How do you judge wearability of vintage clothing?

Most clothing at Vintage Vixen is wearable and durable. However, the decision to wear a vintage garment is occasionally a challenge. Basically, the owner of a fragile garment has to weigh the thrill and historic vibrance of wearing a unique garment now with the austere responsibility of preserving it in its present form for the future. Factors of condition and maintenance must be considered, though using any garment regularly will do very slight long-term damage, because of perspiration and tension on the fibers from body movement. The risk of tearing or staining the fabric is also much greater for a garment that is worn than one hanging in the closet or stored in a box.

Choosing to wear a vintage garment is the prerogative of the owner, but we catalog items with recommendations about wearability based on experience and physical knowledge of the garment. "Wearable with caution" means that an item has a particular need or fragility that should be known to the wearer, or it is durable but on the borderline of wearability in terms of age and rarity.  We also use the phrase "wearable with due caution" to describe items that are durable, but we feel they are due some special respect when worn because they've lasted so well for so long.

If you have further questions, feel free to email.