Keeping up with the trends, on many occasions, results in people losing money to buy the next big thing. For Fabio Gutierrez, founder of Capri Closet, and many other young entrepreneurs, their ultimate success actually stems from the next big thing: Vintage. Reselling, buying, collecting, and thrifting vintage clothes has become a major pastime for the youth, and some decided to profit off of that. By buying a large amount of the collector items or coolest pieces, consumers don't have to waste time searching and shopping for it, and in turn just buy from the resellers, at an often higher price than what Goodwill sells the clothes for.

However, for Gutierrez, it isn't all about the money. He is passionate in his work and the business came pretty much natural to him.

"A clothing brand is always something I've had in mind for a really long time. I was actually going to get into a different business after I left Target, but it ended up falling through," Gutierrez said. "I was like well okay, I have these clothes that I've been taking care of for a really long time, so I'm gonna sell them! Initially I only sold the clothes that were in my closet."

Posting about five pieces a day on Capri Closet's Instagram, Gutierrez started running out of merchandise from his closet fast. He began thrifting at places like Goodwill and occasionally Savers. Speaking of thrifting, the business of reselling thrifted pieces actually runs in his family and his family has been thrifting since he was a child.

"We used to thrift a lot, me and my family because we're poor too, we don't buy new things. We are part of the minority, so it's just how it is, you find things where you have to find things...Actually, my grandma in Mexico, she has a business where she sells clothes. And in Mexico, they come to the states because there's better clothes with better prices," Gutierrez said.

Capri Closet is not the only past time for this inspiring go-getter. Gutierrez is also a senior in high school, participating in extracurriculars such as Student Council, and is a model for Corella & Co. Time management is key for the busy schedule he produces.

"I feel like it does take a lot. I have to write a pretty strict schedule for myself every morning and it's not easy, but I feel like I can get done what I need to get done." Gutierrez explains. "I owe it to the people who support me to put my best foot down and be better no matter what I do. If you support me, you believe in what I'm doing, my hard work, my passions."

"If I want to continue pursuing what I want to do, I have to make it better and apply new ideas to my business. I don't have to reinvent the wheel if they invented it already, people have done this successfully so I'm just gonna see what happens."

Capri Closet has racks and racks of merchandise ready to be posted and delivered out to customers. Photo provided by: Fabio Gutierrez

Creating a business or brand from the ground up is hard work and dedication, no matter who is starting it. For Fabio, he put his all into it and reaped the rewards that came from the devotion of his diligence. His first post on the Capri Instagram was on October 1, 2020 and since then has grown a following of over 800 people in the past two months.

"I can't say I know exactly why, but I can say I already had a little boost because I have a following on my main Instagram account. But, just like any other business or start-up you might have, it just comes down to being real with people and just trying to interact with people," Gutierrez said. "Just be disciplined to post every day, and spice it up a little, switch it up, and be active. The more I post, obviously the more people will see my stuff on their feed."

To have gained such a following so quickly, the clothing he curates must be unique, worth buying, and worth investing into his brand. Gutierrez describes the pieces he buys as anything that he would personally wear, that he thinks is cool, and he explained he has learned he enjoys heavy cotton tee shirts, contrary to many resell vendors who look for single stitch tee shirts. His customers agree and feel his brand is worth supporting in comparison to the other trendy, vintage resellers.

"The first thing that caught my eye when I first discovered Capri was how unique every piece was, they all hold an interesting value to them. Not to sound cliché, but they all have 'a story' that now you get to have on. There is no doubt you will always get something different from Capri, the only thing that will remain the same is how badass everything is." Capri customer Marianna Franco said. "What makes Fabio different [from competitors] is the engagement and communication he has with everyone who buys from him. You can tell he is passionate for what he does and listens to what you have to say."

As previously mentioned, resellers buy clothing for relatively cheap (anywhere from $1-$10 for one tee shirt) and sell them for a higher price to profit. Some people are strongly opposed to these reselling businesses who profit off of clothing from second hand stores, because they feel like it takes away from the people who have no other choice but to shop second hand because of their financial situation, whatever it may be.

"There's enough clothes for everybody."

"I take account for that, and it is something I thought about when I came into this business. But something I came across was the same people who bash these reseller businesses, are the same people who go thrifting because it's saving the world, keeping clothes from going into landfills by recycling them." Gutierrez explained. "I felt like there was a lot of hypocrisy because if you think about it and you want to put it in those terms, you're no better than I am. There's so many points on both sides that need to be acknowledged."

Capri Closet may have some unique pieces, but it focuses primarily on tee shirts, long sleeves, and jackets. As of right now, there are no accessories, jeans, or shoes on the page currently. The future of Capri may include other pieces, and could even include an original clothing line, although nothing is set in stone.

"I'm definitely looking to expand, but I need to become more knowledgeable. I feel like pants are also really easy to find for people, they're everywhere. So, I think pants are just a niche that I wouldn't really target because I'm not knowledgeable to do so," Gutierrez said. "I'm just taking it one step at a time because there's always going to be factors that change your ways. I don't know what's going to happen in the next year, but I'm going to keep grinding, doing my best, and just hope I continue to be blessed. An Original Capri clothing line might be in the works one day, we'll see."

Customers and supporters of Capri Wear Closet also see his brand getting to be very successful! It is acknowledged the work he puts in to not only push his business to grow each day, but the relationship and authenticity of the process with his followers and friends.

"I've been a supporter for almost all of it, he's shown his supporters where he started, from taking pictures with a background taped to his room, and now he's moved into a larger space." Capri customer Angelica Valdez said. "I honestly see it becoming his very own little business that people all over Arizona know about, and that when they want to buy vintage thrifts they think of the Capri brand."

All in all, the attitude of young Capri Closet founder, Fabio Gutierrez, is one of high spirits and a strong work ethic not looking for one specific financial or personal goal. There is a sort of stigma around resellers for being greedy and pricing vintage clothing at ridiculously high prices, but Capri proves otherwise. Just because a few apples in the bunch are rotten, doesn't mean there are not any sweet ones left. His attentive character is what has really proven him different from other resellers, such as consistency, kindness, and even the littlest things like shouting out other small businesses and people who buy from him on his social media, or his always free shipping and delivery to virtually anywhere. The love Gutierrez shows for others has definitely been returned and will continue to be in his ever growing success. He humbly acknowledges his influences and people who have inspired him, such as other re-sellers including his cousin @vintage_x_hub, @aaaselective, and @ivoryhouse. Gutierrez's instagram account is @capriwearcloset and I suggest checking out his pieces!

"Support is everything. For the people that do follow me, I don't take it lightly at all it's so meaningful to me. Even just a 'like' on a post, it's like thank you so much."

Capri's office space and photography set-up for new merchandise is pictured here, with the Capri Closet logo.Photo provided by: Fabio Gutierrez