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Our philosophy

We collect and revitalize timeless vintage and contemporary pieces, so that you can keep enjoying them for years to come.

The Future Past was born out of a love of vintage and second hand clothing. By collecting special pieces based on fabric, hand feel, construction, and their potential to be revived, we hope to ensure that these quality pieces will withstand the test of time. Investing in these pieces that lend themselves well to alteration, repair, and reworking; we are investing in the future that we want to see. A future in which we all consume less new clothing and instead invest in pieces that tell a story; our story. Finding creative and inventive ways to extend the lives of our clothes is of great importance to us. There is a lot of waste in the world, and we want to do our part in using thoughtful design and existing resources to keep what has already been made in our closets, and out of landfills. In keeping with this ethos, we’ve established 4 foundational elements that are essential to our process: repair, rework, zero waste, and natural dye.

Repair

How we repair each garment is individual to each piece and its needs. We tend to see repair as an opportunity to accentuate the beauty of each piece, and to add to its story. By incorporating embroidery, patching, darning, mending and restoration to the pieces that we find for the shop or by offering repair services to customers in the shop, we hope to extend the lives of these garments for years to come. Learn more about our repair services here.

Rework

Whether it’s converting a pair of vintage straight leg Wranglers to a wide leg variation to update the style, or taking in the waist and reshaping the leg on a favorite pair of vintage levis; we can help! By creating a customized, one-of-a-kind garment that suits your style, fits your frame, and (most importantly) one that you helped to recreate, we hope to strengthen the bond between you and your clothes. These reworked pieces can be found in the shop and adapted or we offer services on garments from your own closet.

Zero waste

Whether we are repairing or reworking a garment we always keep our leftover fabric scraps. We use these scraps to patch, add inserts to, or customize future pieces. We keep denim back pockets, zippers, buttons, and belt loops. Nothing goes to waste; we use every last bit.  

Natural dye

Since the inception of TFP, we’ve been using natural dye as a way of giving new life to old things through color. Natural dye can only be applied to natural fibers (cotton, linen, silk, wool, etc.) and certain dyes take better to certain fibers than others. We only select dye matter that has been foraged locally, collected ethically, and grown organically where possible.

Explore our work

Curious how we apply our philosophy?
Check out our archive