Why I Buy Vintage

I talk a lot about my love of vintage on Secondhand Sundays, my love of vintage is part of why my blog is named what it is, but I have yet to share with all of you why I buy vintage clothing and housewares or when all these crazy shenanigans began in my life. So today I'm going to talk from a very personal place about this crazy passion I am so deeply in love with.

The first vintage outfit I remember wearing and feeling transformed by was in third grade. My Mom bought me a pair of dark brown polyester pants and a brown floral polyester top at the local thrift store because I had been obsessing about the 1960s and 1970s for months and months. She hated buying me clothing because more often than not I'd hate what she picked out and end up hiding it somewhere so she couldn't make me wear it; this outfit was different. I'm pretty sure I wore at least one piece from this ensemble every week in third grade. I somehow felt "cooler" because I was wearing something that had so much history behind it and because I felt like it wasn't too late for me to attach myself to the movements of the eras they came from. I know it sounds like I was a really deep third grader, and I was. I was passionate about recycling and feminism and these clothes let me express that in a way I didn't yet understand.

I'm jumping ahead though, because this love affair started so much earlier, like neo-natal earlier. As soon as I was born I wore vintage, not because of some conscious choice but because I come from a long line of strong women who identify heavily with their past and held on to little mementos to share with future generations. As soon as I was out of the hospital I was wearing clothing my mother once wore and my aunts, pieces my grandmother had saved to be passed down. I grew up wearing hand me downs of my sister's and watching old movies from the 1950s, '60s, and '70s on my grandma's couch. I had no idea that women didn't dress the way Audrey Hepburn did in Funny Face or Julie Andrews in Sound of Music. My reality was that old things were beautiful and worth coveting.

Fast forward to today and vintage clothing is so much a part of my shopping psyche that I do it without thinking. But, there are still list-able reasons I like vintage clothing and prefer it to brand names and box stores.

1: I feel good about buying vintage/thrifted clothes because it keeps good clothes out of the landfills, and the 3rd grader in me still yearns to save the planet. 2: I buy vintage because it's unique and you would be hard pressed to find someone with the exact same piece anywhere. 3: I like how vintage clothing feels, the materials are often more natural and have that worn in feel that takes years to perfect. 4: The silhouettes of the clothing tend to be more flattering on my ultra petite frame. 5: I don't feel bad buying a lot of clothes because it usually costs less than new. 6: I find I'm much more likely to alter, or have something altered, if it's vintage. I don't know why this is true but it is. 7: The thrill of the deal. 8: I can usually predict trends based on what there is a lot of at local thrift stores. 9: Vintage clothing is typically well made and has already survived countless years so I find it holds up very well under heavy use. 10: People always compliment my vintage/thrifted pieces a thousand times more than the joe schmoe pieces I buy at target.

There you have it, my vintage clothing back story and reasons (selfish and otherwise) that I choose to buy vintage time and time again. If you have questions for me feel free to contact me and I'd love to hear your reasons for buying vintage clothing. big kiss, bekuh