Dealers, Designers Did Brisk Business At Manhattan Vintage Clothing Sale

NEW YORK CITY

:The Manhattan Vintage Clothing & Antique Textile Sale completed another successful run in the Big Apple. Despite being scheduled during Fashion Week, attendance at the January show was up 20 percent from the October show, which was also up 20 percent from the previous show.

Savvy marketing has been the number one factor in the show's growth, says show founder David Ornstein. "For January's show we emailed to a carefully compiled list of 300,000 - and that's in addition to the 15,000 in my own personal list."

But getting lots of traffic to the show does not guarantee everyone will make money. "The dealers that really do well are the ones who sell what people are buying," says Ornstein. "Rather than bring everything they have or what they'd like to get rid of, they watch for trends and carefully sort through their inventory to bring what they think that area's customer will be buying."

What trends did dealers see at the January show? "Puffy skirts are out; long lines and draping are in," said dealer Radford Brown. "David's shows keep getting better and better," he added. "The quality of the dealers is higher, and as a result, the buyers are better," he said.

Vintage apparel has moved beyond its early perception as "used" apparel or "bargain finds." Vintage has stopped being bargain apparel; the current prices of designer items certainly attest to this fact. "Today's customer has a more educated sense of style," says the owner of Rue St Denis. "They're looking for balanced silhouettes." They are also looking for quality and workmanship, as well as distinctive fashion, in the garments they buy.

Another segment of the target market for vintage is designers themselves. "For many dealers, clothing sales are secondary to the contacts that can be made," said Mary Moore, daughter of sculptor Henry Moore "Where I do most of my business is from the renting out of fashions to film and theatrical costumers." Designers themselves use the show as a source of inspiration. Vera Wang's husband was spotted at this season's show. Marc Jacobs and Mary McFadden have been seen browsing the aisles along with the design teams for Banana Republic and Anthropologie.

Mark and Cleo Butterfield of the UK, whose collection of the late Ossie Clark's 60s fashions fueled media excitement at this show, sold primarily to dealers, along with several discerning collectors who "came knowing exactly what they wanted."

For foreign dealers like the Butterfields, the show makes it possible to make contacts they could not make otherwise, and ones that also lead to new business. They can meet as many as 20 or more designers and come away with dozens of new rental contacts.

"This is a very important aspect of the show," said Moore. "Even if you don't make that many direct sales, there is an opportunity to meet and start a relationship with both current as well as up and coming designers, stylists and costumers."

Jen McCullough, a New York City dealer, pointed out another benefit. "Often my show sales aren't high, but it brings a lot of people to my Brooklyn shop, where they have more time to find what they really want."

Overall, however, sales are on the upswing at recent Manhattan Vintage Clothing events, despite a sluggish retail climate. Along with a larger gate, business has been brisk at both the fall and January shows. Dealers point to the show as a resource for replenishing their own stock. Moore, whose UK-based business is largely film industry rentals, said, "I've been buying like crazy." Dealers can find the type of quality merchandise that often cannot be found elsewhere.

The next Manhattan Vintage Clothing & Textile Sale takes place on Friday, April 28 from 1 to 7 pm, and on Saturday, April 29, 10 to 6 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Admission is $20. For information, www.manhattanvintage.com or 518-434-4312.