Shopping for vintage is a great way to expand your wardrobe with timeless and classic styles. For some, collecting pieces is an casual endeavor and for many others, it's a passion (read: obsession).

While highly enjoyable, it is also a process that can also be a bit overwhelming for anyone just starting their own collection. When shopping for clothes online anywhere, it is important for the consumer to confidently comprehend what is being conveyed by the retailer by way of written descriptions and photographs.

Now, when I first started purchasing vintage, I couldn't tell you what a "dart" was from a "yoke"--alas, I did not pay attention in Home Economics. However, with a little patience I found some really great resources which illuminated the "talk of the trade" and so much more.

Many years have passed, but I still find that there is always much to learn with buying vintage, and one can never know too much about authenticating and identifying the hallmarks of a particular era, as there are many-a-seller out there willing to pass off an eighties reproduction as the real thing--lest we forget, caveat emptor.

Yet, perhaps the most important advice one can offer anyone interested in wearing vintage is simply this, have fun with it, and never be afraid to ask questions.

Below are a list of links (in no particular order) I could not live without, and I hope that they will be of some assistance to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask: nicole@papermoonvintage.com.

www.vintagesewing.info
www.vintagefashionguild.org
www.jitterbuzz.com/vinest.html
www.fashion-era.com/