Vintage scarves... They are pieces of history, miniature artworks, they tell us about fashion, art developments at the time, political history, and so much more! They are fun to look at, wear and collect. They can update your wardrobe in a flash. As someone who has been collecting and enjoying vintage scarves for a while, I would like to share some tips with you about vintage scarves in general and about buying them on Ebay, which can be tricky.

If you just enjoy wearing them, you need no guidelines - any scarf can be appealing, as long as you like the color, pattern and fabric. Many people only buy silk scarves, and I used to be of the same opinion - what can be better than silk? But many vintage scarves are made of fine blends and artificial fabrics that add to their durability and ease of care without detracting from the look and feel at all! If you've never tried silk/rayon blends or silk/vinal blends for sheer silks, do so - you'll be pleasantly surprised.  Acetate was very popular in scarf production decades ago, too, and it's fabulous - I love the silky feel and the lustrous shine, not to mention durability that will outlast your most hardy garments, and hard-to-wrinkle nature of that fabric. Sheer rayons are wonderful, too - they have a bit of extra weight that adds to the flowing nature of the scarf.  Polyester comes in so many forms that it's hard to make one general statement. Personally, I do not like the feel of most polyesters, especially sheer ones, but you might - it has advantages, so try a few and see for yourself.  Also remember that silk was not available for production during the war era, so many designs that would otherwise merit reproduction in silk were made of artificial fabric substitutes.

Scarves are so much fun to collect, and if you have decided that this is what you would like to do, and can't decide what scarves to collect (after all, you can't collect them all), this approach might be helpful. First buy a bunch of scarves - maybe two dozen or so - without any particular guideline, just because you liked the scarf for some reason. Try different colors, patterns, fabrics, sizes. And then take a look at your 'new collection' and try to analyze it: does it look like you seem to choose certain patterns over others? or is it color combination? or do you seem to prefer novelty scarves? or geometrics? or classic paisley styles? Do you like small scarves over larger ones (small scarves can be readily seen and displayed, and even framed, for instance)? Do you absolutely prefer silk or other fabrics work as well for you? You should be able to figure out which of these little artworks give you the most pleasure and satisfaction as an owner and collector.

There are hundreds if not thousands of scarf sellers on Ebay and elsewhere on the internet. And the prices might be so low you are tempted to buy. However, here are some precautions for scarf buying if you would like to avoid disappointment, waste of time and money.

1) If your purpose is to collect, I would generally advise to avoid buying lots, unless the pieces in the lot are shown individually and  are well described. Lots (with some exceptions, of course) are generally misleading, some people have many scarves they have no use for and can't sell individually because they are uninteresting, in bad condition, or whatever other reason might be that makes them unsellable, so they get your attention by sheer number of pieces and a few 'baits' with big or popular names. Usually you can't even tell what's what, and if two-three pieces with big names are shown in closeup which are very nice, most likely they are the only pieces worth your attention, so just keep that in mind. Maybe the price is so low that it would be worth it for you to get the entire lot for just these three that you loved - then determine the price they are worth and bid accordingly. 

2) Condition is the biggest sticky point in vintage scarf buying. I have bought a number of scarves from other sellers myself which were described as in 'excellent condition' only to be incredibly disappointed upon their arrival to discover that the condition described as 'excellent' was indeed only 'fair' at best.  Some sellers think that 'excellent' condition for a vintage scarf is that which shows no big holes or stains, and everything else goes. Well, vintage or not, this is not really true - 'excellent' is excellent in our modern understanding of the word. Sometimes it can be excellent with a few minor flaws which do not detract from the overall look, which can be visible only under certain conditions - like if held against the light, for instance, but these flaws should always be described. If it's a 50-year old scarf, a few tiny spots or a light pull that blends in or some 'thinning' seen if you hold it against the light can still qualify it for an 'excellent vintage condition' as long as these flaws are mentioned. Always double check with the seller as to how the condition was evaluated - a simple way to ask is 'are there any pulls, holes, spots, tears or other visible, even minor, wear signs"? Unless it doesn't matter to you - with certain scarves which are very old or very rare or are just a work of art, it might not matter at all. Also ask for the seller to look at it in DAYLIGHT - makes a big difference if there are water stains, light spots and a few other imperfections which will not be visible in artificial light.

3) Fabric evaluation by sellers is another big problem. Few vintage scarves have original labels stating content and other pertinent information, so the seller has to decide all of that. Very few people truly understand fabrics or have enough experience to tell if it's silk or not. Sometimes sellers write 'not sure if it's silk' - that might be the case, or I have also encountered examples when they do so knowing it's NOT silk but hoping that you will think it is and that way they are covered. But in overwhelming majority of cases they really don't know. Silk is actually very easy to tell - you can even tell it by looking, without even touching it, and touch will tell it all. I have handled and sold literally thousands of scarves and only in a handful of cases I was not sure if it was silk or had to doubt it comparing my evaluation to the actual label.

4) Odors - many people, like myself, are sensitive to odors, and vintage scarves can have smells. I am not talking perfume smells, I am talking smells you really don't want to deal with. Do make sure your scarf is free of those if you are sensitive to that. Some artificial vintage fabrics get an odor with the passage of time, irrespective of storage.

5) If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.   If you are paying a buy-it-now price of $10 for a Hermes or Chanel scarf, it is 99.9% a fake that the seller is trying to get rid of fast. Watch out! Also, it's true you can get the same scarf for $10 or for $60. Usually the higher prices reflect the experience and knowledge of the seller, so you are definite to get the product described and AS described. The lower the price, the less knowledge and experience comes with it normally, so decide for yourself what works best for you, 'a bird in hand' or a 'maybe'-bargain.

6) State of care - if you see a picture with horribly wrinkled, wadded-up scarves, be aware: that's the way they will arrive to you. It's actually very disappointing, even if you paid almost nothing for the scarf. It makes it look like trash in a padded envelope, really. That kind of attitude to the product up for sale also reflects the precision of all other aspects of the listing, like condition evaluation and so on, so do exercise care.

7) Best way to predict if you will like your scarf buying experience from this particular seller is to look at the feedback for other scarves purchased from this seller and to see if people are happy with them and if not, why (some people are just never happy, and it might have nothing to do with the seller). Also, make sure you are comparing apples to apples. If feedback is for a $150 scarf and you are trying to purchase a $5 scarf, there might be a difference there as well. But generally, if the seller sells many scarves and people are happy, you should be safe.

There are many other aspects of scarf collecting and buying - I have to answer so many questions in my store - Classy Things by Tatiana - since I specialize in scarves and usually have hundreds up at a time, that I thought the best way would be to write some guides so that everyone can benefit from my personal passion for scarves and the knowledge I have accumulated during the many years of collecting and selling scarves.

Enjoy your scarf buying experience! And feel free to ask me any questions - always glad to help. Do look at other guides - I will be putting up guides about scarf care, scarf attributes, collectible scarf tips - how to tell age, some history on most interesting lines of scarves, and so on.