Goodwill Hunting #25: Gen Z Y2K nostalgia & Yesteryear book review
Plus: 10+ jobs in fashion tech and resale
Welcome to Goodwill Hunting, a newsletter by Danielle L. Vermeer that curates the latest thrift finds, resale insights, and jobs in fashion tech.
Why is Gen Z buying Y2K Abercrombie henley tops for $500+ on resale sites?
If you search for “abercrombie henley top” or “hollister babydoll top” on resale sites like Depop, you’ll see listings for hundreds of dollars with unironic descriptions like “PRICE FIRM! extremely rare hollister y2k striped babydoll sweater“ and “true early 2000s pinterest famous piece.”
As someone who actually was a teen in the early 2000s, I can confirm that these OG babydoll tops and henleys were all the rage. My friends and I spent hours at the mall hopping from Hollister to Abercrombie to Victoria’s Secret PINK to Bath & Body Works. We’d hang out in our friends’ Tuscan-themed kitchens and sip Frappucinos and text on our dumb phones because smart phones and social media didn’t exist yet.
My hypothesis is that Gen Z has anemoia when it comes to early 2000s and Y2K fashion.
Coined by John Koenig in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, anemoia is the feeling of nostalgia for a time you never experienced. It’s a yearning for the magic of yesteryear.
It’s even inspired Gen Z creators like @gabrielles_vault to launch their own vintage-inspired brands because they’re sick of waiting for Abercrombie or Hollister to relaunch these styles themselves. Side note: can someone from these brands please explain why they haven’t done this yet?!
Speaking of yesteryear, I recently read Yesteryear by caro claire burke. It’s one of the most hyped books of the year and will be made into a film starring Anne Hathaway next year. I’ve been following Burke on TikTok and was eagerly awaiting this debut novel about Natalie, a tradwife influencer who wakes up in what appears to be the 1850s and has to live as the pioneers actually did—no nannies, no running water, no heat, no social media (of course).
My biggest criticism of Yesteryear is that was inconsistent about the role of religion in the tradwife influencer main character’s life and beliefs.
As someone who was raised Catholic but also was exposed to fundamentalist evangelical Christian circles in my teens and early 20s, the inconsistencies in the storyline stood out like a sore thumb. For example, referencing “pastor” in one line vs. “priest” in another (is Natalie Protestant or Catholic?), mentioning long braided hair and prairie dresses (is she Amish or Quiverfull?), and drinking coffee (I guess not Mormon/LDS?).
Perhaps the inconsistencies were intentional as if to convey all fundamentalist religions are the same in the end. But for the movie adaptation, I sincerely hope caro claire burke and team hire experts in evangelical Christian and/or Christian nationalist culture to advise on how religion and tradwife influencer culture intersect. I’d nominate Dr. Kristin Kobez Du Mez, best-selling author of Jesus & John Wayne and history professor focusing on the intersection of gender, religion, and politics.
🛍️ Thrift Finds of the Week
📕 Fashion & Resale News
What caught my eye lately in fashion, resale, and social commerce.
Vinted listings under scrutiny, as French authorities start inquiry over allegations — FashionUnited
Vinted hit #1 in the U.S. App Store the same week 40M+ TikTok views alleged that toy listings on the platform were coded child trafficking ads. French authorities opened a preliminary investigation; Vinted denies criminal activity and says the “age” field is standard toy labeling. It feels like the viral 2020 Wayfair controversy all over again.
I Raised $4M. Do I Have to Talk about Being a Woman? — happy, pretty, busy by Jade Beguelin
This is one of the most honest founder essays I’ve read in a long time. For reference, only 1% of U.S. venture capital went to all-female founding teams in 2024, yet female-founded companies quietly deliver more than 2X the revenue per dollar invested.
Summergeist — Google Trends
Google’s annual summer trend report is in: +115% for “fibermaxxing” searches, “chilled red” wine is at an all-time high, and “capris” and “peplum tops” are staging a comeback. Honestly, I’m not mad about the peplum. It’s one of the few 2010s trends I can actually say that about.
All Things Poshfest 2026 — Poshmark Blog
Poshmark is reimagining PoshFest as an IRL marketplace in LA this October. Sellers pay $350 for a 10x10 booth, list everything in-app, and the platform takes 20% on every sale. At my startup Teleport, we tested a similar model with vintage markets in LA and NYC to drive customer awareness and community engagement. It can work, but it’s time-intensive, doesn’t scale, and is at significant risk of disintermediation. When a seller is standing next to a buyer with cash or a Venmo account, the 20% platform fee is hard to justify.
💼 Jobs & Opportunities
Hiring for roles in fashion, tech, and resale? DM me if you’re interested in a role with an asterisk (*) as I may be able to make an intro.
*Claire’s – Associate Community Manager (Chicago & Hybrid)
e.l.f. Beauty – Senior Director, Global Social Commerce (NYC)
GAP – Sr. Manager, Creator Commerce (San Francisco, CA)
OpenAI – Product Manager, Shopping (San Francisco, CA)
Patagonia – Sr. Digital Product Manager (Ventura, CA)
Poshmark – Senior Director of Paid Media (Redwood City, CA)
Rent the Runway – VP of Product (Brooklyn, NY)
Sephora – Senior Director, Global Social Media Initiatives (San Francisco, CA)
TikTok Shop – Sr. Creator Manager, LIVE (Los Angeles, CA)
*The RealReal – Sr. Product Manager, Customer Experience (San Francisco, CA)
*ThredUp – Growth Marketing Manager, Creative (Oakland, CA)
*Whatnot – Social Media Manager (San Francisco, CA)
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This was my biggest frustration with Yesteryear too — those inconsistencies were so distracting and I was floored that no editor picked them up before publishing!
Also no church attendance to speak of, despite playing this super Christian role.