I was reminded today that I must update this blog, so... Hello! I hope I did not keep anyone on the edge of their seats or pulling their hair out from fashion anticipation. This last month or so has been extremely hectic. I had FAT, Dragon's Den, Breakfast TV, Vogue Italia, Elle Canada, jewellery class, fainting in said class, my proposal for University, styling multiple shoots, modeling in multiple shoots, ballet class, yoga class, interviews, meetings, dealing with a very needy kitty... The list goes on!
I thought for this post I might divulge into an area of fashion that I have always loved, vintage clothing. Whether it is the thrill of the find or the thrill of the dirt-cheap price, I do love a good rummage round. It could be in a long forgotten store on the outskirts of Kensington Market, a consignment store in a dug out Yorkville store fit for a sixty year old woman or even digging through the shambles of a Valu Village which resembles a site hit by a very big tornado, I get such a kick it is almost sickening. Not even that old, musty smell can stop my determination to find that lucky find. When I do locate a gem (literally or not) I almost feel proud. With chain, high street and mall stores you are pretty much handed in your lap an outfit already put together. Colours, styles and themes are separated and/or put together in sections. Just look at the mannequins around you and theirs your new office attire. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a bad thing at all. It's just not what I like to do. I've never really been a follower of trends, I like to do things my way and I have always been creative with everything I do. My motto is if I like it, I wear it! And that's what I love about vintage and consignment stores. I have the thrill of the find and I am free to be as creative as I want, I almost feel I have achieved something with my fashion this way.
There is also something in the quality of clothing from the distant and not so distant past. It was, how do I put this?... A lot better! One example I can use in this instance, I once worked at a well known shoe store. A regular client of mine came in looking for ballet flats. Unfortunately none of the ballet slippers I presented to her was to her liking. In order to assist her better and understand why we could not locate what she was looking for, I asked her why none of the shoes appealed to her. She told me she has shopped at this particular store since its international spread in the nineties. She had always been happy about the wonderful quality of the shoes, especially the ballet flats, until lately. She mention that she noticed the ballet flats use to be sewn together attaching the material and exterior part of the shoes to the soles, now they simply glue the pieces together. This causes depletion in the durability of the shoe. She still continues to shop at this location but not for ballet flats, she does though look in the hope that one day the shoes store will once again make flats as durable as they use to be.
I should point out though, consignment does not necessarily mean second hand or vintage. There are a lot of stores that do mix vintage with consignment items, but not all. Consignment is the act of consigning which means to place any item into the hands of someone else. This doesn't always mean it's old or has even been worn. It is always good fun digging through them, especially one that specializes in designer clothes. Here is an example of what you can do with an altered "Golden Girlsesque" eighties dress and a retro Chanel purse (shoes are the model's own).
The important thing to remember when shopping for vintage or consignment (or both) is to not get overly excited about labels. I know I've made this mistake on several occassions, but I'm getting better at spotting flaws in certain items and what is not really a great find. Just because it's YSL does NOT mean it will look amazing, feel amazing, be amazing quality or fit amazingly. Which brings me to another big point with consignment shopping. BARGAINING. I cannot stress this enough. If you find a Louis Vuitton bag with a stain in it you can negotiate a slightly lower price but NOT something so unreasonable as $10. Remember these bags once cost over $5,000. It is rare to find someone willing to sell a bag like that to you for $20 or under, no matter the size or type of stain.
For those who have never vintage/consignment store shopped before, I hope this post left you with an urge to take the challenge. Maybe you're already an avid vintage goer and made you think what is your appeal to the hunt. I would love to hear back from you people on what it is about vintage shopping you love. On that note I just want to say, happy huntings you little retro radicals!
xo
Top photo. Model myself, photography by Jesse North, styling by Cat Shanahan, taken from Aiseirigh Vintage online store http://www.etsy.com/shop/aiseirigh.
Bottom photo. Model Kelleth Cuthbert, photography by Azimuth Arts, makeup by Flawless Jemz, styling by myself.
