The Relaunch, The Release, and The Redemption: My 2025 Sales Recap

If I had to sum up 2025 in one word, it would be relaunch.

After a few quiet years where Vintage Reveries was humming in the background, this year I finally woke the shop up. I refreshed the website, cleaned up the database, and started digging deep into the bins that had traveled with me from St. Louis to West Lafayette.

And honestly? It was the most fun I’ve had selling vintage in a decade.

This is the first time I’ve ever done a “sales recap” post. While I won’t bore you with spreadsheets and ROI calculations, I do want to share a few of the notable stories. Because in this business, it’s never just about the item—it’s about the history, the timing, and finding that one person who has been searching for exactly what you have.

The “Holy Grail” Wrestling Shirt

The absolute highlight of the year happened on a Friday night in December.

I had dragged out a vintage crew t-shirt from my ex-boyfriend, a stagehand who worked the 1990 WCW Starrcade wrestling event. For context, Starrcade was the “WrestleMania” of World Championship Wrestling, and the 1990 event was held right in my old stomping grounds of St. Louis. This shirt wasn’t merchandise you could buy at a stand; it was a crew shirt given to the people working the event.

It was rare. Extremely rare.

I listed it on Depop, not really knowing what to expect. In the past, I might have let it go for a standard “damaged vintage t-shirt” price just to move it. But this time, I valued it for the piece of history it was.

It sold the same day.

Within hours, a serious collector messaged me. We negotiated a deal that was fair to him but wasn’t a “low-ball” to me, and just like that, a piece of 1990 wrestling history was on its way to someone who truly understood its value. It was a price I wouldn’t have dared to ask a few years ago, but it confirmed something important: when you respect the history of an item, the right buyer will respect it too.

The Great Fur Coat Liberation

If you read my post from November, you know that my collection of vintage fur coats was more than just inventory. For a long time, they were my “armor”—a reaction to a time in my life when I had nothing.

But in 2025, I finally let them go.

I sold over 50 fur coats this year. Some were nearly pristine, high-glamour pieces—like that incredible black mink with the shawl collar, the fox fur cape, and the Tibetan lamb duster. Others were “cutter” coats or repair projects that had seen better days.

But my favorites were the survivors. I sold a fox fur that looked like it had survived a werewolf attack to someone taking it out for one last glorious hurrah on New Year’s Eve. I passed on another piece—one I’d admittedly partied a little too hard in myself years ago—to a buyer who plans to continue the tradition.

Passing on those “party furs” felt like symbolically handing off the exciting carelessness of my youth to create new stories. Honestly? Those less profitable sales made me the happiest because they weren’t about preservation; they were about continuing the party.

And that’s the reality of vintage: organic materials degrade. Holding onto them “for a better price” while they slowly dry out isn’t preserving history; it’s burying it. Getting these coats into the hands of people who will wear them, repair them, or repurpose them was a huge weight off my shoulders—both physically and emotionally.

Other 2025 Highlights

It wasn’t just furs and wrestling. This year brought some incredible finds to the surface:

• The Bamboo Cheongsam: A stunning 1960s green satin dress with hand-embroidered bamboo found a new home in November. In a fun twist, the same eBay buyer also snapped up the unembellished purple “liquid satin” cheongsam to complete the set.
• The “Maison Blanche” Coat: A suede beauty from the famous (and defunct) New Orleans department store. It felt like passing on a piece of Southern retail history, and Poshmark helped make the connection.
• The Project Wedding Dress: I even sold a heavy satin 1950s wedding gown that was a “cutter” project. It makes me so happy to know that even damaged items can find a second life with a creative artist. eBay’s large allowance for pictures and details allowed me to show off this unique set to its best advantage and connect with the rare person who could bring it back to life.

Looking Ahead

Relaunching Vintage Reveries this year reminded me why I started doing this in the first place. It’s the thrill of the hunt, sure, but it’s also the satisfaction of being a temporary steward for these objects.

Whether it’s a wrestling shirt from 1990 or a department store coat from 1960, everything has a story. In 2025, I helped a lot of those stories find their next chapter.

Here is to 2026 and whatever is waiting in the next box.