The Thrill of the Hunt

Vintage stuff seems to be the theme of the week for me. On Tuesday I guest blogged over at StyleManiac about why I love old clothes, and today my weekly article over at Wisconsin Public Television’s Engage Wisconsin site is about the environmental impact of the clothing industry, and how buying items secondhand can help reduce that impact.

What I didn’t mention in either of those articles, though, is that another factor underlying my love of vintage things, besides the stories behind them and the recycling aspect, is a more primal notion–the thrill of the hunt. It’s satisfying to find the proverbial diamond in the rough: a pair of unworn Tod’s alligator-print flats at St. Vinny’s for nine dollars, or a dovetailed Eames-era Lane table (see above) for 15 bucks (I found both of these things in the same day–the secondhand gods must have been smiling on me). I’ve been known to call friends frantically from thift stores saying something along the lines of, “There’s this great dress here, and it doesn’t fit me, but…what size do you wear?”