May 22, 2012

5 Reasons to Buy a Vintage Handbag

As you well know, we at SF Indie Fashion love us some vintage. And a you-won’t-see-it-everywhere-else aesthetic is only part of the romance. There are many more reasons to shop vintage these days – for yourself or someone else. Our friends at Ubokia recently gave us five good ones, and we thought we’d share.

Reasons your next handbag should be vintage:

1.    Save money. This one’s obvious, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important. A well-made handbag will last for years. When you buy a quality vintage handbag, you’re getting all the benefits of new at a fraction of the price.

2.    Greener. Handbags take a lot of resources – just think of all the raw materials that go into making a new bag, not to mention all the chemicals and dyes used to treat the leather or fabric. But when you buy vintage, you’re giving new life to old materials rather than contributing to the extraction of new ones. It’s a zero-footprint way to be fashionable.

3.    Vintage is in. Need we say more?

4.    Built-in character. While the new-handbag smell is nice, a vintage one has character and a story to tell. If you don’t know the story behind your handbag, make one up. When someone asks you where you got your gorgeous handbag, it’s way better than saying, “At the mall.”

5.    Make money. Like we said in #1, a well-made handbag will last for years. That means that only can you save money by buying vintage, you can also make money by selling it to someone else when you’re done. It’s a virtuous cycle, really. Buy a new-to-you bag, love it, sell it, rinse, repeat.

This post is brought to you by Ubokia, the place to buy, sell, trade and borrow gently used handbags and other fashion accessories. Be sure to check out their Perfect Handbag Giveaway, too!

To enter, create a free Ubokia account and post a Want for a handbag. That’s it! You’ll be automatically entered to win a handbag of your choice, up to $500. The winners will be announced on December 21, 2011.

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This post sponsored by Ubokia. We love our sponsors and hope you will, too. They make it possible for us to keep bringing you San Francisco’s independent fashion news five days a week.


Spotted (SF Street Style): 70s Chic

Spotted: Candace, seen at 16th and Valencia in the Mission wearing high-waisted bellbottom jeans, a green leather vintage jacket with fur collar and handmade jewelry made from her friend’s line, the indie Austin-based Sisters of the Black Moon.

When asked to describe her style, she said, “I kind of just threw this on…wanted something casual.” Her favorite store? Thrift Town.

Photography courtesy of Alexandra Naughton

More San Francisco street style

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Alexandra is a San Francisco writer with a passion for style and creativity. You can find her on Twitter @theTsaritsa

Snap Judgement: Vintage ’70s Tiger Tunic

Our very-visual, (almost) chatter-free snap judgment of the day: the delightfully tacky sheer 70′s-era animal print tunic top, $15, from San Francisco-based vintage Etsy shop Lost Feather Vintage, a local source for notably affordable casual and trendy styles from the ’70s and ’80s.

More snap judgments

Good Looks: Up Against the Wall

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In the midst of a rain-filled week, we’re letting a little sun shine in, thanks to Alex Keenum and Amy Soderlind of Refuses to Label. For this shoot, the stylish duo ventured to the Marina district, where Amy posed in a thrifted camel suede skirt and vintage black platform booties, a cropped grey t-shirt by American Apparel, H&M faux fur vest and Spanx tights.

See, sometimes finding yourself up against a wall ain’t so bad…

Refuses to Label: the creative outlet of two lifelong friends with similar aesthetic addictions: vintage, design, art, photography, music. Artists themselves; this is the documentation of they’re combined inspirations and daily vintage fits.

Photography: Alex Keenum

Styling: Refuses to Label

For more looks by stylish San Franciscans, visit our burgeoning style series….

Good Looks: Adventures in Wasteland

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We recently we sent SF Indie Fashion contributor Kristina Wang out with $40 and a simple mission: thrift, style, shoot. Her destination of choice: Wasteland in the Upper Haight.

Wang then mixed the spoils from her adventure in with her own pieces to create a series of looks showcasing San Francisco style.

From top: white vintage evening purse ($9), white sundress ($12), blue floral jumper ($10) and cropped denim vest ($10) all from Wasteland. Additional clothing and accessories provided by the ever-stylish Miss Wang.

[Styled and modeled by: Kristina Wang]

[Photography by Tyler Deniston]