I am ready to part with my grandmother's fancy clothes. She was a banking executive in Palm Beach and attended social events. The clothes are probably from the 60's and 70's. I don't know what to do with the items. It does not seem appropriate to donate beaded dresses to the Habitat Restore. Any suggestions? I will attach a picture of one of the dresses/coats.
What to do with vintage dress clothes?
- Thread starter rcooksc
- Start date
that looks very pretty, rcooksc
i would suggest you look for a consignment shop near you that specializes in vintage clothing, in So Cal, there should be plenty of them, I would think. if they're a Vintage Fashion Guild member, all the better!
good luck!
i would suggest you look for a consignment shop near you that specializes in vintage clothing, in So Cal, there should be plenty of them, I would think. if they're a Vintage Fashion Guild member, all the better!
good luck!
That is a lovely outfit and Mary's suggestion is a good one about finding a shop that would either buy it or take it on consignment.
Thank you for your suggestion. However, I live in rural South Carolina; there are not any vintage clothing shops nearby. Very unfortunate for me.
just did a quick google search for vintage consignment South Carolina...maybe one of those?
claireshaeffer
VFG Member
I bought a suit from a dealer in Palm Beach who advertises on 1stDibs. You might consider a visit to the website.
Thank you. Most of the "vintage consignment South Carolina" hits appear to be antique malls. (Around here) those seem to carry antiques and a lot of junk, but not much in the way of clothing. I will continue to explore.
Thank you for the direction to 1stDibs. I looked at the website. Will try to contact them during the week.
claireshaeffer
VFG Member
If the garments have and labels and you want to give them, you might consider a college collection.
Or since she was active in Palm Beach, does PB have a history museum?
Or since she was active in Palm Beach, does PB have a history museum?
Lucybelle
Registered Guest
If you are interested in donating rather than selling I would also suggest donating to a college collection, or a university theatre department. I work in a theatre department and we have been able to establish a small research collection from donated items. Other items go into our stock to be used in productions
Rue_de_la_Paix
VFG Member
While I agree that donating to a university or college might be a good way to go, I have to kindly disagree with donating these particular garments directly to a college theater department. The garments would be damaged over time, or at the least significantly altered from fittings, alterations and cleaning, general wear and tear, body soiling and staining, etc. I would think they should be cared for in a private personal collection, a small museum (university or otherwise) or worn by just 1 person who would care for them and strive to keep them original and as pristine as possible.
If the 1 garment you show is indicative of the other garments from your relative, you have some lovely higher end and possibly custom fitted garments of good fabrics and hand detailing. If the dresses are a good wearable size, you might think about selling them on Ebay or similar, or finding an online vintage collectors site where you could place an ad and sell them as a "lot". Not sure if this would be workable, as the postage could be too high to make this profitable for the buyer.
If the 1 garment you show is indicative of the other garments from your relative, you have some lovely higher end and possibly custom fitted garments of good fabrics and hand detailing. If the dresses are a good wearable size, you might think about selling them on Ebay or similar, or finding an online vintage collectors site where you could place an ad and sell them as a "lot". Not sure if this would be workable, as the postage could be too high to make this profitable for the buyer.