The Thrill of a Vintage Find!

Anyone that sells or collects vintage will tell you what an absolute thrill it is to find something really special. Whether it’s an antique piece of jewellery, ceramic pot or labelled frock. It’s all in the find! It’s so satisfying and can happen when you least expect it. Getting hold of a one-off, unique piece of history is a wonderful thing; something you can pass on and treasure for many more years to come. If you happen to sell vintage as I do, it can also be quite hard to part with your vintage treasures!

Beautiful Brick Houses in Cheshire

Well, the other day, quite out of the blue, I decided to venture out on a lil’ vintage hunt of my own.  The day wasn’t planned that way, but the sun was shining and I had the day to myself.  Housework done, cats fed, fridge stocked full. Mmmm, now let me think?  Ok, handbag at the ready, umbrella packed (just in case), petrol tank full and mobile phone charged.  It would have been rude not to take a drive out!

I decided to visit a village, just a few miles from where I live in Manchester, and over the border into the lovely county of Cheshire. Most of the streets there are tree lined with houses made from beautiful Cheshire brick (what else?) with pretty hanging baskets and borders full of flowers. An affluent area indeed and such lovely countryside too. Perfect for a day trip, or to carry out my vintage treasure hunt.  I didn’t know what I was looking for but I told myself that I was going to find something special – and I did! Thank you universe!

1970's Caped Disco dress

I parked in a small multi-storey car park – as this was Cheshire, even the car park was pretty! I paid a very reasonable £1.00 for a two hour stay; more than enough time to have a good ’scout around’ and get back home in time to collect my daughter from school. Little did I realise I’d be back in my car within half an hour with a bag full of vintage goodies! Oh I knew it was going to be a good day!

Vintage Liberty Bandeau Dress

I walked a few hundred yards down the road and came across a charity shop. The window looked inviting so I went in. Now remember this is an affluent area so there were plenty of Roberto Cavalli and Ghost frocks and blouses to choose from.  However, ignoring the obvious, I ventured to the very back of the store where I saw quite a large clothes rail with what looked like an assortment of vintage attire.  As it happened, most of them had my name written on them!  I almost came out in a cold-sweat! Could I be seeing things? Is this some cruel joke or lovely dream that I would awaken from at any minute?  I had to pinch myself to make sure I that wasn’t going mad!

Wanting to remain as cool, calm and collected as possible, I gathered a few pieces together that I was instantly drawn to and put them to one side on a large chair and underneath my bag, just in case someone else got hold! Lucky I did, because within a couple of minutes someone else was eyeing up the very same clothes rail that just a few minutes before had been mine, all mine! Not only that, but there were two potential threats and these people had arrived together! Yikes! Anyway, not to be put off, I calmly looked through my selection and placed one of the dresses back on the rail.  I didn’t want to appear greedy!  The dress was cute but over-priced and I always, but always, stick to my budget - well almost always!

Finding really great quality vintage is becoming increasingly difficult, especially here in the UK.  However, if you look long and hard enough you can strike it lucky!  I’ve yet to visit a carboot sale (it’s on my ‘to do’ list), and purchase most of my stock from vintage wholesalers or buy it in from the States.  I always hand-pick my merchandise and today I was definitely buying British. Just a few select pieces to add to my collection.

I’ve attached photographs of some of the items I purchased but the most special one is the striking orange dress suit by Benson Landes. I’d never heard of the designer but knew instantly it was something unique and worth paying a little bit more than my budget usually allowed for. I couldn’t find any information about the designer so posted photographs of the suit to my learned friends at the Vintage Fashion Guild. Not surprisingly I received two replies; one from Jonathan of Kickshaw (Ontario) and one from Nicole of Circa Vintage Clothing (Melbourne). Jonathan provided me with a link to the biography of Benson Landes who began his career back in the 1950’s only to leave the fashion industry in the early 1980’s to become an artist and sculptor.

Benson Landes Dress Suit

Jonathan dated the suit to the mid to late 1970’s when skirt lengths became longer. Nicole confirmed this and also advised me that an example of one of his designs was in The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. Wow! A special find indeed!

What can I say? Thank you universe! And, thank you to my friends at the VFG and also not forgetting the mystery person who donated this rather spiffing Benson Landes suit to that inconspicuous charity shop.  I promise I’ll look after it and treat it with the utmost respect!

Now don’t you just love it when your day goes like this?

Purchase the Benson Landes dress suit here.