How to Buy Vintage Clothing
Vintage and secondhand clothing has become increasingly popular over the years. Gone are the days of frumpy, unwanted old clothes and in are the days of trendy, stylish pieces from every era. Shopping at vintage stores is like a treasure hunt –look hard enough and you’ll find gold!
Set aside a time to shop: The key to buying vintage clothing and thrifted clothing is to dig, dig, and dig. Set aside at least a solid 1-2 hours of time to browse the store. Make sure to focus on your sizes but also skim through all available sizes; items are often misplaced and undiscovered!
Try everything on: Make sure to try on every piece of clothing you want to purchase, even if you know it’ll fit. Vintage and secondhand styles often may hang differently on the body from new pieces, and you’ll want to do a full 360 in the mirror to make sure there aren’t any tough stains, rips, or unflattering parts. Vintage stores often have a strict no refund policy –be very sure that the item you want is wearable!
Will I really wear this? One problem that vintage shoppers often have is that they tend to find an amazing piece and snatch it up right away. Because vintage pieces are often one-of-a-kind, the possibility that something could slip away is always at the front of your mind. However, be sure that you will wear the item enough times to warrant the purchase. What will it match with in your closet? Is it wearable for longer than a season? What occasion will it be for? Be sure that the price you are paying will be worth the use you will get out of the item.
Shop everywhere: The key to finding vintage gems is to shop everywhere. Shop at thrift chains such as Goodwill and Savers, vintage boutiques, and online vintage shops such as thrifted.net, shopnastygal.com, and lavintage.com to name to few. Shop at vintage stores wherever you travel to; demographics, culture, and the environment contribute greatly to the variety of merchandise you’ll find. Happy shopping!
