Ready for battle: my office/studio in its infancy
When I began my business in 2005, I could never have imagined I would have the experiences, meet the people, or know some of the dirty secrets I know today. I quickly learned that like many businesses, the vintage clothing trade has less to do with clothes than it has to do with people...especially the people who inhabited the clothes.
Armed with a little cash, a working knowledge of fashion history, and a fondness for old clothes that bordered on the unhealthy, I believed I was about to blaze into the estates of well-heeled octogenarians and start taking names. Instead I should have brought a history book, a tape recorder and an invitation to the Library of Congress.
In the beginning, I scheduled meetings with estate owners in two-hour increments, thinking that was probably enough time to carefully inspect small collections and cherry pick the best pieces or evaluate large collections and make an offer on the lot. Foolish girl. Let’s just say now I know to schedule in the morning.
Were people just more fascinating back in the day? Was it the hardships of war and the obstacles of a life without cell phones, online grocery shopping and e-mail communication that made people’s lives more interesting? Or are people’s lives still full of torrid affairs, humiliating first dates and staggering coincidences, but we are all too busy to find out?
In the beginning, I scheduled meetings with estate owners in two-hour increments, thinking that was probably enough time to carefully inspect small collections and cherry pick the best pieces or evaluate large collections and make an offer on the lot. Foolish girl. Let’s just say now I know to schedule in the morning.
Were people just more fascinating back in the day? Was it the hardships of war and the obstacles of a life without cell phones, online grocery shopping and e-mail communication that made people’s lives more interesting? Or are people’s lives still full of torrid affairs, humiliating first dates and staggering coincidences, but we are all too busy to find out?
I’m thinking people had more moxie back then, and that’s why things got interesting. Think about it: these were the men who built the skyscrapers that are still standing today without the benefit of computer technology and pneumatic tools. They fought wars with their hands, but still wore hats and polished their shoes at night. They probably DID walk uphill to school both ways.
A few selections purchased from the estate of a WWII nurse stationed in the Middle East
The papery-skinned woman selling me her collection of silk scarves? In 1942 she worked in a metal pressing factory next to Geraldine Huff Doyle, the 17 year-old inspiration for the Rosie the Riveter poster. Her best friend had a 21” waist but could balance and solder an airplane wing. Their neighbor was a war nurse stationed in the Middle East and had an affair with a Saudi who turned out to be a member of the royal family.
These peoples’ memories permeated their clothes and animated them so they had a life of their own. My sellers didn’t know it, but whether they had children or not, they were leaving a legacy and, knowing that, I felt I had a duty to pass it on.
No pressure, though.
These peoples’ memories permeated their clothes and animated them so they had a life of their own. My sellers didn’t know it, but whether they had children or not, they were leaving a legacy and, knowing that, I felt I had a duty to pass it on.
No pressure, though.
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