I’ll admit it, I’m not ashamed to say it… I LOVE vintage!
I love rummaging around messy stalls and stuffy charity shops, I love having to be careful with certain items because they’ve been so well loved they are now fragile, and I love knowing that my latest find is unlikely to appear on every other girl in the Library, as is often the case with Primark, Topshop and H and M crowd-pleasers.
Vintage items are better-made than most modern-day alternatives; you can feel the quality of the fabrics, the sturdiness of the hems and the care with which the detail has been added. If it’s beaded- it’s heavy and literally dripping with embellishment. If it’s denim- it’s well-worn and comfortable. If it’s leather- it’s thick and long-lasting and just wonderfully… cow-y?
Anyway, the advantages of buying retro over recent need hardly be stated (though I will add you can worry less about if it’s been made by slave labour in Asia and more about how amazing you will look and feel when you give it it’s debut). Instead, I’m going to point to a few places you can look for your own cherished Vintage finds:
Firstly, as with all purchases it’s better do do it in person so you can feel it, try it on and test it out in ‘real-life’. Vintage shops are a haven of loveliness, and the best in Birmingham are the infamous yellow warehouse, COW (now in Digbeth AND city centre- it’s spreading!), Urban Village and Frock-On Vintage in the Custard Factory, Yo Yo and Urban Renewal at Urban Outfitters in the city centre, Oasis at Priory Square and Top Banana in Kings Heath.
COW in Digbeth
Urban Village
Urban Village
Vintage markets are amazing too and feel that bit more special than shopping in a traditional shop. RetroBrum is Birmingham’s newest vintage fair, held at the Custard Factory every other Saturday (1st and 3rd of the month from 11am). Over 40 stalls will sell everything from hand-made crafty bits to embellished 80’s gems and dainty blouses, plus plenty of obligatory vintage leather bags, belts and purses.
Feel free to haggle, to groove to the live DJs and chat to like-minded vintage aficionados on the battered sofas. You can even grab a bite to eat or drink, be it lager and pasties to tea and cake! Last Saturday’s market features two low-key catwalk shows styled by Bad Apple Hair and Ove-ra Monkeys, the retro-licious ladies from The Vintage Salon were offering retro pin-up hair and make-up, and you could even get beautiful henna tattoos done.Well worth a visit even if it’s just for the yummy tray-bakes!
Retro Brum
Custard’s Cream at Retro Brum
Retro Brum
Other places to buy vintage in Birmingham are in abundance; keep your eyes peeled for random markets like the one on the 25th in the Jewelery Quarter and the hanging-rail markets from Forgotten Vintage, plus the vintage stalls in and around the rag markets. If you live outside of Birmingham, search online for your nearest, and don’t forget to check out people’s blogs, twitter and Facebook for upcoming events!
Wherever in the country you live, you won’t be far from a weekend car boot sale and plenty of local charity shops (do not be afraid of the damp moth-ball smell- it’s worth it if you find a treasure!). The items you’re likely to buy here will no doubt be much cheaper than buying it from a vintage shop, so this shopping tactic is for the frugal among us!
If you’d rather have the convenience of online shopping, eBay is your first port of call, followed by Amazon and auction miss-spell sites such as Bargain Checker or Misspelled Auctions.
My pick of the best online vintage sites are; Etsy, Rokit, Peekaboo Vintage, CandySays, Absolute Vintage, Oxfam (yes they have an online shop!), Vintage Trends, Viva Vintage, Love Miss Daisy, My Vintage, It’s Vintage Darling, GiGi Vintage, Hummingbird Vintage, Tasty Vintage, Atom Retro and Mod Cloth, Corina Corina and Martha’s Closet.
PHEW!
Happy shopping! Keep it vintage!
