amyelizabeth
Registered Guest
I am curious...what are some of the reasons you choose to buy vintage rather than mainstream or "fast" fashion?
Why do you buy vintage versus "fast" or mainstream fashion?
- Thread starter amyelizabeth
- Start date
PersonalPursuits
VFG Member
Hi Amyelizabeth and thank you for asking a great question. I recently tried to buy a new dress for an upcoming formal event and was gravely disappointed by the lack of design, fabric and construction quality; needlesstosay, I came home empty handed. I decided to wear a vintage dress that I had saved for another party. Vintage clothing is so much better made, the fabrics used are better quality and the designs are more flattering.
Totally agree with Maxine above. Unless you can afford to purchase very expensive new clothing, you just can't beat the quality and workmanship of vintage.
Robin of Frocksley
Registered Guest
Just chiming in to agree with Maxine and Mary Jane, and to add that nobody wants to go somewhere fancy in a beautiful dress only to find another (or more than one other) lovely lady is wearing the same dress. This never happens with vintage dresses
I decided to stop in a chain store not long ago, just to see what was going on with current trends...how they were trickling down to the masses, etc.
I accidentally knocked a dress off a hanger and it fell into a pile about the size of a serving of mashed potatoes. Who could wear that flimsy little thing? Probably an 18-year old with a perfect figure, the sort of girl who'd look great in anything. Not everything is made like that now, but a disturbing number of things are.
Not that there wasn't a problem with this in the past, but my biggest problem is the current exploitation of low-cost labor around the world. If they were paid fairly and given safe working conditions, it would be a different story. No one should die for our fast fashion. (http://www.takepart.com/feature/2013/12/16/the-true-cost-of-cheap-fashion?cmpid=tp-ptnr-upworthy)
On a more upbeat note, I made this graphic many years ago to describe my love of wearing vintage, hoping to convince others.
I accidentally knocked a dress off a hanger and it fell into a pile about the size of a serving of mashed potatoes. Who could wear that flimsy little thing? Probably an 18-year old with a perfect figure, the sort of girl who'd look great in anything. Not everything is made like that now, but a disturbing number of things are.
Not that there wasn't a problem with this in the past, but my biggest problem is the current exploitation of low-cost labor around the world. If they were paid fairly and given safe working conditions, it would be a different story. No one should die for our fast fashion. (http://www.takepart.com/feature/2013/12/16/the-true-cost-of-cheap-fashion?cmpid=tp-ptnr-upworthy)
On a more upbeat note, I made this graphic many years ago to describe my love of wearing vintage, hoping to convince others.
EndlessAlley
Alumni
another vote for "design, fabric and construction quality" not to mention the "green side" of wearing vintage.
Pinkcoke
Alumni
I'm quite tall and I find there are very few modern retailers that cater for my height and the styles I like.
Vintage garments tend to have plenty of allowance in seams, hems and general construction for me to alter them to fit properly. Plus I find that more vintage garments used to come in a variety of skirt lengths etc. to suit different heights.
I favour the 1970's when nearly everything was extra long, there is a lot of slim fitted garments and interesting shaping to balance a tall frame. (wide collars and legs, high waists)
There is a decade in vintage to suit everyone by their shape.
Vintage garments tend to have plenty of allowance in seams, hems and general construction for me to alter them to fit properly. Plus I find that more vintage garments used to come in a variety of skirt lengths etc. to suit different heights.
I favour the 1970's when nearly everything was extra long, there is a lot of slim fitted garments and interesting shaping to balance a tall frame. (wide collars and legs, high waists)
There is a decade in vintage to suit everyone by their shape.
For me it is a combination of two things. Firstly I love that vintage in general is almost always better quality than modern clothing. Vintage lasts and lasts because it is so well made.
The second reason is that 'fast fashion' today is often made in appauling conditions. Sweat labour is used and while many retailers promise not to use factories with poor conditions, time and time again they have been 'caught out'. I can't in good concience support this. Vintage clothing is overwhelmingly sold by small businesses and this is something I like to support. Also, any environmental hit associated with making these clothes was decades ago and I'm not causing damage today.
The second reason is that 'fast fashion' today is often made in appauling conditions. Sweat labour is used and while many retailers promise not to use factories with poor conditions, time and time again they have been 'caught out'. I can't in good concience support this. Vintage clothing is overwhelmingly sold by small businesses and this is something I like to support. Also, any environmental hit associated with making these clothes was decades ago and I'm not causing damage today.
foofoogal
Registered Guest
Nostalgia to quality and all of the above mentioned.
I nearly get ill going in new malls or shops. I am a fabric feeler and seamline inspector.
I find even the higher end new stuff flat does not have the workmanship as the old.
Denisebrain with flimsy and mashed potatoes hit it on the head.
I think Harris Tweed when I think quality. One can find marvelous examples of vintage online and from many of the dealers here.
Not from me because if I find a piece it will be mine forever.
I pass on vintage cashmere only if it will not fit me and other items as well.
I want quality hanging in my closet. One great pair of shoes will outlast 10 not so great.
I nearly get ill going in new malls or shops. I am a fabric feeler and seamline inspector.
I find even the higher end new stuff flat does not have the workmanship as the old.
Denisebrain with flimsy and mashed potatoes hit it on the head.
I think Harris Tweed when I think quality. One can find marvelous examples of vintage online and from many of the dealers here.
Not from me because if I find a piece it will be mine forever.
I pass on vintage cashmere only if it will not fit me and other items as well.
I want quality hanging in my closet. One great pair of shoes will outlast 10 not so great.
Better Dresses Vintage
Alumni
Maggie can I "steal" (with credit, of course) your image? Email me! info at betterdressesvintage dt com
Yes to all the reasons mentioned above!
I love originality, wearing things that nobody else has. I love "dressing up" for occasions - and there's nothing better than vintage for that. I love the glamour of by-gone eras, yes, and wearing something from such a time gives me the feeling to have a little bit of that glamour. And vintage clothing is often so flattering, I shop a lot at thrifts, charity secondhand shops and such. Not everything I find there is strictly speaking vintage, but it's often not expensive. Thus, my money contributes to a charity (and usually these shops also employ people who wouldn't find a job otherwise) and I have rescued a garment from being thrown away, when it was still good enough to wear. I don't like the idea of buying cheap stuff that will disintegrate after five times wearing or isn't even lined and will show everything that I'm wearing underneath. Or the idea that it was made under appalling conditions. I also like natural fibers better - cotton, silk, cashmere, wool... and there are great, affordable vintage clothes out there made from these. Yes, of course there's vintage synthetics too, but then a gorgeous 1940s crepe will beat any modern polyester or whatever. For winter I favor high-heeled 70 Italian leather boots - they are the most comfortable high-heeled boots ever, and they are elegant and almost indestructible. I also love colors, and unusual colors, which one finds more easily in vintage things.
I absolutely hate modern inexpensive business wear - and I see that a lot in my job. Instead, I wear vintage suits, dresses and separates, mixed with modern high-quality things (bought secondhand - my clothing budget isn't that big), when events call for "business wear". I would rather wear something nice that doesn't look crumpled after half a day at a trade show, and I don't want to add to the general boring mix of black and grey either. I always make sure I wear something that adds a splash of color.
I love originality, wearing things that nobody else has. I love "dressing up" for occasions - and there's nothing better than vintage for that. I love the glamour of by-gone eras, yes, and wearing something from such a time gives me the feeling to have a little bit of that glamour. And vintage clothing is often so flattering, I shop a lot at thrifts, charity secondhand shops and such. Not everything I find there is strictly speaking vintage, but it's often not expensive. Thus, my money contributes to a charity (and usually these shops also employ people who wouldn't find a job otherwise) and I have rescued a garment from being thrown away, when it was still good enough to wear. I don't like the idea of buying cheap stuff that will disintegrate after five times wearing or isn't even lined and will show everything that I'm wearing underneath. Or the idea that it was made under appalling conditions. I also like natural fibers better - cotton, silk, cashmere, wool... and there are great, affordable vintage clothes out there made from these. Yes, of course there's vintage synthetics too, but then a gorgeous 1940s crepe will beat any modern polyester or whatever. For winter I favor high-heeled 70 Italian leather boots - they are the most comfortable high-heeled boots ever, and they are elegant and almost indestructible. I also love colors, and unusual colors, which one finds more easily in vintage things.
I absolutely hate modern inexpensive business wear - and I see that a lot in my job. Instead, I wear vintage suits, dresses and separates, mixed with modern high-quality things (bought secondhand - my clothing budget isn't that big), when events call for "business wear". I would rather wear something nice that doesn't look crumpled after half a day at a trade show, and I don't want to add to the general boring mix of black and grey either. I always make sure I wear something that adds a splash of color.