Guest Post: How to Thrift Vintage

Because I'm currently on a boat somewhere in Alaska, a few of my awesome blogger friends have agreed to help me out by contributing guest posts!  Today, Faith of Sweetened Style is going to give us some tips on hunting down great vintage finds at thrift stores.  Take it away, Faith!

Hello Sew Sew readers!  My name is Faith and I blog over at Sweetened Style.  I also have an Etsy shop where I sell vintage clothing and accessories.  When I was first starting out, I had to ask myself...how does one find the vintage goodness in a modern day thrift store?  I scoured the internet and here’s the tips I found the most helpful:

1. Where was it made?
source
If the item was made in the USA, you’re pretty much guaranteed that it’s vintage.  Most of our clothes are made overseas these days, so an American made piece is a great find!  Finding something that was made in a country that doesn’t exist anymore is also something to look for.

2. The Union Label.

source
These little red, white, and blue labels mean that the garment you’re holding was made by a clothing union.  If you see this, you know it was made before the 80s.  Check out this article for more info on what each label means!

3. Labels with city names.  

source

If you’ve found a piece that says “{Brand Name}, New York/Paris/London”, then congrats...you’ve found yourself another piece of vintage!  The stylish woman of yesteryear took joy in having the latest Parisian fashion or a piece that was modeled on the New York runways.  

That’s just the beginning!  If this has piqued your interest, just do a google search for “how to find vintage” for more info.

Thanks for reading! I’ll hope you’ll hop on over to my blog or Etsy shop and say hi sometime. :-)