Recommended Reading: The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping

I'm going to share a little secret with you: When living in New York starts to wear me down, I fantasize about leaving the rat race, moving to a mellow town like Northampton, Massachusetts (hey, it's good enough for Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore!), and opening a vintage clothing store. But I'm not quite ready to give up on New York, so for now, vintage will have to remain a hobby for me. While I consider myself a fairly savvy vintage shopper--I know my fashion history, and one of my particular talents is being able to tell a synthetic vs. a natural fabric solely by touch--I can always learn more, and I certainly picked up a lot from The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping*, a new book by Melody Fortier. The book is little, yes, but it's packed with useful tips for even the experienced vintage shopper, especially when it comes to removing stains and repairing slightly flawed items. She also includes detailed information on using fabrication, care, and union tags to identify the age of the garment, as well as more broad advice like looking for private-label items from such bygone department stores as Bonwit Teller and I Magnin (designer-quality merchandise without the super-high prices normally associated with designer vintage). The most uncanny thing, however, is that the author owns Tangerine Boutique, a vintage store in Gardner, Massachusetts, which is not far from Northampton. Coincidence...or not?

*Since the FTC has recently announced that bloggers must disclose when they receive promotional items, I, well, received a free review copy of this book. (And from now on, I will clearly state when this is the case, however my policy remains that regardless if I pay for something or receive it gratis, I only write about items I feel are worthy of inclusion here--and worthy of your money as well.) That said, I think it's well worth its $18.95 price tag.