Vinage Shopping!

[Strikingly Chloe]

I love vintage finds, but at the same time can never find the best Vintage stores.

Does anyone have any tips on how I can find the best of the best and how to rummage through everything once I'm there, for the absolute best finds? Like which areas of the store are always worth checking?? Thanks!

 

[pinkmonkey]

Originally posted by Strikingly Chloe@Oct 9 2004, 12:37 PM
I love vintage finds, but at the same time can never find the best Vintage stores.

Does anyone have any tips on how I can find the best of the best and how to rummage through everything once I'm there, for the absolute best finds? Like which areas of the store are always worth checking?? Thanks!

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To find the best stores, you could start off by googling it. Where do you live?

You have to look at everything in the store.

It is very time consuming and there is no easy way I'm afraid.
It helps if you have a knowledge of the history of fashion and can recognise famous names throughout the decades (as these change).
Perhaps befriend the shop staff? If they know your taste and style and you visit them often, they might start to recommend items for you or even put them on hold for you.

If you are really not sure what you should be looking for - do your homework - the latest catwalk show pics are a great source of inspiration - to get the best clothing, you need to be picking it out almost before its in fashion - you'll get more choice and better prices, this way. Once a style is right on trend, it gets difficult as every shopper is after the same style.

Another source of vintage is antique fairs - scour google and your local press to see if any are held in your neighbourhood and if they sell clothing. Often the prices and styles are better. Finally have you thought of going to an auction?

I go to charity (thrift) shops myself - best to choose a wealthy area to visit - the areas with wealthy elderley residents tend to have the richest pickings, but you have to have a lot of patience, be prepared to buy clothing out of season (the best coats and evening wear are often to be found when its summer, for instance) and not be too picky - you can't go expecting to find a certain style or item - you never know what you'll expect to find. I also noticed that the good stuff is gone by the weekend, so try to shop weekdays.

 

[Strikingly Chloe]

Thank you! I live in South Miami. My style is a bit boho and a bit glamour. I am picky because I only like certain designers/styles and I'm also really tall and skinny so not everything fits well. But like you said, patience is a virtue as it is also a key!!! Thanks.

Originally posted by pinkmonkey@Oct 9 2004, 10:17 AM
To find the best stores, you could start off by googling it. Where do you live?

You have to look at everything in the store.

It is very time consuming and there is no easy way I'm afraid.
It helps if you have a knowledge of the history of fashion and can recognise famous names throughout the decades (as these change).
Perhaps befriend the shop staff? If they know your taste and style and you visit them often, they might start to recommend items for you or even put them on hold for you.

If you are really not sure what you should be looking for - do your homework - the latest catwalk show pics are a great source of inspiration - to get the best clothing, you need to be picking it out almost before its in fashion - you'll get more choice and better prices, this way. Once a style is right on trend, it gets difficult as every shopper is after the same style.

Another source of vintage is antique fairs - scour google and your local press to see if any are held in your neighbourhood and if they sell clothing. Often the prices and styles are better. Finally have you thought of going to an auction?

I go to charity (thrift) shops myself - best to choose a wealthy area to visit - the areas with wealthy elderley residents tend to have the richest pickings, but you have to have a lot of patience, be prepared to buy clothing out of season (the best coats and evening wear are often to be found when its summer, for instance) and not be too picky - you can't go expecting to find a certain style or item - you never know what you'll expect to find. I also noticed that the good stuff is gone by the weekend, so try to shop weekdays.

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[As You Like It]

I get some kickass old stuff just from regular junkshops and flea markets, and occasionally from charity shops (thrift stores).

Of course, a lot of my favorite pieces are also hand-me-downs. I have a lot of secondhand clothing that had belonged to my mom or her sisters or one of my mom's friends, and they decided I could get some use out of it.

Most of this stuff is hand-me-downs. Here are some jackets I recently got at a junk-shop in my neighborhood for $4 each. One of the skirts in the series of photos I got at a different junkshop some years ago. These dresses came from the same shop as those jackets, and were $2 each. Seriously, how can you go wrong with a price like that. The pink, stripey one and the purple one are home-made. The green one has an IGLWU tag in it and a label that says JuniorConnection, and the blue one is from Sears.

Nothing I own is designer, but most of it is pretty frackin' fabulous, if you ask me!

I've got other, niftier stuff, but those are my handiest online examples. I'm supposed to be working on an online vintage clothing museum, but I haven't done much in a few months. When I am cooped up inside in the winter, I am sure I will get back to it. You can see a little bit on my resources page with listings in the third column, though I have a couple of other pages that aren't linked yet. Antique lingerie, Baby clothes, an 1890s child's cape, and a 1914 blouse are the newest additions to the site, and still require editing for typos and HTML glitches.

 

[strawberry daiquiri]

Originally posted by pinkmonkey@Oct 9 2004, 07:17 PM
- best to choose a wealthy area to visit - the areas with wealthy elderley residents tend to have the richest pickings

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I've heard Florida's ideal for this, so Strikingly Chloe should be in luck.

 

[HBoogie]

A few tips:

*Once you find a few shops you like, make sure to go regularly and often (once a week would be ideal), since stock comes and goes so quickly.
*Ask a member of the store's staff if they have special kinds of sales, how often and when they occur, and if the store has any sort of mailing list. For example, some thrift shops hold bag sales where you can shove all the clothes you can fit into a brown paper bag for a flat charge of $5 or thereabouts.
*Always inspect everything you buy for damage and stains. If you can walk over to a window and hold the pieces up to natural light, do that. And don't forget to smell something before you buy it!

 

[maarit]

To add:

Try things on! Some of the best things I've bought have been so-so on the hanger but great on me.

 

[pinkmonkey]

Originally posted by HBoogie@Oct 9 2004, 10:54 PM
A few tips:

*Once you find a few shops you like, make sure to go regularly and often (once a week would be ideal), since stock comes and goes so quickly.
*Ask a member of the store's staff if they have special kinds of sales, how often and when they occur, and if the store has any sort of mailing list. For example, some thrift shops hold bag sales where you can shove all the clothes you can fit into a brown paper bag for a flat charge of $5 or thereabouts.
*Always inspect everything you buy for damage and stains. If you can walk over to a window and hold the pieces up to natural light, do that. And don't forget to smell something before you buy it!

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Agreed - go weekly - and don't expect to find somrthing every week. Sometimes I don't find anything for weeks, then I find five items in one day!

 

[Strikingly Chloe]

Thank you so much. I am excited to get going on this now. I'm excited to find as amazing things as you all have said. Thank you! I will also try that once a week thing, if possible.