How did you first get involved with vintage clothing?

I can't help wondering how all of you first got "the bug" for vintage.

As for me, I started selling my kids outgrown clothes on eBay. I soon got the hang of what sold well and what didn't. Since finances were thin, I often shopped for my kids clothes at local thrifts (there are a lot of them in my area). I started buying items even though they wouldn't fit my kids because I knew they'd sell well.

One day, I came across what was obviously a vintage ladies dress. I remember thinking, "There must be a market for this stuff", so I bought it. (At that time, I didn't have a smart phone so I couldn't check completeds right then and there.) When I got home, I looked the dress over and found a designer name tag on a seam near the back hemline (not up at the back of the neckline like today's garments!)

I looked up the designer and was excited to find some very promising completeds. I easily sold the dress for more than I'd ever earned for one garment before. Then I was hooked!

The designer? Ceil Chapman.

Editing to add: I would wear the stuff, too, except that I don't fit into any of it. :-(

 

That's a lucky first vintage find!

I've always loved clothing from past eras, and my earliest memories of vintage were from when I was about 5 years old. My big sister was in college. and she and my mom brought me to an antique clothing dealer's, so my sis could buy Victorian white blouses to wear to school. This was in the 1960s and it was a "cool hippie" way to dress.

In the 70s and 80s, when I was in high school, I liked to raid my mum's closet and wear her 1940s dresses myself. My mom always saved everything! I loved the prints and colors of the 40s house dresses much more than the current fashions at that time.

Also in the 80s, out of college, one of my very first jobs was working in a vintage clothing shop. It was called The Fair Exchange and it had a section for recent/second hand, Victorian and Edwardian, and 1920s through 1940s. Oh and lots of sparkly bags, hats and shoes! I remember vividly, a customer bringing in some 1950's things like bowling shirts and poodle skirts to sell, and my boss telling her no, 1950's clothing "wasn't really vintage," it was too recent and yet "out of style" ! I convinced her to take the bowling shirts and they did sell well, as I recall. There were racks of lovely beaded 1920s flapper dresses, all selling for about $35-45 each back then. I often wish I could go back in time and buy them all!

So it's always sort of been part of my life. I became a dealer around 13 years ago.

Jen

 

I've loved mid-century (and late Victorian) clothes all my life. I played "dress-up" with my mom's 50s crinolines, skirts and dresses all through my childhood. She was/is very stylish. A skilled seamstress and a fit/runway model in the garment district, back when. Her mom had been a ladies neckwear designer in the 1910s. I think I was just born loving vintage! Or maybe I was just born at the wrong time. Bit of a cruel joke to have grown up in the 70s and 80s. Worst clothes ever.

 

I think it started when I was a little girl! My mom bought me my first American Girl Doll when I was six, and I'd spend hours looking through every catalog. They're historic dolls, so lots of era appropriate clothing! Other than that, I've always loved history. I first became interested in college antiques, but as my love for fashion grew, it just grew into my love (obsession) with vintage fashion! Everyone always tells me I was born in the wrong decade, as well.

 

For me I got the bug because I used to sew a lot of my own clothes, so when I began to frequent thrift stores in high school, I immediately noticed how much better the construction was on older garments. My first purchase was a Victorian outfit in bad condition that I bought in order to take apart and see how it was made. That hooked me, I think. Then I started to buy older clothes to wear myself. Of course the fabrics were much nicer, and I had a thing for fabrics. So, one thing led to another. At that time many garments from the 20s- 60s were not in fashion and they were relatively cheap. I soon started to buy them simply because they were so beautifully made I couldn't not "save" them. Wish I'd "saved" more!

 

It started for me in grade school with the "dress up" clothing my mom got us to play with, and the love was well cemented by Jr High. It absolutely pains me to think of the fantastic vintage pieces we played to death back then, but it is hard to regret how much fun we had! I started really buying them in High school when I had my own money, though my mom was always great about supporting me interests, even when I was young. It was great back then because I fit into Anything!

 

Oh Jen, I can totally relate! When I think of the dresses I passed up years ago because $10 or $15, or whatever was too much, it drives me crazy! I have dreams where I go into stores like the one you mentioned (or even older ones) and am able to purchase everything today for that days prices. Heavenly!

 

Well, I seem to be the mercenary one, lol! I admit that I really didn't have an appreciation for vintage style until I became immersed in it for monetary reasons. But I truly love it now. And WW2 era garments always bring me to thoughts of my beloved parents because they were both significantly involved, my mother in England and my father in Poland. Luckily, they lived to tell the tales!

 

As a kid my mother was an antique dealer so I went with her on house calls.I stated collecting fans, bags etc.As I got older my job was to drive because my mother didn't like driving I got interested in the Victorian era and started collecting Victorian, Edwardian dresses and acc. to wear. I decided to go to college to major in Fashion design and merchandising . On of my professors had a 20's dress collection and would use them by giving fashion shows ( and actually getting paid ). I worked for her and feel in love with the whole process so I added to the collection by purchasing more stock so I could do my own shows. Went on to get my Masters Degree in the fashion field an 40 Years later I'm still at it ! ( Started in 1974 ).
About 5 years ago I started selling on the internet and the rest they say is history .

 

Loved reading all the stories... perhaps a new forum category?

 

Well, I'm older than most of you. My go-to "dress up box" as a child was filled with my mother's flapper dresses and wonderful shoes. In the late 60's I was living in London and a friend in NYC was sewing dresses for Bloomingdales and Henri Bendel by combining fabrics from 40's dresses. I would go off to the various "rag merchants" and send her bundles of old crepe dresses. The dresses in good shape I would keep for myself and pretty soon I was wearing only 40's dresses - so figure flattering and I loved the prints. And the love of the hunt was born.

 

Hi Vlk 94 - Totally know what you mean about being born in the wrong decade. There's just something about vintage, isn't there? And American Girl dolls were the best! Who did you have? I had Samantha Parkington and then my mom & I made clothes from other eras - like the 1700s (Felicity) & some of the other ones, too. History is so awesome! If you could live in any era, which one would you pick? -Jessica

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(Laughing at Liza D's comment--maybe the horrendous fashion sense of the 70s & 80s made us appreciate other eras more?) I think for me it started when I was 10 and my mom took me somewhere that had racks and racks of lacy white Victorian dresses--I told her I wanted one for my wedding dress & she told me I couldn't grow any larger then as almost all were so tiny... In high school, my grandma found some old clothes on a boat she was going to throw out, but I loved them & got teased for wearing them to school. The first time I went to a vintage clothing store was in college & that was when I started to get addicted--there was a place in Madison, WI called Juju & Moxie's that had the most fabulous clothes. I lusted after a velvet opera coat for so long (that I could not afford), that the owner finally said she had one in the back that needed a lot of repairs--if I wanted to fix it, I could have it for $40. It is amazing--lots of ruching, big poet sleeves with white silk lining... Started out buying mostly 1940s fitted blazers, then discovered the slinky long dresses of the 30s, and when I found a 1920s beaded dress at Goodwill & realized I could still ferret out a few 20s things--well, it has basically become a 1920s obsession for the past 15 years. (I blame ebay for my truly obsessive behavior--have found a few extraordinary finds!) I wear mostly 40s to work & now if I'm not wearing vintage, everyone seems so disappointed!

 

For me it's a slightly strange and long story which require several slightly unrelated things to come together to form my interest in vintage fashions, so here goes.
1n 2005 I was looking for something to collect, it had to be relatively small to store, modestly priced with a lot of history attached to it had no real idea, I used to collect coins and still have them . they just did not have the same interest to me as they did.
My sister used to collect china so I did not want to go down that route, small silver was a idea but often too expensive for me.
This approach sounds a little cold and clinical you have to bear in mind that when I was young my Dad was the manager of a very large antique shop they bought almost any that was old, from veteran cars, horse draw carriages, mostly furniture.

Whist you have to love the stuff you also have to keep your head on your shoulders when buying anything old as it may not be what is meant to be.
Any way going back to 2005 I was reading some online pages about WW1 and some how came across a couple of photos on line of lades wearing 40's fashions who turned out to be from a re enactors forum .
What surprised me was that these ladies in there early twenties and they wear also taking about wearing girdles and stockings apart for uniforms.
This reminded me of the time when Grandma used to live with us and my mother once would not take me shopping with them because they were going to the corset shop and I could not go as it would embarrass grandma, so i always know that corsets and grandma when together especially having too sisters around my own age I know what has put out on the washing line each Monday
So finding that today young ladies were wearing the same style that was worn 60 years ago was a surprise and I started to ask them why they were interested in these style.
My own interest in ladies clothing was around this time at an all time low, my curiosity was just raise and I joined a couple of Internet forums including this one and realized that ladies/gents who wore or collected vintage might seam a little odd but really they were very normal when you got talking to them.
Vintage fashions for me just seamed to tick all the right boxes for me so I decided to dip my toe sin and I started collecting a few small items in a small way and eventually I had the desire to also experience the look and bought a dress, that was not a easy thing for even me to get my head around back then and maybe not even now today it just feels very normal to wear a dress or skirt modern or vintage.
The rest I think is what you could say is history.
I still find even today find it very exciting when i come across a lady who like to wear the vintage look.
I just hope this made some sense.

 

The popularity of vintage clothing is probably due to three factors. The individuality of vintage pieces is a real attraction to many people. The range of clothing on the high street almost always follows the seasons trends. You are much less likely to see someone wearing the same or a similar outfit if you wear vintage clothing. Many will use one key piece of vintage clothing or an accessory to give an outfit bought on the high street an individual twist. Vintage clothing has also proved popular as many love the beautiful , delicate and detailed ladylike styles that can be found when buying vintage clothing. Many vintage clothes lovers have a keen interest in the history of fashion and finding vintage clothing is an interesting hobby.