business cycle. we didn’t understand pre - booking collections, going to trade shows, markups, what retail looked like - embarrassingly naive .
according to the recent labor department report, clothing prices at many retailers would have to rise nearly 40 percent for workers to be paid the minimum wage. the garments made by underpaid workers most often get sold at fast fashion or discount retailers like forever 21, tj maxx, and ross dress for less, according to the labor department .
according to the recent labour department report, clothing prices at many retailers would have to rise nearly 40 per cent for workers to be paid the minimum wage. the garments made by underpaid workers most often get sold at fast fashion or discount retailers like forever 21, tj maxx, and ross dress for less, according to the labour department .
matcha, mint, hazelnut, lemon - basil and coconut are some of the subtle flavors that kee ling tong, who owns the kee’s chocolates stores in soho and in the garment district, has infused in her refreshing chocolate milks, both semisweet and white. she uses milk from fair oaks farms in fair oaks, ind. , as a base, thanks to a friend who knew she was looking for a source for milk, and made an introduction: susu and kee’s chocolate milk, 3 ounces, $ 3; 6 ounces, $ 6, including a 50 - cent deposit, at kee’s chocolates, 315 west 39th street, 212 - 967 - 8088, and 80 thompson street (spring street), 212 - 334 - 3284, urltoken .
fabric shops the fabric shops in the garment district are mostly on 39th and 40th streets, between 7th and 8th avenues. although they are open to the public, they cater to the apparel industry, meaning come with an open mind and don' t expect many fabrics & fabricscalicoes and traditional quilting fabrics. but don' t be shy: ask for cottons. depending on the season, you could get lucky. generally, the hours are monday to friday 9 - 6 and saturday 10 - 5 (or 4: 30). interestingly, saturdays are not as busy as weekdays when wholesale customers in the trade make up most of the traffic. a few stores open and close an hour earlier, and some are closed on saturdays because of religious observance .
vintage clothing plays into a mentality of smart shopping ,
said jay calderin, director of the maverick media group, publishers of maverick, a semi - annual boston fashion newsletter .
at some of these stores, customers can get a real bargain, although there are also shops that have become very chi - chi and are really overpriced .
specifically, i paid a visit this past summer to the ttokamsa home mission church, a large, gray, industrial box of a building near a highway on the edge of echo park, a residential neighborhood in east los angeles. a well - known local institution among korean americans, the church is the spiritual home of the chang family—the owners of forever 21, the largest fast - fashion retailer based in the u. s. (look on the bottom of any canary - yellow forever 21 shopping bag and you’ll find the words “john 3: 16. ” )
then, during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, thousands of korean garment - business owners left brazil and argentina for los angeles, driven by currency crises, inflation, rising crime, and the search for better educational opportunities for their children. it was those same children who would go on to drive america’s fast - fashion revolution .
“most of the folks that i see at the wage clinic, it’s the same some sort of scheme, ” said mariela martinez, an organizing coordinator the garment worker center, a nonprofit that advocates for underpaid workers. “what the employer is doing is looking at how much the worker made through the piece rate and then adjusting the hours to approximate that. ”
“it’s almost been a perfect storm for the garment industry, ” said ruben rosalez, a regional administrator at the department of labor’s wage and hour division, based in san francisco. “not only do [ the employers ] have the pricing pressure, but they have a labor force that’s prone to being exploited. they’re using that, taking advantage of these workers. ”
in addition to the two newbury street stores, garnett owns bobby' s from boston, an elegant by - appointment - only men' s vintage - apparel showroom located at 19 thayer st. in boston' s south end. the store carries men' s clothing and accessories that date from the turn of the century to the early 1950s, and caters to wholesalers as well as retail shoppers .
“most of the folks that i see at the wage clinic, it' s the same some sort of scheme, ” said mariela martinez, an organising coordinator the garment worker centre, a nonprofit that advocates for underpaid workers. “what the employer is doing is looking at how much the worker made through the piece rate and then adjusting the hours to approximate that. ”
our garments are built to perform better every day. our first product was a pair of pants designed around bike commuting. an item designed to extend the freedom of a cyclist into the broadest range of possibilities. we still make a version of those og pants but we rapidly evolved into something more dynamic, a company that makes innovative and good looking clothing to improve the way you move through this world .
“it’s almost been a perfect storm for the garment industry, ” said ruben rosalez, a regional administrator at the department of labour’s wage and hour division, based in san francisco. “not only do [ the employers ] have the pricing pressure, but they have a labour force that' s prone to being exploited. they' re using that, taking advantage of these workers. ”
but immigrants who once moved from poorer countries to the us for economic opportunity are now watching their prospects falter as they compete against lower - cost hubs such as bangladesh, vietnam and mexico. as the number of us - based garment jobs decline, those workers also compete against one another, fighting for scarce and low - paying work while fearing deportation if they complain about the pay .
federal labour investigators and employers draw a direct connection between the meagre pay for workers – as low as $ 4 per hour, according to a government report released last month – and the bargain prices paid by consumers. over the past two decades, consumer prices in real terms have risen more than 50 per cent in the us, according to government data, but clothing costs less today than it did 20 years ago .
federal labor investigators and employers draw a direct connection between the meager pay for workers — as low as $ 4 per hour, according to a government report released last month — and the bargain prices paid by consumers. over the last two decades, consumer prices in real terms have risen more than 50 percent in the u. s. , according to government data, but clothing costs less today than it did 20 years ago .
what they lacked, often, was american cultural fluency, a sensibility for aesthetics and design, and the capacity to connect with american retailers—traits that were becoming increasingly necessary for survival. by 2000, by many accounts, a large swath of garment businesses were failing. korean - owned sewing factories, cutting studios, and small - time manufacturers were going belly - up in waves. the industry was changing .
but immigrants who once moved from poorer countries to the u. s. for economic opportunity are now watching their prospects falter as they compete against lower - cost hubs like bangladesh, vietnam and mexico. as the number of u. s. - based garment jobs decline, those workers also compete against one another, fighting for scarce and low - paying work while fearing deportation if they complain about the pay .
on a residential street in glendale, california, alice moon’s bedroom does not look so different from the kind of backdrop one often sees in haul videos. it is decorated with cut - and - paste collages of clothes, runway models, and magazine cover girls. she’s cut the word “fashion” out in bubble letters and strung it decoratively across one wall. shopping bags are strewn about everywhere—from h & m, zara, forever 21—stuffed with clothing that has yet to be unpacked, folded, put away, or even worn .
his manager gathered the 30 or so workers from their stations in the unmarked brick building and passed out pay - slips. for the week, he said, he had been paid $ 225 (£183). or $ 5 (£4) per hour. “there' s nothing to do but take it, ” pedro said. while immigrants often face criticism for “stealing” jobs, they are the ones being increasingly undercut in america’s clothing industry, forced to accept wages below the legal minimum as retailers fight to pass on bargain prices to consumers .
eleanor - from - long - island and her daughter - the - salsa - dancer have great things to say about this mecca: “garment silks, like dupioni ($ 12), silk lining fabric ($ 5 - - cheaper than the polyester at joann’s .), lovely wools ($ 10), ultrasuede ($ 10 to 12). discounted patterns at 50% off, loads of stock notions, accessories, trims and buttons, not to mention a decorating fabric section, too .
on a tuesday in december, pedro showed up in downtown los angeles to the office of the state labour commissioner for a settlement conference – a chance, maybe, to get some of the money he believed he was owed. the number of wage claims made by california garment workers has more than tripled over the past six years, and most claims lead to a scene like this: another morning in a crowded government waiting room where a poster on the wall read, “we put earned wages into workers' pockets” .
on a tuesday in december, pedro showed up in downtown los angeles to the office of the state labor commissioner for a settlement conference — a chance, maybe, to get some of the money he believed he was owed. the number of wage claims made by california garment workers has more than tripled over the last six years, and most claims lead to a scene like this: another morning in a crowded government waiting room where a poster on the wall read, “we put earned wages into workers’ pockets. ”
outlier grew rapidly through 2009 and tyler soon was able to quit his day job. by the end of the year they had their first full time employee, and by 2010 abe was able to drop his remaining freelance gigs and join full time as well. in june outlier moved their offices out of tyler' s living room and into a loft space on the edge of williamsburg, brooklyn. that studio is a lot more crowded now, but it remains a space where clothing is torn apart, reconsidered and iterated on in a continual pursuit of an impossible perfection .
according to shirley levine, it' s the best stocked notion center, with a great selection of brand name rayon threads (including madeira) and stuff like rat tail and cording for piping, and it' s one of the few spots in the city that carries clothing patterns (at 25% off). according to judy speezak, this shop always has a good selection of genuine african cottons, cheaper than most anywhere else in the city. they also have an odd selection of quilting cottons, and she' s recently seen woven patterned chinese silks there, too .
the nerve center of fast fashion in america is a sprawling, 30 - square - block neighborhood in downtown la loosely known as the jobber market. the term “jobber, ” a holdover from the days when jewish and iranian vendors dominated the neighborhood, refers to the wholesalers and middlemen who historically trafficked in downmarket clothing there. but the neighborhood’s name and reputation are outdated in a couple of ways: today pretty much everyone who works there is either korean or mexican, and many of the businesses born in the area now design, manufacture, and wholesale their own garments for prominent markets .
like most garment workers, he said he was paid by the piece, rather than receiving an hourly wage. he earned 4 cents for every label, 2 cents for stitching across the shoulders, 10 cents for a pocket. such a payment method was legal – but only if the earnings met the minimum wage, $ 7. 25 nationally and $ 10. 50 in los angeles. in some jobs over the years, pedro had earned more than the minimum, but now, he said, those jobs were almost impossible to find .
employers say they are in a bind. california' s minimum wage is set to gradually rise to $ 15 per hour by 2022, one of the most generous in the country. in th meantime, the state says it has toughened penalties for wage violations. in 2015, pedro said he was working at han' s fashion, another sewing factory, when federal investigators appeared. the investigation prompted han' s to quickly close, and pedro – with the help of the garment worker center – pressed a claim for unpaid wages with the state .
gone were the days when a garment shop just took orders from companies to create basic designs (imagine a shirt from the gap circa 1995) that would continue to sell for several seasons. big retailers were doing a lot less of their own designing, while requiring more complicated details and features in trim and ornamentation. “before, as long as there was a hole for the head and a sleeve, you could sell [ a shirt ] with any print, ” says so yun, the designer for a jobber market company called collective concepts. “now it’s designed. ”
even for an insider, it’s hard to get a sense of the scale of what’s going on in the jobber market. about 3, 000 businesses are officially registered with the korean apparel manufacturers association of los angeles. but people in the neighborhood will tell you that more than 6, 000 korean - owned clothing labels operate there. some of them are just small - time mom - and - pop establishments; others are multimillion - dollar businesses. gossip and rumor pervade the neighborhood—about who is doing well and who isn’t; about who secretly owns a massive warehouse and manufacturing operation, and who has little but a flashy showroom .
i first became curious about the garment sector in los angeles after noticing that an increasingly large proportion of students at parsons, the new york design school where i teach, were second - generation children of korean immigrants from southern california. many of them were studying fashion marketing and design so they could return to los angeles to help scale up their parents’ businesses. these students and their contemporaries were, i came to understand, the driving force behind u. s. fast fashion—a phenomenon whose rise is less a story about corporate innovation than one about an immigrant subculture coming of age .
over the past 15 years, the fashion industry has undergone a profound and baffling transformation. what used to be a stable three - month production cycle—the time it takes to design, manufacture, and distribute clothing to stores, in an extraordinary globe - spanning process—has collapsed, across much of the industry, to just two weeks. the “on - trend” clothes that were, until recently, only accessible to well - heeled, slender urban fashionistas, are now available to a dramatically broader audience, at bargain prices. a design idea for a blouse, cribbed from a runway show in paris, can make it onto the racks in wichita in a wide range of sizes within the space of a month .
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we' d be in a warehouse sorting through clothes to get wipe rags ,
said cohen ,
and some guy would come up to us and say, 'i' ll give you $ 1 for that old western shirt' or 'i' ll give you $ 1. 25 for that coca - cola workshirt.'
cohen and his partners were surprised that anyone would want to buy the castoffs they used as raw material for rags .
we thought it was a goof ,
said cohen .
we paid 3 cents a pound for this stuff .
a number of small boston - area retro boutiques have been redefining their concept of
vintage
in order to keep up with fashion trends and stay competitive with large department stores .
five years ago, there' s no way i' d even have looked at a bale of men' s polyester pants ,
said bobby garnett, co - owner of strutters and boutiques unique, both on newbury street .
now i' ll look at them .
but cohen notes that several small vintage - apparel stores have closed in recent years precisely because they wouldn' t change with the times .
the clothes they wanted to carry became harder to get and are out of vogue .
cohen said .
in order to compete with large department stores carrying vintage knockoffs, many smaller vintage - apparel boutiques offer lower prices in addition to authenticity .
some truly modern collectible items, however, never make it onto the floor of local shops .
for instance, levi jeans that were made in the 1960s or 1970s (distinguishable by the capital e in levi on the tiny red back - pocket tag) retail for about $ 300 in japan. boston vintage apparel store owners usually can' t afford to pay the same wholesale price that japanese buyers will for these classic levis .
i couldn' t sell a pair of jeans for that much here ,
said kathleen white, owner of oona' s in harvard square. jeans at oona' s go for about $ 25, which is the average at small vintage - apparel shops .
kids sometimes say, 'twenty - five dollars is too much to spend for used jeans, i' ll go to goodwill and get some.' and when they go to goodwill, what do they find? gloria vanderbilt ,
said white .
that' s not what the kids want to wear. so they come back here .
vintage stores like oona' s buy the items they sell in bulk from dealers, who in turn get most of their stock by digging through thrift stores .
after buying a bale of clothes, white will go through and separate what will work in her store from the garments that are unusable, either quality - wise or style - wise .
some old styles don' t sell ,
said white .
the 'top gun' look is dead. if you get one of those in a bale of leather jackets, you toss it .
according to white, the look of oona' s hasn' t changed much since the store opened in 1972 .
this is what everybody wore then ,
she said, pointing to the vivid hawaiian shirts and flowing hippy dresses that spill out of the door and adorn the outside of her 1210 massachusetts ave. storefront .
many of white' s customers need a costume to wear to a theme party or rock concert .
but oona' s also gets steady business from students and locals who don' t wait for halloween to put on a pair of velvet bellbottoms .
the kids from around harvard square wear my stuff every day ,
said white .
i see them get upset when the suburbans come in and make fun of the clothes .
garnett, who co - owns strutters and boutiques unique with partner joel shaw, first uncovered a market for second - hand clothes when he owned a leather shop in brookline village in the early 1970s .
that' s when i started shopping in thrift stores. i was buying clothes, but only for the hardware. i would take off the buttons and buckles to use on the leather. then i would throw the clothes in a basket and sell them for $ 2 to $ 5 .
people kept coming back to buy from that basket. after a while, i started putting the clothes up on racks .
garnett opened his first strutters, then called uptown strutters ball, in provincetown in 1975. strutters has been on newbury street since 1990, and boutiques unique opened in 1991 .
shaw estimates that the two stores do $ 500, 000 to $ 750, 000 a year in business .
according to garnett, sometimes the u. s. vintage - apparel market will make an impact in london. then, designers will pick up on a vintage look london youth are wearing and will duplicate it for department stores here .
once, in the' 80s, i sold a bunch of paisley shirts wholesale to vintage dealers in london ,
said garnett .
i had a really hard time convincing them to buy it. when these shirts came out in the london vintage stores, the kids bought them and then the designers came in and bought them .
after that, you saw paisley shirts everywhere here for a couple of years ,
said garnett .
i hand - pick everything for bobby' s from boston ,
said garnett .
this store allows me the freedom to buy what i want rather than buying in bulk to appease the wholesale dealers .
cohen' s dollar a pound opens at 7: 45 a. m. on saturdays and sundays, and there are plenty of regulars waiting enthusiastically by the door at that time every week .
the people who shop here know what they' re doing ,
said cohen, who opened the store in 1980 .
it' s sort of a cult thing. i' ve seen three marriages come out of dollar a pound .
surveys and customer mailing lists help cohen to keep tabs on customer preferences. he would not release revenue numbers for the stores, but said that they' re
well into seven figures .
after that, whatever doesn' t sell gets ground up and recycled into fiber .
we' re the ultimate green business, the perfect recyclers. nothing goes to waste here .
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new items are put out daily, so you’ll find something fresh every time you visit. whether you’re looking for casual apparel, business attire, or party clothes, we carry it all .
our stock is specifically selected to be seasonally - appropriate. we carry tons of coats and winter accessories during the cooler months, thousands of holiday sweaters in december, racks and racks of tank tops and cut - offs in the summer months, and a warehouse’s worth of costumes during october. and of course, we stock everyday essentials year - round: dresses, denim, pants, suits, hats, shoes, purses, ties, and so much more .
if you look better at 5th floor, you' ll find clothes cheaper than others .
largest mall in the world! 9 floors. i loved this mall! it got everything, shoes, purses, clothes, jewelry, perfumes ect! it' s also free wifi here! spent a lot of hours here on my new york trip !
do not carry your canal street bag into louis vuitton... we will judge you !
i work here, so my trip here is made multiple times during the week. hope those that go shopping at lord & taylor like the clothes, and store in general .
they sell fabulous clothes and shoes... . it may b crowed but don' t let that get in the way of ur shopping at lord & taylor... ...... .... if u going to a parrrrrraty go to the store # imtellingtherurth
the staff look ripped from the pages of japanese fashion rags, and the racks are full of stuff that' s about 10% more out - there than what you' re used to pulling off—but you' ll still be inspired to try .
noah emrich, youngest of the young guns, swings by to find the most unique selection of menswear in town .
incredibly large store - 3 levels. amazing beauty selection at rear of ground floor. women' s and home accessories are upstairs, as well as a large sale section tucked at the back .
ask for ms. pinks - she is the best! she fitted me for my wedding day gear to match the cut of my dress & gave me some tips. thanks again!
the garment district is a clothing retailer in cambridge , massachusetts that opened in 1986 and houses an eclectic array of vintage and contemporary clothing . the garment district is also known for its dollar-a-pound clothing store . 
the garment district is a clothing retailer in cambridge, massachusetts that opened in 1986 and houses an eclectic array of vintage and contemporary clothing. the garment district is also known for its dollar-a-pound clothing store.
the garment district is a clothing retailer in cambridge, massachusetts that opened in 1986 and houses an eclectic array of vintage and contemporary clothing. the garment district is also known for its dollar-a-pound clothing store.