I was honored to be a guest blogger at Shop It To Me’s blog back in mid-May, where I discussed not only where you can shop for vintage fashions but the pros & cons of each. The folks at Shop It To Me created a chart version of my small guide — which certainly is a fine cheat-sheet — but I wanted to elaborate on a few things which couldn’t quite fit in the chart (and still be legible). So that you don’t need to flip back & forth, seeing what’s there and what’s here, I’ve including the complete sections on the basic venues for vintage fashion shopping.

Here you’ll find it all. Everything possible from all decades, including the occasional antique garments & accessories.

Pros:

Staff that knows what vintage is — and isn’t.

Wider selections & careful screening to present all the best items they can because that’s all they do.

Some stores/sellers even make customer lists and will notify you when they get pieces from time periods, styles, designers, etc. that you adore. (Hey, they want your loyalty — and your money!)

Cons:

Because they know how valuable vintage fashions and accessories are, the prices usually are more expensive than the other options.

Smaller shops typically have shorter and more unusual hours — unless you’re shopping online, of course!

These are feast or famine settings; either they have vintage fashions or they don’t. What’s at these events depends entirely on what the former owner saved.

(I also believe that most who plan such events call in dealers who specialize in vintage clothing prior to the sale. I can’t swear this is true or that it applies to your location; but the slim pickings at most estate sales and antique auctions make me suspect they have a short-list of dealers and/or vintage fashion boutique owners they work with directly prior to the actual event date.)

Pros:

Usually good companies running such events know authentic vintage from “used clothing.”

If you’re lucky enough, especially at auctions and at estate sales with “bidding boxes,” you can get super bargains!

Cons:

No permanent location means continued reading of ads & sale promotions to find vintage apparel & other fashion items listed in the sale.

Usually do not have fitting rooms.

First come-first serve is the rule at estate sales, so you’ll have to be the early bird to catch the worms.

You might have to spend a lot of time at an auction just waiting for the clothing to come up for bidding (use this time to inspect individual garments and boxed lots carefully).

As vintage fashions have increased in popularity, so has the appearance of vintage clothing and accessories at antique shops — some antique malls even have “booths” that specialize in vintage fashions, just like a miniature vintage fashion boutique!

Depending upon the location & the seller’s dedication to vintage, the pros and cons vary from those of the vintage fashion boutiques to those of estate sales and auctions.

Along with the used household items, used CDs & DVDs etc., there’s a lot of clothing to be had at thrift shops. Depending upon staff and whether or not the shop works with antiques/collectible dealers, the vintage pieces may not even be identified as “vintage” and can be dirt cheap.

Pros:

Not only deals on vintage, but more modern designer pieces and, sometimes, brand new stock dumped by retailers too; plenty of opportunity for a deal of some kind!

Cons:

A smaller amount of authentic vintage pieces.

Vintage & retro fashions are typically mixed in with all the other garments or oddly sorted for a measly “vintage” sales rack. (One of our local thrift shops only puts out true vintage for Halloween!)

These are stores that take in your used clothing, shoes and accessories & sell it for you. If they purchase the items directly from you, the are usually called “resale” shops; if they give you your money when the items sell, it’s “consignment.”

Pros:

The stores that manage to stay alive for years & years are those who have darn-near impeccable standards, so whatever you find will be in great condition.

If you take in your gently used clothing, you’ll get cash &/or credit towards purchases of your own.

Cons:

Vintage isn’t always accepted/sold because some stores have rules about how new garments must be so that they don’t sell anything outdated looking. Call ahead of time to ask what their policies on vintage items are.

I’ve been oddly lucky at a few of these over the years… Sometimes even at sales where vintage clothing wasn’t mentioned. Like estate sales and auctions, it requires work to read the classified ads to find sales with it listed and be there early.

Jewelry and accessories like scarves are usually dirt cheap though, so it’s worth the effort to get in the habit of cruising yard sales on Saturday mornings.

Pros:

You can (and should!) negotiate for lower prices. (And, usually, the more you buy, the cheaper it gets per piece!)

Cons:

No fitting rooms.

The person handling the sale may know next to nothing (or, worse yet, has inaccurate information) about the items. …Then again, at some sales this is an asset for negotiating a fabulous deal. *wink*