by Mary Mcindoe

Created on: May 25, 2007

Vintage clothing has become enormously popular recently as some very well-known personalities have turned into the latest rage. Second hand clothing can be an excellent bargain but you will want to be careful about your purchases before buying to make sure that the article of clothing is in good shape.

If you are looking for a particular era of clothing, it will serve you well to research some of the styles and brand names that were common in the time period to help identify the article as genuinely vintage. Keep in mind to to a lot of folks, vintage simply means used and the articles for sale may not be older pieces at all. In many cases, you will be able to tell by the style itself if you know something about clothing styles over the years. For example, mens ties in the late 60 and early 70's were often extremely wide and very colorful as men's styles changed dramatically during this period and dress codes shifted from a utilitarian dark suit/white shirt look to being far more colorful. Where a typical men's tie today might range from two and a half to three inches wide from point to point, the ties from the 60's and 70's might be as much as 5 inches wide at the points. Lapels on jackets were also much wider from that era than those found today.

Inspect the clothing carefully before buying. Look for weak sections of fabric near seams, make sure any zippers work properly, and inspect the article carefully for discolorations or stains. If you are handy with a needle and thread, small problems may be easy to fix, but otherwise, articles needing repairs are probably not going to be a real bargain if it means that you can't wear it as is.

In many cases, vintage clothes were sized smaller than modern clothes so it pays to try them on first to make sure of the fit. If it isn't possible to try things on, a dressmaker's measuring tape can help to check sizes.

Check the labels carefully to verify the actual material content as this can also provide a valuable clue as to the age of the article. While blends are very common today, they were not so common on earlier eras. There are a lot of modern blends that look very nice but only the label can tell you if that slinky blouse is really 100% silk or a fancy blend. And that soft sweater may look like expensive cashmere, but check the label to make it really is before you buy it.

The best bargains are those items that you will actually wear, so taking the time to inspect a potential purchase is very important. Most of all, have fun shopping!

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