Expert Q&A: Judy Berger, vintage & swap guru. Oh yes!

Ever wondered what the difference is between vintage, retro and secondhand? Wish you knew exactly which vintage pieces to look out for? In spectacularly lucky fashion, here with the answers and more is vintage guru Judy Berger, founder of The Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair and the UK’s biggest swapping website Whatsmineisyours.com. Just so happens she’s a greenmystyle.com fan. Lucky that!

Judy, once a Selfridges personal shopper and TV fashion stylist, now runs Britain’s biggest clothes swapping website Whatsmineisyours.com. Three years ago she set up The Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair, a vintage fair with a whopping 40 plus stalls, which has brought affordable vintage fashion as well as reworked clothes and accessories to the north of England. The Fair is launching new ‘Make, Create and Customise’ areas at each event, tapping into the current ‘make do and mend’ vibe.

Lena: Hi Judy. Erm, yes, I have to admit to being over-excited about talking to you. Private time with a vintage style queen! So, Judy, it’s credit crunch time. Do you feel that vintage fashion is a real alternative to pricey high-end highstreet and designer fashion?

Judy: Absolutely! We’ve seen a huge increase in people coming to our Fashion Fairs. They still like their high street shops but are tired of seeing everyone wearing the same things. From vintage stores and at our Fairs they can pick up individual items such as a fabulous original 60s shift dress for £15 to £20. All of our stalls are price-checked to make sure no one is charging more than they should.

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