The Tuscaloosa Vintage Market at Druid City Brewing Company celebrated its three-year anniversary on Sunday with a new set of vendors offering classic and vintage pieces to Tuscaloosa residents and University students.
The crowd was active and shifting constantly. Large groups of students and locals came through either to pick up new pieces or just to window shop, moving in happily chatting herds from booth to booth.
Nearly everyone was wearing well-curated and stylish clothes with very deliberate aesthetics. Pants were either baggy or tight, beanies were cuffed, and shoes were chunky.
Customers arrived at the brewery and were greeted to an open-air market with numerous independent vendors aligned with the market’s larger organization, each specializing in different kinds of pieces — from vintage athletic and collegiate apparel to retro workwear styles and more.
Active since February 2022, the market has attracted steady crowds. Garret Hunt, the event organizer, estimated attendance at around 2,000 people on Sunday alone.
To many vintage enthusiasts, older pieces are not just stylish and made in ways difficult to find today, but they are often manufactured better.
“The secondhand market is always growing,” Hunt said. “It’s cheaper than buying new, and older stuff is frequently higher quality.”
Pieces for sale ranged widely in prices and style. There were large amounts of simple items like athletic apparel both from the University and other schools as well as heavier, more long-term items like workwear jackets and boots.
“A lot of people here have a very unique style and a lot of respect for style in clothes, decor and jewelry,” said Savannah Mooney, a vendor. “I think people are looking to be as unique as possible in this day and age, and I think vintage is one of the best ways to do it.”
The student presence was strong and enthusiastic and cut across multiple different majors.
Andy Coleman and Nicholas Bacarisse, both sophomores majoring in computer engineering, noted the strong word of mouth nature of the market and its mass appeal.
Coleman said she’d heard about it from friends and online promotion, as had Bacarisse.
“We really like thrifting,” Bacarisse said. “This seemed like a cool opportunity to do that.”
Coleman recommended other students look into the market, saying it was accessible and fun.
Multiple vendors pointed to early-2000s or “Y2K” style — characterized by Vogue as an optimistic style featuring bright colors, flashy textures and accessories, tighter fits and bohemian pieces — as the hot commodity and major seller recently.
“People have a lot of respect here for early-2000s clothing and even home decor and jewelry,” Mooney said.
Tuscaloosa was noted as a specifically strong town for business.
“I do markets all around Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia, and Tuscaloosa is special,” Hunt said. “You get a lot more sports stuff and a focus on good basics that college kids need all the time.”
