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"Q: What kinds of clothes make good vintage buys? Is there anything I should stay away from? A: Provided they are in good condition, high-end designer bags and clothes are always a good buy \u2014 a Chanel jacket or bag from the &amp;#039;70s is just as chic today as it was back then. At the cheaper end of the price spectrum, vintage rock and roll T-shirts, jewelry, and sunglasses are usually a pretty safe bet, but for other clothes and accessories, you want to focus on clean lines, quality fabrics, and bold, saturated colors and prints. Stay away from synthetic fabrics (&amp;#039;70s polyester is not your friend) and be militant about stains \u2014 they&amp;#039;ve had years to set, so there is literally no way you are ever getting them out. Also, unless you are trying for a conspicuously &amp;quot;vintage&amp;quot; look, like a &amp;#039;60s Mad Men thing, avoid old-timey details like pleated shoulder seams or extra-wide jacket lapels, which can start to look a little costume-y.   Vintage Clothing and Accessories, NastyGal Q: How old does something have to be before it&amp;#039;s vintage? A: There is no universally agreed-upon age, but I feel like there needs to be at least one complete decade between when the piece was made and now in order for it to be called vintage. That means that anything from the &amp;#039;90s is vintage because you have the &amp;#039;00s decade between then and now. Pieces from the &amp;#039;00s won&amp;#039;t become vintage until the 2020s, when we will have the &amp;#039;10s in between.  Q: How do I know if something really is as old as they say it is? A: You could educate yourself about sewing and manufacturing techniques from different decades, but let&amp;#039;s be real, you&amp;#039;re probably not going to do that unless you are super into vintage clothing, and that&amp;#039;s fine. If you are shopping online, drag the image of the piece to your desktop and then do a Google Image search with it and see what comes up under &amp;quot;visually similar images.&amp;quot; You may find that what you thought was vintage is really just a few years or seasons old, or not old at all and available for a lot less somewhere else. If you are shopping in a store, make sure you are buying from someone you trust, but understand that even professionals doesn&amp;#039;t always know exactly when a vintage piece is from and may just be making their best guess, so if you find something you like and it is in your price range, just buy it. Getting too hung up on whether something is &amp;#039;80s or &amp;#039;90s or whatever will only drive you crazy.  Q: What is deadstock vintage? A: Deadstock means the clothing or accessory has never been worn or used. If something really is deadstock, it should have its original tags and still be in its original packaging. A lot of deadstock is just excess inventory that brands or stores couldn&amp;#039;t sell at the time, which has been chilling in storage for 20+ years, so don&amp;#039;t be surprised if you see multiples in different sizes.  Q: How should I style vintage pieces so they don&amp;#039;t look like costumes? A: Limit yourself to one vintage piece per outfit.  Andy Torres, Ebba Zingmark, Anila (via Lookbook.nu) Q: Is it OK to buy vintage shoes? A: If they look or smell funky, stay away, but don&amp;#039;t be scared off by a little dirt or discoloration, especially on the sole or insole \u2014 those can be replaced. If the shoes are leather, just make sure the leather isn&amp;#039;t dried out and cracked, since they won&amp;#039;t last through many wears after that happens.  Q: What are the best vintage clothing stores on the cheap? A: There are lots of vintage goodies to be found at thrift stores and vintage shops if you are willing to dig, but if you&amp;#039;re looking for a deal online, eBay and Etsy are really your best bets. Established retailers like NastyGal, Resurrection, and even ModCloth, which sells lots of cheap clothing and accessories, focus on more expensive vintage pieces. Q: How can I update vintage pieces to make them feel more now? A: Take them to a tailor. He or she can alter the fit, bring up the hem, or replace those old, discolored granny buttons with something fresh. Do you have fashion or style questions? Tweet them to our style editor @charlesemanning. Follow Charles on Twitter and Instagram. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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