The Vintage Advantage
In October 2014 we posted about how to find quality vintage clothing–what separates the bulk of used clothing from true vintage clothing, types of vintage clothing markets, and tips on what to look for in vintage pieces. In this post we’ll help you understand why buying vintage is a great alternative to buying new, and we’ll help you get started in knowing where to look for awesome vintage pieces.
What exactly is the ‘Vintage Advantage’?
To begin with, vintage pieces give you the advantage of wearing rare and/or one-of-a-kind items. Modern manufacturers make hundreds, if not thousands, of the same piece to sell. This means that there are possibly thousands of people out there rocking the same ensemble you are. But with vintage pieces. rarely do more than a handful of the same items survive the passage of time. Do you want to stand out from the crowd of mainstream fast fashion wearers? Wear vintage.
Vintage shops are mostly run by the “little man”. They’re usually run by people who have a passion for bringing history back to life; for bringing value back to unwanted, forgotten, or discarded items. Buying vintage puts your money into peoples’ hands, not corporations’ “hands”. Want to support the little guy? Wear vintage.
Anytime you buy secondhand clothing, whether it’s vintage or not, you’re making an eco-friendly decision. The production of new clothing is extremely taxing on the environment, using vast amounts of water, electricity, natural resources, and chemicals. Interested in helping save the planet? Wear vintage.
And lastly, there is a certain je ne sais quoi about vintage clothing–a “coolness” factor, a uniqueness, a sense of history, and a level of quality–that just doesn’t exist with new pieces.
Now that you better understand the why behind vintage, we’ll help you get started with the where. Here are some outstanding online vintage clothing shops to visit:
Traven7 specializes in (and always has a fabulous collection of) mostly 1950’s era dresses. We’ve been consistently impressed with Traven7’s level of quality. You just can’t go wrong purchasing from this shop! Traven7 is located in the USA and ships internationally.
Sassy Sister Vintage offers clothing from the 1920’s to 1970’s, including shoes and accessories. Sassy Sister stocks a range of clothing styles at very reasonable prices. This shop is located in the USA and ships internationally.
The Vintage Salvation shop is full of whimsical, brightly colored pieces from the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s. Vintage Salvation has been in business since 2010. It is located in the USA and ships internationally.
American Vintage of Portland offers a unique collection of deadstock and near-perfect t-shirts and clothing. They have over 3000 vintage clothing and accessory items in stock including almost 1000 pristine vintage t-shirts and over 600 neckties! As their name indicates, they’re located in Portland (Oregon), USA and ship worldwide.
Beta Menswear focuses on all aspects of vintage menswear including formal wear and accessories. What’s different about their stock is their primary source: Europe. There isn’t much European vintage clothing floating around American markets so any piece of European vintage clothing is even more unique (aka awesome) than American vintage. Beta Menswear is located in Latvia and they ship worldwide.
Dethrose Vintage has a selection of over 200 vintage items, mostly from the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s. The focus is “classic, not costume” pieces and the store’s style is impeccable. Dethrose Vintage is located in the USA and ships internationally.
Do you have a favorite online vintage clothing shop? Let us know in the comments below!
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EcoGoodz is a used clothing supplier in the USA. We offer credential clothing (original donations, unsorted and ungraded), mixed rags (imperfect clothing items and pieces that didn’t sell in store), used paired shoes (no flip flops, sandals, or high heels), bulk linens (sheets, towels, blankets, rugs, curtains, and other household linens), purses and belts, soft toys (plush animals and characters with no hard parts or battery packs), and hard toys (small to medium sized plastic toys and plush toys with hard parts and/or battery packs).
Our efforts have helped to keep millions of pounds of secondhand clothing and textiles out of landfills and into the hands of people across the globe who otherwise lack access to affordable clothing, shoes, and household goods.
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