Where is the collectors market for vintage clothing?

[Kimberly]

I have spent the past couple of days going to antique shops and an auction and have been very disappointed in their vintage clothing.

I actually asked one of the women if she ever got anything besides hats and purses and she said very rarely and she doesn't go out actively searching for it either due to the fact that there is no demand. I went to another shop and what vintage clothing they had was squooshed in a basket, overpriced and looks as if it had been there forever. She too said she doesn't get much and no one ever asks for it.

I then go to an auction last night because it said on their web site that they would have vintage clothing so I went to go check it out. Low and behold I went there and there was nothing. The man who runs the auction said they decided to throw it out last minute because when they saw it they realized it was garbage. .

Is there a market for vintage in your area or is it dry like mine. I now understand why there are such bidding wars on great vintage on eBay. It's hard to get it at other places. [huh] I am going to check out estate sales next I suppose.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I think that this is a typical occurrence in Massachusetts, possibly the northeast in general. There are only 2 stores, Cafe Society and Bobby From Boston, that I rely on to get my vintage from. There are a couple of other stores in the Boston area that every once in a while get decent earlier than 60's things in, but again that is rare.
From what I can tell it is much different on the West Coast. All the people I know from there have no problem finding good quality vintage at reasonable prices. For some reason there is just very little market for vintage around here, and what the stores do have they sell for a high price. That is why I get so frustrated when people say they don't spend more than $20 on a dress. That's unheard of around here. I was thrilled the other day to buy a dress for $40, I couldn't believe I got such a beautiful dress for such a low price around here. The average price of a 30's or 40's dress from the stores that I shop at is about $65, and I'm thrilled to even pay that. This is why I stick to ebay and am often not shocked by a lot of the BIN prices. If I can get a nice quality vintage dress for under $100, I'm thrilled. I wish there was more of a market for vintage here, but then again in the city if there are more shoppes selling vintage that will mean that a lot more people are collecting it, which will in turn drive the prices up even higher. So, I'm happy with the two places I have, and buy most of my clothes from the bay.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's just as bad up in the northern part of the northeast -- generally, all you find for vintage is 70s or 80s stuff, unless you get lucky and once in a great while stumble across a 40s/50s sweater or a coat mixed in with the more recent stuff. The days of shops full of Golden Era vintage came to an end around the late '90s, and even by then most of the stuff was pretty picked over and overpriced. Declining supply was a big part of the cause, and eBay dealt the final blow.

The startling to thing to realize is that the 70s/80s vintage that fills the racks now is exactly as old, and as common, as the 40s/50s stuff was when I started collecting. Boy, does that make me feel ancient.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

The Antiquariam in Philadelphia carries vintage clothing, but rarely anything pre-40s beside hats and purses. I don't think it's because there's no demand -- I just think it's hard to find!! And when they *do* get that gorgeous, fur-trimmed, wrap-around coat that I'd gouge my eyes out for, it sells very quickly!

I also went to an antique shop in Ocean City, NJ and the proprietress told me that very same thing -- the reason she rarely has any pre-1940s clothing is because she can never find it, and when she does it either sells very quickly or it's in unsellable condition

 

[Fletch]

New York is burnt out, unless you're a real guerrilla shopper and prepared to spend a lot of time digging down dry holes.

The few big vintage stores left have formed a kind of cartel. I believe Andy (of Chee Pees), Cheap Jack, and Joe (of Starstruck) are all related, if distantly. You won't find much out of the ordinary and if you do, you'll pay a premium for it.

I hear about Doobie Bros. (or sumpn' like that) in Brooklyn as a big lot seller/wholesaler, but that you've got to be there all the time to find much of anything.

The thrift market is limited, especially for men. A lot of the best men's stuff changes hands privately - the thrifts probably get haunted by regulars before stuff ever gets to the racks.

Consignment shops are surprisingly few and most will not even touch men's duds. The dealers used to use designer name tags as the determiner of value, and this can be pretty strictly interpreted - one lady I talked to said she would not accept Polo clothes for sale.

At the end of the day, this is a fashion town. We're focused on trends, and except for the now stale 70s look, vintage is no longer much of a trend.

PS: I don't notice too many gents commenting on threads like this. Is this all old news?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

MIDWEST MIDWEST MIDWEST

MIDWEST MIDWEST MIDWEST

Absolute goldmine. Vintage hasn't really kicked in and the junk shops in the country towns are full of it. At great prices.

At least in Indiana.

bk

 

[Harry Pierpont]

SSSHHH

MIDWEST MIDWEST MIDWEST

Absolute goldmine. Vintage hasn't really kicked in and the junk shops in the country towns are full of it. At great prices.
bk

Don't tell everybody about the midwest, then the prices will go up!:eusa_doh:

It's around here in Illinois but you have to look weekly.

 

[Kimberly]

Well I just went to a local thrift and scored very well with another 40's dress and a pair of vintage Sailor Pants that actually fit me this time (they even have the sailor's name and serial number on there which I thought was very cool).

The thrifts are the only place I can find vintage and I guess I should count my blessings because no one else wants it except for me. I just get tired of thrifting for hours on end. No lie, I spend about 8 to 10 hours a week doing it.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

the price we have to pay.

The endless disappointing trips make the few scores all the better. Like the optimo crown 30s panama i found this afternoon. It's the first i've come across in a store and it was cheap.

bk

 

[Dinerman]

Richmond, Va, Toronto, Ontario and Hampden, Baltimore, MD.
lots of vintage in them

 

[Dinerman]

the price we have to pay.

. Like the optimo crown 30s panama i found this afternoon. It's the first i've come across in a store and it was cheap.

bk

details? Pictures?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

wait 'til morning n the all my hats thread - i'll add to my recently posted "all my hats".

A few too many celebratory beers prevent my getting to it tonight . . .

bk :beer: :cheers1:

[bad] [bad] [bad]

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Don't tell everybody about the midwest, then the prices will go up!:eusa_doh:

Yes, it is a well kept and maintained secret market. The prices were prretty low and constant in the years i was there. And the product high quality and well looked after.

bk

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I don't see much here in Ohio. I make an occasional find, but it always seems to be small stuff that I would never fit into. Most of the stuff I find is from the sixties. I think the vintage clothing that eventually makes it to any store is generally about 40 years old or newer. So most of the hats and suits from the thirties were probably sold during the seventies. I wish I had started looking for this stuff a long time ago,...

 

[Kimberly]

the price we have to pay.

The endless disappointing trips make the few scores all the better. Like the optimo crown 30s panama i found this afternoon. It's the first i've come across in a store and it was cheap.

bk

I know the feeling you are talking about!! Sometimes it's the thrill of the hunt. One good find can give me a high that lasts the entire week! lol

Great find BTW!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

MIDWEST MIDWEST MIDWEST

Absolute goldmine. Vintage hasn't really kicked in and the junk shops in the country towns are full of it. At great prices.

At least in Indiana.

Yes, and the midwest also used to be a goldmine for warehouses full of deadstock (unsold, unworn, unused) store clothing, dating back all the way to the 1900s. It's where RE-MIX SHOES used to find its deadstock shoes -- until buyers from Japan hit the midwest in the mid '90s and paid higher prices, beating RE-MIX out.


.

 

[SpitfireXIV]

Don't tell everybody about the midwest, then the prices will go up!:eusa_doh:

It's around here in Illinois but you have to look weekly.

it's been harder lately... about 5 years ago, there was the best place for vintage clothing in Milwaukee in the "Historic Third District" on Water Street called "Marlene's Touch of Class." It was a complete building of vintage -- some late Victorian, to more modern 70's & 80's in the basement. Not Illinois, but only 90 minute drive.

Sadly, it's now a Microbrewery and "Brett Favre's Steakhouse." Dunno what happened to all that beautiful vintage clothing....

But, around Chicago, my personal favourites are: Viva Vintage in Evanston and Silver Moon on Halsted. Not cheap by any means, but worth a look-see.

 

[Fletch]

Iowa never had much. I think I bought most of it in the mid '80s and have long since outgrown it all. Most men here bought one shirt or suit when one wore out, then they wore that one out.

 

[Viviene]

There is a store called Tangerine Boutique in Gardner, Massachusetts that you may want to check out. She's a fellow Vintage Fashion Guild member. I met her yesterday in person at the Manhattan Vintage Show in NYC. In comparision to the other vendors that were there (80 in all) her pricing was very reasonable.

I went yesterday to check out the fashion trends and to see if I'm stocking the right things and was happy to find pricing and fashion wise I am very competitive.

This is the link to her website which also has her brick and mortar store address as well. Hope this helps!

http://tangerineboutique.com/

 

[scotrace]

The only shops in my area of Ohio are one charity shop and Goodwill. I hit each every two weeks, and in over a year of looking, have found exactly zero. I don't mean 'nothing in my size,' I mean nothing at all. Just faded jeans and 70's stuff. Cheap Hagar suits. Ties you wouldn't bury your worst enemy in. Giant women's straw hats. Boxes of beaten up Barbie dolls.
I keep watching for these midwestern gold mines!