Dear College Kids of the SHSU Variety:
What’s shakin? I’d like to tell you a little about myself, in hopes that you’ll then write a story about me in your lovely little publication. Doesn’t that sound pleasant?
My name is John and I run the megaplex of a vintage clothing site that is http://www.vintagevantage.com. Maybe you’ve heard of it? Maybe not. We specialize in buttery soft and thin t-shirts from the 70s and 80s that no college hipster can live without. We’ve been doing it for a couple years now, using the magic of ebay to bring freshness to wardrobes around the globe. More specifically, to college campuses. About 75% of all my sales go to people with “.edu” email addresses.
We’ve also used our vintage expertise to develop our own t-shirt line, the vantage originals. These have been wildly successful, flying like hotcakes off the website and ebay, and just recently debuted at Urban Outfitters stores across the country. Check em out at http://www.vintagevantage.com/originals.html if you please.
So where’s the story, you ask? Well there are a couple of different approaches you could take. You could write a story about the vintage t-shirt phenomenon, and how ebay (and vintage vantage) fuel the craze in an increasingly internet-friendly college environment. Or if you have some kind of weekend fashion/lifestyle section, you could focus on the line of vantage originals, how a young kid has used vintage-inspired styling to create smart, fun, and irreverent t-shirts for a college market that is increasingly sick and tired of the abercrombie/old navy/american eagle homogeny.
Or you could do my story. I graduated from yale in 2000 and took a respectable job at a consulting firm. I proceeded to suffocate in cubicle hell, and a layoff later I found myself jobless and back at home with no desire to ever work in an office again. Since I had always been a thrift store-scouring vintage junky, I decided to test the ebay waters. Using a unique approach to ebay listing (funny descriptions, a silly cast of models) I quickly became the most recognizable ebay brand and attracted a loyal following of vintage aficionados… I could go on and on about the business history if that’s what you wanna do. It’s been fun, and I think your readership (especially the seniors) could relate to not wanting to go corporate, striking out on your own, etc. For ideas you can check out these other articles that have been written about vintage vantage:
http://www.natesvan.com/interviews/john0902.htm
http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=1119
So that’s that. I hope you’re completely intrigued and want to call me up and ask me a bunch of questions. My phone # is 619-459-6100 and you can email me at john@vintagevantage.com.
thanks a bundle!
john