Vintage shopping Tips & Tricks

Guest post by Hannah Littler Jones

Vintage thrift shopping offers a totally unique shopping experience in comparison to what you encounter in everyday high street stores. The most exciting part is that you just never know what you’re going to find and what will soon become your new favourite go-to piece! Entering a vintage shop is like walking into a treasure trove emporium, you are instantly immersed into a world of fashion history and forgotten gems, each item patiently waiting to be discovered by its new loving owner!

Today, I am offering you some helpful tips and tricks to vintage shopping, hoping it allows you to achieve the most out of your shopping experience.

My first tip is one that some may not naturally hold a trait to, patience. If you’ve never entered a vintage shop before (you’ve really been missing out) the best way I can describe it to you is through the comparison of the ‘sale’ periods. Now, no need to panic, they’re tidier and calmer, so erase that unpleasant image of the Zara Christmas sales. The comparison I’m making is purely down to the vast variation of clothing that can all be placed on one rail, which is where the patience comes in handy. Vintage shopping isn’t a walk in, see it, buy it, job done experience. It requires a little more time and patience to explore and discover the perfect pieces. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, start from the top or bottom; Shoes and accessories are much easier to browse than clothing, so start there to get into the swing of things!

Tip number two, although you never know what you’re going to discover (which is the beauty of vintage shopping) try to keep your styling ideas in mind, and if you don’t have any set, be realistic about your shopping, will I wear it? What can I style it with? With such a diverse selection of clothing, even vaster than your normal high street stores, it can be easy to forget what you were hoping for when entering the shop. If you’re not sure you’re going to wear it consistently, could it be recycled into something new or by someone else?

Tip number three, forgetting gender labels, go check out the opposite sex section. Just because its labelled male/female, doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who are allowed to wear it. You can find some perfect fits from oversized to fitted pieces. So, keep that in mind and broaden your shopping horizons!

Which also leads onto my final tip, sizes. Ignore all size references on tags and labels. From time to time tags can be placed on the incorrect item, but even more worth remembering is that people tended to be smaller back in the day so vintage clothing sizes often come up smaller than they would be today, so don’t panic if you don’t fit into your usual size 10 (it’s not down to that slice of cake you ate the night before) it’s just we’re all bigger now than our 1950s counterparts! If you pick up a piece and the size turns out to be incorrect let your creativity run wild, consider alterations and customising to fit your style.

I hope these tips are helpful and allow you to thrive in your shopping experience. Before you venture off, why not take a look at our vintage clothing in our vintage shop? You never know what you’re going to find.

By Hannah Littler @hannahlittler1

Vintage BTS with The Stellar Boutique

Vintage BTS; Here at The Stellar Boutique, we love to keep you, our customers, in the loop. Therefore, today we are offering you an exclusive sneak preview into a selection of the new vintage pieces that will be appearing on The Stellar Boutique website in the near future.

Vintage clothing is one of the most important aspects the fashion industry, the unknown journey a piece has been through, the history it may or may not hold, let alone the environmental positivity’s they bring.

We hope you enjoy these previews just as much as we enjoyed the shoot. These shoots not only give us an opportunity to display our new collections to you but a way to let loose and experiment with styles.

Keep an eye out for the latest vintage pieces launching soon to The Stellar Boutique. In the meantime, why not check out our current vintage pieces or ‘Blame it on the moon’ our new eco fashion collection.

 

 

 

 

Stellar New Year challenge

Setting new years resolutions is always a love / hate relationship. If you’re anything like me it generally goes a little like this… December 31st, reflect on the year gone by, feel motivated, inspired and full of promise for the year ahead, set unrealistic resolutions, and by mid January all recollection of those so-called goals have disappeared into oblivion and it’s back to the old routine! If this isn’t the case and you stick to your resolutions like glue then I applaud you! Carry on as you were (and please let me in on the secret of your success!)

But for the rest of us, following on from our previous post on sustainable fashion, set yourself a challenge to make this year count and (if you’re not already doing so) make a pledge to take steps towards a greener, kinder and more sustainable fashion future.

 Because let’s face it, you love the world of fashion (hence you’re here now reading this) that’s not gonna change and neither should it have to! But there are plenty of wardrobe changes (even if small) that we can make without going cold turkey on our fashion addiction. So let’s set ourselves an achievable New Years fashion resolution and stick to it. There’s so many simple but effective improvements to our shopping habits we can incorporate, whether it’s deciding to purchase quality over quantity and avoiding fast fashion, only purchasing from ethical brands, buying less but choosing well, recycling clothes by buying second hand items and thrift store shopping, keeping it circular (and interesting) by sticking to vintage fashion, making a point of wearing more of your ‘old’ clothes that you once loved but that no longer get a look in, upcycle, customise and rework tired old pieces, set up a swap shop with your friends to swap and share clothes so you always feel like you’ve got something new and keep your wardrobe fresh, do that big clear out you’ve promised yourself (you know, the one you promised yourself last January too) and take your unwanted clothes to recycle bins or donate them to a local charity. Whatever you decide, little by little, we can all make a big difference.

We’d love to know how you get on so tell us what you decide and keep us updated by sharing your progress using #stellarnewyear

We can all do our bit to stay more fashion conscious , keep fashion circular and kind.

So have fun with it and use the challenge as a catalyst to get even more creative with your wardrobe choices, upcycle, recycle, rework and rethink.

The possibilities are endless xx

 

Let’s change the fashion game

Fashion is fast becoming one of the biggest threats to the sustainability of our precious planet.

But that doesn’t mean we have to feel guilty about loving it so much, we just need to change the way we create it, use it, wear it and eventually ‘dispose’ of it.

Only buy something if you truly love it then you’ll happily wear it again and again. Get creative, upcycle tired old items and turn them into new ensembles. Buy vintage, rework old vintage and mend instead of trash.

 

Winter vintage; peek behind the scenes

The weather was not our friend, heavy rain kept us indoors so the house was transformed into something of a studio using whatever lighting we could muster! It was the usual mix of snaps, laughter, mess, music, dogs and sangria! New vintage collection on its way soon.

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Boho babes, are you ready for festival season?!

It’s that magical time of year when the sun finally comes out to play along with the festival fashionistas in their boho ensembles! Get ready to party on through some of the best festivals this summer and make sure you’re fashion ready with that perfect outfit for all the crazy shenanigans that will come your way!

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Here at The Stellar Boutique we’ve got all your festival fashion essentials covered! Boho fashion, 70s vintage, metallic tattoos, boho bags, sunglasses, festival t-shirts, hippie jewellery and that one must have summer item….Levi’s high waisted denim shorts!

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Tales from behind the lens

Running an online fashion shop often means being a ‘Jack of all trades’! There are so many different aspects of the business that need daily attention and naturally some are far more interesting than others! That’s why I always look forward to the photo shoots. It’s the one time where I get to bring out my creative side, raid the clothing rails, play dress up and hang out with my friends who I rope in to help as they very kindly offer their time and talent as models for the boutique!

Living on a farm certainly has it’s perks when it comes to shooting, there’s never a shortage of interesting backdrops. As we cavort about the house and garden following the light and using every feasible location, by the end of the day the house is an explosive mess of clothes, accessories and make-up in a scene of fashion devastation! It’s exhausting but it’s also a whole lot of fun!

Here’s a little peak at some scenes from behind the camera that you don’t usually get to see.

….And of course the animals just love to get involved too, any excuse for a photo bomb!

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New Summer Vintage Collection 2015

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Summer is almost upon us so what better way to kick start a fanciful summer of love than with a gorgeous new collection of hand picked, on trend vintage!

Check out our delightful range of 60s vintage folk dresses, 70s vintage blouses, 80s vintage jumpsuits and so much more to complete your summer vintage wardrobe!

View the full vintage clothing collection here!

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Don’t forget to add code ‘launchparty’ at the checkout to receive your 10% discount off everything in your basket!

(For a limited time only)

For the love of Flea Markets

Some of my fondest memories are from the days of selling my vintage finds on the fabulous Portobello Market in London many moons ago. I always feel at home on the markets, so when the opportunity arose to join forces with my best friend and owner of ‘Vintage Teeth’ to have a stall on the vintage flea market in Barcelona, I jumped at the chance! The sun was out as were the trendy, vintage loving bohemians of Barcelona. It was great to get back to my roots and enjoy a day selling my vintage collection amongst friends and the fashionistas of this beautiful city. vintage clothes 11

 

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No successful day on the market is complete without a cheeky cider and I was delighted to have a visit from my good friend (and occasional model for The Stellar Boutique) Padge and his gorgeous pooch Socks, a pup from one of my very own dogs! Now, more aptly known as, ‘Socks in the city’!

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If you fancy a rummage through the fabulously eclectic stalls to find a vintage treasure, The Flea Market Barcelona is on every second sunday of the month at Dressanes. More details here: https://www.facebook.com/fleamarketbcn/timeline