The Benefits of Shopping Vintage + 3 Fresh Ways to Wear a Vintage Dress
Sunday, August 04, 2024
Those who know me well know that I'm an old soul. I love history, old houses and buildings, old movies (like the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals from the 1930s), and old music (like big band and pop/jazz standards), and my style icon is Audrey Hepburn, so it's basically a foregone conclusion that I love vintage fashion as well. Vintage clothing is defined as anything that is over 20 years old. (That means that everything that I wore in the 90s is now considered vintage. Yikes!) "True vintage" is a term that is often used with clothing that is over 50 years old. In this blog post, I hope to convince you why you should add vintage stores to your list of places to shop. I'll also show you how to style a vintage dress in three different ways to make it look modern for any occasion.
First, I'd like to make a distinction between thrift stores and vintage stores.
Thrift Stores
- Offer a wide range of items that include, but aren't limited to, clothing and accessories
- Generally rely on donations for inventory, resulting in a mix of contemporary and older clothing items of varying quality levels
- Generally a more utilitarian layout and shopping experience, oftentimes without the ability to try on items before purchasing
- Budget friendly prices as items are priced to sell quickly
Vintage Stores
- Specialize in clothing and accessories from specific time periods, usually from the 1920s to the 1990s
- Items are carefully curated by the store owner or staff, resullting in an overall higher level of quality
- Often offer a boutique-like shopping experience with a carefully designed aesthetic that reflects the store’s focus on specific eras and the ability to try on items before you buy
- Staff may be more knowledgeable about the history and details of the items and can therefore offer a more personalized shopping experience
- Typically charge higher prices than thrift stores, reflecting the time period, designer, condition, uniqueness, and rarity of the items
The Benefits of Shopping Vintage
While it's possible to find incredible pieces at the local thrift store, as an extremely busy woman, I personally don't like shopping at thrift stores. I simply don't have the time (or patience) to sift through that day's inventory to find that statement piece, which brings me to the first reason why I like shopping at vintage stores:
Unique Statement Pieces
Statement pieces are important to have in our wardrobe because they are a way for us to express ourselves more fully through our clothing. After all, fashion is ultimately about self-expression. For me, that statement piece is typically a dress. A dress is arguably the easiest thing to wear - put it on and you're done! For those who don't want to deal with how to mix and match a statement piece with other items in their wardrobe, this is one less decision you need to make when your statement piece is a dress.
A vintage store is the perfect place to find a statement dress because it will be unique and one-of-a-kind. One of my favorite vintage stores is Arsenic & Old Lace in Charlottesville, VA. I've purchased several dresses from there since moving to Virginia two years ago. I recently bought the following silk dress with a floral watercolor print from the 1980s:
While the dress has a very simple silhouette, it's the details that make this dress special, like the blouson top, the soft pleating in the front of the skirt, and the buttons in the back. Plus, it has pockets! This dress was also an incredible value (priced below $50).
While there's never a guarantee that you'll find something that you like, or even if you do, that fits properly, at a vintage store, the fact that vintage stores carry curated inventory implies a certain level of expectation in terms of quality, condition, and style. This leads me to the second reason why I enjoy shopping at vintage stores.
Quality and Craftsmanship
We live in an era of fast fashion where it's very easy to buy inexpensive, trendy clothing. However, a lot of fast fashion is poor quality, lasting one or two seasons at best of continual wear. In comparison, vintage garments were typically made with greater attention to detail and from more durable materials; unlike modern clothes, which are often made of synthetic fabrics like polyester, vintage clothing is often made from natural materials, such as silk, linen, and cotton, that are less likely to tear or rip. This means that many vintage items are still in excellent condition decades later. A great example of this is a linen dress from the 1960s that I recently purchased from Arsenic & Old Lace. This dress, which has a timeless Jackie O. quality, was actually handmade but still looks brand new.
By choosing vintage, you're investing in pieces that are likely to last longer and maintain their aesthetic appeal, providing better value for your money in the long run.
Sustainability
The rise of fast fashion has resulted in increased environmental waste as fast fashion brands are producing twice the amount of clothes today than in 2000. And of the 100 billion garments manufactured each year, 92 million tons end up in landfills, which is the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck full of clothing into a landfill every second. In the U.S., the average consumer throws away 81.5lbs of clothes every year. Yikes!!! (Thanks to earth.org for these statistics.) Shopping vintage is a powerful way to promote sustainability in that it is a form of recycling that contributes to a more sustainable and eco-friendly fashion industry. Every second-hand item you purchase is one less item in your local landfill.
Create a Timeless Style
Fashion is cyclical; if you wait long enough, everything old is new again. Case in point - menswear inspired vests for women are currently trendy, and as an aside, I have to say that I am here for it. They were a staple in my wardrobe during my teen years back in the 90s and were probably last trendy back in the early to mid-2000s. Many vintage pieces have a timeless appeal that transcends current trends. Or you may find vintage pieces that are 100% representative of the latest trend. By incorporating vintage items into your wardrobe, you can create a unique and versatile style that is both classic and contemporary.
Support Small Business Owners
Vintage clothing stores are usually locally owned businesses operated by passionate individuals who have a good eye for fashion and a love for preserving history through clothing. By choosing to shop vintage, you're contributing to your local economy and helping these small businesses succeed.
Three Ways to Style a Vintage Dress
While I love vintage fashion, I don't like wearing vintage in a way that makes it look like I'm wearing a costume. I like to pair vintage items with contemporary pieces to create a unique and modern look. Take this dress from the 1950s that I purchased in 2023 from Halcyon Vintage in Richmond, VA.
This cotton dress is handmade. I love the colors and pattern, the simple clean style of it, and the fact that it has pockets. By changing the shoes and layering pieces that I wear with the dress, I can easily transform the look of the dress from casual, to professional, to ready for a night out.
Casual
Here I've paired the dress with a white jean jacket and white leather sneakers for a more casual look that is appropriate for running errands or even brunch.
Professional
I've swapped out the denim jacket and sneakers for a cropped open cashmere cardigan and ballet flats for a more professional look that is also suitable for brunch or a dinner out.
Going out
There is arguably nothing more classic yet modern and even a bit edgy than a black leather moto jacket. Here I've paired the jacket and dress with tights and black high heeled suede booties for more of a fall look.
Given that inventory is based on one-of-a-kind pieces, vintage shopping can take more time and effort than shopping at a department store or retailer that you find at your local mall. However, shopping vintage is really no different than shopping at the mall in the sense that each store has its own vibe and you will quickly know if a particular vintage store is for you. In cities where vintage stores abound, like Richmond and Charlottesville, VA, there is a vintage store to suit all tastes and fashion aesthetics. The next time that you are looking for that statement piece or looking to support a local business owner, consider shopping vintage. You'll not only be helping the environment and owning a piece of history, but you'll also be buying an item that you can wear for years to come and even possibly pass on to the next generation. And one last note - when you wear vintage, expect to receive lots of compliments! :)
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Hi, I'm Roxanne!
Style Coach and Educator/ 12 Season Color Analyst
My goal with The Fashioneaseta is to help busy working women create a sense of ease in how they dress so that they look and feel their best while also saving time and money in the process. Let me help you create a wardrobe that you love of stylish, comfortable, multi-functional pieces that are a true reflection of you.
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