It keeps getting shipped overseas STILL!

[Matt Deckard]

And that's the way it is. Asia, Europe... they just want to pay more for our stuff so it gets picked before we see it. Goodwill, Salvation Army... okay, I need to start my own charity organization that feeds high end European vintage stores.

http://www.thestar.com/living/fashion/article/900092--on-the-front-lines-in-the-vintage-clothing-war

 

[Gene]

Again, why I'm thankful I don't live in an urban area. Still lots of stuff to go around.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Her philosophy (and brand) is that slavishly following an era — say, a burlesque Dita Von Teese look — is costume. Vintage to Sullivan is creating a new context out of old pieces.

Oh no! We are not cool anymore. We should mix and match the post-post-postmodern way.

Seriously, the warehouses full of vintage begin to haunt me in my dreams.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Egads... I just wish it were like the old days when you could swim through a pile of old clothes at a rag mill and pull out a treasure or five everytime. Back when three piece suits were boring if they didn't have a belted back. Back when all you needed to do was take what you found to a cleaner and wear it the next day. Now Goodwill and Salvation army just ship it out after the vintage is carefully picked.

 

[mattfink]

This article is a just a look into what has always been going on here....the rag industry has just moved from here to Toronto. I guess I'd rather not see the dark underbelly and greed fueled by paranoia side of the business, but it's hard to avoid sometimes.

 

[Gene]

I used to volunteer at a local Salvation Army. We kept everything, so maybe it's just in certain areas this happens?

 

[Matt Deckard]

Send me the hats Gene.

 

[Gene]

Send me the hats Gene.

Just got a couple today actually!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I was just at the Salvation Army near me -- if I see another ballcap...

 

[nihil]

I wonder if sometime in the 2050s, there are going to be people that relive the 90s and 00s lifestyle, and collect vintage baseball caps, sweatpants and flipflops, and dream about how things were less complicated 'back then'

 

[Eyechild]

Here in the UK, Charity shops/thrift stores (including the Salvation Army) used to be an Aladdin's cave of stuff... it was a all a bit jumbled up but if you dug about, you could unearth genuine treasures, from vintage clothing to jazz lps – all for peanuts.

Now it's all sent to a sorting depot, and pickers pick out the nice bits, for resale on eBay – or I guess – to other retailers for a markup. I guess it's all in a charitable cause so that's good, but the shops themselves aren't worth bothering with anymore.

On another note, I'd often wondered why vintage things that seem to be in relatively short supply in the States and Europe – that originated there in fact – seem readily available on Japanese sites: now I know!

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Gene, the Goodwill shops in my in of town never have anything worth looking at when I swing thru. An I live in the high end side of town.

 

[Two Types]

Here in the UK, Charity shops/thrift stores (including the Salvation Army) used to be an Aladdin's cave of stuff... it was a all a bit jumbled up but if you dug about, you could unearth genuine treasures, from vintage clothing to jazz lps – all for peanuts.

Now it's all sent to a sorting depot, and pickers pick out the nice bits, for resale on eBay – or I guess – to other retailers for a markup. I guess it's all in a charitable cause so that's good, but the shops themselves aren't worth bothering with anymore.

I disagree that charity shops aren't worth bothering with. Whilst most of the larger chains of charity shops have very little worth looking at, some of the smaller charities can be very good. Those are the ones I prefer to check out. I recently picked up a 1950 tailor-made double-breasted dinner jacket for just £3. A week later I found a perfect condition 1960s overcoat for £4 in the same shop.
I think it is still possible to find good stuff (although I never expect to find anything pre-1950 - except maybe ties) if one is dedicated and keep looking on a regular basis. But I would agree that if you just drop into charity shops irregularly, there isn't much hope of finding anything worthwhile.

My one tip is this: try the smaller shops that are used to fund hospices. Since people go to hospices specifically to die, it increases the chance that families will happily donate to them once the person is dead. Thus, an increased chance of picking up the clothes of older people.

Mind you, I 'm not sure why I am giving advice on this: it just increases the competition!

 

[Mario]

That's why I actually loath shows like Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men: They create, at least for a short time, an enormous interest in vintage clothing. So people go out and buy stuff (sometimes for big bucks) just because it's all the rage at the moment - only to loose interest again when some other media-triggered fashion trend emerges. The trouble is that a whole lot, if not most of the interesting stuff probably remains gone from the market for good.

 

[Edward]

I used to volunteer at a local Salvation Army. We kept everything, so maybe it's just in certain areas this happens?

As the market in "vintage" has gotten big, most charity shops have responded - at least, the big branded ones. In the UK, Oxfam has a number of "Oxfam Vintage" outlets where specific items are selected and sent for sale. They tend to be more expensive than regular charity shops - more akin to what you'd pay in a vintage (for profit) place - but I don't mind paying the extra for something god, given where the money goes. The Sally Army have a whole range of categories - I believe they do sort out "vintage" - they also sort specifically stuff that is out of fashion and has no longer a market in the UK, but which is still plenty wearable, and that goes to their projects in the Third World for people who genuinely have nothing else. Even stuff totally beyond saving goes into recycling, by which means they pay all the rates on all their UK shops every year.

I wonder if sometime in the 2050s, there are going to be people that relive the 90s and 00s lifestyle, and collect vintage baseball caps, sweatpants and flipflops, and dream about how things were less complicated 'back then'

You better believe it. Beyond a basic level of utility, it's all subjective when it comes to clothing.

Here in the UK, Charity shops/thrift stores (including the Salvation Army) used to be an Aladdin's cave of stuff... it was a all a bit jumbled up but if you dug about, you could unearth genuine treasures, from vintage clothing to jazz lps – all for peanuts.

Still find the odd piece, but it's rarer now, for sure, as it is more generally anyhow - basic matter of how far we are from the Thirties and Forties by now. My parents' era when they'd have grown out of children's clothing and into adult stuff was the mid-late Sixties, and they're grandparents in their mid-late Sixties now. I have one living grandparent left; she was born in the Thirties. I don't think it's as much charity shops getting wise to vintage, as a finite supply starting to reach its limits.

On another note, I'd often wondered why vintage things that seem to be in relatively short supply in the States and Europe – that originated there in fact – seem readily available on Japanese sites: now I know!

Japanese collectors have been hitting a lot of markets like that for years: a lot of the best vintage electric guitars are now in Japan. Japanese collectors were the first to start paying big for CBS era Fenders, back when the guitar-snobs in the West laughed at them: now even those are out of reach of the average person, and many of them went to Japanese collectors. That's just the way of things, really. Capitalist free markets, I suppose. The lovely thing is that the Japanese respect this stuff so much - and tend to do so well at reproduction. Now, if only we could get the best of their repro stuff over here at a price that was in any way affordable..... sigh.....

 

[Mario]

a lot of the best vintage electric guitars are now in Japan. Japanese collectors were the first to start paying big for CBS era Fenders, back when the guitar-snobs in the West laughed at them: now even those are out of reach of the average person, and many of them went to Japanese collectors. That's just the way of things, really. Capitalist free markets, I suppose. The lovely thing is that the Japanese respect this stuff so much - and tend to do so well at reproduction. Now, if only we could get the best of their repro stuff over here at a price that was in any way affordable..... sigh.....

Semi-OT: What sometimes freaks me out about some of the guitars is that they're often treated merely as an asset, a long-term money investment. They simply get locked away in some well-climated room and it's not very likely that they'll ever get played again. A few years ago I read about this investment guy who owns a bunch of pre-war Martin D-28 herringbone guitars - not so much because he loves those instruments per se but because they're spelling big big money. *sigh*

 

[nihil]

That is sadly the way with many valuable items. Investors also purchase art and other very valuable items, simply to lock it in a vault and wait for the prices to increase. I'm all for the free initiative and such, but not all aspects are equally good.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Nowadays, it seems, that whenever people have stuff they want to get rid of, it usually gets divided into four categories for disposal:

Category A -- eBay
Category B -- Favorite Dealer (usually a friend of a friend situation)
Category C -- Yard Sale
Category D -- Donation

 

[Undertow]

I used to volunteer at a local Salvation Army. We kept everything, so maybe it's just in certain areas this happens?

Perhaps this is the case. Perhaps it's a matter of location and population?

I've not yet seen a single fedora, wool or fur, come through one of the 5 Goodwill's, 1 Salvation Army or 1 DAV store. From time to time, I'll see a decent suit or jacket come in, but the frequency is quite limited anymore. If I'm lucky, I'll get a hold of something decent, albeit not necessarily period-correct, from an estate that all ended up at one thrift store.

I know the pickings were much better in Minneapolis, yet the cost is definitely reflected. They also have thrift stores specifically geared towards the "vintage" look.

 

[Edward]

Semi-OT: What sometimes freaks me out about some of the guitars is that they're often treated merely as an asset, a long-term money investment. They simply get locked away in some well-climated room and it's not very likely that they'll ever get played again. A few years ago I read about this investment guy who owns a bunch of pre-war Martin D-28 herringbone guitars - not so much because he loves those instruments per se but because they're spelling big big money. *sigh*

I agree, there's something quite sad about instruments not being played and enjoyed. Specific individual items, maybe, I can see the point of keeping them very carefully stored (Elvis' Martin, for instance), but otherwise, such a shame. To be honest, though, I personally don't believe vintage electric guitars are even all that either. Both Fender and Gibson, to name but two, are perfectly capable of turning out just as good an instrument now as back when - and with much greater consistency, too.