Vintage Guides

How to Care for Vintage Furs guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
How to Care for Vintage Furs: Storing, Cleaning and Checking for Dry Rot
Learn how to store, clean and wear vintage fur coats, stoles and hats, how to check a fur for dry rot before you buy, and how to protect it from... Read more...
How to Care for and Repair Vintage Leather guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
How to Care for and Repair Vintage Leather: Dry Rot, Cracks, Scuffs and Mold
Learn how to clean, condition and store vintage leather, and what can (and can't) be fixed: dry, cracked leather, dry rot and red rot, scuffs, scratches, mold and broken straps. Read more...
Why Vintage Satin and Silk Shatters guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
Why Vintage Satin and Silk Shatter: Weighted Silk Explained
Why does old satin and silk split into shreds? Learn about weighted silk and shattering, how to spot it before you buy, and how to store and care for fragile... Read more...
Vintage 1960s Tropic of Miami white wicker box purse with a beaded velvet floral panel and pearlized Lucite handles
Vintage Handbag Materials: How to Identify Lucite, Wicker, Mesh, Beaded, Tapestry and More
What was your grandmother's favorite purse made of? Here's how to tell Lucite from plastic, real wicker from vinyl, and what to check on every kind of vintage handbag. Read more...
Vintage Whiting & Davis gold metal mesh evening bag with an Art Deco style rhinestone clasp and rope chain handle
Whiting & Davis Mesh Bags: A Collector's Guide to History, Marks and Condition
Did your mother or grandmother have a little metal mesh purse that shimmered like liquid gold? Here's how to identify, date and care for a Whiting & Davis mesh bag. Read more...
Vintage powder compacts with a green monogram lid and a pave rhinestone lid, beside a gold-tone hand mirror and vanity pieces
Vintage Compacts: A Collector's Guide to Powder Compacts, Makers and Dating Clues
Do you remember the click of your grandmother's compact? Here's how to tell what kind of vintage compact you have, who made it, roughly when, and what to check before... Read more...
Vintage clear glass mini perfume bottle with pewter iris and butterfly overlay
Collecting Vintage Perfume Bottles: Overlay, Czech Crystal, Atomizers and Minis
Perfume runs out. The bottles stick around. A friendly guide to the main kinds of vintage perfume bottles, from silver and pewter overlay to Czech crystal, atomizers and miniatures, plus... Read more...
Vintage 1940s-1950s black velvet perch hat with grosgrain bow and rhinestone floral brooch, from Oddly Darling Vintage
Vintage Women's Hats: A Guide to Pillbox, Perch, Half Hats and Veils
From little perch hats tipped over pin curls to Jackie Kennedy's pillbox, small hats finished a woman's outfit for decades. Here's how to tell the styles apart, date a vintage... Read more...
Antique 1827 needlework sampler in a gold-tone frame
What Is a Needlework Sampler? A Guide to Antique Samplers, Verses and Dating
Antique needlework samplers were a girl's schoolwork, stitched in silk on linen and signed with her name and date. Here's how to read one, date it, and care for it. Read more...