In the words of Gilbert O' Sullivan, "Oh Claire, Claire...oh Claire."
I have a new obsession and her name is Claire Incorruptible.
My love for vintage is well documented in the bulging wardrobes at home. I remmeber buying my first ever piece of vintage clothing. Fittingly enough, it was in SF. In a cavernous space with racks packed to the brim and no shoppers around save for us. This was way back in the day before vintage entered every fashionista's lexicon and Carrie from SATC made vintage mainstream and hip. At the risk of sounding really mawkish and dramatic, it is an incredible high when one picks out an item and it fit perfectly, as though that dress has been hanging there all this way, waiting just for ME.
Now with vintage explosion of the past few years, it no longer is that difficult to find the outfits which fit, since there are tons of sellers out there trawling through estate sales and flea markets and hawking the results of their labour on ebay.
A more recent phenomenom is the increasing number of vintage web stores, probably contributed by the seemingly endless fascination with vintage and tediousness of dealing with ebay.
There are lots of really great vintage sites out there but if there is one complaint I have, it seems to be the general sameness of the wares on offer. I thought people turned to vintage as a way of dressing in a unique manner, to express a personal sensibility. But so many vintage sellers out there now seem to be scouting for and selling the same sort of look; namely vintage knock offs of what Kate Moss is all about this season and whatever the goddesses of high/street fashion in vogue /nylon tell us is in. Defeating the purpose I say?
But there are a couple of gems out there. And right now, my guilty pleasure is Claire Inc. An incredible emporium of vintage treasures which despite the volume of offering is clearly tightly curated and well thought out. No dressing the next chictopia rocker chick wannebe. Claire Inc specializes in truly unique, hard to scout pieces and lust worthly designer collectibles. Most of the items on offer are precisely the kind of vintage which never gets old and will always retain their appeal. Plus, how can one not love a store which sets out as its manifesto:
Claire Inc is a mighty force
Claire Inc cannot be defeated
Claire Inc has 20 x 20 vision
Claire Inc leaps shopping isles in a single bound
Claire Inc cannot be defined
Claire Inc fired Anna Wintour
Claire Inc is Incorruptible
But of course the rare and wonderful comes at a pretty penny. Surely worth it but my wallet's looking kindof empty now...
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