Today’s fresh to market vintage question is: does size matter?
It sure does if it’s clothing, shoes or a bowl of ice cream. If you’re buying one of those, you check the tag or ask exactly how many scoops are in a large. If you’re buying vintage clothing online, you hopefully read the listing description and compare the given measurements against a similar garment you already own, because a size 8 in 1960 is not the same as a size 8 now. And if there aren’t measurements in the listing and you’re really interested, you can contact the seller to ask for them. The important part is that you read the listing because you know that yes, size matters.
Here’s a shocking truth. Not everyone who buys things online that are not clothing checks the description for measurements. They might look at the pictures and assume the size. But looking at the listing photos does not always give you a good sense of scale. Case in point, which of the steins below is bigger?
You can’t tell from the photos. One could have been photographed closer. One could be cropped closer or enlarged. The only way to know is to read the description and written measurements. If you want a stein to drink a beer out of, you’re going to want the West German stein. If you want a stein to drink three beers out of or to put long stemmed flowers in, you’ll want the 70s hand painted stein. (The lidded stein is only a 1/4″ shorter than the painted stein if you measure to the top of the lid, but the painted stein is much wider.)
Good sellers take the time to put measurements in writing and also add something to at least one product shot to show scale. Coke cans, rulers and quarters (for tiny things) are popular scale props. But without reading the listing and checking the actual measurements on a ruler, you can be surprised indeed when the vase you bought to hold tulips is actually only big enough to hold a couple violets. Especially when it looked big in the photo.
It’s always a cringe moment when you hear from a buyer that something is bigger or smaller than they thought, especially if you’ve taken the time to include something in the photo to give scale and actual measurements in the description. It doesn’t happen often and it’s not the end of the world. But it is inconvenient and expensive for the buyer to have to ship it back.
So the next time someone asks you if size matters, the answer is “yes it does.”
Size matters to us with fresh to market vintage. We know the proper size is four listings, fresh from us to you.
Pink Rhinestone Cufflinks
If you’re looking to make a splash at your next event, these pink rhinestone cufflinks might be just the thing. The deep pink color is accented with silver tone filigree and finished with a mesh wrap around clip on the back. Clearly designed for folks who love to make a bold statement with their fashion.
Pink Rhinestone and Filigree Cufflinks, $21.95
-Pam, Vintage Renude
G.H. Cook Fine Art Penguin
Yes it is still winter here in the northeast and we have been battling cold, snow, ice and the inevitable cabin fever syndrome. This funny penguin is more than happy with winter. Its posture is not totally vertical because of the hilly packed ice under its feet that never gets shoveled. Tilted to the back and skewed to the left, it is perfectly comfortable to wait for a mate or go fishing in freezing waters. Now that is what I call resilient!
Penguin Figure Made by GH Cook Fine Art Sculpture, $62.99
-Mary Ellen, Aunt Hatties Attic
Vintage West German Beer Stein c 1960s
Offering a mid-sized embossed German beer stein that sports an embossed pewter lid. Black body with cream trim. The raised pictorial scene features two men seated at a table and a barmaid. The text translates to “Beer and merry song never makes life mild,” per Google, which I assume means you never tire of beer and good old German music. Purchased in Germany in the 1960s.
Pictorial German Beer Stein, $45
-Linda, Selective Salvage
1970s Decorative Hand Painted Stein
Hand painted ceramics made from mass produced molded blanks are a delight. Every person who paints the piece puts their own stamp on it, and if we’re very lucky, they also put a date and their initials or an inscription on the base. No one is going to mistake it for a fine artisan craft, but there’s room in a good vintage heart for both.
1970s Oversize Hand Painted Stein, $38.
-Laurie, NextStage Vintage
We hope this week’s fresh to market vintage is the right size for you. Those cufflinks are the exact right size to fill our daydreams for a while, because they are fabulous.
Another thing that’s fabulous is to receive an email once a week with links to all our posts from the previous week. You don’t have to daydream about that, you can subscribe to our newsletter. And you can do it with no worries, because we would sooner drink hot beer from the pie tin we put in the garden as a slug trap than to ever share your info.
