Vintage Clothing as an Investment

Collecting beautiful pieces of vintage clothing is an expression of the need of the human soul for beauty. Collecting has many aesthetic and financial factors; combined in different ways in the mind of each person. Vintage clothing refers to clothing older than 25-30 years. For collectors, these vintage pieces must meet high standards or quality, established by experts or simply by the marketplace.

High quality vintage clothing must be in good conditions, well preserved not only for their wear ability, but also for their beauty. Clothes from the past must be from recent 20 years or from early 20th century. To possess true collectible value, collectible clothes must have passed the test of time. Aesthetic appreciation reflects the collector’s taste, her sense of beauty, her knowledge of clothing and also the power to appreciate the quality.

The collector must understand the historical context and find information about the designer. The market value of a piece of vintage clothing will increase in a spectacular manner if a documentary provenance is accompanying the piece. Vintage clothing may have a wearable value, and this quality increases its value. The owner must be careful to not expose the piece to deteriorations, decreasing its value.

Collecting is also an investment; it is a secondary consideration for many people. People consider vintage clothing as investment as well as a pleasure activity. Collectors spend their money to purchase the vintage clothes they really like and also for investment, that generally brings no immediate gratification. The best situation is when the vintage clothes are appreciated at a rate faster than inflation. The vintage clothes prices can escalade rapidly over a period of years, this trend should continue for many years and just for months. Financial experts confess that collectors of vintage clothing can expect to have good years ahead.

In the 1990s, vintage clothing has benefited from the spectacular spread of web sites. The prices moved up more rapidly than inflation; the trend has accelerated over the last three years. A Chanel suit from the 1950s has moved up from $800 in 1993 to $3,000 in 1999. This is a really spectacular appreciation!

There are a few other factors to give a boost to vintage clothing. Constituency is a term of art, referring to actual and potential investors in vintage clothing. A change in the size of the constituency alters the supply / demand rate, depressing prices or pushing them. The electronic payment systems offer the collectors the possibility to purchase online efficiently.

The technology enlarges the constituency, as many polls showed; the percent online increased from 8% in 1994 to 78% in 2006. Affluent and educated people are online often than people with less money and education. The constituency of vintage clothing collectors becomes more important because a large number of people who love beautiful clothing have the money to collect them, the confidence to purchase online too. The spread of web sites presenting and selling vintage clothing had made these pieces of art available to any person.

In the future, a new era to vintage clothing seems to be more efficient than ever. Internet users can easily view high resolution picture and decide to purchase them more easily. When the signs of generalized inflation appear, investors will prefer fine collectible vintage pieces, such as clothes and jewelry. In the future, vintage clothing will increase their value because many women will have their own money to spend for high quality clothes.

Vintage clothing is popular for many reasons: collectible pieces are hunted down for their value. For example, a 1960s pair of Levi jeans is valued for its value and rarity. Militaria also have its group of collectors; they seek original pieces such as Word War II leather jackets. There are high collectible vintage clothes from famous designers, such as Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Coco Chanel; many of these clothing are popular for non collectors too because they are completely wearable. As individuality has always been a major part of individual style, some unique vintage pieces are always a good investment.

Vintage clothing collectors can expect an investment return that will make them happy; they will enjoy their beautiful continuously growing collections; the returns on their collections is uncorrelated with the returns on stocks and this is another reason why the vintage clothing collections are a profitable investment.

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