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Five Outfits for Less Than $50
East Village Vintage Collective specializes in curated, but affordable vintage. We created five summer looks with gems from their collection.
Maegan Hayward fulfilled her life-long dream in 2015 and opened a vintage store in East Village, New York. Early this year, East Village Vintage Collective opened a second location in Jacksonville, Florida. Hayward’s goal has always been to make vintage accessible to everyone.
The trick to sourcing affordable second-hand items is to do it outside of major cities, knows Hayward.
“That’s where we need to go to source merchandise that we can then resell affordably at our stores in NYC & JAX. We travel up and down the east coast of the US regularly and hit up small towns to find the good stuff. Most small and out of the way towns have thrift stores that haven’t been picked over.”
We pulled five summer outfits from EVVC collection. All looks cost $50 or less!
Cheerleading
We combined a red 90's leotard with high-waisted 80's Bongo jeans and a pair of 90’s wedged platform sandals which break up the skinny silhouette. The leotard is a versatile piece that could be worn even as a bathing suit or dressed up with a blazer or a skirt.
How to choose a pair of jeans that fit you? One trick is to think about what you want to wear with the jeans you choose. A crop top? Go high-waisted 80’s/90’s style. A pair of 70’s look great with a fitted tee or a button up top.
Raiderettes bodysuit $18, Bongo jeans $15, gold hoop earrings $5, 1990’s platform sandals $12.
Suit Up
A cool thing about early 90's pantsuits is that you can dress them up or down: wear them with a pair of tennis shoes or with a pair of pumps like we did. No wonder then that all kind of sets have been trending lately at East Village Vintage Collective.
Finding a suit that fits can be tricky. It may mean some alterations could be needed to make it work. But, with any vintage item, the era that fits you best is the way to go. So, maybe a 70’s suit is better for your figure than a 90’s suit or vice versa. Just always go with what makes you feel good and find the suit for cheap so you can make alterations if needed.
Donna Karan suit $22, purple beret $8, hot pink Nina 80’s heels $10, velvet turtleneck $10.
Print Mix
The secret to making a print mix work is to stick to a similar color palette. We mixed florals and polka dots with spring-like pastel colors. The late 60s / early 70's floral dress is worn over a pair of pants and with 80's purple flats – a great staple shoe that goes with everything.
All 70’s dresses have been popular lately at EVVC. Anything that flows, has embroidery, or a beautiful all over print is a dress that flies off the racks – and that you will probably love, too.
Floral dress $25, light pink peg pants $5, purple 80’s shoes $12, purple polka-dotted scarf $6.
Golden Hour
We love kimonos with everything; they can be worn as a top or as a jacket. Here we used a fanny pack as a belt. The stir-up pants are a vintage classic just like a kimono; a great piece from the 70's-80's disco era!
Some other affordable ideas what to buy for summer: Cut-off jean shorts (like Wrangler or Levi’s) are always a classic that go with everything and keep you cool. So are flowy dresses and skirts, and vintage t-shirts! They go with everything.
60’s kimono $15, gold 80’s stirrup pants $15, black sequined slides $10, gold crocodile fanny Pack $10.
Puff Puff
Puff sleeves are a big trend this summer, and easy to find as vintage! Puff sleeved tops are fab because they can be dressed up or down. In this look, we’re going full fancy Spring by pairing the polka dotted puff top with a 70’s polka dotted skirt and a fluffy cake hat.
Puff-sleeved blouse $15, 70’s polka-dotted skirt $12, mod travel clutch $10, fuzzy-bowed hat $12.
East Village Vintage Collective NYC
545 E 12th St, New York
646-476-8036
Mon-Sun 12-8
@evvintagecollective
East Village Vintage Collective JAX
1118 Edgewood Ave S, Jacksonville
904-802-7275
Mon-Fri 12-7, Sat-Sun 11-7
@evvintagecollectivejax
90's leotard