One of my favorite people on the Internet is the lovely Chanelle of Penelope's Vintage. Not only has she been a great supporter of this little blog here, I have great respect for her talent.

A thrifting hobby and a great eye for style helped Chanelle to successfully launch her own online shop - which has absolutely turned heads - and she is here today to give us some tips on how to dig through vintage goods ourselves in atwg's very first guest post.

Enjoy!

Thrift shopping can be a scary task for people. I understand. There’s an overwhelming sea of clothing shoved in one area that you are expected to find something out of - and something cute, at that.

My name is Chanelle and I’m here to help you overcome your fear of thrift shopping. If you’re an avid thriftier, I love you and I’m sure you understand. I own an online vintage clothing store, Penelope’s Vintage, therefore I’ve had some practice, not to mention 75 percent of my closet = Goodwill.

Me, Chanelle, in black high-waisted shorts: I’m really into sheer blouses right now, so I went to the blouse section at Goodwill and picked out this beautiful white georgette blouse with a collar and pleats down the middle. I paired it with these shorts I also found at Goodwill a while ago - high-waisted with pleats. They are really ugly if they’re not rolled up because they’re too long, but I played with them a bit and now they’re as good as new! The blouse also has a greater appeal with the sleeves rolled up, although I do like them down too.

I have five super simple tips to help you shop or get you started.

Be organized: Take yourself to your local thrift store, dive in and go one rack at a time. Thrift stores usually have everything organized and separated nicely. Start off with the lightest weight items like blouses, then work your way across the store. The items add up QUICK, therefore starting off with the lightest weight item makes it more manageable to take around with you. If you’re like me you will end up with a mountain of clothes.

Look for patterns or colors that appeal to you: When you approach a rack, push all the clothes to one side of the rack then push them one by one to the other side in a quick motion. While doing this, spot out the prints and styles that you like and take it off the rack to see if it’s love. I know, you hate me for saying this, but this is the most effective and rewarding way. If you refuse this method you can also walk down the aisle and spot the prints, colors, textures, etc., that appeal to you and take them off the rack as you spot them.

Start off simple and take chances: First time? Vintage t-shirts are a great way to start - they go with ANYTHING and the men’s section is usually a jackpot. Eventually make your way into blouses, bottoms, etc., and before you know it you’ll be in a full sequins jumpsuit! Try to try on at least one outrageous item - those are usually the best ones.

Here’s an item from the store, 90s high-waisted white denim shorts. Again, these weren’t that appealing in their original form but roll them up and you got yourself a cute summer item. We paired it with loud (AWESOME) leopard shoes to give the flat colors some appeal, and added a pop of color with a Wilma Flintstone necklace.

Picture the items on and/or with an outfit: Do you wear items alone? NO! You wear it as part of AN OUTFIT! Try picturing the item with bottoms or tops, a belt at the waist. If the sleeves are too long, picture them rolled up. Picture a clunky bracelet and a cocktail ring with the outfit. Play with the item if you like it. You can also research before shopping and go in with an outfit idea in your head to find. Sites like Lookbook.nu or Chictopia.com have AMAZING outfit ideas with vintage items.

This item is also from the store. It was originally a skirt (and can still be a skirt) but looks AWESOME as a tube dress, as well. I often find skirts that I wouldn’t normally wear but LOVE the print or color so I usually try to it as a dress before I completely give up on it. Luckily long skirts are in again so you can have two pieces in one!

Try everything on: Most places have mirrors and not dressing rooms. My best advice would be to go shopping dressed in leggings and a tight shirt so you can try items on over your clothes in front of a mirror. Things look COMPLETELY different on than they do on the rack, so this step is crucial. Some look better on, some look worse!

The thing I love most about thrifting is: it’s creativity at its finest. You have to search, have imagination and be bold. It’s gratifying when you find that GEM that is a piece of vintage. It’s yours, and you found it. If thrifting is not your thing but you love vintage, there are tons of eBay and Etsy stores that do all the work for you. They do the shopping and show you different ways to wear it. Just click “buy”! These steps have helped me to find NUMEROUS items that I wouldn’t have found otherwise, and in a timely manner at that. I hope these tips help and make thrifting a more enjoyable experience.

Thanks Chanelle!

xo

Stay tuned for part two from Chanelle, coming soon!

Penelope's Vintage.
Facebook.
Twitter.
Lookbook.

Dear Internet, please meet Penelope's Vintage, a new and very cool vintage and secondhand clothing shop started by the lovely Chanelle, who is based in LA.  

This offbeat enterprise emerged out of a simple love of thrift shopping and treasure hunting. Chanelle found herself to have a special talent for seeking out unique garments and piecing them into extraordinary outfits - and so began the start of her business.  

I'm very much sweatin' her style. Both she and her shop are easily becoming a favorite of mine.

Chanelle and I have been chatting about Penelope's Vintage for the last couple weeks. Here is what she had to say!

What's the story behind your business? How did you get started? A little background please. 
I LOVE shopping at Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. When I’m browsing, these amazing pieces just come out at me and immediately an outfit pops in my head. Every time I’d bring my friends I would have a whole cart full of clothes and they’d have nothing. They would always say, “I just don’t have an eye for it” or “I don’t have the patience.” After a while I was like I should use my “talent,” if you will, and do the work FOR the people. I’ll pick out the clothes, put them in an outfit, and then they can buy the items from me. I had been planning to jump on the eBay bandwagon and put up these clothes I found for a year or so, but setting it up overwhelmed me. I remember one night all my friends were over and we were watching a movie and I’m like, “You know what? I’m going to set up my eBay store” (probably not the best time, but it worked). And the rest is history. 

I love that you have standout pieces in your shop that are not just quality, they are unique. Where do you source your pieces and what are some of your qualifications when choosing items to stock? 
I try and go to different places all the time, A, so that I don’t get the same stuff all the time and, B, if I keep hitting up the same store there won’t be anything left that appeals to me (probably because I buy it all). I have to give the store time to get in more stock. The biggest qualification is: Do I like it? If I don’t like it I can’t put it with an outfit and then it has no appeal. I also think of the season, what’s big, what I think is going to be big, etc. I’ve recently reached out to everyone on our Twitter and Facebook page to see what THEY would like to see in the store, so I also like to take in everyone’s suggestions, as well. 

There are a number of emerging vintage shops these days - what sets your store apart from the rest?
I think what sets mine apart, or I would like to think, is that I offer a broad range of styles in my store. You want boho? I got it. You want 80s glam? Got it. You want a simple high wasted short for summer? Got it. Of course these aren’t always all in the store at once, but they do circulate. I love and appreciate so many different types of fashion, eras, and styles so I think my inventory really showcases that. 

What is your favorite piece that you have in stock? 

Right now my favorite item is the 90s skort overalls. I can't really explain my love for those but I can tell you when I saw them I grabbed them and hugged them for a minute and knew I had to share them with the world. I'm also super into the Kenny Rogers denim shirt. Who knew Kenny Rogers had clothing??? 

What would be your ultimate vintage find?
Wow. That’s like asking a chef what’s your favorite food to cook. I think my ultimate vintage find would be Chloe or Dior circa 1960s/1970s, or anything designer from those eras for that matter. I mean I get excited when I find Guess jeans from the 90s. That was their prime man. 

If you could live in any decade simply for its clothing, which would you pick? 
Honestly I appreciate every decade for its fashion, but to LIVE in, it’s a tie (and its cliche)- 60s and 70s. 

60s: The 60s still had the conservativeness of the 50s but also was breaking out of its shell and becoming rebellious and I love that transition. It was starting to push boundaries and become creative. Art was influencing fashion more and designers were taking risks. I’m almost positive it was André Courrèges that first came out with a space suit line and I remember thinking when I studied this how amazing it was that he took something like space and made it into fashion at that point in time. It was unheard of. 

70s: Why? High wasted jeans, prints, plaids, colors, sequins, platforms, bishop sleeves, jumpers, rompers, and spandex (just to name a few). My best friend found this channel that plays the original Soul Train and I TiVo it everyday. I watch it for hours and get inspired, upset because I want it all, and happy because these outfits existed all at once. It’s really emotional for me. 

In your opinion, who is the ultimate fashion icon? 
This is hard for me to answer because people pay stylists to dress them then they get the credit so it's hard to pinpoint who actually has the creativity and who pays for the creativity. I know I wish I could own Nicole Richie’s closet, and Rachel Zoe. Edie Sedgwick is a huge inspiration as is Karen O (she was wearing outfits like Lady Gaga WAY before there was a Lady Gaga). I love the Olsen twins’ style as well - they’re not afraid to try anything and I love that about them. I’m also obsessed with Jeremy Scott. And Karl Lagerfeld… what Marc Jacobs is doing with Louis Vuitton is impeccable. I can probably go on so I’m just going to stop while I’m ahead.

Any suggestions for those looking to add vintage pieces to their wardrobes? 
I started with vintage tees which I also suggest they do as well. They go with anything… jeans, leggings, shorts, skirts, you name it. Once you feel comfortable with those infiltrated in your wardrobe you can work your way up until you get into a full sequins jumpsuit from the 70s disco era! 

Thanks Chanelle!!

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