Old Is The New New: The Vintage Advantage

Come hither. Slipteasevintage.com (photo by EE berger)

These three Detroiters make a living by turning old clothes into bold clothes. Here’s why they say vintage is the way to go.

Scouring the city, the state, even the country is all in a day's work for three Detroiters who’ve transformed their passions for vintage fashion into bona fide money-makers. Thrift stores, rummage, estate, warehouse and garage sales are to vintage sellers what wholesale clothiers and trade shows are to new clothing retailers. This job certainly isn't for the lazy or dull, it's for hustlers who appreciate some history and love the thrill of the hunt.

"I knew I wanted to work with vintage clothing 12 years ago when I was in high school," says Bethany Nixon, owner of Rewarevintage.com. After a love affair with old apparel began to seep into her job- she initially worked as a vintage buyer at various Michigan shops- her continual passion eventually lead to eBay sales in 1999, which eventually lead to her own e-store launch in 2005. Now, three years later, the site has grown in success and carries a wide range of vintage goods for men, women, home and even baby. She also sells reconstructed vintage goods, like her popular record notebooks and clothing made from vintage fabrics.

Nixon notes she constantly looks for "good design, fit and material in apparel, and thoroughly checks each item over to make sure it is good condition and will last for years to come for its new owner." The quality, "for years to come," is very important for vintage sellers. When mixed and matched, ensembles can possess that "current look." In other words, "vintage" often becomes synonymous with "classic.”

As vintage merch skyrockets in popularity, some e-tailers seek unique methods of branding and marketing, to stay ahead as online vintage shops continue to pop up. Take Adrienne Goloda, for example, the raven-haired dame behind slipteasevintage.com (formerly known as ‘kitschkewpie'), an eBay shop that pushes painfully hip and chic vintage women’s clothing, bags and shoes.

Through MySpace, a new street style blog, wardrobe styling on the side, and advertising with thevintageunderground.com, Goloda seeks to get her name out there as she cross-promotes each of her entrepreneurial endeavors.

While the clothing for sale may be over twenty years old, Sliptease outfits often mimick something lifted from the pages of fashion magazine on stands today. The ways in which outfits are assembled is a major component in upping sales. "Styling puts new spins on old clothes, since most of my customers wear vintage in their everyday wardrobe, not just to costume parties," Goloda says,"Fashionistas don't even respond to photos that don't look like they could have come out of NYLON or Vice; it's kinda crazy, kinda cool, and makes doing e-vintage more competitive everyday."

Unfortunately, the power of the web and advertising can't control the season change. "Sales go up and down. As soon as it gets warm out it goes down. Fall and winter are where its at," Goloda says. During the warmer months, shoppers spend less time on their computers.

But that just means she works harder.

“I work everyday. Every single day” says the self-proclaimed former “Contempo Casuals” teen who spent time and money during those years at Oakland Mall, but mixed vintage and thrift with her new threads. Her obsession deepened in college when she got hooked on vintage lingerie. After college she moved back to the Motor City and met Tommy Dorr (of Lost & Found Vintage) and it happened- she was stuck on vintage. “I just like learned everything and got into everything and I couldn’t really go back.” It made most sense for her to make a job out of it, so she did.

And, as you can tell by now, Goloda and Nixon aren't the only ones.

Tommy Dorr, a young entrepreneur who opened Lost & Found Vintage in Royal Oak, which will turn five in August. At just 21, he propped open the doors to the shop, a tiny spot on 11 Mile Road, and thanks to great a response, opportunity and no formal training, Dorr relocated within two years later to a tri-level shop on Washington Avenue, a few streets away. "I didn’t have any business degrees or anything, I just signed a lease and learned from there."

Lost & Found boasts a wide variety of men's and women's clothing, shoes and accessories from the 30s through 80s. What's his secret to success? "It’s definitely a nitsche and its accessible and the price range is key," Dorr says, “You can come in with twenty bucks and get something.” He continues, "I’ve made the connections where I can get a lot of stuff. So when the stuff sells, we can't get the exact same stuff but we can get more…from my secret locations (laughs)."

Aside from traveling state-to-state, Dorr relies greatly on personal connections, appointments and going out to people's homes, a personal yet crucial business venture. "It’s really just putting your self out there like everyday, meeting people and just being really honest," Dorr says "I gotta make connections with people who do real estate liquidations and people who clear houses out, just like the weirdest people around."

A funny thing is, he says, that often people will claim to have something he will definitely want, but when he gets there, Dorr ends up buying the stuff that was set to go out in the trash. In addition, Dorr says, "A lot of people don’t realize that there’s a huge amount of people who appreciate vintage clothing," he says, "but they’re just excited because somebody wants what they have."

For Dorr, not unlike many other vintage hunters' schedules, the hours can be long. "It’s when I wake up 'til I go to sleep," he says "From about 7 am to 8 o’clock at night…fourteen or fifteen hours a day."

But it's all worth it.

"I’m talking to people and dealing with the most eccentric people in the world. It's amazing. Going into people’s houses and have them tell me about how their aunt who died and she went to prom with somebody in 1951…they give me all these stories about the weirdest situations. But I like to hear about it. There’s a lot of really crazy stuff that I've seen and heard." He laughs. "I bought out Miss Detroit 1954, I bought all her clothes."

Another addition to Dorr's success is his ability to cater to a wide age range of shoppers in his boutique. "We get a lot of people who have kind of quit shopping for vintage, who used to shop alot in the 80s," he says, "(They) come in and say ‘wow I didn’t know there was a store who still has stuff from the 50s and 40s’, we get a lot of people who used to shop at Patti Smith which makes me feel good."

Take It From the Pros: The Perks of Shopping Vintage and How to Do it Right

(From Bethany Nixon/Rewarevintage.com)

On buying vintage:

“Keep an open mind and know a good tailor! Look for materials, styles and colors that you like and if the fit isn’t exactly what you are looking for, think of how it could be altered to become that perfect piece for you! Also, inspect each item with a keen eye – a simple repair could be a great haggling tool with the manager of the store and save you some big bucks.”

The Vintage Advantage:

“Wearing vintage clothing will always ensure that you can wear what reflects your style and fits your shape best no matter what the current trends are!”

(From Adrienne Goloda/slipteasevintage.com)

Key pieces to look out for:

“Designer cut, like if something has darts and beautiful rouching and puff sleeves and all that.”

Tricks of the Trade:

“Turn the clothes inside out, look at how the clothes are finished.”

The Vintage Advantage:

“In general (vintage) is better quality, you have less chance of seeing someone else with the same thing on.”

Style Tips:

“I always recommend mixing up styles and genres in each outfit with some current basic pieces to create your own style and avoid looking like you just stepped out of an old movie set.”

(Tommy Dorr/Lost & Found Vintage)

Making the most of your shopping:

“Well, it’s time consuming. You’ll have to spend a lot of time looking. Checking back on a weekly basis for new stuff. Patience.”

The Vintage Advantage:

“It’s a way to be an individual. It’s a way to look different that everyone else. Certain brands have these clothes and you have to look like the ads. You can take clothes from any era and you don’t have to look like someone who was on the Brady Bunch you know. You can really mix and match.”

“A bonus is that a lot of stuff was made right here in the US, there were like textile unions and everything. Especially for the older stuff, you can see on a lot of the tags 'Made in the Mid West' the Mid West was huge then for manufacturing. Buying something used, they’re not making it in China. Everything has a history to it, too.”

Caring for your vintage garments:

Sixties through eighties stuff is pretty durable…fifties and forties and thirties stuff is definitely more delicate check the tags. Mainly because of the different materials they made the stuff out of.”

For those who fear used fashions:

“I always say if people get weirded out by wearing someone else’s clothes, I just say you go to restaurants and eat off silverware that other people have put their mouths on!"