How to Start a Wearable Vintage Clothing Collection

Retro is the new modern, and there’s no better way to dress vintage than by wearing the real thing. While today’s fashion designers often reproduce clothing from the past, giving them their own personal twist, there’s a certain satisfaction in attiring yourself in an authentic vintage dress, skirt or sweater. It gives you an out-of-the-ordinary panache and is always a conversation-starter, whether you wear vintage every day or just on special occasions.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Love of vintage, closet space, cash, check, credit card, Paypal account

1. 
   1960s shift dress with silver clutch purse.

   1. What should I buy? Think about the style you are trying to achieve. Do you like the sleek sophistication of the 1920s-30s or “New Look” clothing from the ‘40s and ‘50s? Does your taste run toward artsy, flowing hippie style or is it more 1980s, with big shoulder pads, miniskirts and leg warmers? Or are you carefree and love to mix ‘n’ match? When starting your collection, try to focus on that which you truly love and know you’ll wear. Just as with modern, shopping mall-bought styles, it’s always a bit tragic when you purchase something and it sits, unworn, in your closet.

2. 
   1940s Lilli Ann designer jacket, purchased for about $35 at a vintage show; 1960s poodle-motif kit purse, purchased online for about $20.

   2. Where do I go? Vintage clothing can be found in a variety of places. For the adventurous and budget-minded, there are thrift stores, yard sales and church bazaars. Check through clothing racks at places such as Goodwill, Salvation Army and smaller thrift shops (or charity shops, as they’re known in the UK). Sometimes, these stores have specially designated vintage clothing sections. With yard sales and church bazaars, it’s best if you know for sure that they have vintage clothing for sale—for instance, if you see it in their ad—in order to not waste time looking for something that probably isn’t there. You can also buy vintage clothing on the Internet, either through online auctions or virtual antique malls. Then there are brick-and-mortar shops, which are often pricier than online auctions, but you have the advantage of thoroughly inspecting and trying on an item prior to buying it. There are also a variety of vintage clothing expos or shows throughout the U.S. These feature booths with a huge variety of vintage items. They’re exciting to visit and usually have enthusiastic collectors, dealers and browsers who can offer their expertise and insights.

3. 
   The author, in a 1950s flower- and rhinestone-embellished sweater.

   3. How do I know it’s a good deal? With more and more sellers becoming vintage clothing-savvy, it’s getting difficult to get a good deal on, for instance, that vintage hand-painted and sequined Mexican circle skirt you’ve always wanted. Whereas you could have found one ten years ago for about $30, today they can run as high as $200. You can always make an offer on an item, but it’s best not to insult a dealer by low-balling. Always be pleasant and understand that perhaps they paid a lot for it and that they are in business to make a profit. If you’re planning to make your purchases via an online auction house, you can sometimes get a good price by using keywords in the search engine. Maybe the seller is not aware that the sweater they are selling is, in fact, vintage. Instead of searching the generic “vintage sweater,” you could put “rhinestone appliqué sweater” in the search engine in order to find that fabulous 1950s sweater embellished with rhinestones and tiny floral appliqués.

4. 
   Coats, like this mohair Lilli Ann with fur collar, are pricey, but you can find them discounted during the off-season.

   4. What should I pay? As much as you want, without going over your budget. It’s common sense to know that you shouldn’t max out your credit card, but, of course, we’re all tempted. The best thing to do is first find articles of clothing online or in stores similar to what you like and see what the going rate is. In other words, comparison-shop first. When you buy items off-season, like a cashmere coat in summer or a Hawaiian dress in winter, you can often get a price reduction. Textiles, too, play a part. If you like wild-patterned ‘70s disco shirts, you’re going to find a lot of them at a reasonable price, because early polyester isn’t a particularly desirable fabric.

Tips & Warnings

• Don’t buy something unless you’re really going to wear it. Don’t spend a lot of money on an article of clothing unless you’re totally in love with it and are almost positive you’ll never find another like it. Don’t let anyone convince you to buy a piece if you’re not sure about its authenticity, because sometimes, even dealers don’t know if what they have is genuine. Don’t purchase something that needs repair unless you are an expert seamstress and can fix it yourself or are willing to spend money having someone else do it. No one’s going to notice a few sequins missing on a vintage sweater, but if you have to replace a zipper on an evening dress, it may just sit in your closet indefinitely.

[kimarkent]

on 6/3/2009 Vintage clothing is all the rage now!! I love the cool style. Thanks for advice about not maxing out credit card, and places like yard sales, goodwill, salvation army to check out! 5* and recommended! Go girl!

[quietman59]

on 6/2/2009 Thanks for sharing this article!

[RENorton]

on 6/1/2009 Outstanding article. Very well-written and informative. Excellent tips for starting a wearable vintage clothing collection. Great debut article. 5 stars and a recommendation!

[lweber4]

on 5/31/2009 This is great! There's lots of great vintage shops here in San Francisco! 5*s and a recommendation! =D

[creshanda]

on 5/30/2009 great tips and thanks for sharing!