posted: August 23, 2009

Written by: Yekaterina Burmatnova
Edited by: Jo Ann L.B. Duggins

Vintage...Gone Your Way

If you are anything like me and despise wearing the same thing as another person in the room, here is my advice to you: stay away from major retail chains. But where does that leave us, broke fashionistas in trailing, you might be asking. The solution is beyond simple and I have to add, affordable! Drum roll please! Vintage is your new drug and soon enough Goodwill will become your favorite dealer. I know that the drama queen within tends to over exaggerate at times but I promise you that it is not one of those moments. You will be hooked and this is one fabulous addiction that I approve of!

Vintage has been an underground thing for a few years now, and this craze has been pushing and shoving its way to the top, influencing many designs. If you have bought anything from Urban Outfitters in the past year, it is very likely that there is a whiff of late 80’s and early 90’s in it. I am not putting down UO shoppers in any way, but I am willing to bet massive amounts of money on the fact that you will run into someone sporting the same “cool” new item sooner or later and the fashion diva inside you will get the wind knocked out of her and develop a slight limp. It would only be wise to avoid that.

The appeal of vintage is threefold: price, fit and most of all...individuality. With the ever-changing trends it is close to impossible to keep up and still have enough money to not starve to death. The great thing about vintage items is the fact that you can buy a whole new wardrobe for less then a hundred dollars. When going into a thrift store, it is key to not get intimidated. You should buy anything and everything that grabs your attention and then get those clothes altered to fit you exactly how you want them, and not how some skinny, flat-chested, hipless designer tells you. I lost count for how many times I’ve heard, “I hate shopping, it depresses me.” Don’t try to fit the clothes, make the clothes fit you. Then you are awarded with freedom of expression and you have the ability to get creative with your style. No longer do you have to fit into a certain mold! You are free to make the dresses as short as you want, you can wear oversized shirts and Ts as dresses, your imagination limitless!

Being a believer in spending less, I did a bit of an experiment to prove my point. I picked a “trendy” dress at Urban Outfitters and headed to a thrift store. The UO dress was way over the fifty dollar mark and was quite bland for my taste. I , in turn, found a dress with the same idea, for under ten dollars and with a fun, sassy print. Yes, it looked like a potato sac on the hanger, but all it needed was a few inches off the length and voila!!!

You be the judge:



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