5 Vintage Shopping Tips

On Saturday I went vintage shopping with my aunt. It was so much fun! We were planning on going to a few thrift stores, but ended up going to 2 vintage stores. The great thing was, the vintage stores that we went to actually had some vintage things that were fairly new. Not newly made of course, because then it wouldn't be vintage. But they weren't all battered and ruined and extremely worn, like vintage and thrift items can sometime be. I want to briefly talk about the differences between thrift stores and vintage stores. I feel that looking vintage stores are a more fun experience, where as shopping at thrift stores feels as if you are searching and working. It is lot more difficult to find nice things so it takes a long time to search through allll the piles and piles of stuff. Sometimes thrift stores are just full of junk! However, the great thing about thrift stores is that they sometimes have great vintage items (hidden in a pile of other stuff) without them even knowing it. Vintage stores are either going to be really cheap or really expensive, depending on where you go. But if it's a really old piece, it will most likely cost a lot of money at a vintage store, where as, at a thrift store, it will not be priced any different. Now onto my three tips for vintage shopping. Enjoy :)

1. Try EVERYTHING on! - When you go vintage shopping, or even thrifting, things might look really ugly on the hangers. Really, really ugly. But just trust me, if you even THINK you might like something, TRY IT ON!! Things look soo much different when they are on the racks than when you are actually wearing them. They might look better or worse. Lots of times, when you try them on, you might get new ideas for alterations and adjustments you can make to the items in order to make them more fashionable and more you. At vintage and thrift stores, you have to work with what you got. It's all about creativity. For example, let's say you found a baggy flannel top with a strange yet vintage looking design. You could cut it, make it into a loose crop top. Maybe turn it into a short sleeve and then turn the high collar into a deeper scoop-neck. With just a few alterations, it's almost as if you have a completely different top. So when you try even the "ugly" things on, you will most definitely get new ideas of how you can make the item work.

2. Looks for signs of the items being too "worn"- This one's pretty simple. Since it is a vintage store, some items will be secondhand, and some won't be. It's important to look for any stains, rips, holes, missing buttons, broken zippers, etc. All the general stuff. You might be buying what someone else has worn for many years, and who knows, they might not have taken very good care of it. Don't be afraid to bargain for a cheaper, more reasonable price if you see any of these flaws in the items that you choose.

3. Don't spend too much time worrying about the clothing sizes-  Don't waste your time trying to find the right size shirt or right size pair of pants. If you are normally a size 14, you might be a size 10 or 16 in a vintage or thrift store. Maybe a shirt that is a little bit big for you can work as a cute baggy and slouchy shirt. It will be extremely difficult to find your exact size, and a different size might even give the clothing item a different look. Besides, sizes change throughout the decades.

4. Bargaining for prices is okay- In a normal store, bargaining for cheaper or more reasonable prices may not go so well, and even be considered rude. But in vintage stores, everything is pretty laid back and people won't mind if you discuss a different price. In fact, it's the smarter thing to do. Sometimes vintage stores can be a bit pricey, even more so than the mainstream stores, so if you offer a different price to the store-owner, you never know how much you may end up paying.

5. Be a dedicated shopper-Vintage shopping (and thrifting as well) is the type of activity that will take up your entire day. You need to dedicate an entire day to vintage shopping. Set aside a day and time and plan your shopping trip. Maybe even get up extra early to snatch the best deals. Be dedicated to setting aside a day, bargaining, making alternations to the clothing items, etc.