Unearth vintage clothing treasures online

Surf for unique pieces to add to your wardrobe

By Heather Camlot

Lying on a conference table in an office tower high above the Toronto Eaton Centre is a pair of beat up workpants with a pocket on the leg for a folding ruler and two round rust stains.

The workpants are completely intact, though the label and buttons are gone. To look at them, you’d think they’re ready for the trash, which is likely where they were found — in a Nevada mining town in 1998. Then you learn the denim is made of real indigo, the pants date back to the 1880s, and the rivets identify them as Levi’s.

“We won these at an eBay auction in May 2001. We paid US$46,532,” says Lynn Downey, Levi Strauss & Co. historian. “They are the oldest and most expensive pair of jeans in the world.”

Dig into the past

Although you wouldn’t slip on this particular pair of jeans, wearing vintage has shifted from trend to staple. Everyone from your neighbour to Hollywood’s hottest starlets is hoping to find a diamond among the dingy.

“The interest in having vintage clothing and wearing vintage clothing has always been a part of American society, I’d say certainly since the 1950s, but it’s always been a very, very small group,” explains Downey. “Now, stylists have gotten on the bandwagon, especially celebrity stylists. They understand, as well, the value of having their celebrity appear in something vintage, because it will be truly unique.”

Rediscover vintage

What exactly is vintage? Well, it’s not confined to any particular decade as you might suspect. Downey defines vintage as an article from yesterday. For Tiffany Dubin, co-author of Vintage Style (HarperCollins, 2000), it is “anything that you’re going to want to keep and is always going to withstand fashion trends.”

If you have succumbed to the allure of vintage, there are plenty of places to shop. Along with in-store options such as thrift shops and vintage clothing stores, the web has become a buyer’s paradise.

“I’m on eBay every day looking for vintage,” says Downey. “And I find a lot of stuff.”

Search for treasures online

Dubin also picks eBay as her favourite site to search for vintage clothing. A few other great sites include:

• FASHIONDIG
• Canadian e-shop VintageCouture.com
• RustyZipper.com
• Chelsea-Girl ( the stop for celebrities Drew Barrymore and Sheryl Crow as well as designers Stella McCartney and Tom Ford)
• Chelsea-Girl ( the stop for celebrities Drew Barrymore and Sheryl Crow as well as designers Stella McCartney and Tom Ford)

Become educated about vintage

Wherever you shop, Dubin offers the following tips on selecting quality items.

• Follow your taste. Don’t buy a vintage piece just because it’s trendy.
• Educate yourself on designers’ signature styles and on quality. Dubin recommends looking at old auction catalogues. Or, hit the antiques section of your library.
• If you’re going to splurge, do so at a reputable shop or auction.
• Get into vintage slowly. Start with accessories.
• Be critical of condition. Avoid items with armpit stains and large tears that cannot be repaired easily.
• Find an era that flatters your figure. Women with small waists may do well with bodices from the ’40s or ’50s while women with large thighs may do better with ’60s A-lines.

Downey adds two more strategies. (1) Avoid altering vintage clothing. If it doesn’t fit, leave it for someone else who can wear it as it was intended. (2) Buy the best you can afford.

Admire from afar

If you can’t afford vintage or are unable to find something you like, you can always take a peek in your mother’s or grandmother’s closet, or try a replica. Levi’s pioneered the trend in the mid-nineties, and other designers have since opened their archives and recreated pieces as well.

If you prefer to look rather than wear, many museums, such as the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and the Costume Museum of Canada in Dugald, Man., have fabulous fashions on display.

Care for your clothes

When you bring your garment home, be careful not to store it in plastic, which does not allow items to breathe. Wrap the article of clothing in muslin, keep it in a cotton garment bag, or hang it in your closet on a fabric-padded hanger with room for air circulation.

The trick to showing off your vintage wear is to mix and match old and new. “The vintage will really pop if you’re wearing modern clothing around it,” explains Downey. “It will be what catches people’s eye.”

Vintage evening-wear images courtesy of CV&A; jeans found in Nevada mining town courtesy of Levi Strauss & Co.