Photograph courtesy of Worn Again Thrift
THE SHOP
The beautiful Bellingham National Bank Building on Holly Street has a stylish new tenant: Worn Again Thrift, a curated vintage store that believes secondhand apparel is a gateway to sustainability, community, and self-expression.
Worn Again began as a two-person team (Owner Miles Harlow and a co-founder), buying and selling vintage on the road, off porches, online, and at pop-ups. They opened their brick-and-mortar at the corner of State and Champion Streets on January 1, 2021. After four years, a need for more space and streamlined operations have led them to the Bank Building, where they opened on April 19. The new sales floor is “over twice as large” as the previous one, according to Store Manager Natalie Mote.
Photograph by Kristen Boem
THE PEOPLE
Mote was hired six months after Worn Again’s first store opened, and has been devoted to the business ever since.
“Discovering thrift fueled my passion for clothes,” says Mote, who found that buying secondhand was the secret to unique personal style as a teenager.
Harlow and Mote are expert vintage buyers, curating Worn Again’s selection and vibe. There’s even a staff mender who makes sure their vintage has a healthy life ahead of it. While certain things like unique fade and hard-won distress contribute value and a kind of thrift patina, ripped seams, blown-out crotches, and missing buttons can all be repaired.
“If it’s something we want, we’ll fix it,” says Mote, who often encourages people to bring in clothes they’re not sure are sellable. “You never know! You might make some money for something that you thought would’ve been trash.”
By keeping those clothes out of landfills, Mote sees Worn Again and vintage reselling as “not just about the style and the love and the joy, but also about caring for our planet.”
Photograph by Kristen Boehm
THE ATMOSPHERE
Worn Again’s first store had an inviting and vibrant DIY patchwork energy. It was important to them to find a space that could continue to set them apart from other thrift stores.
“When we started thinking about wanting a new space, the big thing was we needed to find a space that we loved as much as this [one] … that would level us up in more than just space,” says Mote.
The Bank Building’s huge windows, high ceilings, marble flooring, and pillars “that are just begging to be covered in clothes” lend a sophisticated air to this funky business. Worn Again has been careful to revitalize the space without stripping it of its history and charm. Now with two registers (one tall, one low and accessible), five dressing rooms, repurposed bank vaults (one a “shoe vault” and the other a “vibes spot”), space for more inventory and customers, and being open seven days a week, Worn Again is an even more welcoming and exciting place to shop.
Photograph by Kristen Boehm
WHAT YOU’LL FIND
Worn Again buys and sells head-to-toe apparel, from outerwear to jewelry. Their bread and butter is vintage clothes (20 years or older), curated for style, quality, and wearability. You’ll find some newer items on the racks if they’re well made, like Levi jeans or Patagonia gear, or to fill gaps in the inventory, like plus sizes. Filson, Woolrich, North Face, and Carhartt are other brands Mote mentioned as high-quality standards. Comfortable, casual clothes are king, thanks to the preferences of their largely college-aged customer base.
Photograph courtesy of Worn Again Thrift
FAVORITES
While it’s hard to have favorites with an ever-changing, unique inventory, Mote stresses that their favorite part of the business is the community they’re working to serve.
“I think our mission kind of developed … as we formed our team, and we found our passions and what mattered the most to us. And I think what really matters the most to us is community, and providing for said community,” says Mote. “Whether you know you’re going to find cool stuff, or something that fits you, or you don’t have very much money and you know we have a free bin that’s going to keep you warm … We’re kind of trying to be this hub for thrift, rather than like a boutique of thrift, you know?”
101 E. Holly St., Bellingham, 360.671.3448, wornagainthrift.com
