Hunting for Vintage: the Skips & the Fixes

A Guide to Sorting Through the Imperfections

Aug 18, 2023

Damaged clothing, sometimes called “wounded birds” in the vintage world, are an inevitable part of buying used garments. Certain issues are easy fixes, while others are more complicated. Some types of damage, sadly, just can’t be remedied. So how exactly are you supposed to know what’s what? I’ve learned a lot going through my fair share of trial, error, and heartbreak, and I’d love to help you avoid the same.

The level of effort that goes into repairs varies a lot, depending on your skill set and resources. As you get in the habit of making repairs, you’ll have a better understanding of what you’re willing and able to do, what you can learn to do, and how much each type of fix may cost you. You may have friends, family, or community members who would be happy to teach you skills like mending or tailoring. There are lots of free resources online, and many places have in-person classes if you’re looking to take your skills a step further.

If you’re the type to end up with an enormous pile of “to do” pieces that you never want to tackle, take that into consideration. Taking on project pieces may not be for you, and that’s okay! It’s better to avoid picking up these items in the first place than hoping you’ll change and feel disappointed every time you look at your growing pile.

Taking your pieces to professionals may also be easier and more affordable than you realize. Basic repairs like hemming or replacing buttons is often under $15. The turnaround time on some fixes is often as quick as just a day or two, though more complicated projects can take several weeks. Spending $12 to fix a top you only spent $5 on may seem counterproductive, but it’s often still a fraction of the price of buying a brand new top of the same quality.

I’m splitting up different types of damages into three categories: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The Good damages are the easiest ones to fix. They generally require the least amount of time, effort, money, and skill to repair. The Bad damages are going to be harder and more expensive to fix, and may require flexibility or creativity on your part to make it work. Pieces in this category can definitely be saved and loved, but they aren’t for everyone. The Ugly is the last, and saddest, category. This type of damage generally can’t be repaired or wouldn’t be worth trying, and clothing in this condition simply won’t be wearable as is. Let’s get into it.

The Good

Mild spots and stains

As you continue your vintage journey, you’ll get better at guessing what different types of stains look like and how to treat them. Stains are set with heat, so they’ll be much less likely to budge if the item was put in the dryer after it was stained. While there isn’t a definite way to know if a secondhand item has been machine dried, the smell of laundry detergent can be a good clue.

Hidden tears and loose seams

If you’re going to find damage, the best place to find it is somewhere hidden. Mending is generally much easier to do when it’s along a seam. It’s also easier to disguise a repair in an area that is mostly hidden when a garment is worn, like in the lining, under the arm, or at the bottom area of a top that you plan on only wearing tucked in.

Buttons

Bad or missing buttons are one of the easiest fixes there is! Sewing on buttons is a simple task, even for beginners, and is one of the least expensive repairs at a tailor. If you only need to replace one or two buttons, check to see if the garment has any spares. They’re most often sewn on to tags (look along the bottom of an inner side seam), to the lining (especially in coats) or occasionally at the collar, cuff, or bottom of a placket.

If you’re only missing one button, it may not be noticeable to forego a button at the very top, bottom, or the collar of a piece. I don’t ever button a collared shirt all the way up to the neck, so I can usually “borrow” the very top button and move it somewhere else. If you always wear your sleeves rolled up, you can use a button from a cuff. If you want to go the extra mile, you can sew the corresponding button hole shut.

I also personally love the look of mismatched buttons! I think it’s cute and whimsical, and often makes a good solution when you’re missing multiple buttons.

Before you start sewing, make sure that your replacement buttons actually work with the holes. The buttons will no longer be functional if they’re too big or too small for the button holes. This may be fine for something like a cardigan or a jacket that you only plan on wearing open. If you’re willing to put in the extra work, you can also adjust the size of the holes themselves, but it’s good to know what you’re getting into before you start.

The Bad

Intense Spots and Stains

Some of the hardest types of marks to remove are oil-based, or highly saturated like ink, dye, or paint. The longer a stain has been sitting, the harder it is to remove, so keep that in mind when picking up older garments. There are tons of products and methods depending on the type of stain, but the reality is that some spots are pretty permanent. Before you buy something with a questionable stain, ask yourself: would I still wear it if this doesn’t come out? And if not, is there a way I can cover the mark that would make this piece wearable for me? If the answer is no to both, you might not want to take that risk. I’m personally happy to embrace flaws on more casual items like jeans, tees, and sweatshirts, but will usually skip risky stains on things like formal wear, or more elevated fabrics like silk.

Large or Noticeable Tears & Holes

Depending on the placement and the fabric, some types of damage can be repaired but not hidden. In these situations, it’s often best to embrace the damage, and find a way to work it in as a design choice. Here are a few ideas that can also be applied to stains:

Cover the damage with paint, embroidery, sequins, appliqué, or patches of another fabric.
Use contrasting colors for stitching. This technique is called visible mending.
Depending on where the damage is, consider reworking the garment. Pants that are damaged near the bottom could be cropped, cut into shorts, or even turned into a skirt. A shirt with a big stain on the lower back could become a crop top. A blouse with a shredded sleeve could be made into a tank. I once found a beautiful gown with a pretty sizable stain below the knee, and had it turned into a mini dress. The result was honestly even better than the original, and the piece become one-of-a-kind!

Broken Hardware

Hardware can usually be replaced, but it’s generally more complex and more expensive than sewing on buttons. Replacing the original hardware can also affect the value of certain vintage items. Plastic zippers weren’t widely in use until the 1960’s, so vintage that predates that would be expected to have a metal zipper. Designer items may also have specific markings on hardware like zipper pulls or metal buttons. While replacements can make the piece wearable, it could lower the collectibility and resale value of a garment if that’s something you care about.

Crunchy or Droopy Elastic

There are a lot of different factors at play that can cause the stretchy parts of a garment to break down over time. Moisture levels, lack of use, and even laundry products like chlorine bleach can cause elastic to dry out and loose its stretchy properties. If the elastic is a flat band, like those sewn into the waistband of pants or skirts, it can typically be replaced. If the elastic isn’t broken, but has simply lost its elasticity, the garment can sometimes be worn as is. Keep in mind that this will change the fit of the garment - a stretchy elastic will typically feel more secure, and comfortably stretch much further. A new, stretchy elastic band will usually give you about 5-10” of give, where a stretched out, loose band will only give you 1-2”. The elastic elements of undergarments and swimwear is often not replaceable, or would be very challenging and expensive to replace. Look at how exactly the elastic is incorporated into the garment.

Moth Holes

Moth holes are different than other types of tears or holes because there tend to be a lot of them. “Darning” is the name for the technique used specifically for repairing holes in knits, and it can be done in a variety of ways. A very smooth and “invisible” look can be achieved with skill and the right color/texture of thread or yarn. There are also a lot of very cool techniques for visible mending, and sometimes it just makes sense to embrace the flaws! Another option is to add some kind of embellishment over the repaired holes, like appliqué, patches, lace, or rhinestones.

Funky Smells

Stinky clothes are always a risk, but your chances of getting the smell out are way better with certain fabrics than others. Synthetic fibers trap bacteria and other causes of odor much more than natural fibers. Soaking is one of the most effective methods for tackling smells, so pieces made of washable fabrics have a higher chance of success, but will require some elbow grease. If soaking isn’t an option, or you don’t have time to try right away, you can start with a homemade spray solution. I use a 1:1 vinegar solution, others use a similar mix with vodka. These both work as neutralizers, and can be surprisingly effective in a pinch.

Color Bleed

When a garment is made up of fibers in multiple colors, the dye from one section can seep into another when wet. Dye can also transfer from one garment to another, something many of us have learned by accidentally turning our whites pink. There are products to prevent this, like Color Catchers and Synthrapol, which I’ll delve into in future newsletters. If the damage has already been done, your chances of a fix are honestly a toss up. I’ve had a lot of success treating color bleed with some pieces, and had not-so-great results with others.

Damaged Linings

Layered garments like suits and coats tend to show the most wear on their inner linings, where the fabric is thinner and there’s more friction. If the lining is beyond repair, it can be replaced completely! This is a pretty big task that requires a high skill level, and can be quite costly. However, suiting and outerwear can be really expensive and very valuable, so it can be worth it to spend $100+ on a new lining if it means salvaging a high quality garment. If the shell is in excellent condition this is definitely something to consider, especially if the item is a luxury piece.

Snags, Pulls, and Runs

This type of damage is most commonly found in knitwear and delicate fabrics like tulle or mesh. Pulls can sometimes be worked back into chunkier knitwear, but runs or snags in more finely woven fabrics can’t really be fixed. Nylon chiffon, commonly used to make vintage lingerie and loungewear, is often full of tiny pulls and snags. This isn’t something you can fix, but it’s generally a type of damage that won’t affect the functionality of your piece, and that many people (including me!) are willing to overlook it. The more volume, movement, texture, and pattern a piece has, the less likely it is to be noticeable.

The Ugly

Dry Rot

Ugh. This is truly one of the worst things you can come across when dealing with vintage clothing. With just the tiniest tug, the fabric starts tearing into pieces. Sometimes, it even crumbles or shreds, basically disintegrating in front of your eyes. There’s sadly no fix for it. If you sew up one tear, another one will just appear right below it.

There are two different types of damage that are both commonly referred to as “dry rot.” The first kind is caused by moisture (so the opposite of dry, actually) and improper care/storage, which creates fungus and mildew that slowly eats away at clothing fibers. This type of rot is most commonly seen in vintage and antique pieces made of natural fibers like cotton and silk. The second kind is caused by high acidity dyes, and is most commonly found in black t-shirts from the late 1980’s-early 2000’s. The sulfur-based dyes used during this era, most often for black tees, wear down the fabric over time. Washing actually removes some of this acid and prevents deterioration, so this type of rot is usually seen in deadstock clothing that was never laundered after production.

Sadly, there isn’t any way a garment afflicted with this type of rot will ever be wearable. If the piece is of sentimental value, or has an interesting or collectible element (especially certain band tees and the like), it is an option to have the piece mounted and framed to try and preserve it.

Strong Smells

Anything with an intense smell is a big gamble, and even more so when you’re dealing with materials that you can’t easily launder, like leather, fur, heavy wool, or feathers. These can really only be treated by professionals, and even their methods can’t get out some odors. I generally avoid garments with a strong smell if they aren’t made out of a fabric I can soak myself. If the item is super unique or being sold at a very good price, it may be worth it to take the risk, though take into consideration that dry cleaning specialty fabrics can cost upwards of $50 per item depending on where you live.

Cracking, Flaking, and Peeling

This damage affects animal skin fabrics like leather and fur, along with plastics like vinyl, PVC, and PU. While it is possible to fill in cracked leather with leather filler and dye, it’s a tricky process that can be costly in materials alone. Brittle, cracked furs can sometimes be salvaged by a professional furrier, but this isn’t cheap, and won’t guarantee that your piece will be strong enough to avoid further damage with continued wear. Unless you’re looking to save a garment with sentimental value, these types of repairs are often just not worth it. They’re expensive, risky, and require special maintenance after. This damage can be avoided in the pieces you already own with proper care and storage, which I’ll delve into in a future newsletter.

When it comes to synthetics, this type of damage is most often seen in plastic materials used to create a leather-like effect. “Faux leather” or “vegan leather,” commonly seen on jackets and shoes, tends to break apart over time. Make sure to check the inside of secondhand shoes as well, as oftentimes the exterior is genuine leather but with a synthetic lining. Flaking, cracking, and peeling will just get worse with time and wear, and there isn’t any fix for it. There are some very high quality plastics used in older vintage and luxury garments, but the sad reality is that most newer “faux leather” is just waiting for its day in the landfill.

Now that you know what to look out for, you can also implement a few steps to your shopping process to avoid disappointing surprises after a purchase. Here are some tips to give secondhand pieces the most thorough inspection:

Inspect the garment from up close and far away. Sometimes if you hang a piece up and step back, you’ll notice discoloration or other flaws that aren’t as easy to spot without seeing the garment as a whole.
Don’t forget to look at the inside of the piece, paying special attention to the “sensitive” areas - armpits, back of the collar, and crotch. These are spots that are more likely to be stained and (especially the crotch) have stains that might be a dealbreaker for you.
Check and test any functional elements like buttons, zippers, ties, and elastic.
Give fabrics a nice sniff. Secondhand spaces often have a general mustiness to them, so it can be hard to tell where a weird smell is coming from. If you’re too embarrassed to sniff something in the open, you can duck into a dressing room if there’s one available.
When looking at garments made of leather, fur, or plastics like vinyl/PVC/PU, try gently crumpling and folding the fabric, then shaking it out. If this type of movement causes the fabric to visibly crack/split or shed a lot of debris, you’re better off leaving it behind.
If you’re shopping in a curated vintage store or boutique, keep an eye out for labels that say “As Is.” This is an indicator that a piece is being sold with some kind of flaw, often at a discount. If you can’t find any damage on something marked “As Is,” don’t be afraid to ask someone who works at the store to point it out to you.

If you notice undisclosed damage on an item and still want to purchase it, it’s generally acceptable to politely ask for a discount. I almost always get a discount on damages at thrift stores, and most vintage dealers will offer one as well as long as you’re respectful about it! If the item is labeled “As Is” it has already been priced with condition in mind, and I personally wouldn’t ask for a bigger discount.

If you notice undisclosed damage on an item and decide to pass, I think it’s nice to kindly point it out to an employee if you’re shopping at a curated boutique. However, I wouldn’t bring it to anyone’s attention if you’re at a thrift store. Sadly it will most likely just result in the item being thrown away, and there may be someone else who would still buy it anyway.

No matter how thorough you are, even the most seasoned shoppers are bound to miss things sometimes. I can’t count the number of times I didn’t notice a piece was damaged until way after I purchased it. Other times, weak spots won’t reveal themselves until a piece is washed or worn. If you find yourself with something that just doesn’t seem fixable, consider ways you could use the fabric itself. Damaged garments can be great practice pieces for beginner sewing, or learning how to do fiber arts like embroidery or needlepoint. If the damage is present in certain areas but not others, the fabric could be cut up and repurposed. And if you aren’t the creative type, I’ll bet that someone you know is! Consider passing off a project piece to your crafty DIY friend, or consulting them for their ideas. There’s a good chance there’s something you could offer in exchange - make them a home cooked meal, pass along propagation from your favorite plants, or gift them a couple of special selections off your bookshelf.

Thanks for reading another 1-800-VINTAGE letter! This was the last FREE letter for the month. Starting in September, I’ll be releasing most of my content exclusively to paid subscribers. I’m offering a special annual subscription rate until the end of the month as a thank you to those of me joining me while I get this thing going!