What's that smell?

I must admit I'm a little dubious of the ol' vintage/thrift/second hand shop, call it what you will. Some may say I'm a bit ignorant to the whole idea, and I will sit back and take the criticism because I think I might be too. It's just when I enter one of these 'fashionable' vintage stores (I got dragged into Beyond Retro the other day) the smell is quite overwhelming. It hits you like a punch from Mike Tyson. And goes right to the back of your throat.

I realise I'm not the first person to notice the whiff, god knows I've had endless discussions about it, the question is why? Obviously the clothes, trinkets, shoes and bags have been handed down maybe twice, even three times, and then eventually when the owner has a closet clear out they end up at one of these shops - you're talking years - but why can't the clothes, at the very least, be cleaned? Wouldn't it combat and reduce the stench? Yes, it adds to the overheads of the store, but when you're charging 30-odd quid for a t-shirt made in the 80s (and I've seen 100s of them in one shop), I'm sure the profits outweigh the monthly bills two-fold.

But the trendy 'vintage' types are resilient to the pong. They go from one shop to the other, (literally) sniffing out the best bargains, quite unaware that they are breathing in stale old fumes. They hunt and trawl and comb through the rails until AHHH! there it is... a beaten up old tea dress that looks like it's come from the deep dark depths of Sue Pollards wardrobe.

Sorry to go on, but I worked quite recently with a woman who quite openly described herself as a 'vintage queen'. We all loved the 1950s way of dressing, the hair, the makeup etc but she would go out of her way to make sure everyone around her knew about her utter addiction to the bygone years. By all means love an era (I for one wish I could go back to the 80s punk days sometimes), but don't LIVE the era. She looked down her nose at jeans, a tee shirt, even heeled boots! To me it all screamed of effected desperation.

Vintage dressing is hugely popular now, so the second hand shops are capitalizing on the craze, and rightly so - why shouldn't they? I just think a few glade plug-ins, a couple of cans of air freshener and some Febreze should be staples in all of them.

If all else fails I'll arm myself with an aerosol next time, or get hold of one of those masks that you see very sweet Japanese tourists wearing.

What do ya'll think?