Once you have visited a vintage clothes store, the smell is something that you will always remember.
In theory this sounds horrible, but it is a symbolic smell that isn’t as unpleasant as it may first seem. The smell is that of the past, musty and dusty and riddled with nostalgia and bygone perfumes.
The thing with vintage shops is that they’re not like any other characterless high street chain out there. Visiting them is fun and the root to find something perfect is all part of the fun.
It’s like raiding your mum’s wardrobe and finding some gems in there, as well as laughing at the fashions of yesteryear that aren’t quite to your taste. One thing is certain, the shop itself is just as much about the experience as well as the purchase of a piece of vintage fabulousness.
Each garment, bag, accessory, shoe and earring has a tale to tell, from the minute it was made, to the first and last time it was worn and even the picking procedure that the shop owner has employed to choose what to sell in their Aladdin’s cave.
Upon entering the shop, you are no longer a shopper, but a raider. Those who want a straight forward shopping trip where they can pick what they want straight off the hanger with minimal fuss should probably shy away and stick to chain stores who do all this for them, as vintage shops won’t offer this option, and that is kind of the point.
Eccentricity can usually be found in bucket loads and vintage shop owners can sometimes offer a pleasant burst of something special that is a refreshing pick me up to shoppers used to bland, boring and generic shop workers. These people live and breathe vintage and can probably offer a mini history lesson on fashion as well as play a stylist role to customers.
Vintage shops are keeping alive the ideals of small businesses that don’t dream to become mammoth chains of stores that dominate the consumer market with their rows and rows of reproduction. This is quite simply because vintage by nature is a one off, these shops are destined to stay as one off little treasures of intrigue and if they become anything else they are skipping the objective.
With vintage stores, they are the holding ground of the original fashions that constantly inspire new looks on the turntable of trends, they are effectively the holy grail of original fashion. For those worried that ‘they’re just not me’, try one, it may just surprise you…
Visit my vintage at our vintage shop based in Darwen, Lancashire for a wide range of original vintage clothing and vintage accessories as well as our range of reproduction rockabilly clothing and rockabilly dresses. You can also shop online 24/7 at www.myvintage.uk for even more original vintage fashion.
Hope to see you all soon…
Emma, My Vintage.