Where Has All the Menswear Gone?

As of late, I've been getting quite a few requests to start carrying men's vintage clothing in La Caravane Bohème. I thought I'd start off small, a few scarves, maybe a shirt or two. Easy, right?

I never thought it'd be just a wee bit difficult to stake out vintage menswear. Granted, most of the shops I go to do have a men's section. However, most of those items are usually tattered beyond repair. The lining of a coat would be ripped nearly in half; or a pair of pants would have sorely worn knees. You men are hard on your clothes! There wasn't much that I could salvage.

One day, though, I put my mind to it and told myself I wasn't allowed to leave the shop until I was walking away with a decent amount of menswear. I walked out that store one and a half hour later with just two sweaters. They're really awesome sweaters, I have to say. One's a nice cream cable knit and the other is a really heavy duty grey fisherman's pullover. I won't lie, I was disappointed that I managed to unearth just two items.

I'm not one to give up, though, and I dove in at another store. It had a huge men's section but most were as I described before: worn out, ripped, or not vintage enough. We have enough shops on Etsy hawking 80's and 90's clothes, thank you. (By the way, clothes from the 90's are not considered vintage. It is strictly 80's or older.) I persevered though and told myself it was possible to unearth some quality vintage menswear.

On the long and heavy rack of men's coats and blazers, I plucked a grey herringbone wool coat out. A quick once over, a check of the tags, a glance at the silhouette, revealed itself to be an overcoat from the 50's. Have I hit the jackpot? Indeed! Now, with renewed motivation, I pushed myself to find another coat or blazer. Next, I pulled out a camel double-breasted blazer. By now, I was exhausted and ready to go home and snuggle up with a cup of tea, so I marched to the cashier with purpose and made my way home.

So, I zoomed in on my boyfriend's drummer as my potential model. After some sweet talking (read, begging,) he agreed and helped me out. The sweaters went swimmingly. Then, we got to the coat and blazer. I was nervous because they seemed a little too big for Garrett, our dashing male model. Once he put one on, my hope rose because it seemed to fit him well. Then, my eyes traveled down his sleeves and to my horror, I realized they were short!

"Oh crap."

After adjusting the sleeves and throwing the coat on two other guys and hoping the sleeves magically lengthened, I was forced to face the truth. While I had found these two items in the men's section, they were wholly, undeniably womenswear. Ugh. Note to self: Always measure the sleeves. That's definitely one lesson I'll never forget!

I guess I just have to keep looking. That's the fun part, right? :)

Happy Vintaging!

Beatrice