At 21, Julia Dixon has already created a successful clothing collection called Trash Vintage, a roving clothing boutique that sells vintage clothing both online and through pop-ups.
Dixon’s collaborations have found her working alongside Austin’s Peach Fuzz magazine, photographers such as Jinni J and musicians such as Annabel Chairlegs, all while hosting pop-ups everywhere from the Limelight in San Antonio to Denton’s “I’m Not Really Sorry” Arts Fest. As she heads into her senior year of college, what’s next for this one-woman powerhouse?
“It honestly started from a thrifting obsession.”
“Although I first started at thrift stores in Austin, I try to go on buying trips out of town. I’ve found secret places where I can get clothing by the pound for super cheap. The turnover allows me to keep a rather high profit margin.”
“When I started thrifting a lot, I thought maybe I should try to sell these instead of just buying for myself.”
“With Trash, I’m kind of marinating on the idea of having my own store either in Austin or doing something online, but that’s much bigger.”
“It’s vintage clothes, so the basis of it is recycled fashion. I think it’s important to reuse clothes, because although it’s easy to purchase from the millions of clothes being mass produced each season, it isn’t always ethical.”
“Plus, why would you want to wear the same thing everyone else has?”
“I try to keep my clothing affordable for just about anyone. My prices range from a $15 t-shirt to a $32 jacket or really awesome dress. It depends on the era and how good of a condition it’s in”
“My mom is my inspiration for sure. Ever since I was a kid, I remember wanting everything in my mom’s closet. She was a runway model when she was my age.”
“I am most definitely a one-woman show who finds time to run the social media, create and design the website and be on top of inventory.”
“The three cd’s I have in my car right now, which are such polar opposites, are Black Sabbath, Elliot Smith and Nina Simone. I find so much inspiration in music, art, and film and I try to relay that through my blog posts.”
“I also have really cool friends that I have met through Trash and collaborate with, other young women who are photographers, models and stylists.”
“I first set up when I signed up for a flea market for like $30 every Sunday. You get a 10×10 space and you can sell whatever you want. From there, I was like, ‘I don’t want to do just flea markets,’ so I started hitting up different bars and venues that were having shows or events going on, and I started setting up there.”
“Now it’s kind of like this little community of vendors where we try to set up at events to make them more diverse”
“There’s more going on there than just drinking or seeing a show.”
“I even started working with Urban Outfitters. They have this lot called Space 24 Twenty in Austin where they asked me to host some pop-up shops and invite other vendors out. It’s a very curated collection of art, handmade goods, vintage, etc.”
“I would say my demographic is mainly focused on 18-35-year olds, but I’ve honestly sold to 8th graders and even moms.”
“My main thing for Trash is that I want people to march to the beat of their own drum and not feel like they have to be put into a box. Each article is handpicked with individualism and self-expression in mind.”
“I’ve thought about the idea of having a warehouse and selling wholesale to different stores.”
“I don’t know what I want to do, but it’s just taking it day by day.”
