by Chloe Schildhause

Monica Schaefer is always well dressed. Ask her where she found her oversized black jacket reminiscent of Comme des Garcons ($5), her blue stripped sundress ($3), or Navajo print boots ($7) and the answer is always the same. She bought them off a fence.

Affordable used clothing is easy to come by in this town, and most of the time you don't even have to enter a store. Fence sales are everywhere and the corner of Valencia at 19th is the behemoth of fence fashions. In addition to being a fence fashionista, Monica has vended on occasion at this poppin’ cross section of town and continues to make purchases since she lives and works nearby. “My co-workers and I all shop there and then when we get back to work we show off our purchases,” Monica said, her latest being a straw sunhat that was $7.

At around 8am on sunny weekend mornings, vendors claim their land and hang their goods on the fence. Some are first timers trying to clean out their closets. Others have been doing this for more than a decade and make purchases for the specific purpose of re-selling. Many take the risk of showcasing their products on the main Valencia drag, although they have been pestered by the police in the past for doing so. A select few have licenses allowing them to sell on the fence.

Cesar Arroyo is cleaning out the basement for his wife’s friend by selling her unwanted goods right outside his sister’s house on 19th St. “I used to sell right on Valencia and [the police] would make me leave.” He continues to sell every Saturday because it’s a good way to pass the time and meet nice people.

Situated next to him is Tom. He sells his own crafts made of deer horns, used videos and one lonely Johnny Depp doll (only 5 bucks!). The only article of clothing for sale is his denim jacket for $500. He needed a place to hang his jacket and his hope is that the high price tag will discourage it from actually being purchased.

Closer to Valencia Street are Daniel Diaz and Yvonne Amrhein. They’ve sold their used camera equipment, clothes and home goods about four times now. But Daniel’s not so into it. “What I find disgusting is people who do this as a profession.” Daniel said. Yvonne said they sold a mini sewing machine to the vendor set up next to them. They, in turn, set it out in front of their section of the fence with a marked-up price tag. She found it amusing.

Right on Valencia, Maria shows up every Saturday and is still working on cleaning out her basement. She insists that she and the other vendors are respectful. “We recycle, we leave no mess, nobody smokes, nobody drinks.” She has a selection of fur coats, graphic t-shirts and stretchy blue leggings for sale. And she loves the clientele: “Everybody who comes by is so nice. And people come from all over. Japan, Mexico, Italy, Sacramento.”

Chloe Schildhause is a writer and editor at DECADES magazine. Chlo-ish is her blog.