Lately I have been really into thrift shopping. I love spending the day with friends going to different stores trying to find the best pieces. Now vintage shopping is not easy by any means, it takes patience, determination and a heck of a lot of imagination. The difference between thrifted pieces and current store pieces is with thrifted pieces you need to take what you got and imagine what it could be. You need to ask your self “How can I wear this?”, “How can I make this piece fit with my style?”. You need to take a piece of clothing that is dated or crazy and think about all of the ways to change and alter either the piece itself or current clothing pieces that you own to make it work! The best part about vintage shopping is that there is only one of everything. This means that your clothing pieces are way more unique and you won’t see every other person wearing it. You know what they say “one persons trash is another persons treasure”. The result will be that you have new old clothing pieces that will amp up any outfit, have people wondering were you got it and overall make your sense of style truly unique. I have put together some tips that I have found helpful throughout all of my vintage shopping experiences.
Hope you all enjoy!
1. Patience
The absolute number one tip that I can give you when vintage shopping is that you need to have patience. Without patience you might as well not even go in the first place. I say this because as I said before there is only one of everything in the store therefore it requires you to go through every piece of clothing in the area that you are looking at. For example if you are looking for a demin jacket no denim jacket is going to be the same. Taking the time to look through every one that the store has means that you are more likely to find that hidden gem that you have been looking for. On top of that you need to remember that since there is only one of everything the clothing item that you like may not be your size. This is either where your imagination kicks in to figure out how to make it work or your patience to let it go and keep looking.
2. Imagine what could be
Now getting back to what I was saying about imagination. Clothing in thrift stores is either really dated or a bit worn out. You need to get past those factors and see what the clothing piece can be turned into in order for it to work for you. For example a worn out band tee may look awful in its current state however you can choose to cut it into a crop top or style it tied in a knot to make it less baggy. Another example is a pair of Levis high wasted mom jeans (and I am not talking about the trendy looking ones today) may have seen better days in the 90s but you can cut them into shorts for a whole new look! Everything can be turned into something if you take the time to think about it. It may also be a good idea to go on pinterest or instagram to get outfit ideas and see how you can make the clothing piece that you found work with your style.
3. Find the best of the best
Although the whole idea of thrift shopping is that you are buying other peoples used clothes you want to make sure that you find the best and least worn but still vintage looking items. For example do not buy anything ripped or faded to the point where it looks cheep and gross. You want to have the mind set to find items that are unique rather then items that are cool but look like someone never took it off. To go on with this tip if you really want to take thrift shopping to a whole new level you can go to more exclusive stores that get amazing vintage designer items. You can possibly find these rare items in bigger thrift stores if you go often, take the time to really search the store or if you develop a relationship with the staff and they keep those items on hold for you when they come in.
4. Don’t regret the one you let get away
The one downside to thrift shopping is that you cannot exactly return the items that you buy and you never know if you will find something better elsewhere in the future. My tip to combat this is to just buy it! The beauty of most thrift stores is that the items are inexpensive so if you do find something better in the future you are not losing too much money. However if you are really worried that you will find something better do not buy it because it shows that it is not truly what you want and you should wait to find it.
This is my favourite place to go thrift shopping..
1. The Black Market
The Black Market is where I go vintage shopping most of the time. I love this place because everything, no matter what is $10 therefore it is really inexpensive. I also love this store because it has such a wide selection of items so I always find amazing pieces! I encourage you to check them out of you are in the Toronto area!
Always remember to spread A Little Touch Of Gold wherever you go!
ALTG 
One response to “Tips On How to Vintage Shop”
[…] and puffer jackets were huge on the runway. You can either find these pieces at vintage shops (be sure to check out my blog with tips on how to vintage shop) or buy new items that mimic the vintage styles. Stores like Urban Outfitters should be your go to […]
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