Vintage Here, Vintage There: How I Do Vintage

Rubyellen of Cakies and I have been posting peeks into our vintage wardrobe each week for a few months now and have both really enjoyed this reason to put a little more effort into how we present ourselves. As a work-at-home mom it's really easy for me to go three days in a row without leaving the house and with something or someone always needing some attention it's easy to forgo a shower and throw the hair up in a messy bun one more morning (yes, I did that today!). Vintage Here, Vintage There has been my reason to create new ensembles, learn how to mix vintage with new pieces, find out how to dress for my body type, and how to have fun with my wardrobe again.

Two babies later and things were looking frumpy, ya'll! I didn't want to spend money on clothing that I didn't feel pretty in and was always telling myself that I needed to wait until I lost more weight to go shopping. So it was jeans and hoodies for winter and boyfriend tees and jeans in the summer. Boring.

I realized that dresses were slightly more flattering than my usual uniform but didn't have the money to buy a ton of dresses at the mall or online. I'm thankful to live in a town where vintage clothing is still slightly available if you look long enough and hard enough in thrift stores. Thankfully the curated vintage shops also have a fantastic selection for those on a budget.

It's healthy to know what you can afford to spend on clothing each month so that when you come across something locally or online you can make a smart choice about whether to grab it or wait. Other than a couple of skinny jeans and a few sweaters for everyday home wear I haven't spent much on new clothing this winter. I have a collection of cardigans and tights from the last two seasons that are still in good shape so other than a new pair of snow boots and replacement black flats I'm being relatively thrifty. This makes it easier for me to feel confident about spending money on vintage pieces in town.

Here are a few examples of dresses (above) I picked up last week and what I paid for them to give you an idea of what I'm willing to spend on something. I don't run across vintage dresses that fit every week so I was over the moon when Mallory and I discovered a few on our recent venture out.

These three dresses are what I would consider everyday wear dresses. The two darker ones are pretty neutral in my opinion and could be worn with a variety of cardigans and sweaters in the colder months and on their own in the spring and summer. The floral dress is a little more fun but I wouldn't wear it quite so often since it has a memorable print. I paid between $9 and $13 for these three and other than a slight hole near the zipper in one and two of them needing hemming, they're quite the bargain. Even for Springfield!

The navy dress was made of a slightly sheer fabric so I'll have to wear a slip under it but the sleeves were my favorite part! Usually I don't find local dresses that are that interesting for that price so I went ahead and got all three. If I find something at a thrift store I will pay up to $15 for it. Anything more than that at a thrift and I have to walk away unless it's amazing. Usually they aren't.

The next three dresses are examples of dresses I'd be willing to pay a little more for because they were in such great shape, had interesting details and beautiful prints. Pardon the wrinkles but I had them in my trunk on the way home. I found these three at the Red Velvet Dress Shoppe last weekend and thanks to a gift certificate was able to take them home! They were between $42 and $48 retail at the shop. Had I been spending money, I would've purchased any one of these for that price for the reasons above but probably only one. The great thing about shopping in vintage clothing stores, whether it be online or brick and mortar, is that the selection is such much more dense, they've brought it all to you, and usually they are more unique items.

I've never paid more than $50 for a vintage dress for myself but up until recently have never really needed to. Since I've been focusing on building my wardrobe rather than filling in some gaps I would save that price range for something extra special. I'm in the market for something specific for Elsie's wedding in May and can't wait to not only wear it there but have a bit of a fancier dress for special occasions. It's probably one of the only times when the whole 'you can wear it again' saying will actually apply!

Our local thrift shops tend to have a decent amount of vintage sweaters but I haven't started buying them until recently. I found the cream sweater above for about $1.50 at a flea market while visiting my in-laws and the other two at a local flea market for $9 and $11. The cropped one fits like a glove and is what I wore in my vintage post from this weekend. The blue one is a men's medium and I'll probably pair it with skinny jeans and boots one of these more relaxed days. It reminds me so much of California!

When it comes to vintage for Ruby I am more willing to pick up anything I see that I love. I have had great luck in Springfield and the surrounding areas and always, always hit up a flea market or thrift shop on every single road trip we take. I'm thankful for a husband that appreciates not only the value of spending less on thrifted items that are unique but how much fun it is for me.

The three dresses above were purchased on Etsy over the last eight months. I have a ton of dresses favorited but really only pull the trigger if it's a special dress and less than $15 (ish). I tend to go for bold or bright colors, styles from the 50's and 60's, and nothing polyester. I have collected quite a stash of red, white, and blue but can hardly resist something in yellow.

The two dresses above were found locally at thrift stores and are examples of things that seem to be plentiful (at least around here) and things that are kind of lucky finds. The pink dress is a pretty standard 1950's style with a peter pan collar and puffed sleeves. I rarely pay more than $4 for something local but only because they are rarely priced higher than that. The white dress has embroidery on it and was in mint condition. I think I paid $3 at Goodwill for that one.

I've been collecting dresses for Ruby since I found out we were having a girl but most things that I fall for are in the 18 months to 3T range so she's just recently been able to fit into things I've had for months. I don't buy anything bigger than that but probably will in another year or so.

As far as shoes go, I rarely have luck. I've found three great pair of vintage shoes in my life that I've worn almost daily. Two of them are shown above (both pair of mocs) and the third were a pair of Frye boots that I sold while we lived in Seattle because they no longer fit my pregnant feet. The woven Trotters above are sure to be a spring/summer favorite and the green ones are just now making an appearance in the wardrobe. I think I paid $4 for both pairs of boots, $2.50 for the moccasins, and less than $10 for the other two shown above. I'm still learning about vintage shoe measurements but there is SUCH a good selection of vintage shoes online. Just type in your size and the style you're looking for and you've got at least ten to search through!

Ruby has four pair of vintage shoes, two of which she can wear and two that she'll grow into. The red ones above are mine from when I was a baby and are starting to get too snug. It's hard for me to justify spending a lot of money on shoes in general for kids at this age since their feet grow so fast but buying vintage for her online is much less of a gamble since most kids' sizing is standard and I can usually find something I like.

Shopping online can feel intimidating if you aren't sure of your measurements. Elsie wrote an informative post here on how to find your measurements and I can attest to how helpful it can be to carry a tape measurer when making a decision about a dress! It's hard to imagine that a few months ago this was the only vintage dress I owned. I bought it for the print and the coloring and it even worked about five months into my pregnancy with Ruby! It's a little loose these days but it'll always be my favorite.

A few tips from experience:

* look often
* know what you're willing/able to spend
* know your measurements
* understand cuts that flatter your body type
* check it's condition (or read the description)
* only buy it if you love it
* expect to get what you pay for (bigger bucks usually equals better pieces)

A few of my favorite online shops for adults: Red Velvet, Bleubird Vintage, Adelaide Homesewn, Salvage Life, Dear Golden Vintage, Vested Bee Vintage, Girl Least Likely, Flour Clothing, Bloom Street Vintage

A few of my favorite online shops for kids: Frecklewonder, Lishyloo, 3RingCircus, Hart and Sew, OhSydney, MiskaBelly

Go see what Rubyellen says on this topic and check out her favorite links as well. I hope this was helpful! Unfortunately, there is no magic formula for finding the best vintage at the lowest price every time but I'm thankful that the search is half the fun! If you have any further questions feel free to share them in the comments section of this post and I'll try to get back to them either here or in a future post.

xoxo,
Rachel