SCORE #14

On Friday at the warehouse in Lynn, I worked on a couple of things. The first thing I did when I got there was look for rubber boots, which were for a costume designer working on a show. I looked through a couple of boxes that I took out and found some boots that seemed like they would work, as they had to be a specific size. In all I found about 3 pairs that worked and sent photos of them to the designer. After doing this, I continued sorting the pants that I started in on last week which is by size instead of era and style as they had previously been sorted. I worked on the pants for a while and then set the boots aside that the costume designer wanted so that they could be brought to the shop in Boston and shipped out to her. After doing the pants for a while, I was finished for the day and took off.

SCORE #13

On Wednesday at the warehouse I spent some time helping another dealer in the warehouse go through some bags of stuff that he had taken out of the basement of a store he used to own and brought it back to Lynn. We started in on the first bag and pulled out a lot of denim jackets and other denim. He hadn't priced anything that was in the bag for 10 years so we ripped off all the tags while taking everything out so it could be re-priced. A lot of the things in the bags he decided to leave out for people who would be coming through this month. The second bag of clothes had a lot of sports type things, like jackets and sweats. These items also needed to be re-priced so we removed the tags from all of these. After taking things out and going through them, I did some sorting and organizing in another part of the warehouse, as well as a bit of cleaning. After I had done that I was all done for the day and took off.

SCORE #12

On Friday I drove out to the Brimfield, MA to a huge antiques show which happens every year. The textile show happens on the Monday before the show which I had gone to, but Brimfield is the regular antiques show so it has dealers selling everything. I left around 7 and got out there by about 9. There was a lot of traffic once I got to Brimfield, so it took a while to get to a parking spot. The show is essentially dealers on either side of a main street, which are part of antique stores and auction houses. I parked down the street and then began making my way down the main street going into the different fields. Some fields open on different days, but since I was there on Friday most of the fields were open. I tried to get to the more well known fields, where I saw a ton of different dealers and different things. Some dealers specialized in certain things, like paper or rugs, while others had a mix of things. Overall I saw some really incredible items of all different areas. I was only there for 1/2 a day so i'm sure there was a ton of pieces that I didn't have a chance to see. After i'd been there for a few hours I started to make my way back to the car and then decided to take off and drive back.

SCORE #11

On Tuesday in Lynn, it was a pretty busy day, with a few groups of designers coming in. The first people that came in were from Polo, who were looking for denim. After the Polo people left, I started in on a project which was taking all of the pants and re-organizing them. The pants had previously been sorted by style, and fabric. I began to sort them by size first, then by style and fabric. The pants take up a couple of racks of space and are tightly packed, so I took out all of the 30" waist pants which gave me more room to begin sorting everything that was already on the racks. Sorting the pants by size instead of style can be more helpful to people working on movies or doing retail because the sizes are obviously easy to find, whereas designers would have an easier time if the pants were organized by style and fabric. After I got a lot of the pants sorted some designers from Fossil came in and got some things, and after that some retail people came in for a bit. After everyone left I had sorted a lot of the pants and the day was about over.

SCORE #10

On Monday I drove out to Sturbridge, MA to go the Vintage Clothing and Textile Show. I left at about 7 and got out to Sturbridge by about 9 because of traffic. Upon my arrival I got in line and waited for the show to open at 9:30. The line was pretty large, and primarily filled with many people like designers, dealers, and collectors who go out to the show to buy. A lot of the dealers who showed pieces were people specializing in Victorian clothing, lace, and antique women's clothing which was what the show used to be primarily composed of until more dealers began to go to. I saw a lot of unbelievable pieces and a lot of well known dealers were at the show. As far as the men's clothing went there were a good amount of pieces in all categories, as well as accessories. I also had the opportunity to see a variety of textiles and other textile related goods like fabrics and rugs. The main room that the show was in was primarily people selling clothing whereas other rooms were more textile oriented. After a couple hours I got back in the car and drove back to Lynn to the warehouse and then was done for the day.

SCORE #9

On Thursday I was only in the warehouse for a few hours, as the person who works there with me is away. I got a phone call on Thursday from a woman who has been in a couple times in the last week who is a buyer for the costume design on a movie being filmed in Boston. I met her in Lynn, as she needed to pull a few more items for the film. I helped her find pieces she needed for the film, which is set in the 1970's. We were looking for more casual items like polos, and pulled out some 70's button up knit polos which she sent photos of to the designers. After she heard back from them, we went to see what another dealer in the building had, as he has more 70's items. We found a few more of the shirts and after this she picked out some belts as well. After she selected the items that she needed we wrote everything out because they rent the items for the movie. It's important to keep good records of everything when people rent for movies, because things could easily be damaged or lost. After we wrote out what she had rented, she gave me the items that she was buying for the film and after she paid for those she took everything she had bought or rented and we took off.

SCORE #8

On Wednesday in Lynn I started out by moving things up from the 1st floor the 4th for another dealer in the building. Once I moved everything up I began putting things where they went and taking out pieces that needed to be sized and or priced. After this, I began to keep sorting out pieces that were not put away or priced so this could be done. Some lighter jackets were up on the 4th floor so I moved these back down to the 1st floor as they are typically a spring item. After working up on the 4th floor I started to take out the tuxedos and organized these by style and era. The older tuxedos that I found were some incredible pieces and in great condition so I moved them to a separate room where nicer suits and tuxedos are stored. After taking out the older pieces I began putting everything back by size, and having a double and single breasted section on the rack. Once I got all of the tuxedos organized and put away, I straightened up a couple of things in the area. After this we pulled out a couple of pieces to put in the front, and looked through some things that a customer from Japan was buying from the warehouse. Once the customer left we were about done for the day.

SCORE #7

On Monday and Tuesday in Lynn we did some more organizing and arranging in the warehouse. I started out by taking out some jackets and re- organizing them first by style, and then by fabric, color, ect. After finishing with those, I moved anything that was lighter to a different rack and then then began to do the same re- organizing with the suits. One thing that designers, and other customers like about BFB is that things are well organized in the warehouse and store. Usually things in the warehouse are organized by style and color before size vs. the store. After getting some of the suit and jacket racks re-organized we started to move shoes from boxes into the shoe room to get it restocked. The majority of the shoes were leather, and needed to be cleaned or shined before going on the shelves. The shoe room, like the rest of the warehouse is organized by style so after dusting or shining shoes I put them back accordingly. After getting a few boxes put back on the shelves in the shoe room and boots in the boot area we pulled out some of the shoes that were missing their pair. Some of the shoes were super interesting so we put them out in the front of the warehouse with other special shoes and then called it a day.

SCORE #6

Thursday at the warehouse in Lynn we continued to set out new moth traps. We generally put traps wherever there is a lot of wool, which is what the moths eat. After we finished putting out new traps I used the shop vacuum to clean the last room, and some shelving with women's shoes. In front of the shelf there was a sign that the shop had so we decided to turn it around so it could be seen as it was being stored there. We moved the sign which was probably about 15 feet long into the next section of the warehouse, spun it around, and then moved it back. We moved all of the shoes that were in the shelving behind it into boxes and then cleaned out the shelving above. After doing this we cleaned and organized some of the shoes and put them back onto the shelving. Once everything had been vacuumed we moved back the things we had moved and straightened things up. The week didn't have too many appointments, but the costume designer who was in previously came back to get some more things. The next week should see more appointments as people begin to get ready and travel for Brimfield, a big antiques show that happens every year. Spring is generally a busier time in the warehouse in terms of appointments than other times during the year.

SCORE #5

On Friday in Lynn we began to vacuum the warehouse, getting up all of the dust on the shelving in fixtures to give a general clean and take down some of the dust where moths lay their eggs. I started by getting part of the perimeter, stopping periodically to take clothing off shelves to clean behind them. Along with the vacuuming we took the opportunity to clean things up a bit, specifically folding and organizing. After we finished with one part of the warehouse I moved to the shoe room, where I vacuumed the shelves and some of the shoes that were dusty. On Monday I picked up with the vacuuming and finished off a couple areas. After this I moved into the women's room of the warehouse and continued with the shop vacuum in there. There was an appointment on Monday with a costume designer for a movie that is being filmed in the area so we helped her out with a few things. Once she was ready, we wrote out everything the designer was renting, which is obviously something important to do with rentals. The designer rented mostly women's suits for the movie which I believe takes place in the late 70s. After writing out a receipt I helped he move everything to her car. After she left, I finished up some cleaning in the women's section and we decided to finish for the day, we planned to put out the new moth traps on Tuesday.

SCORE #4

Tuesday in Lynn I started in on re-organizing denim. I began by pulling out all of the 2 and 4 pocket jackets and sorting them by size. Once they were sorted by size, I then sorted the jackets by color. The goal with resorting the denim was to move everything up a shelf to make room for more jeans that were on the floor in front. After getting all the 2 and 4 pocket jackets back on the shelves I started pulling out the jeans. I did the same thing with the jeans as I did with jackets, sorting everything by size, and then after that by color. This took a bit because of amount of denim so I continued on Wednesday. After sorting jeans by size I got those back on the shelves and everything on the floor was moved up onto the shelves. After the denim was finished we began to look through some wool pants that were under a table the denim was previously on and took out things that were in poor condition. Some of the pants had some damage from moths, but we kept them out for designers. Many of the wool pants that we went through that were big sizes or in poor condition that people generally would not buy to sell, are  items that designers would probably buy to look at the materials and details on the pants, which is a large part of the customer base who come out to the warehouse.

SCORE #3

On Friday at the warehouse, we taped up all of the boxes we had packed the previous days and moved them downstairs to be taken to the shop. After this I went through the whole warehouse and took down outdated traps for moths. Moths obviously can be problem for the business if not properly taken care of, and it is almost the time of year they come out as it heats up. Next week were planning on replacing the traps that were taken down and dating them to keep track of how long traps have been up for. After getting the traps squared away we loaded the car and began the drive to the store in the South End from the warehouse in Lynn. Upon arriving at the store, I moved the boxes inside and then began packing boxes with peacoats and other winter items like tweeds and wool to bring back to the warehouse. After packing the car, we headed back to Lynn. Upon arriving back at the warehouse, we brought the boxes we had taken back upstairs and began unpacking these and putting them away. The majority of the items I unpacked were put on wood hangers, as these items made from heavy material like wool, are too heavy for plastic hangers. A lot of the things that came back from the shop, like the peacoats, were Army and Navy surplus pieces from WWII and the 50s. Next week should see more designers, and retail appointments in the warehouse and we are going to continue with cleaning and setting up new moth traps.

SCORE #2

Thursday I began where I left of on Tuesday making selections for the shop for spring. The shop needed sneakers, but no more dress shoes so I took another look to see if there was anything missing or needing more. I started then going through tie boxes taking things out that looked good for spring and summer like madras and plaid cotton. In addition to these ties we put in some silk ties that are "staples" at the shop like paisley and more formal patterns that go well with suits. After this we needed some more drizzlers and lightweight jackets so I began to pull some more of those out as well. After everything appeared to be ready to go we put together some boxes and began taking clothes off hangers and packing them in. Once everything was completed we took one more look and added in a few things like more t-shirts and other sportswear. Soon after, someone came in to return some items, mostly women's clothes, that they were renting for as moving being filmed in Boston. The warehouse takes appointments for movies, designers, and other vintage dealers and people who have shops. Currently a lot of 70's films are being made, so the building is seeing a lot of designers surrounding that. Costume typically use the clothing they buy or rent in the films they are working on, whereas clothing designer usually use things they acquire through the warehouse to design from. Typically designs are based on old clothing design, and trends tend to recycle themselves throughout seasons.

SCORE #1

Tuesday was the first day I was working on my SCORE project at the BFB warehouse. The warehouse holds vintage clothing, primarily from the last century. The first thing I did was to start sorting through clothes to send to the shop for spring and summer. To start I began looking through the sport coats, picking things that were lighter in color and weight, for example chambray and cotton. After this I began looking through shirts and pulled out a mix of dress shirts and less formal patterned and short-sleeved shirts. When picking things to send to the shop it is important to make selections that are within a reasonable range of size and are in good condition. In addition it is also important to make selections that fit the season and are items people will choose. After sorting shirts I moved on to light outerwear, including windbreakers and drizzlers. The majority of lighter jackets are tan or beige with a mix of colors, which I tried to pull out in addition to tan. After sorting jackets I went to a different area and started collecting sportswear to send out, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, and outerwear. A lot of the sportswear that people buy is Champion, printed with collegiate and sports related things. After sportswear I moved on to sneakers, where I put in a lot of plimsolls with the occasional basketball sneaker. The hard thing with sneakers is size, the majority of dead stock sneakers are either small or huge, so the plimsoll selection is more geared towards women as they can fit into smaller sizes and some kids sizes.

Willy DeConto SCORE Outline

Introduction
  Although considered to be "current", clothing design today does noot consist of completely new ideas. In fact modern clothing design is just new variations and combinations of clothing as old as 200 years. 
    - Industrial Revoluton 1800s created new techniques and possibilities in consumer clothing.
    - Mass production techniques and increase in technology called for new clothing design and spread of similar items
    - As clothing aged and outsourcing began, older clothing became "vintage". Vintage industry has taken off in the last 30 or so years and is used in costume design/film, clothing design, and retail.
Thesis: 

History of "Modern" Design and Vintage Industry
History of "Modern" Clothing
 - Industrial Revolution
 - Mills and Factories
 - Spread of tech and styles
History of Vintage Industry
 - Origins and definition
 - Expansion
   - Internet
   - Globally
Current Vintage Industry
Modern Design
  - Designing from vintage
  - Materials in garments
  - Heritage lines
Standard of Quality and Domestic Manufacturing
  - Heritage brands
  - Modern clothing design interest in quality
  - Reverting to older manufacturing technique
Costume Design/ Film
  - Historical films
  - Designing from vintage in film
  - Use of clothing and dealers as sources for design and accuracy
Retail and Global Connections
  - Vintage in retail market
  - International designers and retail

Conclusion
Through a variety of ways vintage is increasing not only the quality of design and manufacturing in clothing, but the choices of current leaders in the contemporary clothing field are effecting more than the consumers but the US and global economy and standard of living.
- Increase in domestic manufacturing
- Growth in connections with small business and corporate clothing industry
- Trade with other countries increasing US and global economy

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