Tips for shopping in vintage boutiques

Posted by SharonEvans on May 20th, 2013

Vintage clothing is as much about resurfacing fashion trends and bringing them into the 21st century, as it is about helping you revitalize your personal style, with uncommon looks and unique pieces. When you purchase and wear vintage pieces, you’re not simply playing dress-up; instead, you’re recalling the reality of fashions past, and creating your own, distinct fashion reality. Vintage boutiques have been on the rise for the past fifteen years or so, and their development shows no sign of stopping, as the vintage boutique is becoming more prominent in the online fashion world as well. Keep reading to find out a few practical tips about shopping in vintage boutiques, online and offline alike.

If you’re on the younger side, you might believe that vintage clothing is automatically clothing of poor quality. You have to understand that vintage clothing owes a lot to its owners—you might, indeed, find clothing items of a poorer quality or that haven’t been properly maintained when shopping in a thrift store, but not in a vintage boutique. Vintage boutiques will only pick up items of good quality and in good physical condition—that’s precisely why many vintage pieces are more on the pricey side. If an item has been properly stored and maintained, it won’t show signs of wear and tear, but will instead look almost brand new. Even though vintage boutiques have high standards, it never hurts to double check, so when you’re shopping in a vintage boutique and are interested in purchasing an item, always check for tears, defects or tough stains.

If you love vintage clothing but find yourself a little scared every time you enter a vintage boutique and see the price tags, you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of alternatives to shopping vintage. You’ve walked past your grandmother’s closet a thousand times, and you might’ve played dress-up when you were younger, so what’s stopping you now? Start exploring, and you might find the best vintage boutique, right in your grandmother’s wardrobe. While you might not place high value on your gran’s current fashion style, she’s bound to have kept some gems, in the form of her favorite outfits from when she was younger. Once you start digging, you might be amazed by the vintage treasures you might find, better than any you’d have to pay for in a vintage boutique.

If your grandma’s clothing isn’t to your liking, consider a few other budget-friendly alternatives to vintage boutiques. Talk to friends and family, and see if you can find any garage sales. You can get great deals when shopping at yard sales, so don’t discount them. But, if you don’t have the time to go from sale to sale, try making a visit to your local thrift store. A vintage boutique by another name, the thrift store can still get you great looks, for a fraction of the cost of clothing bought from vintage boutiques. Keep a closet eye for stains and defects, and you’ll be fine. Also, always remember to wash any items bought from a thrift store before wearing them.

Vintage boutiques let you experience fashions of the past all over again. However, if you’re looking for a budget-friendly vintage solution, go shopping in the local thrift store, which can also double as a vintage boutique; by shopping here you can get great fashions and donate to charity all at the same time.