Before I got started collecting and wearing vintage clothing, I was faced with this question. What exactly am I looking for?
My intent is to wear the clothes. If I were interested in the garments for their value or their historical significance, the answer would be a little more clear. I would under those circumstances only be interested in genuine vintage apparel of the top caliber.
But my intent to wear vintage styles muddies the question somewhat. Reproductions are plentiful, beautiful, and come in a wide array of sizes. Buying genuine vintage in person takes a lot of legwork and patience, and buying pieces online is complicated by sizing changes and size differences across cultures. UK sizes are smaller than their US counterparts. And that's in modern sizes. In vintage sizes, the mess can become an ordeal without measurements given by the dealer. To add to the frustration, people in the past wore smaller sizes than people do currently. It may be hard to find today's size 14 among genuine vintage garments. It certainly isn't impossible to find larger vintage fashions, but it is more difficult.
Reproductions can at times be more expensive than vintage pieces, so they aren't universally a good way to save money. But they can certainly add modern sensibility and flare to a vintage wardrobe. I'll post some reproduction fashions on my blog with reviews and look alike comparisons so you can get an idea of what I'm trying to achieve.
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