Vintage Thrifting Tips

Patience is key. I don't know how many times I've had to explain this to people, but it's the truth.  Don't get discouraged when you go one time and find nothing, because the find of the century is right around the corner! With that being said, there are also a few things to keep in mind that might be holding you back from finding treasure!  Here are some of my favorite tips:

1) Some sections can be a surprise.  

In the beginning,  I used to discount the lingerie section in my local thrift stores as a place for cast-off and dirty underwear, and who the heck wants that? I also assumed that any lingerie I found would be "sexy" lingerie.  You can find both of these things there, but there is also a wealth of other beautiful things! 1950s and 1960s nightgowns are some of the most beautiful pieces of clothing ever made on this Earth. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but believe me and heed my advice, look through the lingerie section. You know where else could have some really amazing things? The kid's section, no lie.  The people sorting through clothing don't necessarily know what they're looking at, if it's small enough looking, it's likely to get put over there.  I have also learned to not ignore the linens section, you can find beautiful hand-knit Afghan blankets, vintage lace tablecloths (that can double as backdrops if you're a photographer as well), and a bevy of other delights.

2) Look thoughtfully and thoroughly

A lot of people seem to think they're just going to walk in the store and see their holy grail right off the bat.  No surprise to the thrifting veterans among us, it takes digging! When going through a rail of clothing, look at every piece.  When you become more accustomed to what vintage clothing feels and looks like, it becomes a lot easier to scan more quickly. If you come across something that looks intriguing, stop to inspect it.  Does it have any labels/tags on the inside? What does the stitching look like? What do the seams look like? Inspecting your own modern clothes is a good way of knowing when something looks "different." I'll be more extensively covering vintage tags and labels in another post. 

3) Does it have a tag on it? Look it up!

I'd say at least 9/10 of you have a smart phone.  Use it! If you find something that you're unsure of and maybe the price makes you second-guess just buying it, give it a quick research!  If it has a tag/label on it, just punch the company into google with quotes around it, such as "Gunne Sax," "Vanity Fair," "Artemis," etc. If you don't get anything relevant back, try ebay or etsy.  Sometimes you're just out of luck, but most often, you'll find it somewhere and it will help you decide whether it's legit vintage or a modern cast-off. 

4) If you like it, put a ring on it.

Don't think, "Oh, I'll just buy this another time," because let me tell you, there's likely not going to be another time; I rarely go back to a thrift store and see the same items. If you want it and you have the money, buy it. If it's not something you end up using, you can always re-sell it! 

5) Old clothes come from...

And last of all, without being too subtle about it, older clothes from older people. You're not as likely to find vintage in a town with a relatively low elderly population.  My absolute favorite thrift stores are usually ones where older clients donate. While I love the occasional goodwill and salvation army trip, I enjoy the smaller thrift stores the most.  Not only are they easier to go through quickly, the employees tend to remember you as well. There's the sweetest elderly lady that work at one of my favorite Hospice stores.  And while she might not "help" me per se, her comments on my thrifty finds are the best. And if you're nice and polite (which I always strive to be), they're much more likely to give you your unmarked purchase for a bargain!

What are your best thrifting tips? 

Weekend Extravaganza

I really think I need to start updating this again! It's been too long, and I'm still thrifting away happily! I'll be blogging photoshoots on my new blog Dream Land here: www.ahollowayphoto.blogspot.com.  But I think I'll be keeping this my vintage & thrifting blog!  A couple of weekends ago, I had a really awesome thrifting weekend! I got some really great stuff for awesome deals, and I can't wait to put it to use!

First off is this glorious metal type-writer table! When my grandmother pointed it out to me and told me what it was, I was instantly intrigued!  Plus, it looks like something you would buy at Urban Outfitters for $100. Best part?  Mine was only $10! I was really surprised to see it priced for that. Mind you, it does have a few small issues.  One of the legs is missing a bolt to keep it firmly attached (easy fix) and it is missing one of the fold-down sides (not so easy of a fix, but it looks fine without). While I'm usually not of the mind to alter vintage or antiques, I think I'll be re-painting this, I'm thinking turquoise or maybe a really pretty soft but bright lavender. I have a couple of ideas for it.  One is to use it in my spare bedroom and actually put my type-writer on it (a novel idea, I know), or two to put it on my back screened-in porch and use it to hold some small potted plants. Hard choice, I know!

When I was looking through the same store at the dishes and such, I spied a pretty little rose-adorned mug.  I thought it had a very distinct Royal Albert look to it. Although I know next to nothing about Royal Albert patterns or shapes, I've been really jonesing after their new Cheeky patterns with the polka dots and roses. So, I was really excited to turn over the cup and see the Royal Albert mark on it!  It's in the pattern Centennial Rose, but I'm having a difficult time figuring out what style of cup it is?  It's not a teacup, but it doesn't look to be in the style of the mugs online in this pattern either. Either way, this cutie was only 50 cents!

We went to several thrift stores and of course at each one I have to comb through the clothing.  My favorite sections to search are usually the lingerie/sleepwear ones, because vintage lingerie & nightgowns are easier to find and they look amazing in photoshoots for a very soft and ethereal look.  I hit the jackpot.  Not only did I find several beautiful nightgowns, I also find two really gorgeous and flirty 70s dresses.

The first dress was this floral one by Mad Rags, you gotta love the tag on it! The floral pattern is really pretty on it, it was my most expensive clothing purchase at $7. This dress screams summer to me, it's got the perfect bohemian vibe to it!

 The other dress is a heavy cream-colored dress with a ruffled top. Somebody's cut all of the tags out of this one, so I can't say for sure what it's made out of, it looks sweet and wispy but it's got quite a bit of weight to it and it's stretchy! It was only $3.  It was from the same store, so the pricing difference was a little odd between the floral one and this one, but I'm glad this one was cheaper! Obviously ruffles were a key theme!

 Among the lingerie purchases was a pink nightgown with blue detailing ($5) in a stretchy nylon with a drawstring top, it even has the original string belt! Unfortunately the previous owner cut the tag out of this one too (which seems to be a theme for the day...)  It's a very well-thought out minimal piece, my first guess was perhaps it was a Vanity Fair piece, but I guess unless I see a similar one online, I'll never know!

I also grabbed a black slip with a scalloped cross-over top ($2), a long lavender gown with lace sleeves ($3), a white 3/4 sleeve nightgown with a sheer lace top ($5), and a blue and purple tie-front peignoir that looks to be hand made  or possibly re-made ($3).  

 I also bought this vintage white slip (which is kinda crazy if you've seen how many I own already), however it was only a $1 and this one has that great weight-y feel that only quality vintage ones have.  Not only is this one lined, it's DOUBLE-LINED. How awesome is that?  You wouldn't want anybody seeing through your slip after-all!  I get so excited about vintage slips though, the amount of detail and design in this one piece is quite wonderful. Unfortunately, somebody's cut the tag out of this one too, it definitely has the feel and design of several of my 1950s Vanity Fair pieces though, so I'm making that educated guess!

I might have went a little overboard that weekend, but I've got some fabulous new things to have some fun with! If it doesn't pour down rain this weekend, I'm hoping to make some photographs with my new lovely finds <3

Happy thrifting!
Ashley

Using Vintage for Photoshoots

Woah...so behind on this blog!  Sorry for disappearing, but it's been a really busy last couple of months, lots and lots of work being done!  I haven't had time to photograph any of my new finds, however, I have been using them in photo-shoots non-stop!  So, do you want to see how I've used some of my vintage finds in recent photo-shoots? 

Well, read on!

"Anemone"

Remember the Le-Ann 80s metal shell purse from my $3 splurge?  I said I was using it in a "mermaid" themed photoshoot, and here it is being rocked by the lovely Katie from Posche Models!  She's also got on a Laurence Kazar 80s beaded dress that was thrifted long, long ago at Goodwill. It was actually one of my very first thrifted vintage dresses.  I had it hanging on my wall forever actually! We really pinned this one in to fit the model perfectly, I was really happy with the results!

And here it is lounging in the water, came out good as new though!

"Siren's Song"

Here's the scaled metal belt as well from the $3 splurge post! The 80s beaded top was gifted to me by an awesome family member who knows my love for unique vintage finds!

"Secret Garden" with Taylor Montague (Alexa Models)

 This is a 70s Jessica McClintock for Gunne Sax dress, it is in unbelievable condition for something so white! I actually wore it for Easter this year too! It was thrifted from our local Hospice thrift store that is easily my favorite thrift store, my grandma and I always find awesome things! The hat is straw with dried flowers on it; I got it from a guy who was clearing out his parent's house for free. You can't beat styling a shoot for less than $5!

"Left Behind" with Emily Cingari

Also from the Hospice thrift store, are we sensing a trend yet? It's an 80s/90s Rampage dress and it was under $5!  It makes me think of a marionette dress, so we went with an abandoned doll theme! It fit Emily perfectly!

from the Swan Song photoshoot with Madeline Hall (BMG Models Orlando)

This dress was bought on Ebay a few months ago for about $10, it said it was a 40s gown (very well might be as it had shoulder pads, which were mostly popular in the 40s and 80s).  It looks fairly good in these shots, but it was really badly stained on arrival, and then this shoot happened. Sadly, the dress didn't really make it through it.  The drop-waisted seam ripped as she was standing up and then practically fell apart at the seams when we tried to wash some of the dirt out of it. Oops. I pretty much commited vintage sacrilege, I try not to feel too badly about it though, since it was already sad when it came.  It just had it's last big adventure! The headpiece is another DIY.

Katie (Posche Models)

It looked especially fabulous in black&white!

 This cobalt blue gown was thrifted from a Goodwill for under $5 and is a Miss Elliette dress with what have been described as pineapple sleeves. Love that description! I've seen a couple of color-ways of this one floating around the net that can't seem to settle on an age.  It's been described anywhere from 60s to 70s to 80s. VFG's label resource pinpoints this one as a 60s gown, quite an unusual one at that! Katie is also wearing vintage rhinestone jewelry from a few different estate sales.

A vintage styled shoot with Shoshannah Kadinger

And here's some cute vintage gloves and a vintage pearl braided necklace! The gloves were my great grandmother's, and the necklace is from an estate sale for $1.

Another with Shoshannah Kadinger

One of my most recent purchases, this 50s hat was $5 at the Labor Day Webster flea market sale! It looked so darn adorable on Shoshannah!  The rotary phone was "picked" from a purchased piece of property, and the doily is the one shown in the $3 splurge post.

Still untitled, but with Brittany Heuser

And from my most recent shoot, I shot with this awesome 60s/70s dress (unlabelled, I believe)! I thrifted itat  Goodwill for less than $5 at the same time as the Miss Elliette dress above. I love the bohemian yet Renaissance look of this one. So magical!

I hope you enjoyed that little peek at some of my vintage collection, and how it's being used in my photoshoots! 

Floral Fantasies

 My younger cousin was staying with us for the month, and she was curious about this estate sale thing that I am always talking about.  Well, we decided to take her to two of them that were fairly close to each other.  She was not impressed :P  It turns out that "picking" in not her thing.  No problem though, I love her to death anyways ;)

The first one wasn't really to my liking, some really cute things, but pricey! The second was pretty great though!  I spent $8 and got some pretty nifty goodies!  

First up is my absolute favorite!  I have another one in a similar shape (but slightly smaller)  in black with an embroidered design on it, and it's one of my favorite vintage bags.  I saw this one and I'm pretty sure my eyes popped out for a second or two ;)

 Vintage velvet flower and woven bag $3

 Velvet 3-dimensional flowers?  Yes, please!!   There's so many pretty colors on her, and she was in great condition after a little bit of a wiping with an antibacterial wipe.  There's a vinyl lining on the inside, so washing was super easy!

 Sorry for so many pictures, but I can't help the love!  I'm still trying to date this bag better, I find handbags really hard to date.  To me, this bag says 50s or 60s with the shapes and details, it makes me think of elaborate vintage hats.  However, my grandmother told me that she remembers making these in the early 70s.  You would buy a kit and make them, the details on the front were up to you.  She particularly remembers initial ones with the initials of the maker embroidered on the front. Being made by somebody, this bag does not have a brand name inside, and I think that makes it all the more interesting!

Next up was a few vintage jewelry pieces!  I love unique little pieces of costume jewelry, although I'm terrible at remembering to wear them!

I collect vintage animal pins, it didn't first start out as an intentional collection, but I started noticing a trend with them, and decided to go with it.  This little seahorse was just fabulous, and I couldn't let him get away!  He's unmarked, but he has a lot of character!

Seahorse pin/brooch  $1

Okay, it's not another animal, but I loved this pin too!  It's quite large but made out of a light metal with a cute little faux pearl center, also unmarked.  It's so wonderfully feminine and sweet, I figured it would look great on a dress or even a coat!

White metal flower pin with pearl center $1

And the next two items are necklaces with stone pendants!  I love the look of raw or natural looking stones in jewelry.

 Pretty and simple and small! Maybe Cat's Eye?  $1

 I'm pretty sure I showed off a gold version of a necklace very similar to this one on a blog post a while back.  I really loved it and couldn't resist a silver version as well! $1

I also bought a picnic basket for $1, but I don't have pictures of it. I've been looking for one for awhile, and although it's not the perfect picnic basket of my dreams, it's quite cute regardless! I recently used it in a photo-shoot, so I'll have some images of it soon  :)  And my last item was a handmade triangle scarf made out of an adorable vintage Alice in Wonderland fabric.  You might not know it, but I love Alice in Wonderland!  It's my absolute favorite thing to collect, and my family all knows it! The seller gave it to me for free with the rest of my goods, which was super nice!

So, what else did I see on this trip? A group of owls on a branch that looked like they were all fluff with beady little eyes.  Possibly the cutest, creepiest things ever!  I wish I had snagged a picture of them to share!  Also several fur coats as well as a really creepy fur scarf with the animals heads attached.  Eww!  It almost gave me a heart-attack when I saw them!  I know they were completely normal at one point in time, but they give me the creeps!

The $3 Splurge

My grandma and I were driving down the road, and headed to the seafood market, when we spied a little yard sale!  Of course, we couldn't just not go (that would be plain silly!), so we stopped and gave a good look around.  Some newer stuff, but mostly older stuff, hurray!  I got a fun little bunch of five items for a total of $3, while my grandma got two metal fold-up chairs for $3 each.  I held back a bit since a lot of the items were household things, something I love, but not something I use for photo-shoots. 

This particular items has me baffled, it's a decorative metal plate.

 Why is a metal plate confusing?

 Because it's made by Delft!  Delftware, as its commonly referred to, was a company that made tin-glazed pottery from the 15th century to present day.  This is certainly not pottery, so what exactly is it and why was it made?  It certainly has a Delft pattern.  The only thing I could find that was similar was a child's plate and cup set made out of tin, but this just isn't child size!

 Basically, I bought it because it said it was made in Holland, I knew next-to-nothing about Delft when purchasing it.  ;) I love researching things like this though!






And the next purchase:

A pyrex cup with the gold butterfly pattern!  She told me she had a larger set of these somewhere and that she would call me if she found them, sadly she never called. Probably lost my number!

The next two items are what I got super excited about though!   I've been planning a shoot with a model with a summery glam fashion mermaid sort of theme (slightly confusing, right?)  Anyways, these two items are THE PERFECT fashion mermaid accessories, I felt like such a lucky girl!    I just did the photo-shoot last Friday and they looked great on camera too!

 Don't the metal plates on this vintage belt look just like fish/mermaid scales?  Too perfect, seriously.  I wanted the shoot to be shiny and glittery like a mermaid's tale, looks like I'll get my wish! 

 The seller told me that her mom used to wear it when she was a little girl, but looking online at similar ones, it doesn't look like it could be much older than 70s, which is fine by me!

 You almost wouldn't expect the webbed back with that glam front, but that is indeed the case!

The other item? Even more perfect!  A vintage metal shell purse!  

Also glitzy and shiny just like I wanted!

It's branded Le-Ann, and it's got a great snake rope chain on it!

 The seller didn't mention the age of this one, but she had the belt and this one paired up on the table together.  I figured that they were probably about the same age.  This one is actually most likely 80s though.  In any case, a shell shaped purse, way too perfect!

And the last item from my $3 score, a vintage doily! 

 What the heck am I going to use this for?  Shadow photography fun!  And then, I might use it for it's intended purpose. ;)  

 The pattern on this was just so gorgeous, I can't wait to try it out!

So, that was my quick $3 score at a local yard sale!

Any more information on any of these items?  I never mind a point in the right direction!