Are you thinking of listing some men's vintage clothing on eBay?  Or have you already done so, but want to increase your items' appeal to prospective bidders?  I can help.  I've been buying, selling, collecting and wearing vintage clothing pretty much exclusively, for the past 25 years.  I've also bid on a lot of vintage clothing on eBay, and I've sometimes been dismayed by inaccurate descriptions posted by well-meaning sellers.  So take a look at the following information; perhaps it can help both you and your buyers have more successful transactions.

First, is it actually vintage, or is it "retro"?  "Vintage" is an item made before 1990.  From the '90s onward, a lot of clothing companies started producing new clothes that were inspired by vintage styles.  These are "retro", not vintage.  Often the label is the first tip-off that it's retro; if it's from the Gap, BCEthic or other companies that you know are still in business, or the label looks new or has "Made in China", Taiwan or other countries not used for producing clothing for export before 1990, you can be sure it's not truly vintage.  Please list those items in the regular clothing section; eBay prohibits their listing in the vintage section.

Next, what era is it from?  EBay divides men's vintage clothing into 5 eras, with an "other" section as well.  The best way to determine the era is to become familiar with the styles typical of various eras.  Searching through eBay listings is a good way to do this.  If you find a number of items that are similar in style to the item you're trying to date, odds are good that it fits that same era.  Military clothing are an exception, as they're more difficult to date by style.  However, they often have dates printed on the label.  Regardless, vintage military clothing is more appropriate in the Collectibles: Militaria section.  If you're still in doubt of what era to list, you should either list it in the regular men's clothing section, or err on the side of it being of a newer era than you think.  When in doubt, guess it's later.

Now we come to the title.  I often see people list clothing with just a few general words, like "Vintage Wool Coat".  Sometimes they add what they think will be some appealing catch-words like "must see!" or "Cool!"  This is frustrating for prospective bidders who generally search by keywords, and who scan down page after page of listings, on the lookout for information that will help them separate items of interest from everything else.  Be as descriptive as possible in your title; use up all 55 spaces!  "Vintage Wool Coat" is a fine start, but add "plaid" if it's plaid, or "belted" if it has a belt; help us differentiate between it and the 100 other "vintage wool coats" available at the same time.  Give at least an idea of the size.  "Large" is OK, but "42L" is much better.  Look at the sizing on the label for that information, or measure it and estimate (we'll get to that later).  If there's something unusual about it -- say the color is bottle green -- list "green" in the title.  If it's double-breasted, state "Dbl Breasted" (or more or less, given how many characters you can spare).  If it's never been worn (meaning, it still has its price tag/hang tag / packaging), mention that it's "NOS" ("new, old-stock"), or "deadstock", or "unworn".  In short, give objective information before you resort to filler like "L@@K".  In general, subtitles aren't likely to pay off unless the item has something really special about it, like it used to belong to Elvis or something, it might be worth spending the extra 50-cents.

Now that you know that the item is vintage, you know what category it goes in and you've got your title, you'll need to describe it.  Start with what you know about the item -- the basic cut and style.  If I have a single pet peeve, it's with the confusion between suit coats, sport coats and blazers.  Here's how to tell which it is: imagine it with a pair of matching pants.  Seem likely?  If it is a chalkstripe or pinstripe, it's undoubtably a suit coat.  If it has metal buttons, it's a blazer.  If it has contrasting buttons, it's probably a sport coat.  If it has leather or suede trim, it's definitely a sportcoat!  These terms are not interchangeable.  A suit coat is not a sportcoat or blazer; it's a suit that's missing its pants.  Will some men wear a suit coat as if it were a sportcoat?  Sure, but leave that determination up to them; don't call something what it isn't.  Here's another important thing that most sellers overlook: everyone's camera and monitor processes pictures a little bit differently.  A suit that's black with a slightly greenish tint might show up as dark brown on one person's monitor, or midnight blue on another.  Describe the color!   Is it "red", or is it "burnt orange" or "lipstick red" or "cerise"?  When in doubt, give MORE information, rather than assume that everyone else can see what you see.  List what the label says, even if it's just the brand name, and what country it came from.  Listed sizes are helpful, but they're no substitute for actual sizes.  Get out your tape-measure, because that's the next step. 

Time and time again I see clothing listed as "fits like a medium", or "suit is large".  These terms are worthless!  The only thing that will be useful to the bidder and prevent unhappiness after the fact is to provide the actual, accurate measurements.  If it's a coat, you will need to provide at least 4 measurements: the chest width, the shoulder width, the sleeve length and the body length.  But don't presume that you can take these measurements just anywhere!  Button the coat and lay it flat on a flat surface, making sure that there are no hidden folds.  Without stretching the fabric, measure across the chest, 1" below the armpits.  Now double that number.  That's your chest measurement.  Measure across the top of the shoulders, from one shoulder-to-sleeve seam, across the back (but not over the collar, which would inflate the measurement), and to the other shoulder-to-sleeve seam.  That's the shoulder measurement.  Do not measure from the center of the back to the end of the sleeve unless the coat does not have shoulder seams!  "Raglan" type sleeves, which start in the center of the body and continue down the entire length of the sleeve in one unbroken piece of fabric are the only coat type that should be measured this way.  Measure next from the top of the shoulder-to-sleeve seam to the end of the sleeve cuff.  This is called the "out-seam".  Some sellers measure the "inseam", from the underarm to the sleeve cuff.  This measurement is useless, since it varies widely between different cuts of jackets.  Only the out-seam measurement will tell prospective bidders if the sleeves will be the right length for them.  Finally, measure from the inside of the top of the coat, at the point where the collar meets the body, down to the bottom of the body.  Those are the four measurements you must list.

Pants take a similar approach.  Button them, zip them up, or whatever it takes to fasten them, and lay them out flat.  Take the tape measure and poke one end into one side of the waist, and hold it there with a finger.  Slide the other end over to the other side, and take that measurement, from the inside.  Why the inside?  Because many men's pants have thick waistbands, belt-loops and other things that can produce inaccurate readings.  Now take that number and double it; there's the waist measurement.  Measure from the highest point of the crotch to the end of the pant leg, being careful to not stretch the fabric.  That's the inseam.  You can also measure from the top of the waistband to the bottom end of the pant leg if you want to list the out-seam, although this isn't as vital as the other two measurements.  Shirts need three measurements: the shoulder and chest widths (as measured with coats), but also the neck diameter.  Open the collar and lay it out flat.  Measure from the center of the button to the center of the buttonhole; it's usually between 15" and 17".  It's nice to mention the body length, but less important than the other dimensions.  And here's a very useful thing: guys today tend to be taller than those in the past.  If the pant legs have fabric turned up at the end which could be let out to accommodate longer legs, say how much extra material is there!

Whew!  We're done with measuring.  But we're not through with describing it yet; we have 3 more steps.  First, look at the item and mention whatever you see that helps shoppers know what the item's details are.  Does the jacket have 3 buttons or 4?  Patch pockets, or inset?  Belt-loops or no belt-loops?  Do the sleeve buttons actually button and unbutton, or are they just sewn on?  Is the coat fully lined, or half-lined?  Do the pants have pleats?  Button fly or zipper?  Are the pants lined to the knee?  It's details like these that instill confidence in shoppers and will lead to happy transactions. 

Next comes the condition report.  Vintage clothes are a potential minefield of problems, so you must be both observant of damage and honest in reporting it.  Simply saying "good vintage condition" is not good enough.  Vintage wool was often nibbled on by vintage moths, silk gets "shot" by exposure to sunlight, polyester absorbs bad odors.  Open a garment up and hold it up at eye-level, with a strong light-source behind it.  Move it around at different angles to get a full view of any prospective holes, which will show up as dots of light.  Next, examine the garment with a strong light-source behind or above you, so you can get a clear view of any stains, snags, rust marks or other problems.  Note any repairs, alterations or other changes, or any missing elements (buttons, etc.).  Sniff the garment (yes, really) for tobacco smoke or other odors, and list them.  If your home is smoke-free or pet-free, list that too.

Finally, it's time to take pictures.  Ideally, you'd have a model the exact size of each garment to show it off to its best advantage, but most sellers don't have that luxury.  Showing a garment being worn -- even if it doesn't exactly fit -- is still better than just showing it on a hanger.  (If you go for the live model route, please don't show the model's face and hair unless they actually look like a model; I routinely pass up clothing being modeled by unattractive people, for the same reason that fashion designers don't use unattractive models, and I know I'm not the only eBay shopper who feels that way.)  If you must photograph the garment on a hanger, try to use a wooden hanger with some shape to it.  Hang the garment in front of a neutral background (gray works best) and photograph it with as bright of light as you can get coming from in front of it, not above it.  Take pictures from all sides, not just the front.  Take detail photos of labels, points of interest, and especially, of any damage.  Thumb-nailed images are great (and there are free picture hosts you can use for them), but otherwise, you can use a simple image editing application to resize and combine multiple pictures into one big one.  Just don't go more than 800 pixels wide, and try to keep overall file sizes under 250 kilobytes, for the sake of shoppers with slower connections.  And always, always have a gallery image which shows the item in its entirety.  Most shoppers won't bother to open up an auction listing without a gallery image, since 90% of their competitors provide them. 

Hopefully this information has been of some use to you.  If even a few people take my advice to heart, I'll end up benefiting as well, since it means that I'll be better able to find the clothes I'm looking for!  Good luck, and happy selling.