Buying Vintage Dresses Online – Tips for Success
So you just spent hours searching for vintage clothing stores, sifting through Twitter, comparing prices and have managed to get your heart set on one particular beauty. Press the button right? This is what thousands of online buyers do every day and unfortunately much to their disappointment; get a disappointing product in the mail.
Vintage clothing shouldn’t be purchased with the same mindset you would use for everyday clothes. It’s vintage, it’s awesome, but it also old, it comes from a time when shapes were different and materials were often untreated.
We aren’t trying to spread doom and gloom, but simply say that more attention needs to be paid to the smaller details. This blog post aims to give you some tips and hints which will hopefully help you find that perfect vintage dress.
Vintage Inspired Vs. Vintage
Image Credit: Planet Green
Unfortunately for a large number of true vintage enthusiasts, there has been an increase in the number of ‘vintage inspired’ pieces seen over the last few years. This has resulted in a lot of confused and ultimately disappointed online shoppers. Vintage inspired essentially means; 21st century remake of 20th century clothes. In no way are we suggesting ‘vintage inspired’ to be a bad option; only that it can lead to confusion. The golden rule is – read the full item description before making your vintage purchase.
Double check return policy
Most online retailers will have a clear returns policy. It is vital to find and read this prior to purchasing your vintage items as there are so many potential stumbling blocks.
Find out the condition
Image Credit: Mela Mela
Vintage clothes have obviously been on the shelf or rack for a while and most of them will also have been worn at some point in time. This means that you need to pay additional attention to the condition of your chosen item, less you may end up disappointed. It is highly unlikely that any vintage item will ever be ‘perfect’, the key is to understand exactly what condition your piece is. Most good vintage shops will have created a rating system to grade their stock. Make sure you pay attention to it and if there isn’t one; contact the shop directly to find out.
Check the size, then check it again
Image Credit: A Beatuiful Mess
Women of yesteryear did not have the same average sizes as women of today. Which when translated to clothing, means that the average cuts for vintage items are often very different to what you would find on today’s high street. This means you need to look at the measurements carefully and have a good understanding of your shape. Most good vintage clothing stores will list a whole load of measurements for each item, make sure you pay attention.
This article was brought to you by Mela Mela Vintage, who sell a huge range of vintage clothing online. Mela Mela has a comprehensive selection of vintage clothes including vintage 1960 dresses & skirts.
