Urban Legend

2004 urban outfitters teen fashion
Urban, which started in the early 1970s as Free People, a record and plant store in Philadelphia, now comprises an ever-widening retail ecosystem designed to capture the hearts and disposable income of young people, urban and otherwise. Photo: Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald/Getty Images
Sarah Shapiro
April 8, 2025

Urban Outfitters’ newest experiment, Reclectic, has been all over TikTok lately, with videos showcasing the chain’s distinctive brown shopping bags stuffed with clothes at tariff-defyingly cheap prices. The secondhand/outlet concept, which has just five locations so far (a sixth is opening in Arlington, Texas, in May), has been a revelation among shoppers looking for deep discounts on merchandise from across Urban’s brand portfolio. In one video, a woman boasts about snagging a Farm Rio sundress, usually $375 (and rentable for far less from Nuuly), at Reclectic for just $15. The warehouse-style spaces are sparse and a little chaotic—there are no dressing rooms—but from a retail business perspective, it’s sorta brilliant.