Make new looks out of old pieces at Better Aged

Dom Radashaw and Austyn Daggett first bonded over shoes.

That interest eventually turned to clothes, and then, for Daggett, a vintage clothing store in Grand Rapids. Opened in 2022, the shop has done well over the last three years, Radashaw said. When Daggett decided to open a second store in the Lansing area, he asked Radashaw, who had helped with the original location, to manage it.

Better Aged MSU opened Aug. 28 in downtown East Lansing. Like the Grand Rapids location, it sells vintage clothes in good condition, but it also offers a lot of Michigan State gear. Daggett said the mix of different-priced items — the shop has T-shirts for $20 and rare jackets for hundreds — appeals to students and collectors alike.

“We just had parents’ weekend a couple of weekends ago. A lot of them came in, and their eyes went huge,” Radashaw said. “They were seeing stuff from when they were our age and reminiscing, and they bought stuff for their kids.”

Radashaw said vintage clothing holds particular appeal since the quality of new clothing “has tanked over the years.” He added that the variety makes for a more interesting shopping experience.

“Everything’s unique, and there are so many different options,” he said. “Typically, we don’t have much of the same thing. It’s all vastly different.”

Online vintage resale through apps like Depop and Poshmark has grown, thanks to tech-savvy, thrift-loving Generation Z. But Radashaw said there are advantages to buying vintage in person, such as fitting rooms.

“A lot of the stuff just fits differently,” he said. “And you can really get your hands on different things.”

Many of the new shop’s items are from the Grand Rapids location, but Radashaw said East Lansing customers are starting to bring in clothes to sell. Payment is typically between one-third and one-half the price the piece will be sold at, depending on whether it’s expected to sell quickly.

Radashaw said he loves sorting through new finds.

“I’ve seen thousands and thousands of articles of clothing from the ‘90s and prior, and I still see unique stuff all the time,” he said. “It’s like you’re opening up a time capsule.”

He smiled as he held up a Spartan Marching Band cardigan from the 1950s.

“Typically, with wool things, moss will just destroy them,” he said. “To find something so niche, and something you literally never see anyway, was super cool.”