Vintage Stores - Definition - YouLookFab Forum

I'm curious as to what you guys would expect to find in a store that advertises as stocking "Vintage & Retro" clothing?

We had just such a store open here recently and I finally got a chance to go in and have a quick look yesterday... well I was disappointed.

Pretty much everything there looked like it was straight from the 70's and only the 70's... My nan has shown me all the dresses she made for my mum & aunts in that era and I have all the patterns now, and that is all that was there pretty much. There were even a lot of night gowns and similar that were just plain hideous. Oh there was an 80's safari suit for $100 too.

To be honest, looking around I felt like I was in a shop you'd go to to find clothes for a fancy dress party or similar...

I guess 70's is Vintage but I was hoping for a greater array - and preferably stuff from earlier era's.

So, do you find vintage stores tend to be more diverse or are a lot of them similar to this one? We've never had a specific vintage store up here until now so I'm clueless.

But, I've just read yesterday's paper, and found out another one has opened up in the big town nearby that I go to so I will be popping in there to check them out next trip too... According to their website they stock vintage and pin up/rocker billy clothes and I LOVE all those pin up looks so I have much higher hopes for it...

15 years ago

florida

Veteran

I find that the term "vintage" is used about as loosely as is "natural" or "organic."

Kate

That IS disappointing! I would expect a solid collection from the 50s-80s, and maybe even some pieces from the 90s and some from earlier. I even remember some stores having fab dresses from much earlier (like 1900s-1930s) that were on display and you had to ask for someone to show them to you if you're interested. Good luck with the other store!

Maya

I expect clothes from the 50's-80's, but with a lot more stock from the 70's and 80's simply because they are more recent and probably have less signs of damage and wear.

I remember when I first saw 80's clothes emerging in vintage stores in the early early-mid 00's. I felt so old even though I was only 19!

Theresa

(website)

Thanks girls!

I really did LOL at the comparison to "organic" or "natural"!

I was expecting a fair bit of 70's stuff, but did expect to see earlier stuff too, so I'm glad it wasn't just a case of me having too high an expectation.

Don't worry Maya, knowing that I wore a bolero from one of my aunts dresses to a school dance and then seeing pretty much the same bolero on the weekend made me feel ancient too - even though it was probably "vintage" when I wore it the first time LOL.

Tara

I always find that the "vintage" stores I've come across are either (1) limited to a combination of 70s/80s garb and (2) Really just glorified thrift stores with huge price tags. I've seen very ordinary clothes from Target, Myer, and other such places that are far too recent to be truly "vintage" but are put across as such and charged at exorbitant prices.

Angie

Fashion Stylist

Amanda, excellent analogy.

You just have to keep on going to vintage stores, Theresa. You'll find duds and gems.

stringy

We've got a few here in Perth, and yeah it's definitely heavy on the 70s stuff. I think the further you go back in time, the harder it is to find items that are still good enough to wear. 40 years plus is a long time to make a bit of fabric last!

Plus I think the 70s is when a lot of mass-production really took off, so there's just more by volume anyway.

You might like to look at some of the online vintage stores like Twin Set http://twinset.bigcartel.com/products

I don't have any others bookmarked because I'm not much into vintage looks, but Peppermint magazine usually features some of the smaller online stores.

http://www.peppermintmag.com/

biscuitsmom

Theresa, have you seen http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com ? While its new, not vintage clothing, the styles are all from that era.....

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