The Business of Vintage
MEET RUSS
The owner of Drop Your Jeans Inc.
For over 25 years, Drop Your Jeans has been searching for and selling vintage jeans from some of your favorite brands, including Levis
I found this store when I was 18 or 19 years old and hungry for the trending, and still trending, high-waisted shorts. $60 Urban Outfitter shorts did not match my $10 budget, so I looked for them elsewhere in hopes to find the DIY in me.
It has been 7 years since I have been back to this store and a quick visit turned into a small tour, company history, and fashion advice.
The conversation between Russ and I actually started from me bringing up the company RE/DONE (thinking I was throwing some knowledge to this man that was born a couple years before me). Come to find out, Russ had already worked with this company before. Unfortunately, their relationship ended due to a high demand of small sizes and product adjustments that could not be carried out at the rate that the jeans were sold to RE/DONE.
Drop Your Jeans still sells at the single brick and mortar store, as well as online and wholesale. This company is a true mascot for the power of "word of mouth." Russ said that he finds the vintage cut indigos and company's to wholesale to through recommendations from other businesses and people he has met through the years. Moral of the story, collaboration is key.
“What will you sell when you run out of jeans?”
"There is always something to sell", answers Russ without conviction when I asked what would happen once his denim stock was completely sold. A true entrepreneur at heart, Russ does not stop at jeans. Along with vintage denim, he sells classic pins, posters, and MORE denim. Russ believes that there is always something past that people make new and with his exstensive history in the business and apparel industry he has plenty of connections to fill his oldie but goodie stock.
On the ecological tip, people are becoming more aware of their impact on the world and what is around them in 2017. Brands like Madewell and H&M recycle your clothes with convenient in store drop offs. Reducing what goes to the landfill by the simpelist of acts, including recycling jeans, can be your start of shaping the future into a great one. Fashion is the second largest polluting industry, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO ABOUT IT?
TELL RUSS BERRY SENT YOU: Don't forget to check out Drop Your Jeans at a Covina near you!
(Disclaimer: This store is only located in Covina, CA)
