Before I went to America I put myself on a big buying restriction. I’m infamous amongst my friends for buying new clothes, so for me that was a big thing to buy no new dresses for 3 months. I buy so much of my clothing from American repro companies, though, that it made sense to take advantage of being in-country for my shopping while i was there, so I saved and made multiple lists about what I wanted. Here, my little darlings, is my haul.
Bernie Dexter Paris dress in Chrysanthemum print
Building a pinup wardrobe from scratch can be an expensive thing, not merely because replacing all your clothes with a specific style means buying a whole wardrobe of clothes is a lot of pieces to be purchasing, but also because good quality reproduction clothing costs. It’s a niche market, automatically making costs higher, but also because most repro clothing companies like to invest in good quality materials, a thorough fitting process during the design process, and ethical labour costs often based in-country rather than sent out of country to continents where labour laws cost the workers and not the companies.
There are pinup brands for every budget, but there are also ways to build your wardrobe with items you love without having to bust out coin you don’t have. Here, I’ll be laying out every trick I’ve learned over the past 3 years to get the best deal you can in your retro shopping.
Sign up: Every company that sells their owns goods online will have a ‘sign up for our newsletter’ option on their website. Do it! Not only do a lot of companies offer you a free gift or a discount code just for signing up to their newsletter, but the newsletter itself will give you a heads up on any sales or discount codes they’re offering, delivered straight to your inbox, sometimes with codes or sales held only for newsletter recipients. Continue reading
Miss Amy May 