So I was procrastinating a few days ago, browsing vintage dresses on eBay with no intention of buying (no seriously, I went on a November shopping spree, so no more this year!). And I got to thinking about the photographs of vintage clothing for sale online. What a resource! When somebody sells a vintage dress online, they photograph the dress from all angles, with closeups of details and embellishments – they show more detail in those photos than most costume museum archives! It’s an amazing historic record. Plus, so many of these dresses are one of a kind, or at least, the last of their kind.
But the photos are online only as long as the item is for sale, and given that it’s changing hands to a new owner, it may never be seen again! Once the listing is deleted, that photographic record is lost to us! Sitting there, I had a terrible panic that we were losing a valuable resource, oh my word! And proceeded to nab as many photos of the 1920-1940s dresses listed as I could. So yeah, an hour later…
Anyway, what do you think? I’ve always liked to post the lovely vintage things I see on eBay and Etsy, here on SwingFashionista. That way, even if none of us get to buy them, we can still enjoy the pictures, get inspired by the style, and maybe even use them as a reference for making our own. And well after the original listing is gone and the item has headed on to its new owner. But now I feel like I’m on a mission!
What are your thoughts? Want to join my mission? Do you have that same photo-saving habit I do? Do you have a folder on your desktop, filled with photos of pretty things from the glorious internet? So why not start your own blog? Or send them to me and I’ll always post any gathered photos of original 1920s – 1950s fashions here on SwingFashionista. Drop a comment if you have a thought!
Oh yeah, and to satisfy, here are some of those photos 😉
