Vintage Fashion: Old or New?

There is a fantastic piece up in the New York Times about the popularity of vintage clothing.  It's always exciting to see vintage trends hitting MSM (they even mention etsy!!), but the article brings up a good point- what place do reproductions have in the vintage world?

I agree that reproductions are very different when it comes to clothing.  It can be a lot easier to find something that actually fits when it is made for modern bodies and with synthetic materials.  Also, you won't feel like you've destroyed a piece of history when you spill wine on a repro cocktail dress.

Homewares, I think, are an entirely different story.  It's not that there isn't a market or demand for reproductions of vintage home trends, there certainly is.  And blending reproductions and authentic vintage finds can give your home a thoroughly modern yet curated look.  My problem is that reproductions of homewares have historically been disingenuous.  I cannot tell you how disappointing it is to find cheaply made fake Nippon, or worse yet, very well made fake Nippon, only to discover that it is a dupe.  My father called me incredibly distraught that he had missed out on a jadeite Fire King pitcher that he later found out was worth upwards of $10,000.  I, being equally distraught, did some quick research and found out that these pitchers are so valuable because only three are known to exist, and that a number of reproductions have begun popping up to capitalize on the scarcity.

There is a big difference between genuine reproductions and "fakes," and there are a lot of advantages to buying newer things- they may be cheaper, hold up better in the dishwasher, and breaking or ruining them is not as heart-wrenching.  However, as a collector, the whole issue of repros raises lots of red flags for me.

What do you think?  Does the demand for vintage legitimize the market for reproductions?

A New Blog About Old Things

This past summer, I decided to expand upon my obsession for vintage and love of yard sales and open up a shop on etsy.  I soon realized what an incredible community etsy is, and what a wonderful opportunity I had to connect with all of the other vintage lovers out there, and decided to start blogging about my treasure hunting, research, and etsy shop owner experiences!

About Me


I'm a Washington, DC urbanite from the suburbs of Philadelphia.  I grew up with a great love for history and old things, and a passion for learning about how others lived through the items they used.

I owe much of my love of vintage to my family.  I was so fortunate to have loving grandmothers with impeccable taste, and developed a good eye and an appreciation for preserving beautiful things from the past from them.  In fact, I have a stunning black ombre bedroom set from my grandmother and grandfather from the 30's- 40's that they used for their whole lives, and it's one of my most treasured possessions.

For years, my family and I have gone "junkin" in Pennsylvania and down the shore in Jersey, and I learned all of my garage sale wisdom from them.  Now, they all have a hand in helping the shop succeed.  Dad is head of merchandising (aka thrift store fanatic), Mom is shipping guru, sister is style maven and ultimate truth-teller (aka- "that is ugly, don't buy it"), and Pop-pop is resident electrician/Mr. Fixit.  Even boyfriend, formerly heavy-box-carrier, has recently come on board as book keeper.

A Taste for Vintage

My etsy shop officially opened on June 1, 2010.  I made my first sale as soon as I listed my first item ( I actually thought I'd done it wrong because it didn't show up in my shop, but someone had bought it right away!)  The 4 short months since then have been a huge learning experience about etsy, vintage, marketing, money, organization, collecting, and everything in between.

I haven't honed in on a specific style, genre, or time period yet, but I find myself gravitating strongly towards glassware, which you can see in my shop.  For now, I'm just going to focus on beautiful, interesting, unique vintage items, regardless of what they are.

So far, I'm having a great time with this new venture, and I'm excited to expand it into the blogosphere!