Where to Find Vintage and Retro Clothes

After shooting together around a billion times outside, with natural light, photographer Charlotte Hall wanted to do a studio session. As we shot several outfits, and many peopIe ask me where I buy my clothes, I thought this could be a little peek into what I have in my constantly growing closet, and where to find it. When it comes to actual vintage, I get most my stuff from different sellers on Etsy. In those cases there are usually just one of each piece, but when I find things sold by retro companies these pieces are more mass produced, and of course in several different sizes. So if you're interested in starting to wear vintage, or just want to find a perfect dress for a certain occasion, here are a few tips!

In the first two pictures both the green top and the belt comes from Pinup Girl Clothing. What I love about this brand is that they produce everything in so many different sizes, so everyone can find something that fits them. Being naturally very skinny this can be a problem with other retro companies, and I usually have to alter pieces after noticing their smallest size still is a bit too big for me. The black skirt I sewed myself, after a vintage pattern from the 50s.

This black hat, with it's flat shape, is something I had been searching for a long time! Last summer I found it in one of Stockholm's best antique/vintage shop - Old Touch. It's vintage, from the 50s, and I got it at a really good prize as the crown was loose from the brim. After stitching it together and refastening the velvet ribbon, it looks as good as new though! The long, black opera gloves comes from What Katie Did. When it comes to vintage lingerie, this is, according to both me and a lot of other people, the best company when it comes to reproductions of 30s-50s underwear. I have, for example, three of their garter belts, and they really hold your stockings up for the whole day!

I had pretty much forgotten about this pink wiggle dress, but now feel I need to wear it more often. It's from Bettie Page Clothing and was the first retro dress I bought many years ago!

Last, but not least, is this dress by Victor Costa. This one I purchased from my friend, burlesque dancer/singer/producer Fräulein Frauke at a flea market. In 2015 this designer got the Legends Award by the University of Houston, and they made a short video about him and his career. You can find the video here, and funnily enough, my dress is one of the pieces he talks about in the video! The same dress was also worn by "Charlotte" in one of the Sex and the City movies. The white necklace once belonged to my beloved grandmother.

In this last photo I got to borrow the photographer's beautiful set of garnet earrings and necklace... So when it comes to finding retro and vintage clothes there are many different places to find them at. My best tip is to just google "vintage clothes" or "retro clothes", and you will get many hits. Etsy is a real treasure chest when it comes to vintage, and you can search for specific things like "50s black wiggle dress" and so on. It's very easy to lose a few hours browsing that site... But also visiting vintage shops/markets in your local town or when traveling is a good idea. When I go to a new place I always pre-google vintage shops that can be found wherever I'm going, and write down the addresses so I'll find them once I arrive!