If a jean is a high waisted pair of jeans,
if you wrap it around your neck like you're
wearing a jeans necklace, and the two ends touch,
that means it should fit around your waist.
So this one is way too small.
Next.
Some people encounter old, crusty, dusty,
smelly racks of clothing and actually see that as an opportunity.
I'm here searching
for my personal holy grail of American vintage, early 20th century denim.
Here's what you need to know before you thrift, bring cash.
Number two, my piece de resistance is this backpack.
It holds everything on my back, it
doesn't give me any shoulder strain and it's got this center clip, which is really handy
because when I have a bunch of clothes hangers and things I will clip it onto my chest so
I don't have to hold on to anything.
And number three, go early.
I'm here with Bob's collectibles.
And Bob, you're one of the few people who have denim which is what I'm actually on
the search for.
But I've never actually heard of this brand before, which you have a lot of.
Which are Landlubbers?
Yeah, they were made in the 70s.
Did you used to wear these?
No. I don't know. I might have.
You might have?
Cool and how much do you sell these for?
$15 a pair.
That's amazing.
I'm going to search for my pair of jeans.
Look at the zip-off overall thing.
Oh.
I think we got a winner, you guys.
I've developed what I like to call my thrifting outfit.
And that consists of a top that's a little tighter on top so I can try things on over it without
it looking lumpy and then a skirt that's a little wider so I can pull on pants underneath.
I love these.
Okay, I'm going to get to this.
You're gonna make me smile.
No, thank you.
It's that post purchase glow, nothing feels better than that.
This pair of overalls
are great, but not quite old enough for my taste.
I'm still in the hunt for something
pre 1970s with a little bit more wear and tear.
I think you have
the jeans that I've been looking for.
Really?
Well, maybe. Maybe you have the jeans that I'm looking for.
I do have some really awesome overalls and some like aprons.
This is kind of, you know,
like a kid's pair with some really interesting patching and repairs.
And a piece like this,
which just shows, you
know, an era of workwear where people didn't waste a scrap of any material and really kind
of repaired and loved the stuff that they had.
These are pretty cool.
They're Washington Dee Cee brand.
Probably mid-40s, I would say.
These ones might be cool, too, if you want
to give those a whirl.
The brand is Duck Head, it's a really classic pair in the 1940s.
You know, a little bit shredded on the back.
And I- sorry. I love the the hand stitching. This is stitched by someone who has not
stitched a lot before.
Well and it's repairs on repairs so you can see maybe a few layers of repair.
Yeah, this is what my stitching looks like.
I feel like they're going to fit.
Cool, well give them a whirl.
We got a dressing room.
You do?
Yeah.
I don't know, the person I think was exactly my height because of the bottom's ripped off
at exactly the point where my shoes end.
Very serendipitous.
These are really nice.
They're really, really old.
I don't think I've worn anything that's been 70 years old.
It's pretty cool.
I love these overalls.
I mean, they're a little messed up and so,
so old but that's what makes them so amazing.
I have never seen anything like these before
and I have to have them.
But first, the haggling.
Ask questions and be polite.
The more you
talk with someone, the more you find out the story behind what you're buying and the more
they want to sell to you.
Number two, buy more.
So if you're able to bundle up a bunch
of purchases, chances are you're going to get a better deal for each of them.
And number three, don't be coy.
That pretending to be like, "Oh, I'm sort of interested in it."
They really want to find a good home for what they have and if they feel like you
really like something, chances are they're more apt to give it to you.
Hi!
Hey, how did it go?
I liked it.
Cool.
How much are these?
I'm asking a very reasonable price of $150 for these.
$150?
Yeah.
So, what I think that what a lot of people who are new to vintage might not understand,
is that you go into a really highly curated vintage shopping and you're like why
is everything so expensive?
But you're paying for that curation, right.
You are.
You're paying for a lot of man hours going into finding the stuff.
And,
you know, everyone's taste is a little bit different.
You know, someone that's really
passionate about what they do, selling vintage clothing puts a lot of work into it.
And not
only are you just paying for the time that they spend looking, but you're paying for
their specific taste.
I mean, $150 is a good price but if you can do me a little bit better...
Well, I can knock ten bucks off if you're buying a single item.
That's good enough for me.
Yeah? Cool.
Good enough for me!
It's a deal.
Sounds like a deal, cool.
For someone who really likes to dig, there's just so much stuff to dig through, but it's
authentic because we're all trying to look for the same thing.
We're all trying to find
a piece that's going to make our living rooms, our wardrobes or our lives feel a little bit
more complete.