Shopping On Line For Vinatge Fashion By Julia Che
Once upon a time in the city of Toronto, there lived a boy named Tommy Molnar and a girl named Noelle VanRaes. Fed up with their jobs and in search of more freedom, they launched MakiMakiVintage.com “for lovers of vintage and lovers of sushi.”
Although the garments—both second-hand and old-stock (never worn)—are sourced from a number of “top secret” shops, the founders of the brand consider MakiMaki a collection unto itself, specializing in wearable vintage.
“One of the decisions we made early on is that we didn’t just want to sell old clothing. We wanted to sell unique, trendy pieces that also happened to be vintage,” says Molnar. “When you wear a dress from MakiMaki, we want the reaction to be ‘Where did you get that?’ not ‘When did you get that?”
Since MakiMaki’s conception, the company’s clothes have been available in one place and one place only: eBay. Using the site’s auction feature, shoppers are often able to pay as little as $15 for a vintage dress. Bestsellers include ‘80s Betsey Johnson, ‘70s Diana von Furstenberg (especially the wrap dresses), ‘60s Courrèges, and ‘70s Malia (a lesser known but ultra-collectible Hawaiian sundress label). But, says VanRaes. “No matter how big the designer, if it doesn’t pass the ‘cute test,’ we don’t put it in the store.”
Since launching in 2005, MakiMaki has become known worldwide. “Our most-shipped-to location would likely be tied between New York and L.A., with Singapore a close third,” says VanRaes. “We also ship to the UK, Australia, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Poland, Germany, Turkey, Japan, Korea, Ireland, France, Italy and Russia, to name a few.”
Given the company’s ‘virtual storefront’ business model, it’s no surprise MySpace serves as its major promotional vehicle. With almost 20,000 MySpace friends, fans are able to keep up with new product and interact with likeminded vintage hounds from all over the world. “Our average customer is young, usually between 14 and 26, and isn’t content with just looking good. She wants to stand out, be ahead of the times and wear something rare and special,” says VanRaes.
Celebs have also been spotted in MakiMaki, including Kate Beckinsale, who picked out a flowing ‘70s Grecian dress, and Michelle Williams, who snatched up a cute ‘60s mini tent-dress.
With so much product moving through MakiMaki every day, the duo has had to stay super-organized and divide the workload. Molnar handles the MySpace page and the shipping, while VanRaes handles the restoration, the graphic and web design, as well as most of the shopping. The photo shoots, meanwhile,
are a total team effort. VanRaes does the styling and modeling and Molnar does the photography.
Having sold between 3,750 and 4,000 pieces in the last two years, MakiMaki’s ultimate goal, says VanRaes, is “to do everything we’re doing now, times three. We’re going to be hiring in the fall, so the weekly influx of clothes will soon jump from 50 to 100, and hopefully from 150 to 200 shortly afterwards.”
It will be insane, but the quality of stock will remain excellent.
“It’s not always exactly one-of-a-kind, but if you went out in one of our dresses we’d be dumbfounded if you ran into another girl wearing the same thing!”
Visit myspace.com/MakiMakivintage for a look at MakiMaki’s current and previous collections.
MakiMaki's Top 4 Tips for Buying Vintage on Ebay
- Check out the sellers’ feedback! There are amazing sellers on eBay, but there are tons scammers too. Stay away from sellers with negative feedback.
- Make sure to measure! Finding the right size can be tricky. A vintage 14 is a modern 8 at best, so never go by vintage sizing. Drag out your measuring tape and measure the bust, waist and hips of your favourite dress. If there are no measurements listed on eBay, or you need additional measurements, email the seller to get the info.
- Make note of the date and time the auction ends! It sounds silly, but a lot of people end up missing something they really wanted because they forgot the end time.
- Shipping details! Living in Canada, we know that a lot of U.S. sellers only ship to the U.S. It really sucks to bid on something only to realize they won’t ship to your country…or the cost of shipping is too high! Some sellers try to make up for the low sale price of the auction by upping the shipping charges.
