FASHION

Keep the Tags On

Meet the woman behind Instagram sensation @Labeltime.

by Emilia Petrarca

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@Labeltime, an Instagram account dedicated to finding the funniest vintage labels, will make you think twice about cutting the tag off your next purchase. Here, the woman behind the feed, Dana Cohen, who is based out of San Francisco and Philadelphia, talks about her Insta success, her sources, and more.

When did you start this project? I first posted to the account in October 2013, but the idea for it came from years of thrifting and a tendency to collect things. I had come across enough cool and/or funny labels while browsing thrift shops to think, “Man, these are rad and need to be archived!” I figured I couldn’t be the only one who’d appreciate them, so putting them on Instagram was a way to share them with whoever might care. And it was also a convenient way for me to catalog them for myself without the clutter of actually collecting them.

Where do you find your material? Anywhere I can find old clothes— mostly thrift shops, vintage shops, and flea markets. I also get contributions from friends and submissions from followers, which was unexpected but has been really cool. At first I just sort of found the labels while I was shopping, but once there was a platform and an audience I got really into hunting for them and started going to stores just to seek them out. It helped that in the early days of Labeltime I was unemployed and maintaining the account gave me purpose. Somehow I was able to convince myself that it was productive to spend hours in a vintage store looking through clothes and clandestinely photographing their tags.

Do you have a favorite label? They’re all so special in their own ways. Some are super intricate and aesthetically appealing, and some I’m drawn to for the brand name more than the actual design of the label. Like who thought it was a good idea to name a clothing company Plastic Sandwich?

Favorite vintage stores: I love No Shop in San Francisco, Vacation in San Francisco, the Bulk Vintage Warehouse in Philly, 10 ft. Single in NY, Montage Vintage in San Antonio, TX, and Mother’s Daughter on Etsy.

Photos: Keep the Tags On

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