J'AIME SEPTEMBER 2020

thought it would be, despite not being as good as I
would like it to be.
“Up until COVID-19 it was going really well too.
I’m still doing better than clothes businesses on
the high street though. If I didn’t have an online
presence then I’d have had a problem.”
Her friends in the vintage clothes industry have
experienced similar trends during the pandemic,
despite selling clothes from different eras.
Ginger isn’t revealing the trade secret of where she
tracks down all those period pieces, but says her
favourite way to buy items is when she’s contacted by
someone selling a private collection.
Everything is carefully cleaned and restored if
necessary. Ginger is careful to use vintage items for
any restoration – so a 1930s dress will have 1930s
buttons rather than modern buttons with a period
look.
“My mum is quite good at sewing. She taught me
quite a lot of the techniques that I use and other
repairs can be quite simple such as replacing a
button or stitching.”
She avoids dry cleaning clothes wherever possible
due to the harshness of the chemicals, preferring to
stick to a more gentle and traditional hand wash.
Her customers range from people trying to track
down a unique piece that they know no one else will
be wearing to people who fully embrace a vintage
way of life.
“I’ve got customers that only wear vintage, even
down to their underwear and stockings, and wouldn’t
consider wearing anything else. And I’ve got
customers who are just looking to mix their wardrobe
up a bit and introduce some vintage things to wear
alongside modern items.”
They’ll often send
photographs of themselves
wearing their buys, which is
particularly nice for Ginger
if it includes items she’s
carefully tracked down or
personally restored.
The most expensive item
Ginger has ever sold is a
1920s jacket by a couturier
for £1,500, which she says
would have been expensive in
its own time too.
The price of items is dictated
by rarity and quality and
can often be comparable to
the price of modern clothes,
OLDER CLOTHES COMBINE
QUALITY CONSTRUCTION WITH A
BEAUTIFUL FIT, SAYS GINGER
despite the fabric quality and cut being superior.
Items currently available on the Gingermegs Vintage
website range from a 1930s blue lame evening dress
for £360, to £52 for a 1950s polka dot seersucker
house dress.
Ginger has somehow tracked down a corset cover
from 1910 (selling for £98), a 1940s swimsuit (£90)
and a pair of 1930s suede shoes (£70).
An impressive jewellery collection includes a 1940s
bakelite sword brooch (£160), a 1940s cowboy
brooch (£80) and a carved bakelite bangle (£65).
Running a business like Gingermegs Vintage may
seem a dream for anyone interested in fashion, but
Ginger is quick to stress that it’s been built up by
sheer hard graft.
“It can be flexible and fits in well around walking my
dog for example,” she says. “But I do work every day
and I do work a lot of hours.”
One perk, of course, is never being short of
something to wear for any occasion; although
Ginger says she does try to keep her own collection
of vintage clothes separate from the stock for the
business.
“I try to have a one in and one out policy with my
own wardrobe,” she says. “And I try not to keep too
many of my finds for myself. That said, I did sell off
quite a lot of my own personal collection and have
started building it back up again.
“I’ve got customers who have asked me to let them
know if I’m selling off any of my own clothes. I can’t
imagine that happening with modern clothes.”
You can visit Ginger’s online shop at
www.gingermegsvintage.com
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