Recently, Shakira was spotted at the Barcelona airport wearing the 1978 Vintage Genesis T-Shirt from Ellie’s Vintage Closet, curated by Ellie Mae Studios, teamed with cargo jeans and platform sneakers. The singer-songwriter’s style has always been one of confidence – from low-rise pants to exposed midriff crop tops—this relaxed vintage look is no different. With the rise of circularity in the fashion industry, everyone is looking for smart investment pieces to add to their wardrobes that will last for years to come. In addition to Shakira’s Genesis T-Shirt, Ellie’s Vintage Closet has a careful selection of one-of-a-kind pieces from the rarest music tees, to a range of Harley Davidson and collectable home decor pieces. We chatted with founder and creative director Ellie Mae to learn more. —Vita Daily
When and why did you start sourcing vintage?
I was collecting vintage tees before I started Ellie Mae, but in late 2016 my partner and CEO of Ellie Mae, Jeremy Wood-Ross and I thought it would be a good idea to start to source some for Ellie Mae and in 2017 launched the vintage section of the brand.
What do you look for when sourcing vintage items, and clothing/T-shirts in particular?
There are three main things we look for when we’re sourcing vintage tees specifically. The first is the softness to the touch, which you get from a 50/50 (50% poly, 50% cotton blend). The second thing we look for are the graphics on the garment and if it’s just a miscellaneous graphic tee, it has to evoke a feeling, be unique and fit with our overall graphic collections, for the music ones the first step is making sure we have an affinity with the band, love their music and the graphic, otherwise we don’t buy into them. Typically we only collect items that are from the 60s-90s.
What vintage tees/clothing items are worth most, and why?
The band/music tee’s are often worth the most. A lot of this comes down to the era of the music and what that meant for our world and the music culture in general. So this typically brings us to people and bands like David Bowie, Rolling Stones and the Beatles as they were the icons and leaders of that generation. Now we’re seeing some of the 90s Hip-Hop start to become desirable and trade for well above some of the rarest Rock N’ Roll tee’s we’ve collected as a new generation of collectors start to appreciate them. For example, the Beatles original merch from the 60s can trade well over $1000, same is true with a David Bowie tee.
Do you consider (and should we consider) purchasing vintage clothing as an investment? Why?
At the end of the day, you’re typically going to purchase vintage clothing to wear it. Some of the pieces we sell are true collectors’ items and if sold to the right person will last for many more years and probably increase in value as one-of-a-kind items tend to do that.
Is there a difference between “secondhand” clothing and vintage clothing?
For us, we look at “second-hand” as being something that can be passed down or worn and recycled from 1 year or even 10 years and could be found at a thrift store. We define our vintage as anything that is older than 30 years old, but mainly looking at eras in time to define how they are truly vintage. For example, the 60s, 70s, 80s, & 90s all had a distinct fashion moment and that is why we have a 30 year rule on the product we choose to collect, it is often from a moment in time that is unique to an original style or musical influence. For us, we added vintage tee’s to the brand as we felt they were our basics and wear them that way daily.
How do we keep our vintage items pristine, perhaps so that they continue to appreciate in value?
- Rule number one: always fold your tees and never hang them.
- Rule number two: wash them separately if you can and lay out to dry as the dryer will kill them over time.
- Rule number three: treat them carefully, when taking them on and off. The tears in them can add value but they can also quickly destroy them.
Are you a proponent of keeping vintage items pristine for future resale, or wearing and enjoying them? Or both?
Personally I wear them to enjoy, but Jeremy would say that he treats his collection in both ways. We often joke about bringing our personal collections out for sale one day as we have collected some really unique and rare pieces for ourselves over the years.
Shakira recently wore one of your vintage items; tell us about that!
I always love when someone is photographed in our vintage because the hunt for vintage is the best part about it. You see a graphic you like, or a brand that you grew up listening to and it draws you in! I’d love to know what Shakira was thinking when she saw it, but obviously she is a Genesis fan!
What’s your personal holy grail item when it comes to vintage clothing (something you own, or are looking to source)?!
My holy grail tee is my Journey tee. It was my first one that I got to start my collection. One that I’ve been on the hunt for, for a while is a tie-dye Jimi Hendrix tee… we recently found one and decided to sell it so I’ll have to find another one!
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