Por Susana Molina
The coats warmed and the white shirts remained white.It seems logical but now it is not always like that.There was a time in which the fabrics had a quality superior to the one we used to play today, and in each garment an extraordinary clothing technique was used.What remained of that way of consuming fashion?"People increasingly value quality and that are unique garments.They already have a lot of confidence in this type of market that a few years ago was as spoiled and now not, quite the opposite ”, the one who speaks is Cristina, an experienced buyer of second -hand clothing and architect of the account of his father and ofHis mother, a window of vintage pieces that as soon as they go on sale fly.
But this increase in second -hand clothing buyers not only has to do with a new opportunity to dress, at a more than reasonable price, with the same quality that our grandmothers did, but also with a form of responsible consumptionBefore the environmental problem facing our society.This is how Ariane, co -founder of Imparfaite, one of the largest marketplace specialized in vintage clothes that brings together more than a thousand professional vendors in France: “It is time to rethink our way of seeing fashion and putting an end to bothLast decades of disposable fashion.Buying second -hand clothes allows us to have access to incredible quality clothes at affordable prices ”.
Not everything was going to be so pretty.The romantic idea we have about second -hand dress is not so easy to achieve, especially if there is no experience in the field.“If you have never started, buying second -hand can be overwhelming quickly since it takes time and patience.Find beautiful vintage pieces in good condition it takes a long time and passion.In 60 kilos of clothes you usually find only one piece, ”adds Ariane, which checks each of the garments and accessories that experts upload to their website.Precisely because of the overwhelming of the situation, we have asked these experts, so that achieving success buying second -hand is a little simpler.
It is the eternal doubt for those not initiated in the second -hand market.Invest in an important garment?Maybe try something lighter first?Ariane is very clear: "A sheep coat and a couple of Levi´s 501 are a must-have for the next three decades".Precisely in oddfaite these two garments form the Bestsellers list next to the Tweed and Austrian jackets.
The classic wool jackets from Tyrol seem to be enjoying a second life.Cristina also sees how they fly every time they get to her store: “Austrian is a garment that I love.I would also recommend buying a pinch.I think it's a garment that shelter and you can take it travel to do tourism or to go at the fixed night.And they have an impressive resistance.I also usually invest in a raincoat ".
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"It's a bit of common sense.Look at the labels, quality, touch ... you have to touch the clothes and have the contact to learn to differentiate what is a quality of another.This has happened to me over time.At first I did not have so much practice and there would be garments that I would not distinguish but now I am realizing: the wool and balls, that a fabric wrinkles ... for example, when looking for a shirt I always look for a garment that is practical, thanYou can wash it a lot and keep being fine.Being old garments if you see that they look good over time is that it is of good quality, ”explains Cristina, who after so many years of market in market has developed a sixth sense for vintage clothes.Now she makes first filter and selects the best for her clients.That is why at the beginning it is advisable to go to the stores where clothes have already been selected by an expert.“Professionals set their prices according to the exclusivity of the garment, the material, the decade in which it was made, the details, the brand and the state in which it is currently.In oddfaite, 54 euros is the average price, including coats and design pieces, ”adds Ariane.
For greater reason we should go to an expert if we are not sure.Ariane guarantees us that they only work “with professional vendors who know how to authenticate the pieces.Our team also reviews the products one by one before putting them on sale ”.Even so, Cristina offers us some guidelines to know how to identify a brand piece: “I believe that falsifications are noticed.You have to look at the linings, the loops, the buttons...You have to look like the brand, and see the quality of the garment.It must be taken into account, for example, that in a raincoat the cloth of the old ones is totally different from that of now.Even in the same marks the gabardines they do now are not like before.The gabardines made by El Corte Inglés in the 80s are of the same cloth as Burberry ”.
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“Sizes vary greatly because normally a 42 can be a current s.I think the height is the fundamental piece when buying a second -hand garment.If you are a tall girl - it is thin or a little wider - almost everything will like you because everything is very falling.The shoulder issue is also very important, rather than size itself.If a girl with a size 34 is high and has a back you can put a size L, instead a girl with a size m if she has little shoulder will not defend her the same.In second -hand clothes the shoulders are very marked - leaves shoulder pads or not - and the one that has more back that is not afraid of a large size because it will look good, ”explains Cristina.With the passage of time, the head of his father and his mother has already discovered his own tricks.Quite valuable, by the way.“I have discovered in this experience that the gabardine belt like it to be at the waist, under my chest.That is the key for the coil to stylize.This is how there are the ones you see in the movies that carry, for example, Audrey Hepburn.And not in the hip, which is where they are usually and that makes us wider.Even from any that you already have, if you can fell and upload it three fingers up will change you ”.
The question seems obvious and yet, perhaps, after listening to Ariane, we should formulate it on the contrary: “In odd all the clothes we sell it is already washed.Unlike the new clothes that still have chemicals and should always be washed before using it ”.
On the contrary, Cristina prefers to wash before using, especially so that the garment improves its appearance: “I advise to wash whenever we buy second hand, especially the coats, with that touch of the dry cleaner.A dry cleaning and a good ironing.It is very worth it ".
The best part of buying second -hand clothes is that you already know how it will behave in the future.Forget about that uncertainty generated by a new sweater by not knowing if it will age with or without balls because the vintage has already shown its worst or better face over the years.Even so, extra care are always recommended.Ariane encourages us to wash by machine, but reading the labels carefully, and to avoid using the dryer, while Cristina explains that “wool I think with airing is enough and the blouses, even if they are polyester, it is an ancient polyester that endures a lotThe washes.The white shirts of now, at the time you wash them a lot are yellow.
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Ariane and Cristina coincide.Imparfaite's co -founder says: “If you want to wear quality clothes today without ruining you, the best option is to buy vintage.The details and materials that our grandmothers were carrying are incredible ".While the owner of his father and mother adds: “Before, more time was dedicated to production, quality was more valued.Now we value the image, aesthetics.Our grandmothers when they were going to buy were looking for a garment that would last them.That component was taken for granted more than now ”.
There is no!"That is the magic of vintage.You can use it from head to toe and feel incredible, ”says Ariane.For his part, Cristina confesses that he has even dared with swimsuit: “I would tell you that I would never buy a swimsuit and in the end I bought it.The old swimsuit adapts to your body, not your body to the swimsuit.The shoes, too.Everything is starting.With a good selection I am willing to buy anything.At the moment when you try it, you see that it looks good and that it is of good quality, you no longer have any prejudice ”.
