Object Limited Brings All of Your Favorite Vintage Dealers to One App
Object Limited Brings All of Your Favorite Vintage Dealers to One App
Imagine being able to shop a cornucopia of carefully curated, stellar vintage from top-tier dealers—and, yes, mega Instagram influencers—all in one place. Now, to quench that industry need, there is Object Limited, a New York–based store turned site turned app. Both the company’s physical bazaar and digital destination include vintage from heavy-hitting Instagram users, like Leandra Medine, and well-known brick-and-mortar names, such as Screaming Mimi’s. The concept was devised by Anna Gray, a vintage-head and regular in Phil Oh’s Vogue.com street style images. She’s also the model for the opening video on Object Limited’s site, playfully trying on a jumpsuit; a cheeky clip that resonates with the company’s quirky and welcoming point of view.
The idea for Object Limited stemmed from a two-week cross-country trip from New York to Arizona that Gray took in July of 2018. “Our mission was to visit every antique mall, vintage store, flea market, and junk shop that caught our eye. We filled a 16-foot Penske truck with vintage and antique furniture and fashion and had a whale of a time.” While Gray enjoyed the thrill of digging up all things old and rarefied, there was a problem: selling the enormous amount of goods she ended up with. To move the product, Gray began with more traditional strategies, like selling from her personal Instagram account. When that method proved to be too laborious, Gray launched an open sale. Then, in summer 2018, she created what is now known as Object Limited, a group bazaar both for vendors to sell their items and for everyday well-heeled people to sell surplus clothes from their closet.
Sure, the idea of the group sale isn’t a new thing: friends have always gathered together to pool clothes, tchotchkes, and whatnot, and market it as one big joint venture. Neither is the idea of e-commerce and selling vintage wares online an especially radical concept. What makes Object Limited special, however, is just how fun these pop-up sales are. (This writer attended one.) There are sellers such as O. La Roche by Olivia La Roche, who provides an off-kilter array of Italian-made old-school treasures, or haute goth-core offerings from model Ruby Aldridge. The events, often held in unlikely places like empty lofts in downtown New York or Canal Street Market, are subscription only and word-of-mouth, making for a private, intimate shopping experience.
But while Object Limited’s physical presence is expanding at a rapid pace, interest in vintage is no longer simply a New York or city-centric activity. With this in mind, Gray developed Object Limited into both a site and an app, making it easy for users to access vintage from several different vendors, wherever they might live. Though it may draw comparisons to the likes of Etsy or Poshmark, Object Limited once again sets itself apart from the e-commerce pack with its intuitive marketing; in particular, the use of video as a means for consumers to see the fit of a piece before purchase. “The major points to look for when buying vintage is fit, material, and movement, which video really helps convey in a way that static imagery does not. It’s a way to encourage storytelling.”
Gray has since expanded the concept even further. Object Limited is currently functioning as Object Studio, a semi-permanent half vintage bazaar, half photo studio, where new and familiar vendors can sell inventory in the flesh for customers who still prefer the hands-on shopping experience; it’s also an opportunity to shoot and upload pieces to the app. Interested customers can stop by there until August 17—although even if you can’t make it in person, you can still head to object.limited to experience the fun.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
