Scarf: Anthropologie. Vest: Thrifted. Dress: Banana Republic. Frye boots: vintage. Umbrella: broken!The scarf is from Anthropologie and is a lesson in wearing one's colors... everytime I break it out my sweetay asks if I've put makeup on. The boots are vintage Fryes and I actually got them for free from another girl who wanted to trade me for a pair of grey, heeled Dingo boots that I had. I walked away from that trade chuckling evilly.
Speaking of vintage, I went to an interview today and-- during the course of discussing my employment history, mentioned lots of vintage (square peg, square hole). This job had nothing to do with vintage, but something to do with clothes, and in the middle of my story about a rabbit fur coat, they said to me, "Now that's what you should really be doing. Why aren't you doing that?" Touche', ladies. I don't know. I am a bit set on the "have some conventional work experience before you entrepreneurialize" thing. Also, 2009 is not the year for new ventures, if ya know what I'm sayin'! I think you do.
I did enjoy having my Etsy store, but had to "put it on hiatus" due to my move to a place with less storage. But next week I'm moving to a place that has more. We'll see... I get the feeling that the vintage climate is not especially friendly at this moment, as though people are less interested and buying less.
What do you think? Are you as into vintage clothing as you were, let's say-- a year ago? When you do buy clothes, are you thinking more about long-term, quality new pieces, or are you just as interested in getting a piece of vintage clothing?
Mulling it over,
Elissa.
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4 comments:
i haven't noticed any slow-down at all, sales have picked up even! and friends who never did vintage at all are now all about it. maybe it's a regional thing though?
i personally have been doing vintage since i was 12, so i don't see my thrifting days dying any time soon.
i say don't worry at all about social trends and do what you love. as long as you're sourcing great pieces there will always be buyers out there.. even if it's just designers looking for stuff to copy and hollywood costumers, there will always be a market for good vintage.
Interesting! Thank you for your perspective, I hadn't thought about the costumers and designers, but I do know that they make up a bulk of the business done in vintage stores in Ohio. I'd also say that 12 was the beginning of vintage shopping for me as well, thanks to my older brother's hippie girlfriend who went with me and we scored a navy blue velour sweater and tan corduroy blazer.
I did notice a slight slow-down within the past year, at least with myself and my friends. Personally, these days I go for quality more than quantity, whereas a year or two ago I had a mad second hand-hoarding-period where everything seemed to have potential. I suppose everyone is more careful now in this economic climate of ours, and it shows everywhere - in high-fashion, high-street as well as second hand. One question I would add though: is the quality of available vintage/second hand stuff going down, or am I just imagining? To me it seems that it is more difficult to discover great items. Or perhaps I just have higher standards now..?
The Waves: I definitely agree... in the past year it's definitely gotten harder to find quality vintage items in thrifts... since I live in Ohio, I chalk it up to increased activity by foreign buyers. Ohio is a Japanese buyer's hotspot! But let's hope they don't get to Texas, Florida and Georgia before I do!
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