“Only five more minutes,” you tell yourself, moving on to peruse the last rack of clothing. You’ve been shopping for hours, searching for that perfect party dress with no luck – until you see it. A strapless red dress that is just your size. You’ve already fallen in love, but now is the moment of truth. Holding your breath, you flip over the price tag. Eight dollars. Score!
If your shopping stories have ended differently, you probably aren’t taking advantage of the modern woman’s secret weapon – thrift stores. Vintage shopping is more than just scoring quality styles at a cheap price, however. In fact, here are six reasons why vintage shopping is the modern woman’s treasure hunt.
Maybe you know more about Fashion Week than most of the models, or maybe your definition of “fashion” is not walking into work naked. Whatever your fashion experience, you can be an expert vintage shopper! Here are a few tips to follow for success:
When pirates search for treasure, the sky (or sea) is the limit. The same could be said of vintage shopping. Stacie, the blogger behind Stars for Streetlights, even argues that small town women are the lucky ones when it comes to vintage shopping. While big cities like New York are renowned for their deluxe shops, their thrift stores are usually small and expensive. Small towns, on the other hand, usually receive more vintage donations and the average thrift store shopper is rarely looking for the same finds as the vintage-lovin’ modern woman. For once, a small-town gal can have big city dreams … without leaving home!
Speaking of big city dreams, most fashion lovers have probably dreamed of owning brand-name clothing or pieces in a certain style. Vintage shops often carry clothing that is cheap in price, but expensive in name. As Tampico is Color explains, it isn’t unusual to find discontinued or dated pieces from designers like Vera Wang, Gucci and Chanel. Most women can appreciate the value of dressing nicely without going broke. Not to mention that, but when you wear a designer piece no longer sold in mainstream stores, you never have to worry about another woman wearing the same outfit!
…through clothing racks, miscellaneous boxes and mismatched shelves! Although vintage shopping may take more effort (and a higher tolerance for dust) than shopping at the mall, you now have a valid excuse for skipping the gym. It doesn’t hurt that some of the best finds – antique spoons, tailored jackets and even flowered shoes – can appear only after clearing a pile of junk out of the way!
How many times have you walked into a clothing store, tried on a few items in your size and nearly cried when they wouldn’t fit? How many times have you enjoyed some well-earned “retail therapy” – only to wince at the price tag? With vintage shopping, you don’t have to worry about either problem. The body positivity that could come from thrift stores is unexpected. There is only one size, so if it doesn’t fit, it’s just not meant to be. That’s it!
While the University of Texas didn’t find any correlation between having to wear a bigger clothing size and a poorer body image, they did find that a smaller size makes women feel better. How good would you feel, then, if you don’t have to think about size at all? As for stress, women have historically shopped it off. But when the typical treasure costs ten dollars or less, stress-relief boasts a lower price tag than ever.
Bottom line? Just as pirates never knew what to expect from treasure chests, you never know what a vintage shop will offer! According to The Richest, some thrift shoppers have even hit the motherlode:
Will you turn into the next vintage shopping millionaire? It’s unlikely. But will you find plenty of your own treasures and create priceless memories? That’s a guarantee.
