Out & About

By Jane Clarke

August 27, 2009 9:44 PM | Link to this

As owner of Amelia's Retro-Vogue & Relics I can speak to the cost question, at least with regards to my shops pre-1965 selection: Rarity and Condition. Unlike the 70's and 80's that can still be picked up at most Thrift Stores ( which is what Goodwill is, in reality), Amelia's only carries the older pieces, which are lovingly restored. One-of-a-kind vintage that's 40+ years old means great styling and quality fabrics, with beautiful finishes and details. What we charge is cheap in comparison to new items of similar quality. Hope this helps answer some of the questions....come by and we'll give you a fashion history lesson for free!

By Marc Sherman

August 29, 2008 8:55 PM | Link to this

I second that all the stuff in those vintage stores is too expensive. A friend convinced me that a bunch of old clothes in my closet were the type of items that Buffalo Exchange would want to buy. In the end, I just wasted gas to go listen to some lady behind a counter on a high horse sort through my things and tell me why they weren't what they were looking for. I didn't like that lady very much.

By Geoff West

August 28, 2008 7:10 PM | Link to this

I wonder how Buffalo Exchange will do next year seeing as the store has doubled its size.

For all those who say that vintage clothing is overpriced, there are alternatives. Like say, Ebay. In the last year or so, I've probably bought six or seven shirts, and three or four pairs of vintage-style jeans that way. Always cool, always cheap and always recieved (at least so far).

By Jane Huang

August 27, 2008 7:58 PM | Link to this

Mr.Barnes:
The Texas Asian Chamber of Commerce,The Texas culinary Academy and the Satay Restaurant present, the 3rd annual "Asia Food Fest" on Sept. 5-7th,proceeds to this will go to The Arc of Texas and Thai Tsunami Orphanage,which will benefit children in need. This event will be a six course dinner,cooking classes and an Asian iron chef competition. You are invited to join us to celebrate this event, one of the chefs Mr.Ma has 30 years of cooking experience and has just moved to Austin 3 weeks ago from San Fracisco as a head chef at "Kim Son Restaurant". He will be competing in this event and personally invites you to his restaurant, to give you a taste of real Asian food. He is determined that he will bring out the best in Asian food to Austin.
We're all looking forward to hear from you, and hope you can experience this event with us.

Jane Huang

By Victoria Estrada

August 27, 2008 6:35 PM | Link to this

It's doesn't surprise me that New Bohemia sunk to the bottom of the poll. Vintage stores should be full of old school trends and good labels along with oddball eccentricities but the bottom line is that everything should be reasonably priced. It's been awhile since I visited New Bohemia but I remember standing there next to one of the racks, puzzling over why the cheapish leather belt in my hand cost more than the whole outfit I was wearing.

I'm glad Goodwill is still holding it down with a good 15 percent although I wouldn't necessarily group the store with other vintage stores. I would consider it more of a second-hand store more than anything... and an awesome one at that---Target clearance shoes show up there for super cheap and who can argue with $.25 wine glasses.

By Claire Cella

August 27, 2008 6:01 PM | Link to this

This post leaves me extremely curious. I am a huge fan of vintage clothing stores, but not usually a fan of the price tags attached to many of their items. I wonder if the price of the clothing has anything to do with their ranking. There are vintage stores in the Austin area that I absolutely adore but my inability to afford a single item negates the fabulous clothing selection. The cheaper stores, on the other hand, that sometimes require that you search desperately for that special item allow me to leave the store with a purchase (which is the point of shopping.) So that leave me wondering what factors play into these rankings.