Writer's Guidelines
 

Over 15  years ago, The Vintage Connection started out as a subscription-based, snail mail newsletter; today, all information is provided online, where everybody can access it for free.

The mission of The Vintage Connection is to provide informative articles on historic fashion for collectors and other enthusiasts. Throughout The Vintage Connection’s history, I (the editor) have written most of these articles, but other writers (collectors, dealers, and museum curators) have also kindly contributed. Due to the fact that this website takes an enormous amount of time to produce, I’m now actively seeking articles by other writers.

What's Needed:
The Vintage Connection covers articles each on 18th, 19th, and 20th century fashion; women’s fashions are the focus, but we also encourage articles on men’s and children’s fashions. The following types of articles are needed:

* How-tos’ for collectors. How to store vintage clothing, how to clean hats, how to shop for antique clothes in London, you name it!

* Fashion Histories. Everything from the history of the 19th century corset, to the construction of 1870s dresses, to how the clothing worn for bicycling in the late 1800s affected women’s history. Although general histories are sometimes published (for example, the history of the bustle), typically the more specific you are, the better your article will be (i.e., instead of covering the entire history of Christian Dior, focus on one aspect of his designs, one period of his career, or even feature one special garment that he designed).

* Reprints. We also regularly feature reprints of period patterns and interesting articles from antique literature.
Any length will be considered.

Compensation:
The Vintage Connection is produced strictly out of love for the subject and a desire to help educate others. At this time, the website does not make a profit. However, I’ll be more than happy to help publicize your book, product, store, etc. in exchange for an article.

Query Letters:
It’s always a good idea to query me with your article idea before you write or submit it. You may do this by emailing me at kriswrite@aol.com. Please tell me:

* What the premise of your article is
* What your sources are (research from period magazines, an interview with an expert, etc.)
* Why you are qualified to write the article (i.e., you’re a collector of 10 years, you’ve done extensive research on the subject, etc.)
* What type of illustrations you can provide

If you’re suggesting reprinting an antique pattern or article, please include the original date of publication.

Manuscripts:
Please submit all manuscripts via email. Be sure to include all your contact information (name, address, phone number), and let us know how you’d like to be compensated. Reiterate what your sources were, and send illustrations as an attachment. If appropriate, please be sure to give photo credits.

Illustrations:
Ideally, all articles will be accompanied by illustrations. But if you can't find appropriate illustrations, I probably can.

I can use period illustrations, period photographs, and new photographs of existing garments. I cannot use museum photographs or photographs from new or newer books, unless you are the copyright holder of those photos. For photos of existing garments, if you didn’t take the photograph yourself, you must provide a letter from the copyright holder, giving permission to use the photo. Please don’t send photos of things from other people’s collections, unless you have permission to do so.

Send all illustrations as attachments in .JPEG or .JPG format.


Thank you for considering writing for The Vintage Connection. I hope to read your ideas—and your articles—soon!

Sincerely,

Kristina

12/07/2006

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