:) Save Money With a Vintage Winter Jacket

Recycling winter clothing is an easy way to save money on a family's clothing budget. Hand-me downs are great, but if hand-me-downs are not available, thrift stores and online auctions provide places to buy quality used clothing but there are potential problems.

Vintage Winter Jacket image courtesy of Pixabay

Choosing a Vintage Winter Jacket

By Laure Justice

There are some basic things to look for when buying and cleaning a used winter jacket or coat. Carefully selecting and caring for a pre-owned winter coat will make sure you get your money's worth out of it.

Save Money on Winter Outerwear

Parents of fast-growing children have long known the money saving benefits associated with buying pre-owned and vintage coats. Children, however, are not the only ones who are able to benefit from recycling used coats and jackets. It is possible to find high quality outerwear for people of any age.

Things to Look for When Buying a Used Coat

• Make sure you are aware of potential problems before your spending money. 
• Ask the seller questions if you are buying a coat online and visually inspect the coat if you are buying it in a shop.
• Check the zipper: It is upsetting to buy a used coat, take it home, and then notice a problem like a broken zipper. 
• The coat might be nice enough to make replacing a zipper insignificant or it might make you feel like you threw your money away on a useless coat. 
• Inspect zippers, buttons and shoulder seams before buying a used jacket or coat. 
• Look for stretched or loose threads in high-stress seams and threadbare spots on elbows.

Washing and Drying a Recycled Winter Coat

1. Older coats will last longer if they are cleaned gently. Gently cleaning does not mean the coat should be worn if it is not completely clean - no one would want to do that. It means the fabric should be treated delicately.
2. If a newly purchased used coat does not have a label that provides washing directions, soak it overnight in cold water and a mild detergent. After soaking, wash the coat either by hand or in the washing machine's gentle cycle.
3. You can either hang dry the coat or run it through the dryer on a delicate setting. If you want to dry the coat in a dryer, set it on the cool setting. Expect to run the dryer at least 2 times to get the coat completely dry.

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