While preparing for the trip, the question came to me.. what am I looking for?  With the onset of summer and all the functions that produces, my focus has been on current fashion.  The whites, corals and abstract prints I am desiring.  But what can vintage offer this season?

I was startled to think of nothing, because I can’t think what vintage can offer me..  I’d lost my vintage mojo.   I have a 50′s dress, sandals, scarves, skirts, a good swimming costume, hats and basically enough of what I need.

As a recent mother life is about shirts, shorts and jeans.  I hardly need anything beyond what’s in my wardrobe,  but I need to know what to guide my vintage loving clients towards.

My clients were young, hip & from Shanghai.  She was a gorgeous Karen O/ Yeah Yeah Yeahs lookalike who floored me with the information, that there are no vintage shops in China.

Everyone sees in Vintage so much memory and current needs.  While the shops were full of Mad Men style dresses and accessories,  my young Chinese clients headed towards the grunge,  the festival wear and the sixties mod look.   She bought small clip-on earrings, siting a lack of such a style back home.

It’s strange what we buy on holidays or overseas, all the things we can’t buy are available somewhere else, in a shop or on a shelf in another country.  Items are valued differently, treated and desired less, as the store owner targets their well known customer needs, and not the unknown needs of visitors.

Vintage is not what  you are looking for , but what you can find.  I forgot these rules as I found interesting mesh items in Grandma takes a Trip,  African prints in Zoo Emporium,  Kiminos in Shag and classic white shirts in the Antique Centre.   A trip around the vintage stores proved there are always things to find & they are there to compliment the seasonal fashion needs.

According to ‘the media’ you can’t get service anywhere, shops are not competitive, we’ve all stopped buying and started saving, but mostly we are SHOPPING ONLINE.   Let’s go through these issues.

Service – one of the oldest complaints around.  When retails slumps, it’ s because of service.  We don’t buy because no-one is there to annoy us into selling.  But we complain with a pushy salesperson…  this argument is circular.  So look at Zara or Gap, the newest retailers in Sydney and the queues are out the door.    Is less service actually an answer? no, a new store has momentum not service to offer.

We can do our research  on-line, talk to friends, get recommendations and make up our minds before we get to a store.  All we have to do is pick up the item, queue to pay and avoid talking to someone who doesn’t know what you know anyway.

If you really want service arrive at a store 30 mins after they open. Staff are fresh, not tired from standing all day, and there are no customers as yet.  The worst times for service are lunch times (lots of customers and staff are on rotating lunch breaks) or the very end of the day.  Staff are tired, riled by some idiot customer, talked out or want to go home.

Not good value or uncompetitive – well people, just shop around.  That’s what the internet or phone calls are about.   Don’t buy if you don’t like the price.  Shopping around is a core shopping strategy and will never change.

Saving not buying – had to happen.  But I will share a theory with you.  Around the time of the GFC in ’08, people, ie. me,  had too many credit cards with too much debt.  These cards were slowly choking me.  I keep getting more cards and the limits were way too easily increased.  Debt was the only existence I knew so when it was time to stop shopping I was ready.  I had too many things and was happy to slow down and think about what to buy, what I really needed, and also to finally do something about my credit cards.

If people are saving;  look at ways of changing your message to suit the new mood e.g. is your product durable and good value.

Time of Year ie. Winter – last year’s retail figures are about the same – a growth of 1% with Department stores down.  It happens every year.  The June/ July period is typically the slowest retail months.  People are either shopping for bargains or not shopping.  Any retailer with historical figures will tell you ‘it’s like this every year’

On-Line.  This is seen as the great saviour of retail, yet only 3.8% of sales via on-line.  Why concentrate all your efforts on a small part of your sales channel?   Retailers with real bills to pay for their ‘traditional’ stores should be looking at strategies to improve that assest, not ignore their stores and build on-line.

The media is telling retailers that the future is on-line.  Which most retailers understand but it’s a part of the mix not a magic money button

Reasons to Resist on-line.   Why share everything you do, everything you’ve worked to import/ discover/ create with the world?   What is the benefit of putting up your design if your customers like something undiscovered? a little bit special and different?

Lots of other retailers look at store web sites for a quick new idea.  They are stealing your ideas, your designers, your brands and re-creating your portfolio of stockists.  I know, they all talk about it and they talk about resisting the need to display all their ‘secrets’. ie. their prices, their stock selections.

Strategically; store web sites are  better used as a business card,  a quick update on stock arrivals, a few new images,  store hours and location.   Don’t give away your secrets to competitors.

Change strategies – There are always opportunities.  During The Great Depression, Myers launched a ‘Buy Australian’ campaign and also retained all their staff.   The two moods were ‘loyalty’ and ‘directed spending’ and both these strategies were success.

People are still spending,  there are always birthdays, personal treats and presents to buy.    Just re-examine your offering, your service and don’t give potential customers a chance to hesitate based on over pricing or poor service.

As always the media likes to panic and make a story out of change of behaivour.

McLaren represented to a 16 yr old Australian girl everything that was London in Fashion and Music in the extraordinary time and place that was the early 80′s.  He was a manager that influenced his bands and singers with style  and content.

To Adam Ant he pushed African drums sounds and American Indian hair and face paint.   Bow Wow Wow wore Vivienne Westwood, in particular the pirate boots and swiggly patterned shirts,  items which now Kate Moss wears as vintage

So I’ll take you back to 1983.   I wanted to be a Buffalo Girl, with a full skirt that twirled when I danced, over teased hair with a few tiny plaits, and a ripped black top hanging half of the shoulder.   The skirt was made by my neighbour, Kathy, and we hung it to the Hills Hoist.  Next we grabbed brushes and paints, spun the clothes line around and threw paint at the big white skirt.   Blue Poles meets Backyard Fashion.  I wore it to The Stranded nightclub that night.

Courtney Awesome -  has scanned some great images and exerts from the Sex Pistols book.  You can’t beat a scanner sometime.

Grandma takes a Trip – 263 Crown St, Surry Hills

Coco Repose – 82 Fitzroy St, Surry Hills

Zoo Emporium – 180b Campbell St, Darlinghurst

Shag – 34 Oxford St Paddington

Olives and Khakis – goodbye Black (for now).  Black is on pause this season.  Most of us have enough black but never know where to turn for alternatives. Look for trousers (another key trend), pair this colour with denim, layer your olives and khakis together with whites and always use a scarf to soften the look.  Look for this colour in any way..from shoes to bags.

Khaki Jacket circa 1945

Jackets: tailored & waisted to perfection.    Coco Repose have some outstanding 1940’s jackets, single button closure, worsted wools in burgundy and navy.  The blazer is a strong piece for winter but look for ultra feminine tailoring.

Jodphurs – trousers are big this season. Score the Vintage Trophy if you can find ‘English Patient’ style jodphurs.

I want to look this relaxed in a blizzard

Floral dress a la Mad Men- stores can’t get enough of these flower bomb dresses.  Modernise with new heels, clutches and trench coats.

The Flower Bombs of Mad Men

Doc Martens – another key item to seek in a vintage store.  Clap your hands if you find them in your size.  We found a great customised pair…but we shan’t tell you where.!

Sparkles – Zoo Emporium has made it easy for us to shine bright.   A whole rack of sparkly things from 80’s shoulder padded jackets to 70’s tops with butterfly motifs.  Calm the shine down by mixing with denim.

Fur – mini-bits: we are all for re-cycling and this includes fur.  Anna Wintour has inspired us on this trend.    Look for shoulder covering jackets or small pieces for use as collars.

Anna Wintour

Diane Kruger

Sunglasses: everywhere we went the sunglasses tempted us;  from Christian Dior bug eyes to classic Wayfarers.

Body-Con: I found some great Azzedine Alaia body con jackets and bodysuits from the 80’s.  We were mesmerized by the intricate tailoring.   This is what makes vintage so educational.

The one-off accessories:  statement necklaces, bangles galore and the return of the gold Chanel clip earring.  Pick which one works with you.  Some of us can’t return to the days of pulling off the heavy clip-on earring only to massage your ear back to life.