I remember the first time I showed my vintage finds to my mother and her less than enthusiastic reaction. I had happened upon a tiny shop while I was ambling around the vicinity of school during some free lesson and, true to character, what succeeded in drawing me in was a gold sequin jacket shimmering in the sunlight.

Of course, once I was safely ensconced in the fusty-smelling Aladdin’s cave of a shop, it almost seemed like I had entered a black hole that I couldn’t (and didn’t want to) leave – I ended up spending two hours and all my remaining pocket money on two coats, a jumper and a dress (the aforementioned sequin jacket didn’t fit).

When I returned home with my glorious finds and triumphantly announced that I had only spent €20, my mother’s one scathing and deflating comment was: “Why would you want to wear someone else’s old clothes?”

Indeed, despite the great following that vintage clothing has achieved in recent years, many people still think of it as buying someone’s useless castaways, which is true enough; however, what they fail to see is the key reasons why more and more young fashionistas are going down this route.

The first thing I think is important to note is the fact that while many would rather not believe it, the quality of cloth, design and manufacturing has sunk lower and lower in recent years. While in the past, clothes were built to survive a nuclear holocaust because people weren’t expected to have a lot of them, our market has changed beyond recognition thanks to cheaper labour and even cheaper manufacturing.

In a world of so much choice, who wants to look like everyone else?

Just 30 years ago, women would buy one good winter coat in a classic style and be expected to use it for at least the next five years; however, now, even if you wanted to make something last, you probably wouldn’t manage to thanks to shoddy workmanship and less than substantial fabric blends and weaves. Ironically, we are now spending even more for basic things than we ever had before.

Sadly, this try-and-throw attitude is not just extended to clothes but to accessories too. While in the past, legendary fashion houses such as Chanel would gold plate their hardware, nowadays you’d be lucky to get a wallet on a chain with a pretty average and unsturdy looking strap for the price you would have paid for a 2.55, 20 years ago.

Ironically, with prices of luxury goods rising every few months and the demand for them being at an all-time high, the good people over at the most recognisable fashion houses in the world probably feel no compunction about giving a customer who doesn’t seem to know better less for much, much more.

Of course, not all vintage wares are created equal and if you do plan to go down this particular route, you always need to have a keen eye open for rips, tears, snags and damage that’s going to need a whole lot more than a bucket of soapy hot water and some polish.

The beautiful thing about quality vintage pieces and, certainly, the thing that made me fall in love with vintage-buying is that pieces actually have a story behind them and a charm which makes them unique. After all, in a world of so much choice, who wants to look like everyone else?

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