K is for Keep’s Sakes.
Although buying vintage is lovely, so are hand me downs from parents and grandparents. My Nonna’s house is good for rummaging through for vintage finds; she is so caught up in her gardening nowadays she doesn’t care for her little bits and bobs inside. However, do make sure you ask permission as taking a seemingly pretty necklace and finding out it is a lifelong family heirloom may cause unnecessary aggro from the parental units. What’s also great about hand me downs is that they are normally free and you know exactly where they are from (if your Nan can remember) and you know the time period they have come from. There are always little treasures to be found, such as musical jewellery boxes, bags, shoes, coats or hats and if you’re lucky they could be your great great grandparent’s possessions. This will also make you appreciate vintage that little bit more as these items have a story that you belong to and can one day pass them further into your own family.
Although buying vintage is lovely, so are hand me downs from parents and grandparents. My Nonna’s house is good for rummaging through for vintage finds; she is so caught up in her gardening nowadays she doesn’t care for her little bits and bobs inside. However, do make sure you ask permission as taking a seemingly pretty necklace and finding out it is a lifelong family heirloom may cause unnecessary aggro from the parental units. What’s also great about hand me downs is that they are normally free and you know exactly where they are from (if your Nan can remember) and you know the time period they have come from. There are always little treasures to be found, such as musical jewellery boxes, bags, shoes, coats or hats and if you’re lucky they could be your great great grandparent’s possessions. This will also make you appreciate vintage that little bit more as these items have a story that you belong to and can one day pass them further into your own family.
L is for London.
Everybody knows London is the place to be in the UK for fashion alone, and vintage fashion is no exception. Although there are some beautiful places outside of London to shop vintage, the wide selection of resources – market stalls, vintage fairs and shops – are never ending. Make sure you keep up to date with the markets in London, as it’s not only Camden, Portobello and Spitalfields that are keeping vintage alive. As previously mentioned, London is also great for charity shops and Covent Garden is full of individual boutiques selling really exquisite stuff. It’s worth taking a day out if you don’t live in London, to map out a route of where to go for the best vintage around. Trust me; you won’t come back empty handed.
Everybody knows London is the place to be in the UK for fashion alone, and vintage fashion is no exception. Although there are some beautiful places outside of London to shop vintage, the wide selection of resources – market stalls, vintage fairs and shops – are never ending. Make sure you keep up to date with the markets in London, as it’s not only Camden, Portobello and Spitalfields that are keeping vintage alive. As previously mentioned, London is also great for charity shops and Covent Garden is full of individual boutiques selling really exquisite stuff. It’s worth taking a day out if you don’t live in London, to map out a route of where to go for the best vintage around. Trust me; you won’t come back empty handed.
M is for Markets.
It’s official. Markets are a super cool and vintage way of shopping. There is always such an extensive range of items that markets offer, especially when selling clothes. Although you have to be careful of poorly made clothes that aren’t exactly ‘vintage’, you will get some cool finds that are worth it. The obvious choice is Portobello Market, but outside of London, there are many places that are well worth looking around at. Brighton is an excellent source of vintage, especially their markets every Sunday down the ‘North Laines’. They sell everything from jewellery to old vinyl records, vintage jeans and clothing, accessories and other bits and bobs, you could spend all day there floating from stall to stall. Most vendors there also own boutiques and take a stall specifically for the Sunday, so if you do fall in love with a stall it’s always a good idea to get to know a bit about the owner and buyer, just in case you want to go back for seconds!
It’s official. Markets are a super cool and vintage way of shopping. There is always such an extensive range of items that markets offer, especially when selling clothes. Although you have to be careful of poorly made clothes that aren’t exactly ‘vintage’, you will get some cool finds that are worth it. The obvious choice is Portobello Market, but outside of London, there are many places that are well worth looking around at. Brighton is an excellent source of vintage, especially their markets every Sunday down the ‘North Laines’. They sell everything from jewellery to old vinyl records, vintage jeans and clothing, accessories and other bits and bobs, you could spend all day there floating from stall to stall. Most vendors there also own boutiques and take a stall specifically for the Sunday, so if you do fall in love with a stall it’s always a good idea to get to know a bit about the owner and buyer, just in case you want to go back for seconds!
N is for New Look.
Christian Dior’s ‘New Look’ in 1947 inspired a whole new era in fashion. It finally released women of wearing heavy clothes made with thick materials and introduced a beautiful silhouette for them to relish. Nowadays this look has been mimicked many times by worthy designers and on the high street, however the great thing about vintage is you won’t need to look far to be able to pick up something from the 1940s or 1950s that is a genuine (maybe not Dior) silhouette.
O is for Online.
You can’t beat the feeling of walking into a musty vintage boutique and scouring the rails for hours...unless your feet hurt and/or its raining. Then it becomes hello internet and ‘bye bye’ musty boutique. The range of online vintage websites nowadays is quite vast and they hold a massive supply of vintage. Even Portobello Market has joined the craze. Rokit and Absolute Vintage on Brick Lane both have websites, you can shop online at Oxfam and not to mention eBay; the vintage lover’s golden source for sharing vintage. The greatest thing about shopping online is that, heaven forbid, you do not enjoy hunting for your vintage, then these websites are the thing for you.
You can’t beat the feeling of walking into a musty vintage boutique and scouring the rails for hours...unless your feet hurt and/or its raining. Then it becomes hello internet and ‘bye bye’ musty boutique. The range of online vintage websites nowadays is quite vast and they hold a massive supply of vintage. Even Portobello Market has joined the craze. Rokit and Absolute Vintage on Brick Lane both have websites, you can shop online at Oxfam and not to mention eBay; the vintage lover’s golden source for sharing vintage. The greatest thing about shopping online is that, heaven forbid, you do not enjoy hunting for your vintage, then these websites are the thing for you.
P is for Prices.
Yes bargains are fabulous, but be aware that most vintage will be priced higher, depending on the time period and what type of item it is and how popular the buyers think it will be. In London, most belts are reasonably priced around £20-40, but bags and shoes are tricky as there are a lot of old designer shoes and bags about that can be worth well over £100. Don’t let pricing put you off an item if you really adore it, however don’t be fooled by some cheeky sellers who will overprice their items if they believe people like you will pay the full amount for it, there is a chance if you see a beautiful blue belt that you simply cannot afford, you won’t obviously see the same one but you will see a similar one, for a cheaper price that you may prefer. So unless the item you want is too expensive and you don’t see yourself finding another gem quite like it, then go for it. Otherwise, hold your breath and keep your eyes peeled. If you are in an area where vintage is rife then it is usually a good thing not to always buy the first thing you see as there is a lot of variation.
Yes bargains are fabulous, but be aware that most vintage will be priced higher, depending on the time period and what type of item it is and how popular the buyers think it will be. In London, most belts are reasonably priced around £20-40, but bags and shoes are tricky as there are a lot of old designer shoes and bags about that can be worth well over £100. Don’t let pricing put you off an item if you really adore it, however don’t be fooled by some cheeky sellers who will overprice their items if they believe people like you will pay the full amount for it, there is a chance if you see a beautiful blue belt that you simply cannot afford, you won’t obviously see the same one but you will see a similar one, for a cheaper price that you may prefer. So unless the item you want is too expensive and you don’t see yourself finding another gem quite like it, then go for it. Otherwise, hold your breath and keep your eyes peeled. If you are in an area where vintage is rife then it is usually a good thing not to always buy the first thing you see as there is a lot of variation.
The brilliant thing about vintage is that you won’t see the same item twice, so it won’t all be high street replica after high street replica; these items will be one of a kind with a few tweaks. Think of it more like catering to each individual, if an item at a high price doesn’t swerve you, then don’t panic because more than likely the next item probably will.
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