Need help with a vicuna coat (ladieswear) -- long story :)

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AccidentalVintageFan

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A nearby thrift store has had a display of winter coats for at least six months, and the other day I decided to rescue one of the coats. I feared it was going to be sent off someplace where it would be torn into rags, or some other dreadful fate, as winter coat season is pretty much over. I had admired it previously, but thought the $125 price tag was over the top for an item I would likely never wear.

It is really a lovely garment, in amazing condition, for what I suspect is a 60ish year old coat (based on the label info here on VFG)

So, I rescued it. Brought it home. It is VICUNA. And the fur trim is very likely sable. This is a MUCH higher-end coat than I thought. I seriously just wanted to save it from a dreadful fate! (I suspect many of you will know what I mean :) )

I've done some research, but nothing gives me the answer I need, which is "who/where would I contact to find out about selling this beauty?"

I tried "valuemystuff" who suggested "kerrietaylorauctions". Got a reply yesterday from kerrietaylor saying it is not something they would be interested in. Have emailed Christies but have not received a reply from them.

I don't want to post pics right now, as I'm not familiar with this forum and its rules. If someone asks for me to post pics, I will get some uploaded.

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might go about selling this? I am in Canada, nowhere near any kind of city, and Google has not been my friend on this.
 
We cannot actually give values here. It sounds like a lovely coat! Vicuna is a very valuable wool and is desirable.
Kerry Taylor is based in the UK, it might be a better idea to get in touch with a US based auction house.

I am in Canada as well and I know that we seldom have interesting auctions featuring vintage clothing.
 
Thanks very much for your SPEEDY reply! I'm not really trying to find a value (had read that in the guidelines :) ) am just REALLY wondering where I might try to sell it. I'm thinking "auction house of some sort" because I do think it has some significant value, both historical and financial. And IMHO an auction house would be able to give it the exposure it deserves, y'know? To get it in front of the people who would appreciate it.
 
poppysvintageclothing said:
Does it have any labels in it?

Have you ever sold on eBay or Etsy?
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I have sold on Ebay. Nothing very high-end, max a few $100s. Sigh... not a venue I really enjoy though. It has an "I Magnin" label in it, and a "100% Vicuna" label.
 
Also, I googled for Vancouver and Toronto and Seattle vintage clothing stores and didn't find any that seemed to have anything similar in stock, at least nothing that they were showing online. I wasn't really looking for vicuna coats in the stock being displayed, but most of the items I was seeing were in the $25 to $100 range.

If it fit, and if I would ever wear it (answer to both of those is "no") I'd probably keep it. It would be the crown jewel of my tiny vintage collection :)
 
The I Magnin label seems to have a following on Ebay US and I imagine (no pun intended) it wouldn't hurt on Etsy either. If you opened an Etsy store and put several items up, this coat would be a great draw to your new shop - just an idea!
 
Pinkcoke said:
The I Magnin label seems to have a following on Ebay US and I imagine (no pun intended) it wouldn't hurt on Etsy either. If you opened an Etsy store and put several items up, this coat would be a great draw to your new shop - just an idea!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip about the I Magnin label :) I am not really a seller any longer. I sold my vintage blanket collection to pay for veterinary care, got rid of my career wardrobe when I changed career, sold a BIT of vintage that I was not wearing (to pay for vet costs) and sold a few pieces of my late mom's china. Have never really thought about selling as anything other than "what can I offload to make a bit of money for xyz?" :)

The few things I have (other than this coat) that I'd like to sell don't qualify on Etsy's "vintage" rule. I guess I could look around and see if I've missed anything in the house that I could offload ....

Does Etsy get enough traffic in "vintage" that someone who should own this coat might see it there?
 
Etsy is 5o:50 Handmade / Vintage and the site traffic grows constantly. You can't lose anything by trying!
Homewares do sell on Etsy too, don't forget these will also have to be 20 years old, but sometimes that's easier with things we've had hanging around for ages!

All sorts of people shop on Etsy, vintage wearers, collectors, museums, tv & theatre wardrobe people.
 
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