Hello everyone! I recently picked up this piece at a local thrift store I volunteer at for $4! I was thinking 50's or 60's, but I'm no expert quite yet. The only label/ tag of any kind is the one shown in the picture, and I made sure nothing could've been ripped/ cut off. Thanks for looking everyone!
Thank you! It is quite amazing! The thrift store I'm volunteering at nonprofit, where all profit goes to a disabled childrens home, so I often tell them when I think something might be vintage. I'm currently writing up a plan that I plan on giving to the manager, suggesting they give pricers/ sorters a few hints on how to identify vintage and possibly put a few of those pieces online for more than they'd sell them for at the shop, yet still a thrift store price. I was debating whether or not to do this, because I find a lot of good stuff here, but the money goes towards such a great cause. I've volunteered at the childrens home, and even though they can't talk, or walk their eyes light up, and spending time with them is really like nothing I've ever experienced. Haha, anyways a little more on topic.. that's where I picked up this piece
I'd just like to pick up your comments about pricing vintage things a little higher. I'm a regular at a Caritas charity thrift shop that's just a few minutes from where I live. Vintage shops, if they exist at all, here in Zurich tend to be overpriced (& unfriendly), or stocked with shortened 70s-80s secretary dresses which seem to sell to the hipsters. Either is of not much interest to me. I shop real vintage online or on trips abroad, where prices are more reasonable in my view. So here I just go thrifting, and though chances are not too big on finding real vintage, I've found some incredible goodies. Of course I also find great modern secondhand clothing - I'd never have as many cashmere sweaters as I do if it weren't for this shop! I have a good salary, but I work in the travel industry, which is usually on one of the lowest rungs of the salary-ladder, considering education, skills etc. required for the job. So I look for quality things at affordable prices in the secondhand clothing - rather than buying another synthetic sweater at H&M for the same price. As it is, the ladies who run the shop here do mostly know what they're selling and the occasional super vintage or designer piece may have a higher price tag. Which I from my point of view am ready to pay, because 1. my money goes to charity - and at that to an organisation that works locally, 2. they have a well-kept clean shop, don't sell dirty or damaged things and do a great job in re-decorating the windows every 3 weeks and generally promoting the shop etc. , and 3. I probably still pay less than at a vintage shop. As for the window displays, here they have two windows, with one manni each. They dress them with a certain theme or color scheme in mind, often with a show-stopper piece or two, and accessories etc. They're always bright, colorful and fun to look at. These things remain in the window for three weeks and only go on sale after that, but they display their prices. I walk by there almost every day, and I've often seen something in the window that at least I wanted to look at as soon as it went on sale, so I would take not of the sale date displayed and make sure I'd look in on that day or at least in that week. I think this is a great strategy! Apart from the mannis, there are not a lot of other props, but they decorate with so much flair and imagination, that I'm sure these windows draw a lot of people to the shop. So, in short, from someone who buys vintage but also modern secondhand - I see no reason why good vintage pieces should be priced a little higher than regular secondhand things (if of course you also get the people who actually hunt for vintage/something special). I find that the Caritas shop here is frequented by every kind of people, and all ages. Those who really can't afford to spend more, and those who are probably more on the hunt for something unique. This is a part of town that's sort of middle of the road. Not trendy. Not rich - low to mid income people mostly, with it's share of traditional "old" shops and people that have probably lived here for decades. I donate all my clothes that are still wearable to this shop as well, and often come across one of my things again on their racks. So I know where my stuff goes, as opposed to throwing it into an anonymous clothes container. Karin
