Get the best out of Vintage Shopping

Leeds is a great city for vintage shopping. They have plenty of second hand shops in the city, one of my favourites is pop boutique but every so often mobile vintage fairs and kilo sales visit the city. Last week I went to both of these and if you want to make sure to get the best out of them, these are three things you should be aware of.

1. Arrive on Time

Since vintage fairs and kilo sales are so popular you know that you won’t be the only one attending them. If you want the best products and don’t want to miss out, make sure you arrive on time.

For a kilo sale this is extra important so they tend to have people queuing up outside banging on the door, ha. No it’s not a joke, I’ve been queuing and if you know what you’re doing you will be too. For a vintage fair this tip isn’t as vital as it’s more organised but again, the best buys will most likely go in the morning rather than at the end of the day.

2. Plan Ahead

Sometimes it’s fun to go to a vintage fair not having any expectations. It worked really well for me this time around as I only went to have a brows and enjoy the atmosphere that Lou Lou’s Vintage Fair has, but ended up with a bag full of lovely things. I spent £24 in total and for that I got a cupcake/jewellery stand, a blouse, a wallet and a massive bangle.

For the Vintage Clothing Kilo Sale on the other hand I planned ahead as I knew people would go mad in there. I knew beforehand I would like to find a nice cardigan, possibly a chequered shirt and some tank tops to bring on my holiday. Knowing this I could focus my attention on heading towards these clothing racks first and leave all the other racks and buckets full of clothes till later.

In the end I only got two tank tops as the rest was a real hit and miss and the things I liked only came in a small size. This is the downside to kilo sales as you never know what will be offered but they are excellent for price as you only pay for the weight. These tank tops only came to £3.

3. Don’t hesitate

When you see something you like, grab it! At these events there’s most likely only going to be one of everything so if you want something you can’t expect it to still be there when you’ve decided you want to buy it.

At a kilo sale it’s easy to grab all the thing you think you want to later try it on and if it doesn’t fit or suit you you can always put it back. At a vintage fair this is a bit more complicated because they have individual stands and you pay separately. However, people are very helpful and let you try clothes on if you’re unsure of the size. Sometimes they’re desperate to sell some of their stock so they happily give you a discount as well.

Do you go vintage shopping? Have you got more tips on landing a bargain?

Jennie xx