A little background & my inspirations
This is me in 1996, in the 8th grade. I lived in a small Bible thumpin' town in Central Arkansas. I felt very out of place, so I began expressing myself through second-hand and vintage clothing. Here I am wearing a hideously awesome 1970s Gunne Sax-ish dress which compliments my braces and Nirvana posters quite nicely!
I started wearing vintage at age 12 because my best friend Jenna had found a 1920s creme dress with rhinestones all over it and she wore it everywhere. We made friends with the vintage sales lady in town and she would hold garments for us behind the counter. I wore all sorts of wacky things from 12 - 16, including a lot of polyester.
I wore this gown to bits, and you'd better believe that I wore it with Converse hi-tops. Ha ha ha.
Of course, my present tastes are much more refined and focus primarily on the years 1929- 1945.
My inspirations come from:
Netflix and Public Library for 1930s movies (I take pictures of outfits I like with my digital camera)
Vintage groups on LJ and Flickr
Amy Jeanne's journal is a wealth of information
Libraries are great for looking through archives and special collections for magazines and ephemera
Joan Crawford
Finding Vintage Clothes
- First, do your research. Collecting and wearing vintage can be an investment if you get good quality pieces and take care of them. Great items to seek out include Lilli Ann suits and coats, 1950s "new look" like circle skirts and nipped in waists, and classic cocktail dresses. If you are a beginning collector you may want to go with easier items to repair and clean such as 1950s cotton day dresses and knits rather than diving into more difficult items like 1930s crepe dresses.
- Second, do your personal research. Taking a daily outfit picture (if only for yourself or for showcasing on Wardrobe Remix) is a great way to decide what looks great, what your personal style gravitates towards, and what to purge the next time you go on a Goodwill run.
- I am a clothes tourist. If you frequent my daily outfit posts, you'll notice that I have items from all over the USA: Arkansas, Nebraska, Kansas, New Orleans, Rhode Island, Portland, Eugene, San Francisco, Seattle and all places in between. I buy at least one piece from every place I vacation or visit. If you type in "vintage" in google maps you're bound to find a few stores.
- Go to estate sales. You can find estate sales in your newspaper (sometimes listed under "garage sales") or on Craigslist. This is a fun gamble to take, since you're guaranteed only to strike gold every once in a while. My best estate sale items came from a woman who was a professional seamstress. Again, if you're visiting a new city you can always go to estate sales there as well.
- Find a local vintage shoppe and make friends with the owner and shop people. This is your ultimate ticket to discounts, access to new merchandise, and the heads up to Vintage Expos, fashion shows, etc. I find that good vintage shopping is all about consistency. I may visit the same shop five times in a month before finding something that I want to purchase.
ALSO: you should ask the shop person if there are any vintage stores in town that they like to go to. I work in a vintage shop in Portland, and I know a lot of little out of the way places that people don't necessarily know about. I do not mind directing people to other independent vintage stores because they may have a special item that we aren't currently carrying.
This is just a side note: my personal pet peeve is when vintage shop people are snobby. THERE IS NO REASON FOR THIS you frigid hipsters!! I only patronize and support vintage shops where the staff is friendly, warm and caring.
- Make friends with old ladies. Old ladies are an infinite source of wisdom and happiness for me. I bought my best vintage from this elderly woman in Arkansas who had been collecting vintage since the 1960s. I would go to her house and she would let me paw through her treasures. She had this ancient Pomeranian and she smoked like a chimney. I always had to dry clean the items afterward but at least they came with a good story. She was very happy that I had a genuine interest in her and her collection and she was happy to see her things go to someone who would revive and appreciate them.
I strike up conversations with ladies on the bus and in lines at coffee shops, although if you're adventurous you could make friends at Bingo night or knitting circles.
- My last resort is eBay. The difficulty with vintage clothes is that sometimes they can look cute on the hanger and nice on the picture, but it's not until you put them on your body do they come to life. I find all too often that clothes on eBay are misrepresented, are of poor quality, and over priced!
Clara and ? - look at those buckle shoes!
Selecting a vintage garment
- Buying vintage isn't like buying new. This may seem like a "duh" statement, but many people do not take into account that another body has worn, sweat, and eaten in the garment. You cannot waltz into a store, pluck something off the rack and expect it to be flawless. As my friend Misha always says, "Someone's crotch has been on that!"
The awesome trade off to buying vintage is that the garment is very well made and you can expect it to outlast anything that you buy at the mall. Prepare to put a little effort and TLC into your garment and you'll have a sweet item that will last you decades!
- Choose the right size. I carry around my measurements along with a measuring tape in my bag, but that may be a bit extreme for some people.
- Here is a trick for sizing vintage waists: the circumference of your neck is roughly 1/2 that of your waist. So, if you take a waist of a vintage garment and wrap it around your neck it will tell you if it can fit you or not. This only works if you are in relatively in proportion. This is a giant time saver if you are in a vintage store that does not size their items.
- When you select the contender, now is the time for picky inspection. Most vintage stores are poorly lit, so I have taken to using my bicycle headlamp to look at the garment closely. If you don't want to look like such a weirdo, you can take the item to the front of the store where there is sunlight and have a gander.
How to Select
Run your hands through the inside of the garment and check the seams for holes and tears
Check the armpits and neck for perspiration spots or yellowing
Tug at fur trim and check for shedding
Get up close to the garment and inhale deeply - if it smells like mold, beware! You can take the stale smell out but you can't always get the mildew out with dry cleaning.
Don't Bother:
mold (sometimes you can dry clean it out but it's unlikely)
mildew
severe perspiration stains (can sometimes come out with vinegar soak)
old stains
broken zipper
item has a very strong odor
holes in knit items like sweaters that you can't reweave
Moth holes or insect damage - the little buggers may still be in there and infest your closet!
Fur that is shedding, "crackly" or has holes - skip it!!
older items that are ripping under their own weight (like beaded flapper dresses)
Worth the Effort:
items missing a few rhinestones
take the shoulder pads out for a better fit
item is missing a replaceable button, hook-and-eye, or snap
missing a few beads
if it's too big/small and you can move the buttons for a better fit
if there is a hole along the seam
dry cleanable stains or smells
Are you sure you'll wear it?
The items least purchased and worn are Navy Blue, Orange, and Yellow.
Look back through your daily outfit photos. Does the color suit your complexion?
Does the cut and size of the garment compliment you? Don't get anything too boxy.
Is it going to be worth the effort to you? (consider initial cleaning, mending and eventual upkeep such as ironing)
You can always ...
You found the perfect bias-cut gown but it's got a wine stain down the front? And it's only $25? Since I can't always be a snob about what I wear of course there are creative shortcuts to getting the look I want.
Pin a giant brooch or corsage over a stain
Switch boring buttons to cute ones
Cinch a giant dress with a stretchy belt
Soak a dingy item in Biz
</a>Accessories make the outfit - look for cruelty free faux fur at Coquette or buy vintage
Mending, Caring for and Maintaining Vintage Clothes
- You will need a few items for keeping your wardrobe clean and maintained:
SEWING KIT:
embroidery scissors (for making tiny cuts)
needles in various sizes
thimble - for forcing through tough fabric
regular sewing thread - various colors
upholstery thread in black and white (for buttons and tougher fabrics)
OTHER TOOLS:
a sweater shaver (don't press too hard on very thin knits - it will make holes!!!!!)
Fraycheck - for reinforcing holes and along frayed seams
rubber cement - for gluing in rhinestones
simichrome polish -For tarnished jewelry. Don't use on rhinestones themselves.
a bristly brush with bristles that "give" (for brushing sweaters and mohair)
STAIN REMOVER:
Carpet spot remover for nylon carpets - works great for stains on nylon slips
BIZ
Woolite
FINISHING TOUCHES:
a fabric steamer (available at Target for $25. Don't ever steam velvet or 1930s silk - it will spot!!)
iron (cordless is worth the splurge!)
ironing board
spray bottle with water
ZOUT Foam with bleach spray (for spotting items 12-24 hours before they go to the drycleaners)
- If you're not comfortable with sewing and mending - practice! Find a $5 dress that needs some TLC and spend some time making it look right. Check out some books from the library on mending, needlework and stitches. Don't tackle your expensive items until you know you can do it right.
- Take the items you can't tackle to a professional tailor for alterations or professional advice.
- Do some research on fabrics. Know what CAN and CANNOT be washed, handwashed, ironed or drycleaned. I ruined my first Gabardine dress because I put it in the washing machine!
- When attempting to remove a stain, do a google search first. Hairspray gets out ink! Vinegar gets out perspiration stains!
- Estate sales are a goldmine for vintage essentials like hook-and-eye closures, fancy buttons, snaps, ric rack and patterns. Load up - it's cheap! And, you're recycling!
-Pick up old rhinestone jewelry to cannabalize if you're replacing missing stones on buttons or jewelry
Louise Brooks
Make a space for proper cleaning
- I should mention that the first step is always prevention. The reason that I own 15+ slips is not only because I like lingerie, but it's because those are the items that get soiled and washed. I seldom wash my clothes themselves, but I wash the undergarments all of the time.
- Wear a non-marking deodorant (I am crazy about Lush's Aromaco, or better yet, switch to essential oils like Tea Tree or Rose. If you do get deodorant marks on a garment, brush it out with your bristle brush.
- Tuck in your lips when putting on anything over your head, lest you have a lipstick smear down the front.
- Don't eat anything messy (chili dogs, beets, wine... you know, what classy gals eat) without taking precautions first. Use a napkin, or make sure the item is not going to end up on your lap. If you do make a mess, remember that an item can always be revived by dying it a different color! I have several formally white dresses that are now beet colored.
- I have a special "mending/handwash only" basket next to my hamper. If I'm wearing something and I notice a hole, it goes immediately into the basket so that I can repair it right away.
- I handwash my slips, stockings, unmentionables, and very delicate items once a month. You don't need anything fancy - I just dump out a plastic storage bin and swish the clothes around in there. Rinse well, and hang to dry in your shower, on your door, and hanging from doorknobs. I think it's quite sexy to have all of the slips and stockings hanging about.
- I use an old electric toothbrush head to remove stains. I soak the stain in water and Biz and then "brush" the stain out. I wrote "stain remover" with sharpie on the replacement head just so I wouldn't get them confused.
- Soak dingy clothes in a bath of water and BIZ, an enzyme dissolving solution, overnight. This gets whites white and removes food and body stains.
I hope this helps! Good luck, and feel free to add any suggestions or tips!
Resources
Vintage Laundering Advice from 1931
Stain Removal Guide
Vintage Wanted/Unwanted list
Perspiration Stains
More Perspiration Stain removal tips
A video about steaming clothes
how to care for cashmere
How to clean vintage jewelry
BIZ official site - order free samples!
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