Vintage Shopping Tips from Hornets in London

Have you ever regretted a vintage shopping purchase? Want to ensure your next vintage purchase is a treasure, not a disappointment? Raphael and Jack share valuable vintage shopping tips for inspecting garments, assessing their condition, and negotiating prices from a visit to Hornets Kensington.

Video Transcript [Lightly Edited for Clarity]:

Raphael: Welcome back to the Gentleman Gazette! We’re still at Kensington Hornets. And Jack had the idea that we talked to you about…

Jack: What to look for when you’re shopping vintage.

What to Look For When Shopping Vintage

Raphael: Because when you’re buying vintage, right, these things may have stains, issues, or have been altered. These are all things you don’t have to think about when you buy a new item. But the worst thing that can happen is you see this thing, you think you like it, you take it home, and then…

Jack: Yeah, if it’s not good, then you’ve probably spent a decent amount of money on something. And it’s not only that, I mean, we’re lucky in Hornets because this is really well-sourced vintage. But sometimes, you can get people that are a bit more brand-conscious rather than quality-conscious.

So it’s worth knowing what you’re looking at and the hallmarks of something good. Of course, we’ve talked about that previously, which you can check out here.

Raphael: But Hornets has a good selection. They have a lot of items that are handmade. Bespoke items versus factory-made items, and so quickly identifying whether something is handmade or not, is super helpful. I mean, here, they make it easy with their system where they write everything on the tag—

Jack: And it’s color-coded, right?

Raphael: Yeah, I mean, that’s pretty cool. They make it more like a new shop, so to speak, but you can quickly come in and see, “Does this work for me? Or no, it’s not.”

What to Look For in a Jacket When Shopping Vintage

Check the length and look for vents

Jack: Yeah, absolutely. I know, for instance, that I’m quite a small size. They don’t have a lot of small sizes, so if I see the right color for my size, I can kind of just swoop on that and make sure that I can check it out. So green tag is my color. If you’re a small size and you come to Hornets: look for the green tag.

But this one, we think, is probably around the 1920s or 1930s. I mean, it’s got a lot of details. The fact that it’s quite a short jacket is very typical of that era.

The fact that there are no vents in the jacket is also very typical of the era.

Assess stitch density & the type of shoulder seam

Raphael: Yeah. And also the stitch density in the back that, you know, is—the higher the stitch density, the more handwork it is, the longer it takes, the more likely it is to be older. And then you can see the shoulder seam here, right?

Modern jackets have the seam pretty much down the center, versus these ones have them pulled back. You can sometimes see the same on, like, Caraceni jackets, where they kind of try to keep that pattern to emulate that vintage feel.

Jack: And it’s heavy, right?

Inspect corners and hem for signs of wear

Raphael: Yeah. And I mean, look at that lining here, right?

Jack: So, I mean, there’s obvious signs of wear, but then there’s a kind of a trade-off that you have to do. If something’s very old, you’ve got to expect some wear. If it’s pristine, you’re going to pay a lot of money for it.

Raphael: Yeah. And one area where you can look if something is worn a lot is the corners, especially the corners that get wear. So, this jacket here, for example, there’s not much wear here.

Also, look at the hem. Look along the hem. Is there stuff? Then, look at the lining. Is the lining ripped? Is the lining stained? So, here, I can see the lining was actually already taken out. Or something happened here.

Jack: I think it’s been—

Raphael: Taken out?

Jack: … lengthened.

Check the armpit area for fabric thinning and stitches being undone

Raphael: Oh, yeah. You can see that here, too. You can see there was the ironing of the previous hem. So that’s what happened. And that’s not bad. It’s just something to look out for. Also, on the inside, you can check on the armhole and how worn the area in the armpit is because that’s where the most friction happens.

So, if you see the fabric thinning and the stitches being undone, that means that the fabric has been worn. On the flip side, if it looks like new, that means it hasn’t been worn much.

Jack: And I think… yeah, there’s a little bit of rubbing and wear against the twill lining that we see here. Again, this jacket is actually in pretty good condition for its age, I’d say.

Raphael: Absolutely.

Look for other unique vintage details: a single inside breast pocket, a handmade buttonhole, and an inside pocket on a waistcoat

Jack: And another feature that kind of sets it apart is the fact that there’s only one inside breast pocket, and it’s quite high up on the jacket. You see that there’s—this side is completely bare.

Raphael: Another sign of being vintage, right? And you can look at the buttonholes, especially the backside. How, you know, is it a handmade buttonhole? Yes, it is. So—

Jack: And wow! We’ve just seen an extra detail. There’s an inside pocket on this waistcoat. That’s very vintage. I quite like that. Hadn’t seen that yet.

Check for any discoloration and holes on a good lighting

Raphael: Absolutely, yeah. But so, whenever you buy something, you know, take the jacket, lay it somewhere where you have a lot of light, and inspect it in its entirety.

Make sure there’s no discoloration or holes. And even if it’s something in an area where you’re maybe fine with it, you can maybe use it to negotiate the price down. Just look at everything and make sure you’re not disappointed.

For example, here, what we can see is the fabric is a bit shiny.

That means, you know, someone probably used an iron that was too hot and ironed it a little too much. Not something that I like, and it’s something where I’m like, hmm, I’d rather not take that, right?

On the flip side, if you buy a shirt, you know, and there’s a stain all the way at the bottom where it’s always tucked in and never visible, you’re like, okay, that’s fine by me because that doesn’t impact the wear, it doesn’t impact the look, and I’m good with that.

Jack: Yeah, absolutely. Something like a shirt, for instance— as long as the parts that you want to be seen are okay, like the collar and cuffs, then you’re pretty good, right?

What to Look For in a Shoe When Shopping Vintage

Outside of a vintage shoe: Check the shoe soles and heels for any signs of heavy wear

Raphael: Yes. And the same is true when it comes to shoes, right? When you have these, if you look at the soles, you can see if something has been worn. You can look at the heels to see if they’re worn evenly. I mean, look at this one, right? There’s hardly anything. It’s…

Jack: And it’s around here that we’re looking. Because as we step, we always step with a bit of pressure in particular places, and most shoes get bent—or look like they’re bent.

Raphael: They have more wear on the outside, typically. Unless you have a foot imperfection, it can also be worn on the inside. So, you look for very even wear. And here, obviously, you know, there’s paint on there still. So, not much has been worn. They’ve been tried on. But otherwise, this shoe is unworn. I mean, here you see a lot of dust, so you may have to do some cleaning.

Inside of a vintage shoe: Check for any footprint

Jack: But the good thing about what’s inside here is that you don’t see much of a footprint. You can’t see the shape of someone’s feet; you can’t see the indentation of toes, which means that someone hasn’t worn this, like you say, for more than possibly a couple of wears.

Again, it’s another topic that we’ve discussed about whether buying used shoes is icky, but that’s up to you.

What to Look For in a Suit When Shopping Vintage

Look for any stains, especially in visible areas where it is easily identifiable

Raphael: Even if you have a suit like that, right? I mean, look very carefully everywhere. For example, here, you know, I see this little stain.

So, you know, maybe it was dry-cleaned. In a store like this, chances are it has been dry-cleaned already. So, will your dry cleaner be able to remove that stain or not? And even if you’re willing to give it a shot, you can probably negotiate and say, “Hey, there’s something here,” and they can look at it. Maybe they can try to fix it. So, it always pays to look at everything very, very carefully.

Check for any broken suit buttons

Jack: Oh, yeah. Look, there’s a broken button here. That’s an easier fix. Of course, you simply sew a new button on. But still, something good to look out for.

Raphael: And, you know, this is a bespoke item—Kent Haste & Lachter.

Jack: Lachter?

Raphael: Yeah, yeah. And it says, you know, “050413,” so it was probably made in 2013—not in 1913, but in 2013. And so, you get an idea of how old the jacket is, you know? And again, you can look at all the same things. You can look at the sleeve lining, right? What does it look like? I mean, this is in really good shape here.

We can look—oh! There’s very fine stitching on the collar, right? That’s a good indicator that it’s a handmade garment. Fantastic. The buttonholes, you know, look neat or handmade. Beautiful. This is a fully canvassed bespoke suit. There’s a little imperfection, so you have to make that call if you want to take that risk—that the stain will not come out.

Make sure the suit patterns are aligned properly

One thing you can see here, too, is it has beautiful pattern matching, right? They’re all aligned. That’s a hallmark of a bespoke garment because they can get it all perfectly right.

But again, we look at the pockets, right? Is anything worn? The inside pockets? No.

Jack: Armholes are good?

Raphael: Armholes are good. So, yeah, the pants are nice. So, yeah. I mean, considering that this garment is unusual—this is an unusual suit pattern. Typically, it would just be a sports coat. And given the condition it’s in, I would probably risk it because I think you can probably get the stain out, and the stain is not in a very visible spot. It’s at the back.

Look for any dark spots in the fabric and decide if those affect the overall quality of the garment

You know, you see a little bit of spots here, right? There are little spots in front of the suit. Sometimes, with a fabric like that, it could be part of the fabric. But you have to be keenly aware of it. There’s a little spot here; there’s a little spot here.

So, the more spots I see, the less inclined I am to buy it. Because then you’re like, “Ooh, there is more to this than first meets the eye.”

Jack: Something that could potentially offset that is the fact that, as this is a herringbone weave for the most part of the cloth, there’s the potential that as the light changes, the spots aren’t super visible. But no, I appreciate what you mean as well. This one’s a red tag. Is it your size?

Raphael: Yes.

Jack: Ah!

Raphael: I’m a—I’m a red tag. Another thing that I think they really have here that’s unusual is all these livery pieces. You don’t see that very often. And if you find them, they typically have imperfections. Here, for example, you can see there are areas in the fabric that are worn, right?

So that’s also something you can look for. Just the areas of the fabric themselves—are there holes, are there spots where they’re worn?

What to Avoid When Vintage Shopping: Damages That Are Beyond Repair

Jack: This is another garment that’s got a lot of age, has had a lot of use, and is probably something that we’re not going to be taking home with us.

Raphael: Yeah, I mean, this is a really nice silk velvet, but, you know, it’s so old. You can probably— I mean, you can clearly see, you know, this was the fabric, the velvet is worn off, and now you see the structural canvas underneath it.

If you want to kind of exhibit this garment for its historical purpose, I mean, you looked at some of the buttons, and it says, “George the Sixth….”

Jack: …so this was made during the reign of George the Sixth.

Raphael: So that means, you know, this is a really old garment. If you want to exhibit it on a mannequin, for example, that’s what it’s great for. Otherwise, I’d say thumbs down because it’s not something that I would wear, and why would I want a garment that is damaged that I don’t exhibit and I don’t wear?

Jack: In any case, it’s a green tag, so this is one that I would be able to wear.

Raphael: Vintage shopping is undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable pastimes if you’re a classic style enthusiast. We had so much fun on our trip to Hornets, and we’re particularly grateful to staff member Chris, who showed us around.

What tips and tricks do you have when you go vintage shopping? We’d love to hear them in the comments below.