The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping: Insider Tips, Helpful Hints, Hip…

This little book is an excellent guide for anyone who is interested in vintage clothing, whether it be to wear or to collect. Fortier provides many useful tips for buying in a variety of stores, online or at auction, and she clearly knows what she is talking about.

While no one book can make you an expert at identifying vintage clothing and materials, this is a fine start. Fortier discusses how to date clothes by the type of closures and the labels, how to determine what fabric a garment is made of, what construction to look for, general rules of pricing and how to care for your vintage find. I appreciated the sections devoted to hats, shoes and other accessories, because, as a self-styled "accessory queen", I believe that these items lend the finishing touch to any outfit. (That pair of vintage gloves gives a certain "je ne said quoi" to any modern suit.)

One area that I haven't seen mentioned in other books on the subject is "reinventing" vintage. If a garment is damaged, or a very common style, Fortier sees nothing wrong with customizing and updating it, and shows several examples.

The only real quibble I have is that I would have liked more illustrations to supplement descriptions of technical terms. But overall, this is definitely a book I'd recommend for inclusion in the library of anyone with a serious interest in buying vintage fashion.

I grew up in an antique/resale family, but vintage clothing and accessories were not really a part of my family's stock-in-trade. So while I know antiques, and vintage furniture and household items to a degree, vintage clothing is something that hasn't really registered on my radar. That's one reason why I wanted to have a little guide to buying vintage.

Melody Fortier does a very good job of conveying the basics of vintage clothing. She defines it, she discusses the advantages of vintage over contemporary (generally better made being one of the major pluses,) gives information about fabrics and styles, pricing, terminology, and even the labels you might find in some of your vintage purchases. But more than that, she discusses care of vintage items, from cleaning to storage -- some of these items can be very delicate after all, and you may well need to treat them more gently than the old tee you sleep in! There are also chapters on accessories (and I for one would have loved to see an entire book devoted to this particular subject, but you get what you get) and on reinventing your new old clothing.

It's not comprehensive by any means but it's not intended to be. Tuck this in your purse when you're out on the prowl for vintage items, and you'll probably do well. ( )

If you've read a few fashion magazine articles or any other book about vintage clothing, and you can recite generalities of its appeal, how to shop for, what to pay, etc..., then The Little Guide to Vintage Clothing will not be a wealth of information, but more like a good summary of the fundamentals. The way the book is presented online one would assume you could throw it in your bag as a nice reference during an afternoon of shopping. And it probably would fit in your bag, as it is a tiny little book. And that is my chief complaint, I simply wished there was more to it. The author never really digs into any topic beyond a few antidotes and recommendations. I would have liked more pictures, more handy reference charts, and more celebration of the vintage market. Instead the author doles out a lot of generalities. Otherwise, it is adequately charming, and a great starting point for beginners. Particularly helpful are the sparse reference guides allowing one to determine in a glance the evolution of twentieth century fashion or price ranges for popular vintage items. ( )