Amanda Hoehl (right) at So Fetch Vintage Fest 2024. Credit: Courtesy of Amanda Hoehl.
Girl Next Door Flea, a Columbus-based flea market, will host a “Mean Girls” themed shopping experience at the So Fetch Vintage Fest, located at The Sanctuary on 618 Neil Ave., Saturday.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and will feature more than 40 vendors, including Dustbunniez Vintage, a shop located at 400 W. Rich St., that sells carefully curated vintage clothing from the ‘90s and 2000s.
Amanda Hoehl, host of Girl Next Door Flea, said she celebrates sustainable fashion and women in the vintage resale space, drawing inspiration from the Y2K era. Lola Nauman owns Dustbunniez.
This year marks Hoehl’s second time presenting So Fetch and Nauman’s second time in attendance. Hoehl said she has hosted markets with a variety of nostalgic, girlhood-inspired themes — resonating with vendors like Nauman.
“I’ve been doing the Girl Next Door fleas and So Fetch Vintage Fest since they’ve started,” Nauman said. “I’ve done almost all of them.”
Beyond the fun “Mean Girls” themed atmosphere, So Fetch Vintage Fest promotes a deeper mission: sustainability. The market encourages shoppers to shop small and buy secondhand, raising awareness about sustainable fashion.
“The ultimate goal is to, you know, stop people from shopping fast fashion and over-consuming,” Hoehl said. “Now, a lot more people are thrifting … I feel like it’s really changing now.”
Nauman expressed a similar sentiment.
“Fashion in the industry is the No. 2 polluter in the world,” Nauman said. “It’s very important and influential for me to … provide an experience where people could buy things that have already been made.”
Thrifting has less impact on the environment, and it is an affordable shopping option, Nauman said. It also allows customers to find higher-quality, unique pieces that can push them out of their comfort zones.
Hoehl also said vintage shopping is about self-exploration and discovering personal style.
“When I first started this, I learned all about my style and putting on whatever the hell I want — not following any trends or societal standards and really just having fun,” Hoehl said. “I really just kind of wanted to play dress up again.”
Dustbunniez Vintage Shop. Credit: Courtesy of Lola Nauman
Hoehl said that at Girl Next Door, it feels like you’re walking through the vendors’ closets — each with their own specific style.
Nauman said she tries to replicate this exact feeling.
“I feel like Dustbunniez, to me, is a direct reflection of my own personal style,” Nauman said. “I curate very niche … but I also curate broad enough where I want everybody that comes to this event to see themselves in that booth.”
Hoehl said Girl Next Door gives women the opportunity to express their femininity and lean into their girliness, and in a landscape where most vintage events were previously hosted by men, that this hadn’t always been the case, she said.
“We could totally do this so much better and just bring all the girl vendors together,” Hoehl said. “When you put a ton of girls in a room together, it kind of feels magical, honestly.”
Similarly, Nauman said she realized there was a lack of affordable vintage clothing shops in Columbus for women after moving back from New York City.
“I really missed that feeling — that New York feeling of, like, ‘I can find a vintage clothing store and find exactly what I’m looking for,’” Nauman said. “So, I kind of wanted to take my experience in New York, bring it back to Columbus. I wanted to create a space for people to be able to shop and find what they want.”
Hoehl said Girl Next Door creates a space for women — both vendors and customers — to hype each other up, appreciate vintage fashion and have fun together.
According to Girl Next Door’s Instagram page, So Fetch will feature more than just clothes — there will be a pancake bar, coffee, flash tattoos, a tarot card reader and more.
For anyone planning to attend the event, Hoehl said, “It’s just a total vibe.”
