Mini rant and ?

foofoogal

foofoogal

Registered Guest
I love vintage clothing as I love most all vintage and Antiques.

Though I collect it and sell it I confess I have not been privy to many shops, or shows or dealers in the real world where it is sold.
Generally I will find items at general booths with a few vintage clothing pieces or online or estate sales.

My rant is the few times I have found a dealer with clothing booth or shop the items are so crammed together I can barely see them. I literally quit recently on some racks as it was physically exhausting to move to see the items. Very well known shops in high traffic area.

Is this the norm? I understand the need to have a wide inventory but I cringe.
Fabrics can be damaged with stress. Wouldn't more be sold if some measure of space?

Why would one do this? I want to take them all home like a rescue mission.

I know a bit about storage with acid free paper or sheet fabric but in a shop setting how should they be?
Is there a set standard or distance apart?

1920s beaded dresses, chiffon, 1940s etc. Time marches on and I am sure every day items are lost to this.
Possibly special racks could be produced with slots say 1/2 inch apart?
Sandy.
 
Sandy I agree with your principle - it's one of the reasons I'm not so keen on the commercial vintage fairs - too much crammed in too little space - the smaller local venues are much more pleasant to browse and relaxing to be around.
They do have those slanted racks with notches for hangers that prevent overcrowding to some extent, but I can appreciate they take up a lot of room often being a circular display. These days it's all about maximising visible merchandise in the space available - which is why you don't see a lot of wall space in the high street shops.
 
I find many many antiques shops and vintage shops overcrowded, and often say to myself, "I'm sure they'd sell more, if they put half of this away. "

It's a dilemma when I'm selling at fairs, between putting out enough stock, but it being easy to see and look through. You can't help thinking, supposed I don't put out that particular dress, and a buyer comes who want just that, and I'll miss a sale? Then you apply that to everything, and before you know it your rails are stuffed. But I know I won't sell much if it's too difficult to see anything.

Getting that balance isn't easy, but I do think many shop owners 'can't see the wood for the trees'. They are just too close to their inventory and their shop layout, and they can't see how off putting it is when it feels overstuffed, and that individual gems get lost in the overall morass.

It's both an art and a science, retail display. As Melanie says, certain kinds of display racks can really help you show a lot of stuff in a small area. Display furniture isn't cheap though, and many shop owners probably make do with what they have, but don't always make the best decisions.
 
Thank you both. I think that for me personally loving the items so much I fear being the one damaging the items.

So is this generally the norm?

It would seem a simple thing to divide by fabric.

Cramming together poly is somewhat understandable but most anything else is not.

I have done shows but not with vintage clothing. I think a show there would be some forgiveness on my part than a brick and mortar.
Some have been to the extreme with me picking stuff up off the floor.
Hangers all hooked together etc. Really, really makes me (insert many adjectives.)
After struggling for 5 min. get an item out to inspect some potential great find I will cringe when I see that evidently
nope it is now damaged by some nearby awful item. At least IMHO separate by period or fabric or cost of the item.
Maybe the dealer originally does and folks come in and mess items up?

I also feel in a mall setting it would depend on how much the owner respects the field of vintage clothing.
Depending on locality some malls when I ask to see vintage clothing will look at me like a deer in headlights.

Hopefully the more popular the field gets overall inventory will be more respected than a small corner mentality.
Hopefully before it is all lost.
 
I struggle with that all the time in my B&M shop.
I try not to crowd the racks so that damage does not occur but then because we don't have a particular dress in numerous sizes like a modern shop it is important to have enough stock that there is something available for every size.
I see many shops with so much crammed into them and climbing up the walls, the floors and every other place possible it gives me a feeling of claustrophobia just to be in the shop let alone work there as many hours as most shop owners do. I definitely tend to go with a less is more attitude when it comes to stocking the shop but it does not prevent damage, I wish it did.
Also I try to rotate my stock for the seasons but at the in between season time, such as right now, it can cause the racks to be more crowded than usual.
I love hearing about this though, it really helps me see it from another perspective.
 
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