It's interesting to think that 56 million women bought second hand clothing in 2018. Fast fashion culture has long been the model for consumerism in the U.S. so it's a little mind boggling that such a huge chunk of the population is finding some of their clothes via resale stores. It's amazing actually. Threaded Social Club is in the business of buying gently worn clothes and giving them a new life. There is a hopeful feeling that comes with finding a real gem amongst the rubble. Shopping for vintage items is genuinely exciting but it is time consuming. It’s not as easy as seeing something cute and buying it and just because you find something great at Goodwill doesn’t mean its vintage. Have you ever wondered what vintage actually means and how to identify clothes that are genuinely vintage? A lot of lifestyle or fashion bloggers and influencers are using this trendy term to classify clothes that are not actually vintage. And well, not everything in our catalogue is a rare find either (that is always stated), we are always learning new ways to identify vintage clothing. We are still learning new things about vintage shopping, but we wanted to let you in on the secrets to our great finds. You definitely don’t want to get duped especially when buying online. It's more common than you think. Continue on to read some insights on how to vintage shop the right way.
The average shopper might love the comfortability of the mall or a shopping center but for the vintage-hunter our playground is literally everywhere else. That's the bins, Goodwill, Ark, garage sales, storage lockers, all places resale. Even if you're a novice vintage-er there are some blatant indicators such as clothing style that immediately tell you the clothes era.
Smell
The Smell goes a long way. Yeah your going A.C.E Ventura on the clothes case! Sniff those clothes because a strong musty scent is a good indicator an item has been stored away for a while. If you get a whiff of the pitts then you might want to re-analyze.
Style:
The great thing about hindsight is the fact that you can reflect on everything. Each decade has distinct fashion characteristics and for avid vintage shoppers they know the difference between a flapper dress and a pair of bell bottom pants. To go through each style would be a blog in of of itself so just do a little brushing up before you roll out. Maybe we should do a blog about this?! What do you think? Comment below. But if it doesn’t look like it came from Forever 21, then you're probably right it didn't.
Shoulder pads
Anyone remember that show Dynasty? Yeah, those shoulders could literally cut someone (they probably did!). You will know if the sweater, or shirt is vintage if it has shoulder pads and your rocking a football-esque vibe.
Tags
Check the tags. Not only will the brand be a great indication of the time period but the actual condition of the tag is important. Here are a few things to look out for concerning the tag.
Discoloration:
Nowadays many clothing tags are minimal if not printed onto the actual cloth. If a white tag has a yellow tinge that could be a great clue as to its age. Also, if the writing on the tag is barely legible, its vintage.
Font:
If you are already a thrifter you might have caught on to the funky fonts that many brands used in the past. Today many brands have opted for a modern san serif font and a basic black and white color scheme.
Multiple Tags:
Vintage clothing, especially women clothing, will have a cluster of worn looking tags most often in a variety of fonts and colors.
Stitching:
Stitching is important. Although some brands do still single stitch, if a shirt has a single lining of stitching that is an indicator it's vintage. If you're unfamiliar as to what single stitching is, refer to the image above but essentially it is.
Then there are some not so obvious indicators of vintage finds such as sizing.
Sizing
If the shirt is small but the actual shirt looks extra tiny it's ok. Vintage clothing not only has shrunk through time but also size guides in the 20s are extraordinarily smaller than by today's standards.
Zipper?
This one evaded us as well. Little did we know the zipper’s history is also a clue. So apparently the 80s loved, loved to showcase their zippers on dresses and clothes. If you notice, today we hardly see the zipper on the outside of the dress. Also, if the item seems to have a metal zipper it is probably authentic via pre 70s. Most stuff after the 70s was made with plastic zippers.
If you're a vintage-er then please share with us some of your vintage tips below! And let us know if these tips helped you out at all. Till next time.