How & Where To Find 1980’s Vintage Clothing

Posted by admin on March 30, 2010

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How do you buy vintage 1980’s clothing, and what exactly makes it 80’s vintage style?

To find vintage 80’s clothing, obviously you can got to the vintage shops. Their business is vintage so they are sure to have a good supply of stock for you to choose from.  Keep in mind though, that typically vintage clothing stores are where you will pay the most to score vintage clothing.  It makes sense, since the owners of the shops have already done the hard work of scouring for the inventory; they deserve to make a profit and that is a simple example of supply and demand.

So OK, you can go to the vintage boutiques.  But, you have other options.  I love places like Goodwill or The Salvation Army for finding vintage items.   Sure, you have to scour through racks and racks of stuff, but you soon will develop your own system and it is fairly easy to spot the kinds of items you are looking for once you become familiar with the store.  Lastly, estate sales and garage sales as well as flea markets can also be a source for vintage clothing.  However, to get to these types of venues you really need a plan.  Typically they have a small window when they are open so if that doesn’t jive with your schedule it makes it tricky to get there.

If you are a vintage 80’s clothing purest, meaning you want clothing that is from the 1980’s and not new items that are made to look like they are from the 80’s (which would be called Retro 1980’s clothing), then you will need to use one of my suggestions to find your wardrobe.  But, if you don’t mind retro vintage then you may be able to find some accessory items like belts and jewelry and hats in stores now.  In nearly every mall in America there is at least one store that caters to the edgy teen fashion look and those places are often good for finding 80’s retro accessories.   Check it out!