Bravo to Everyone at Mixed Greens !
Milan Tainan has collected vintage clothing for more than two decades">
Bravo to Everyone at Mixed Greens !
What do you collect?
Elizabethan chastity belts ... just kidding! I collect vintage clothing from 1890 to 1980.
When did you start?
I started collecting at the tender age of 13. My first collection consisted mostly of vintage scarves and dresses from the 1930s.
Do you remember how you got started?
Like it was yesterday. I remember trying to find a very special Mother’s Day gift and not being able to afford what I really wanted. The Philadelphia public library had a gift shop with a few vintage compacts, and I remember being mesmerized at how beautifully made they were. So I skipped lunch for two weeks, saved my money, and bought one for my mom. She loved it, but for two weeks she couldn’t figure out why I was eating for two at dinnertime. Little did she know I wasn’t eating lunch!
Why do you collect?
Why does one breathe? I collect because I must! Having something from the past makes me feel more grounded and more a part of history. I also like knowing that everybody’s not going to be wearing what I’m wearing.
How do you collect?
I used to travel much more than I do now, and when I did, rather than take pictures to remember a particular city, I’d buy a vintage item. Nowadays I scour flea markets and antique stores. My website has introduced me to people all over the world; they contact me about items they want to sell. I’ve been a collector for more than 23 years and I’ve always bought what I thought was beautiful. It never mattered to me what era it was from or who designed it. If it catches my eye and I love it, I buy it.
Tell us your favorite collecting story.
About a year ago, the New York Post did a story on my company. The focus was on my being a “Vintage Personal Shopper.” I got tons of calls from people who had read the story. One day I got a call from a lady who said she had a vintage Givenchy gown from 1950 that she never wore. As she described the gown over the phone, I could feel my heart starting to race, and this time it wasn’t due to the nine double espressos I normally have before noon every day. When I met her and she showed me the dress, my heart literally stopped beating for a few seconds. Before my eyes was a floor-length Givenchy gown. Just as she said, it had never been worn, and it still had the original price tag of $4,450. It looked like something Audrey Hepburn would have worn. It was pure magic! I wound up selling the gown to a famous Asian actress and she wore it at her wedding early this year. If I could have fit into it, I would have kept it for myself. But the waist was only 22 inches. My waist hasn't been 22 inches since 1975, when I was about 10! Still, the thought of having a rib or two removed did cross my mind...What was your worst collecting experience?
Must I relive that nightmare? Almost two years ago I bought a 1930s lace dress from a woman selling through an online auction house. She said the dress was in perfect condition, and it looked perfect from the picture. A “Cinderella goes to the ball” kind of thing. I paid a lot of money for it and when I got it in the mail, I took a quick look, just to make sure she sent me the right dress. About a month later when I got around to taking pictures of it for the website, I put it on my mannequin with a dark slip underneath, so customers could marvel at the intricate lace detailing. As soon as I got the dress on the mannequin, my heart skipped several beats. Over the dark slip, the lace looked like Swiss cheese. It was completely rotten and what was left literally crumbled when I touched it. I sobbed uncontrollably for about five hours, then emailed the seller. Her words of comfort to me were, “Tough luck lady. It looked okay to me.”Nice. She’ll get hers one day. Do you think there’s a difference between collecting art and collecting anything else?
Do you mean like collecting Picassos vs. collecting bottle caps? Yes, and no.
I’ve found that to most collectors, what we collect has a certain artistic value, whether it’s a rare painting or a rare hubcap from a 1967 Mustang convertible. The collector finds beauty and value in it and therefore must have it.
Because I now collect not only as a hobby, but also as a full time business, I know that certain items have more or less mainstream, or market, value. Many people collect “art” as an investment, and I do think that a painting by Rembrandt or a first-issue Spiderman are more valuable on the collecting market than, say, a 1965 issue of Playboy. But then again, if you ask the collector of vintage Playboy magazines, he (or she) might disagree.What is your most prized possession?
I’d have to say it’s a couture 1926 Flapper gown made for a concert pianist. It’s a pink silk gown completely covered with silver lace and metallic mesh. The lace is then completely covered with individually set rhinestones the size of grapes. I’ve been offered up to $5,000 for the dress, but I just can’t part with it. And it fits even without my having to have any ribs removed! I’ve never seen anything like it and know that as a collector, I probably won’t come across another one.
What advice would you give to a new collector?
1. Buy what you love, what you’re attracted to, and what you can afford. Don’t limit yourself to what is trendy—unless, of course, you really do love it.
2. Be fully aware of the condition of the piece, look it over several times, or, if buying online, ask any and all questions you have before making your final decision. Remember that something that looks perfectly fine to someone else might not fit your definition of excellent, or even of good. If it’s clothing, hold the piece up to bright light, or ask to take it outside in the sunlight to check for flaws, like holes. Ask about the return policy: most collectibles, no matter what they are, are not returnable. I do offer a full refund policy for online purchases, but customers have to follow some set time constraints if they want to return items. I once had a woman ask if she could return a dress she bought three months before. Hello! Sorry, no can do.
3. Buy from a reputable dealer, when at all possible.
4. If you’re serious about collecting, read, read, read as much as you can on the subject. An educated consumer is the best consumer!
5. Buy what you love. I know I said that already, but it’s always worth repeating.
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