WHAT'S the DEAL ?!?!

HI! My name is Rachel and I am la grande fromage here at Retro Eclectic Apparel. I have been selling vintage clothing here on EBAY since 1999. As of late I have had to slow down operations, but will now be selling off a large chunk of my stock and personal collection. 

 While I carry a diverse collection of vintage clothing from most any decade I specialize in vintage lingerie. I collect myself and have a hard time letting go of these items.

 I am a retro obsessed chick with an oddly diverse set of interests.  I developed my obsession with vintage clothing at a VERY young age and have worn vintage clothing pretty much all of my life. I LOVE selling on Ebay because I have met so many really cool people with similar interests and I look forward to meeting more in the future.

WHADDA YA MEAN by  RETRO ECLECTIC APPAREL?

I have a diverse set of tastes and I think I have a pretty good eye for what is unique and unusual for most any era in vintage clothing. My vision with the store is to not hang on to any one decade - but to mix things up and keep it interesting. I know I do not just wear one era and I don't think anyone else should have to. The beauty of vintage clothing is that you can create your own unique look by having an ALLGOOD approach. I do not give too much credence to designer labels. For me vintage should be about individuality;  obsessing over designers just kinda makes me feel like a lemming. Not to mention that alot of that stuff is just plain unaffordable and makes me too nervous to wear on a daily basis. I DO collect, but I think there should be a place for daily wear pieces. How about here? : )

CONDITION & TIPS FOR BUYING
We do not list items that we would not wear ourselves. PERIOD. Be they not a good style or in bad condition... Why? Well (A)the process of listing ANY item on Ebay is time consuming and expensive (B)why would ANYONE waste their time listing a piece of junk? I do not want to promote anyone wearing icky clothes... there are enough people doing that already. It is just plain uncool for a dealer to sell clothes that are less than decent. We will occassionally sell an item that is stained or has a hole, but will disclose that in it's listing. I am a stickler for having EVERY detail of the item listed and I have a GOOD EYE for the details.

PLEASE REMEMBER THOUGH ... Vintage clothing is used and therefore does not have that *fresh from Macy's* feel or smell. Most of the items we sell are at least 20++ years old and have been used, that is kinda the charm of it! Even items that are NWT (New with Tag)are still old and have been stored somewhere for however long they were in someone else's hands and have odors and sometimes stains...etc.... I never make claims about odors because everyone has a different nose and the smell of a garment is subjective. (I might smell something that you do not - you might smell something that I do not.) Everything has been washed and if you have a keen nose for what the garment was previously doing - wash it when it gets to you.Most of these items tend to "stew" when being shipped and will smell from just being packed for as long as they were being transported to you.

I try as I might to keep my item descriptions short but sweet because I know as a shopper myself on Ebay, I HATE reading 20 paragraph dissertations on a garment that I want to purchase...I also despise the sellers that wanna give you a lecture on their RULES. It makes me feel like I am in Jr.High again... like I have done something wrong and I am being given the lecture.  I do not have that kind of time. I think it should suffice to say what physical condition of the piece is - dimensions and surface - then look at the sellers feedback rating & trust it. If it is good - assume that they have an eye for inspecting garments. Please assume the same from us. I am super critical of condition and have passed on fantastic items to sell just because they have had discoloration in unnoticable areas. WHY am I so critical? Because ... I (A) do not want to take the risk of spending the $$ and not getting it back and (B) do not want to send someone *rap in the mail and spread bad karma. While we do wash about 90% of what we sell it is naturally expeceted that you will be washing the garment when it lands in your hands. I don't even wear NEW clothing without washing it first. I know many tricks for washing vintage clothing and if you have a particular problem with ANY of your vintage beauties- please feel free to e mail me! By the way... Dryell is FAB! A note about costs ... We try to keep our items VERY affordable because THERE IS NO CRIME IN BEING POOR _ ONLY DRESSING POORLY so...we try to never start any item above $9.99. However, please remember there are fees & costs that all sellers incur for 1. obtaining an item, 2.listing an item, 3.selling an item, 4.receving payment for an item, and 5.shipping an item. The price of gas alone is KILLING me right now! Always keep in mind what something would cost you NEW in a store and think about sales tax with that figure. Usually shipping is less than what you would pay in sales tax!

PLEASE ALWAYS feel free to e mail us with any questions or comments - we love to hear from people. THANKS!