If you are anything like me, you have spent many an hour perusing through Etsy for one of two reasons:
1) Because Etsy is great, and you’re supporting independent shop owners.
2) Because it’s also the easiest place to procrastinate and get lost.
3) All of the above.
So, okay: three reasons. But while those mornings/afternoons/evenings/nights seem productive, odds are you’re still missing a lot since the Etsy community just grows and grows. Here are five of our favourites, and if you have any of your own, post them in the comments section, so we can shop optimally.
1. Rococo Vintage
Based in LA and run by Rebecca Darling, Rococo Vintage opened in 2009 and has since established itself as quite the vintage force. With dresses from the 1910s up until the 1960s, it’s drawn the likes of Taylor Swift, who actually wore a Rococo Vintage dress while performing on Skavlan in the UK. Even better? Rebecca’s blog and Instagram, which are must-follows.
Price range: $23 – $860
2. Adored Vintage
LA strikes again! For those with an affinity for vintage pieces, Adored has quite the collection, with petticoats from the Edwardian era right up to jackets from the 1980s. You can also catch the pieces in action: a scroll through owner Rodelee Bas’ Instagram, and you can see her studio, the items she’s found, and generally lovely day-to-day images.
Price range: $33 – $300
3. Power of One Designs
Hailing from New Mexico, Karen R. Quinn of Power Of One Designs specializes in jewellery, housewares, purses, accessories, and even harmonicas , and boasts an inventory of over 500 pieces. And there’s diversity: with items ranging from the 1800s to the 1980s, you won’t be at a loss for, say, an art deco pocket mirror from the 1920s. (Which I may or may not have gotten for Christmas.)
Price range: $10 – $1000 (a 14K gold ring)
4. Whosits and Whatnots
Imagine an antique market in digital form. And okay, fine, that’s kind of the point of Etsy to begin with, but imagine it in a smaller capacity, warmer, and easier to shop. Enter: Whosits and Whatnots from Phoenix City, Alabama, where you can have your pick of applique vests (like mom used to wear) to DIY photography to books.
Price range: $6 – $63
5. Gazelle Star
First, if you follow this brand-spanking-new shop from Seattle on Twitter, you’ll get a coupon. Second, Gazelle Star translates to trouble if you’re on a budget and perusing through their selection. With clothes ranging from the 1960s to the 1980s, clothes are affordably-priced, and also wearable “ not to mention, somehow magically colour-coded. (Or so it seems.) Evidently, the Pacific Northwest isn’t lacking in style.
Price range: $8 – $190
Bonus shop: Fashion Show At Lunch!
Okay, fine, this is shameless self promotion. But here are the facts: yes, I have an Etsy store with my friend and fellow writer, Nicole Villeneuve, and yes, it is a means for us to justify perusing thrift stores in hopes of finding gems. Consisting of clothes, accessories, and housewares from the ’50s to the mid 1990s, the goal is to keep pieces affordable, and to fulfill one mandate: selling only what we’d buy ourselves. (And in some cases, have.)
Price range: $5 – $40
