I love Etsy. I love it so much I would gladly yodel my heartfelt declarations from an Alp mountain-top for it (which are literally and conveniently, for my lazy little self, at our back door). An instance of my passion: I spent two...or was it three?...hours last night trawling over - wait for it - 1,400 baby cardigans, both vintage and handmade. Three hours. On baby cardigans. Can you imagine if I'd put that effort into something really useful?!
Now I live in Switzerland, in an itty bitty town in the middle of nowhere and from my experience, the Swiss don't quite do vintage as they do it in the UK or US. I've spent a few rather stressful Saturdays travelling around the entirety of Zurich with a list of vintage shops to hit up in the hopes of finding something - anything - resembling that which you might catch on (a few of my personal favourites) 3ringcircus or jherrmann or hartandsew. But I've always come away with nothing. Zip, nil, nada. So for any pretty vintage items I may want for Ryn or Fox, Etsy is where I turn.
And it may just be me, but when I think of "vintage" I also think of "style bargain". So when I come across cardigans which might cost $4 in a vintage shop, if I were to shop myself, but are upwards of $12 (and more when you tag on shipping - usually $8 or more to Switzerland) on Etsy it makes me a little sad to close that browser window. I've found the same, more-so probably, with dresses (boy's items, I've found, are usually more reasonably priced). That's not to say I don't understand the effort which is put in from the seller's behalf - the hours which go into searching, photographing, accessorizing and parceling off each item, or my appreciation for it. However, I do feel that the prices are sometimes quite restricting and for certain items (baby cardigans being one) I am turning away from pricey vintage options and choosing handmade, where I feel the prices are more justifiable. What are your experiences? What do you think?
Here are a few of my favourite girl's and boy's cardigans: peach dream, must-see tangerine, very cute and classic (and hello! might not break the bank!), mmmm mint, lovely blue, I love this outfit!, the temptation for this may be too strong!!
No comments:
Post a Comment