NEW TO THE FORUMS? Please introduce yourself here! 2020

Thank you, so much! I'm really glad I found this website. It's been very informative and helpful, and the people have been very friendly!

 

Hi, Lori Ammons here. I am a new Registered Guest. I only recently tapped into my previously unknown passion for vintage garments. I found my passion when I picked up the garment I have pictured. A crushed velvet coat I found hanging with the robes at my local thrift store. The coat I believe is from a local boutique "The Parisian" that went out of business in the mid 60's. I suspect the coat was custom made. I have an old black and white image of the store front I obtained from the local historical society but it won't upload. Visit my Poshmark page if you want to see it, Lori2205.

 

Wow! I love the coat, but I love all things velvet. I live in Yakima, so we are all on the east side of Washington State! COOL!

 

Exciting to meet two Washington State neighbors! Thanks for the warm welcome. I tried posting the Parisian pic again, getting security error so unsure why it won't upload. Denise would love for you to see the picture if you have seen the label before..you can put a place with the name. Instead I'm going to post two other items I picked up, same place/same day as the velvet coat. One short jacket with I think real fur trim, I suspect from the same era and probably same person but only "lot" tag, and one that was from the 80's...but it had price tags from Dillards. I apparently have an obsession with black soft/shiny things;)

 

Very cool! It makes sense that some stuff from Moscow would make its way north to Spokane/Coeur D'alene. I still can't believe items popular in the 80's are now considered vintage;) I checked out your Etsy site..really fabulous. Is your book available through Amazon..digital download? I have a reversible wool skirt in my closet too.

 

I've seen a few 90's "vintage" items. I have a pair of Calvin Klein low rider jeans and a pair of Calvin Klein carpenter jeans both still with original green CK tags and price tags. I am beginning to think though that Poshmark is not the best place for my vintage stuff. It is great for my regular resale items but I'm having trouble attracting the vintage folks. But I am still new and not experienced so have to give it some time. Yes, I love how your Etsy shop is arranged by color. Plus lots of great models and really fab pictures.

 

I have a suggestion where you can sell your vintage items.

Sorry for this long-winded post, but:

I’ve been researching all options because I have several boxes of early to mid-1990s clothes never worn, laundered, or modified, that I’ve been wanting to sell to lighten my load, so to speak.

I looked at the clothing selling platforms like eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, Mercari, etc. and the thing that made me decide not use those websites' services was that they would take a sizable percentage of what I'd earn from my sales because I'm using their resources.

I didn’t want to use a "middleman", so I'd try selling my clothes on Instagram, using a business account. There's no "middleman" because I'd post a few pictures of each item and describe them all, according to the guidelines set by the Vintage Fashion Guild.

On Instagram, you can use hashtags to attract people interested in buying vintage clothes. I’ve gone through many vintage clothes shown on Instagram and made notes of the hashtags used. There are hundreds of them. You can also create your own hashtags if you don’t find the right ones to suit your items and attract the right buyers. You can control your own marketing of your items based on the hashtags you use, because you can determine how you attract the potential buyers. There are one billion Instagram monthly users as of June 2018, according to Instagram statistics. I’m not sure how many hashtags that can be used per item, because I get conflicting information. It is as much as eight, or as much as 30. I still have to find that out. You can post your clothing info and your seller’s policy in the Bio section of your Instagram Business Account.

I have also created a reference, or dictionary, of different clothing terms and descriptions on Pinterest, so I can accurately describe the clothing items I’m selling. I still have to organize it so it makes sense, because as of now, it’s a mess.

Prospective buyers would contact you expressing interest in one of your items by private message, and you could work out a deal with them that way. You could use PayPal to accept payments because that seems to be the safest, most reliable way of getting your payments. PayPal would take a small percentage of your gross income from each sale, but they provide protection.

I’ve also looked at different postal carriers and the cheapest, most convenient one appears to be USPS. You can buy a postage label online from their site, according to the weight of your box containing the merchandise and its destination. You can print it up on a printer, affix it to your box and schedule a pickup of your package for free. You can also order several size USPS boxes for free, but then you would have to use their shipping labels that correspond to the boxes that you would use. If you ship your merchandise internationally that would influence the shipping cost.

I hope this helps.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your process!

 

Welcome, and I wish you luck with Instagram selling!

I've had an Etsy site for several years and put it on Vacation late last year bc I was just too busy with the 9-5, but now as I'm considering re-opening it just seems like there are so many ways they're trying to nickel-and-dime their sellers that going it alone on Insta is looking better and better...

Please do let us know how it goes!

 

Hello,

This is my first post on these forums.

I am by trade a builder but some 30 years ago I inherited a Costumiers business, making and hiring to the public, film production companies and such like.

I knew nothing of costumes, I inherited a business along with my loyal colleagues.

I had a choice, ( building work was booming ), let the costumiers go, sell up or head down and get on with it, so with a hammer or trowel in the one hand and needle and thread in the other, we got on with it, I running both businesses side by side.

I wish I could say the first 5 years of running it was enjoyable, not for me, I was the proverbial fish out of water, so much to learn, a person can spend a life time gaining knowledge on one or two vintage eras, indeed fashion labels.

Costume making, design, it's an unforgiving profession.

Still as I gained knowledge, learning and the business grew, being a costumier I could start, to some degree hold my own.

It also sparked a passion for collecting vintage.

That is enough of an introduction about me but does brings me nicely as to my reason for joining VFG, I still don't know so much and not enough time to learn it and I need help and others expertise and knowledge.

Over 30 odd years I have acquired/purchased a vast collection of vintage labels/brands and clothing including shoes and hats, from the 17 century through to the 80s. My only rule, I tried hard and mainly succeeded not collecting small sizes.

My collection of antique/ vintage clothing and accessories alone is large and varied, stored away and now re-discovering them and slowly selling them although I am being dragged and screaming in that regard by my children, I have got quite possessive and clingy.

And so the other day I opened a box, amongst its contents, vintage handkerchiefs, cravats and some relatively modern ties and it is these ties I need help in identifying as to circa' and label.

My next post, if forum rules allow I will post some images, might also throw in a image of a particular handkerchief I have a dozen or so of and get forum members opinion as to age but ties for now.
Thankyou
Avantbo

 

Thank you and thanks for that hashtag information! I'm a newbie when it comes to all social media platforms. Yes, I will definitely let everyone know how Instagram works out!

 

Thank you, Distantdetails and kittenteethintage!

 

Hello and welcome!

I, too, am like a fish out of water with vintage clothing and accessories. The people on this website and the forums are knowledgeable, helpful, and very nice. You will learn about vintage fashion in no time.