Hey I'm here at 10ft Single by Stella Dallas to give you
tips and tricks on vintage shopping.
People ask me all the time, "What does vintage mean?".
It's something that you're looking for that wouldn't be
on the racks at a modern day store today.
One of the reasons that I love to shop vintage,
is because you can find pieces that are unique.
This is my favorite, I'm probably going to go home with it.
And if you're not interested in following trends,
this is always a way to add a punch to your wardrobe.
If you are looking to kind of stay on trend,
but in a cool first time around kind of way...
This kind of Hawaiian beach look has come back huge.
It's a lot less than what designers are charging for it
right now.
When it comes to wear and tear, remember vintage is vintage
because it's old.
So there are going to be imperfections.
Some we can live with, some eh, not so much.
You want to hold things up to the light right?
You want to see whether or not there are tears or mini-holes
pinpricks, things like that in the fabric.
These look like they're in great condition.
They look like they've hardly been worn.
Anything that looks like a burn or scratch,
not going to be able to fix, so stay away from it.
Here's the thing about sizing, look for something as close
to your size as possible.
When something is too big, it depends whether or not
it's worth taking in, and it is not about washing them
if you want to shrink them.
It will denigrate the fabric over time
if you try and do that.
If you're in a place like a vintage clothing store
that doesn't have fitting rooms, this is my little trick.
Take the waist, put it around your neck, if it fits
it should fit you on the bottom.
It's just a quick way of checking.
Dead stock means that it's old, but it was never worn,
so that's always something to look for,
because you're talking about pristine merchandise
that has just been around a really long time.
Whenever I see vintage cocktail dresses,
you can take things and reinvent them.
Maybe I would turn this into a skirt,
and it's an exercise in creativity, so I love that too.
So just to be clear, vintage is to play.
You should go in with an open mind, but don't buy things
that you don't need.
You want things that you know you're going to put
into rotation in your wardrobe,
and that are going to become part of it.
You want things that are a great deal, but that also are
going to work with your modern day wardrobe right?
You don't just buy it 'cause it's like,
"Oh, cool, it's vintage".
You buy it because you're going to wear it.
Because you're going to put it to use
Exactly.
And the same goes true for accessories.
So this is a bag that I found, that is pristine,
that is 1970's Bottega Veneta.
This I found from a dealer.
I had authentication, not only from him,
but from the bag itself.
Be careful.
There are imitations, right?
Not only is the label in here, which I hope that you can see
but you'll see it on the zipper as well.
Sometimes it comes with a certificate of authentication
but I got this not only because it was pristine,
but because the clasp works.
That is a very difficult thing to fix.
If this had been pristine, but the clasp was a mess,
honestly it wouldn't have been worth the money.
So this is something where I was like, it's worth it
particularly because that clasp was the easiest thing
to be wrong with it, and the most expensive thing to fix.
Right? - It is beautiful.
Isn't it gorgeous? - Stunning.
Now this bag, may not be real Deco, but look at how
great it is, and all of the stones are here
all of the enamel is here.
This even if it smelled, you know what, get a Bounce tissue
just rub it around.
(laughs)
Febreeze it! - You'll be fine.
The one thing that was broken, was the chain.
You don't even need to go to somebody to get this fixed,
you need a pliers and a jump ring.
Right, exactly!
If this bag was thirty dollars, boom!
Worth it, worth it
People love costume jewelry
and there is great vintage costume jewelry out there.
Right. - There is expensive, and inexpensive.
A lot of the times with costume jewelry,
it's not precious metal, right?
It's nickel, it's brass, it's things like that,
that can actually turn skin green.
And give, I was just saying, give you a rash actually.
Right and give you a rash.
A lot of people are allergic to metals that aren't precious
I'm one of them, yep.
If you love something, and it's not precious metal,
what do you do?
Well, the quick fix, clear nail polish. - Nail polish!
You put clear nail polish on the metal, right?
And it will stave off a rash on your skin.
Now that's the quick fix right? - Right.
The other thing that you can do, if you really love
something and you really want the longevity of it,
I suggest not doing this for very cheap vintage jewelry
but more expensive vintage jewelry.
Now this is a piece from the 1940's.
This is crystal, I mean you can tell that it's expensive
, also look at the purple crystal, it kind of changes color
Right.
You'll see this in older pieces that are like
designer, or you'll know these names, like Schiaparelli
things that were really made to last, back in the 30's,
the 40's, the 50's, the 60's.
You can do something called dip-dye, which is when you
take the metal, and have it dipped in precious metal.
This will still cost you a fraction of what it would cost
if it was let's say 18 karat gold.
Imagine.
You can dip it in 18 karat gold, and it will stay
much more pristine on your skin,
and won't give you a rash at all.
(applause)