Ever Present Past: Nifty Thrifty

This week I’m going to switch it up just a little bit and help everyone learn a little more about vintage clothes. For instance what is vintage? How can I find it? And why should I choose second hand/vintage? As well as a few tips to get you started. So lets begin…

What is Vintage?  Vintage is something that has aged from 20 to 100 years. Anything before that date is antique and over it modern.

Why reuse with Vintage? Well I’m not here to tell you to do anything, however I can tell you that as we all know that reducing, reusing, recycling is just a great way to help out the environment. Also it’s really fun to have pieces in your wardrobe that are unique and most likely,  no one else has.

Where Can I Find Vintage? The obvious place would be vintage stores. These are easy to find but not accessible to every one. So another good option is thrift stores like Goodwill, Salvation Army and (often real gems) locally run thrift stores. Yet even these stores are not available to everyone so be sure to be on the look out for flee markets, estate sales and last but not least; eBay & Etsy are always here to save the day.

A few little tips when looking for Vintage

1. Go with a friend, sister or someone who really knows your fashion style. A lot of these stores have lots of racks with clothes piled on top of each other, it can be a bit of a mess, so it REALLY helps to have a pal there to keep a look out for things that maybe you didn’t see and its great to have someone there to share a laugh at the awful ’80s pantsuit.

2. Be sure to look through everything! It may take a while but it’s so worth it, like I  said, things are really bunched together so you never know what you will find. Also, try the men’s sweater section for oversized knits. Sometimes the children section has blazers that fit like a modern day cropped jacket, or junior dresses from the 50s get put in this section as well.

3. Identifying vintage can be difficult at first but once you know the rules it’s a cinch. A really basic thing to do is research the different time periods online, looking at pictures and watching old movies helps too. Overall, appearance on clothes from the ’20s and ’30s had a lower waistline, ’40s had a more grown-up look and clingy fit and ’50s has a really full skirts or a wiggle dresses. Tags on vintage clothes really gives it away though. Back then, tags were simple with elegant writing. No washing instructions will be found due to the fact it was not legally forced on companies until the ’70s. Also, “Made in the USA” is often found on tags made before the mid ’90s.

4. If you decide to shop online be sure to type in your size along with the item you are looking for, the worst thing you can do is look at items that don’t fit, and then you have fallen in love with something that is not do-able. Also, watch the price- if you buy something more than fifty dollars, really look at what your getting and see if it can be found for cheaper.

5. My last tip is pretty simple; don’t buy anything that smells, has rips or holes and/or stains. It’s not worth it because it most likely won’t come out in the wash. I find the best was to wash vintage is on a cold hand wash cycle then line dry.

Keep thrifting even if you come up empty handed, it’s really about the experience!