Here Are Some Quick Facts About Vintage Clothing and Theatrical Costumes @ Reflections

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What does vintage mean to Reflections & What do we consider something being vintage?    

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Our perspective of vintage focuses on unique styles and quality design that centers around the cultural authenticity of different eras. What we consider vintage is a reflection of our customers needs and the purpose of the vintage items.  Although we focus on the traditional vintage aspects, we have shifted our products to fit today’s needs, people, cut costs to separate ourselves from our competitors including the new wave of “New reproduction Vintage” manufactures.  

 

We understand a general accepted industry standard for vintage is that items made between 20 years ago and 100 years ago are considered "vintage" We continue to follow these rules although we also understand the lack of products either because of the high demand for some vintage and lack of interest in

other vintage over the years. The change of bodies, not allowing vintage items to fit todays people or their lifestyle. We had to venture outside the age

standards keeping the same goals of high quality and authenticity when collecting second hand items for resale. Having this opportunity we were still

allowed to reflect the styles and trends of the era they represent and allowing our business to continue and become different from everyone else.

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When did vintage clothing become popular & What are the most popular themes at Reflections?

 

A big reason we believe vintage is popular is due to lack of variety and quality in modern wares. Often when we go into a retail store we see the same trends

and most of the time items are made for fast fashion not lasting as long as vintage clothing. We believe our customers who enjoy vintage clothing say “the

item speaks to them” or that “it pops out”. Vintage clothing is something unique, different from what’s out there and allows the individuals to wear what they like. It also tend to remind people of their childhood memories and to what they were exposed to growing up.

 

At Reflections we are so grateful to have a diverse collection of vintage and new theme items to allow our most popular themes happen.

 

• 1920’s Great Gatsby, Flapper and Gangster, Murder Mysteries

• Burning Man Festival and alike events

• Steampunk

• Vintage Western Wear

• Masquerade Parties 

• Circus Productions and Parties

• Vintage Theme Weddings

• Vintage Furs and Faux Furs

 

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What’s another word for theatrical & Why are costumes used?

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Over the years we have learned the meaning of theatrical can be different based on the purpose, the type of event or performance and the knowledge of the person we are working with. We also understand costumes play significant role, therefore, a costumes enables the audience or other participants to identify

the character through appearance improving visual perception of information's which convey meanings to the audience. We have the privilege to accommodate many people at all levels of theatrical either for an amateur private affair to a professional production. Watching our clients transform with our vintage clothing and costumes gives us the great joy to see how dramatic stagy and showy our clients can be with looking fantastic.

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How do you identify vintage & How to care for vintage clothing?

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When owning or looking for vintage items, try to see first if the item has any labels. If the label is black and white, it's an authentic vintage piece since colour labels were not introduced until later on. If label has colour of blue and red there's still a great chance that it's vintage, but analyze the modern look of the tag

for more clues.

 

When planning to care for your vintage clothing, you must first see if there is a tag on the garment with instructions. If not, then find out what material(s) are used in the vintage clothing that needs to be cleaned. Most if not all vintage clothing should be cleaned by hand or dry cleaned since the washing machine may agree with the vintage materials and the item may get damaged due to age of the vintage clothing. We recommend to soak the garment in cool to tepid water with very mild soap or a gentle shampoo or hand soap, rinse well in cold water, then add a small amount of white vinegar to clean rinse water. The vinegar will help revive the silk's shine and pull out any remaining soap.

 

We recommend not storing your vintage clothing in plastic as this tends to dry out the materials and hibernate bugs within the clothing. Cardboard boxes seems to work best while storing especially vintage furs as it allows the fur to breath and get the proper circulation. Try to use non wire hangers since this allow the vintage clothing to hand properly without damaging the items. A good dose of fresh air tends to take away any musty smell and if wanted to you may use a little fabreze as its not as harsh as perfumes or moth balls.