Vintage Love...

Vintage Love...

It seems as though there is a mass market at the moment in vintage clothing - Bargains are getting harder to find but they can still be found if you look hard and clever enough!
As indicated by the current celebs around at the moment, vintage is all the rage and can be great for wearing clothing that is both original and unique from what is available on the high street, thus providing the wearer with an individual style that is also affordable too!
The possibilities are endless with buying and wearing vintage fashions. You can aim to wear clothing from a certain decade that you like; 50s stylish and streamlined, 60s floral and hippy, 70s psychedelic prints or even 80s power suits or, like me, you can chose to mix and match according to what appeals to you.
After washing and, sometimes the odd tidy up of the hems and stitching is needed, the price that you pay can be great on the pocket just for a bit of extra effort in the initial finding of the right piece of vintage clothing. Remember that some older items may require dry cleaning or hand washing only - check the label before just throwing them in with the family wash!
With time, you will learn the best styles and fabrics that look right for you and from then on it is easier in future to be able to purchase at online vintage and retro stores, such as www.devoted2vintage.co.uk and www.myvintage.co.uk as well as the ever increasing little shops and boutiques that sell through online auction sites - this way you can be more confident that the clothes turning up at your door are actually going to fit and suit! Whilst researching online, I have noticed that we are now able to look at vintage clothes available at Oxfam online too, saving you the chore (if it is a chore to you!) of the traipsing round of charity shops (see www.oxfam.org.uk) - which just shows you that charity shops are 'clicking in' on this increasing market!
Having a good look round your local town shops may provide plenty of choice in vintage or retro clothing, shops which seem to have gone unnoticed to you before in your haste to get to the high street branded stores will suddenly uncover some gems of a store!
Patience is definitely a virtue when hunting down clothing that appeals, suits and fits when looking at second hand clothes but, if you stick with it, you can guarantee an outfit that none of your friends will have and one that has already lasted the test of time.
A lot of the items may be handmade, a product of the era that a lot of ladies made their own clothes due to the lack of money for luxuries as well as the individual creativity of the 60s and 70s.
Some well known vintage stores may have some items that seem expensive, normally this is on their more elaborate dresses and outfits, or items that have a well known vintage label, but I recently picked up a great little reworked vintage dress from Blue Rinse in Leeds for £15.00 and, harder that it might be to get some great finds in the charity shops, some visits do pay off, I purchased a very kitsch vintage Dunlop flight bag for £1.00 and then sold it on again myself for £25.00!
There is some great vintage clothing fairs around, such as The Affordable Vintage Fair (see www.vintagefair.co.uk) which is just one of many. Some fairs offer a great atmosphere which is ideal for pottering around, finding a few bargains with time to chill out and listen to a bit of music and having a cuppa in some of the vintage style cafes that some fairs have also.
Bear in mind also that some vintage clothes, dresses for example, may look unwearable on the hanger but, when worn on, and may be also teamed up with a belt and some funky accessories, gives a whole new look, so be open-minded when shopping and try items on, if possible and, best of all, use your imagination!
Copyright 2010