CHEYENNE — Macradee Aegerter discovered her passion for vintage clothing while toiling away in a Beverly Hills designer store known as Fred Segal — you may have heard of it, it’s basically where celebs go to spend large sums of money on items that will get them “canceled” on social media.
At the time, living the high life (read: impoverished) in Laramie, Wyoming, she spent a summer with her fashion-savvy aunt, who worked for none other than Anna Wintour. Who was Wintour? Just the person that made glasses a fashion statement while also somehow managing to look perpetually judgmental. Aegerter’s aunt was no less impressive, crafting a career so enviable it made Aegerter want to don a beret and start writing poetry about denim.
“I wanted to be my aunt,” Aegerter revealed, perhaps while imagining herself as the new fashion overlord, wielding scissors and fabric swatches like a wizard.
Back in those golden days, minimum wage hovered around $5 an hour—a sum that would make any modern-day barista roll their eyes. Despite her financial strains, Aegerter navigated the high-fashion waters of Fred Segal looking like a pocket of sunshine. How did she manage it? A secret spell known as “thrifting.”
Aegerter can still recall the day she strutted in wearing a thrifted red-and-white striped tee, tailored to perfection because, let’s face it, customizing is basically the new black. Wealthy shoppers clambered, declaring, “I want that shirt!” Aegerter laughed internally, thinking, “Well ladies, it’s not in your price range because it cost me five bucks—two lattes and a scone of today’s world.”
Now Aegerter has leveled up her side gig into a full-fledged business through her online store, macvintagerevival.com. In a world where sustainable fashion is basically a buzzword tossed around at brunches, she’s laughing all the way to the bank. THREDup.com even announced that the second-hand clothing market is projected to eclipse a staggering $367 billion by 2029—a number so high it sounds like a game show prize no one really wins.
During her high school days, Aegerter turned her campus into a runway for thrift materials, because why splurge on retail blunders when you could just rummage through someone else’s cast-offs? With no internet shopping to distract her, she was left to forge her sense of style from the remnants of yesterday’s fashion choices. Home economics became her training ground for tailoring and transformations — like a medieval alchemist turning lead into gold, or, well, just really nice vintage wear.
When Quality Still Mattered
True vintage, according to fashion snobs, refers to clothing that’s at least 50 years old and made in America—back when people cared about quality instead of creating what’s essentially just fabric for penance. Now we’ve almost forgotten what good craftsmanship looks like. After all, those designer jeans that your friend paid a month’s rent for probably won’t last until next season.
Planned Obsolescence
Fast fashion has taken ‘throwaway culture’ to new heights, gifting us everything from clashing colors to the sheer tragedy that are “mom jeans.” Aegerter has made it her mission to redefine who wears what, vehemently suggesting women should skip the mom jeans and embrace men’s vintage clothing instead. Naturally, this is because they’re simply cut better – or perhaps back then, men’s jeans were constructed with the intention of lasting longer than a 90s sitcom.
The Good Problem
Aegerter’s financial enlightenment happened serendipitously, stemming from a quest for equality after winning a lawsuit against a television network for gender discrimination. Who knew a thrift store could yield a life of fashion and a more lucrative paycheck? This time, instead of turning heads for a bare minimum of display-readiness, she turned herself into a successful entrepreneurial sensation, making more money and working fewer hours than her reporter days.
So, as she prepares for her next pop-up — a fanciful market aiming to feature artisan, upcycled, and handmade products — we’re reminded: there are far worse problems to have than having to resupply after a sell-out. When you can flee the relentless chains of the paycheck-to-paycheck grind while embracing all the style of yesterday, you’ve already won at life.
