Tips for shopping vintage from stylist Cameron Silver

For celebrity stylist Cameron Silver, clothing isn’t just something to wear. It’s a piece of history.

Over the past 20 years, he’s amassed a lot of it at his high-end store Decades in Los Angeles. Think Hermès scarves from the ‘40s, couture gowns from the ‘50s, one-of-a-kinds straight from the runway. His fashionable adventures with business partner Christos Garkinos also are the subject of Bravo TV’s reality show “Dukes of Melrose.”

His tips for making the most of a vintage shopping excursion:

•Ask yourself, “Does this look modern?” When you’re choosing something vintage, the idea is you’re choosing something that pushes fashion forward. Vintage dictates modern trends.

•Does it make you feel attractive? You don’t want it to look like a costume. If it looks like something you’re going to trick-or-treat in, that’s a problem.

•Don’t be seduced by a label. Condition is paramount. How much plastic surgery do you want to do on a garment? Sometimes, you just can’t make it look the way you want it to look.

•Don’t get so caught up in if something doesn’t fit you perfectly. It’s OK to have something tailored. I don’t encourage someone to bastardize a historic garment, but giving that garment renewed life and a renewed purpose through simple tailoring is OK.

•Take time to learn a garment’s story. To me, it’s the intimacy of going into a woman’s closet of a certain age who pulls something out and says, “This is the dress I met my husband in” or “met the royal family in Kuwait.” It’s completely visceral and storytelling.