Ten Reasons to Wear Vintage

50's Dress: Modern Millie

1.) It's green.  (I figured I should start here since that's the theme of my blog.)  It's always second-hand so you don't have to worry about the energy consumed by manufacturing and shipping new products or by creating packaging.  And then where does most of that packaging end up?  In landfills... sigh.

2.) It's unique.  Finding two or more of the same vintage item is rare.  Most vintage (60's and earlier) was made before mass-production became popular.  And a lot of clothing from these eras was homemade.  

3.) Buying vintage supports local businesses.  Shopping locally helps support your community.  Often, vintage is sold on a consignment basis, giving black to the community even further.  Even when you buy vintage online (not as green because of the shipping involved), you're supporting small business.  In the U.S. small businesses account for more than half of the employment.

4.) It's always "in."  Sure, certain styles are especially popular right now (thanks to show like Mad Men), but so many vintage pieces are classic, they'll never go out of style.  Fashion so often repeats itself that different silhouettes from past decades grace the runways and department store racks each season.  But when buying vintage, you can skip the reproductions and go straight to the real thing.

40's Dress: Modern Millie

5.) It gives us a window into the past.  Vintage clothing tells a story.  You can learn so much about history looking at its fashion.  While working at a fabulous vintage and consignment shop, Modern Millie, I learned a lot about fashion history from the owner and from researching the items that came into the store.  You can often tell what era an item is from based on what was going on in the world at that time and what materials were available.  For example, during WWII, certain fabrics were off-limits, zippers were generally shorter because metal was being utilized to support the war effort and there was very much a militant, patriotic vibe across the nation.  We see that in 40's fashion.

6.) It has substance.  Aside from historical trends, individual vintage items usually carry a personal history.  Knowing that a vintage piece may have once-upon-a-time been the dress one wore to her Sweet Sixteen or the brooch she wore on her honeymoon gives the items meaning and a life of their own.

7.) The hunt is part of the fun.  One of my favorite past-times is picking through the racks at a vintage store or a Salvation Army or church basement flea market.  I never know what I'm going to find and it's that element of surprise that I love.  Sometimes I leave empty-handed, but other times (perhaps too often) I come across pieces that seem like they were made for me.

Modern Millie Dresses

8.) Wide price range.  Anyone can find affordable vintage.  As mentioned above, some places I like to explore are thrift shops and flea markets.  A few of my favorite pieces I picked up for under $5!  Most specialty stores will price according to market value, but they often mark items down after so long to make room for "new" inventory.  Also, damaged items typically get steep markdowns, so if you're handy with a needle and thread you can grab something off the sale rack for next to nothing and, with a little TLC, give it a whole new life.  Of course, if you're in the mood to splurge, there are also plenty of special collector and designer items waiting for you.

9.) Quality.  Unlike a lot of today's apparel, which is often made to last a season (if it even makes it that far without unraveling), vintage clothing was made to last.  Seams were often generous so that the item could be made larger and grow with a woman or be passed on to someone else and be easily tailored.  Clothing prior to the 70's was typically made at home of sturdy material like cotton, rayon or wool.

10.) It's an investment.  Depending on certain factors, such as condition, era, and designer, most vintage items will retain or gain value... especially if you scored a deal to begin with.  I'm constantly rotating through my vintage collection and can usually make a decent profit reselling items.  Sadly, the profit is not long-lived as new items find their way in, but satisfying none-the-less.