I’ve talked in previous posts all about my love of vintage clothing and how to incorporate it into your modern wardrobe. But a lovely reader pointed out that I didn’t really discuss where to find vintage treasures or how to choose the best pieces that will work for you. So today I wanted to take the time to chat about the best ways to track down those special vintage finds that won’t break the bank, as well as how to wear them.
As many of my big city readers might know, hunting for vintage in larger cities can be tricky. With the rise of people wanting to purchase vintage clothing so has the prices. Most flea markets or vintage shops in New York, while having amazing quality pieces, are so expensive that it is no longer worth the price to purchase. Below are a couple tips that I have to overcome those obstacles.
- Go to the Source: Some of the best vintage I have found has been at estate sales in and outside of the city. You can go online and their are plenty of websites with listings in your area on when sales will be coming up and what kinds of items that they will be selling. It’s also a fabulous way to get vintage furniture as well.
- Online or Bust: Ebay and Etsy are still great places to find affordable vintage. The key is to have an idea of what you are looking for. The search engine is your friend. Be as specific as possible when combing the sites, try searches like 1980s sequin jacket or 1950s cocktail dress as opposed to vintage clothing. Another couple great online vintage retailers are ASOS and Nasty Gal. ASOS has a sister site called Peekaboo Vintage that you can find tons of cute pieces at affordable prices. While Nasty Gal has an awesome designer vintage section on their website that is often over looked.
- Fleamarket Friends: While I have mentioned that many of the flea markets in larger cities can be rather expensive. A great tip is to make friends with the vendors that sell at them. Regular customers or people that take the time to chat about the products a vendor is selling will have a much better chance of negotiating the price of an item down than someone who just walks up and tries to purchase. Also if your interested in buying multiple items at one stall you can try to package your purchases and get a better price since you are buying more. Also if you are a regular and looking for a particular item to purchase let the vendor know. They might come across it at a later date and pick it up for you.
Now, we’ve talked about some of the wonderful places you can purchase vintage clothing from, how do you know what kind of items to look for? A lot of current fashion trends have there origins from older vintage ones: Embroidered vests from the 70s, crop pants from the 60s, wide circle skirts from the 50s. If you see a trend appearing on the runways now do a little research, there’s a good chance the trend has been around before. Once you know what time frame it comes from then you can start searching for items to purchase.
Another key to buying vintage clothing is to make sure the item is in good condition. Some things like small stains or musty smells can be taken care of with a quick trip to the dry cleaners but larger problems like rips in the lining or large stains can be a costly problem to fix or might not be fixable at all. Make sure you look an item over throughly before purchasing or if you are buying online read the description of the item and make sure you are buying from a reputable seller.
Hope you enjoyed this post and as always thank you for taking the time to read it. If you have any topics you would like to see covered here at The Everyday Editor please leave them down in the comments below.
xx
The Everyday Editor
OUTFIT DETAILS
Faux Shearling Coat: Dumonde (HERE). Embroidered Vest: Vintage (Similar HERE). Black silk button-down: Equipment (HERE). White Bag: Dooney & Bourke (HERE). Skinny Black Belt: Vintage (Similar HERE). Wide Leg Jeans: J Brand (HERE). Boots: Topshop (Similar HERE).
All Photos by Bain Stevens
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