About Vintage Clothing

The definition of vintage clothing can be quite hazy to some people, and can also vary from what some people classify vintage as, to others.

Aprilia Love Vintage sees vintage clothing as a second hand garment that originated from a previous era.

Whether the era was the 1950′s or 1980′s, we classify them both as types of vintage clothing.

The vintage clothing phenomenon has recently become more popular in the past few years, especially as some of the world’s most well known style icons such as: Erin Wasson, Kate Moss, Chloe Sevigny and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen have embraced vintage clothing and incorporated it into their daily wardrobes.

Vintage clothing is also collected by some people, for example – like how others collect figurines or cars. They may not necessarily wear the vintage garments, but they enjoy collecting them to keep on display or to pass on to their children and/or grandchildren.

Some of the things that Aprilia Love Vintage loves about vintage clothing include:

- As vintage clothing is second hand, you are also creating an eco-friendly environment by re-using and re-cycling.

- Vintage clothing is at most of the time, unique and one of a kind. This is one of the greatest perks of vintage clothing for the fashion savvy as you will hardly ever find anyone else with the same vintage garment as you.

- A lot of the time, vintage clothing is a lot easier on your wallet (with the exceptions of purchasing high end designer vintage, of course) than purchasing brand new items all the time.

Where to buy vintage clothing?

Vintage clothing is quite readily available to anyone and everyone in this time of day. As vintage clothing is gradually gaining popularity, a lot more of the larger chain stores (such as Topshop, General Pants Co. and Sportsgirl) that don’t normally sell vintage are now stocking a select collection of vintage clothing.

You can also buy vintage clothing at the following places:

- On the web. There are many different online vintage boutiques (including Aprilia Love Vintage) that specialise in selling vintage clothing only.

- Op-shops and thrift stores. You’ll be sure to find a bargain or two at select thrift stores for vintage and second hand clothing. The thing is, is that you will need to spend the time to physically sift through piles and racks of clothes so be sure to set a fair bit of time away when you go thrifting.

- Flea markets. Quite similar to buying from thrift stores, however prices may be a little more expensive depending on the seller and how they value vintage clothing. You may come across a gem of a stall at the flea market who doesn’t value vintage as much as others!

- Vintage auctions. Obviously by being an auction, the price of vintage here will be significantly higher. Be sure to expect high end designer vintage labels at these auctions.

- Vintage clothing stores. In some select areas, you will find a few stores that specialise in vintage clothing and accessories. These vintage stores can often be expensive as they have a lot more out goings than for example, an online store or flea market.

Tips for buying vintage:

As Aprilia Love is a lover and collector of vintage clothing and accessories, we thought we’d share a few of her top tips when it comes to shopping for and buying vintage.

1. Ignore sizes. Sizes of clothing are not consistent over every decade. For example, you may see a garment that is marked as a size 6 from the 1970s or 1980s, but may actually fit a size 10-12 today. It’s important to try everything on and ignore the number on the labels.

2. Smell the garment. I know it sounds silly, but you don’t want to come home with a vintage garment that has a musty odour. Clothing that hasn’t been stored properly or taken care of may develop a funny scent that you really don’t want to get involved with! Also, it’s important to get your secondhand/vintage items cleaned before wearing them.

3. Fine tooth comb. Before finally deciding that you’re happy to take your treasured find home, make sure you go over the garment carefully. Make sure that everything is in as good condition as possible and remember to keep an eye out for original buttons and zippers, especially if you are buying vintage high end designer wear.

Aprilia Love Vintage hopes that this little guide to vintage clothing has been of help to you!