How to Cleanse Bad Energy Out of Your Vintage Clothes

Once a person puts an item on their body, their aura—a.k.a. the energetic field that radiates around all living beings—attaches to it. What many may not realize is that this energy can also be transferred through vintage purchases. It doesn't make a difference if your vintage clothing has been dry-cleaned and washed a million times. The fact of the matter is that you still need to cleanse energy from vintage clothing.

Does that mean that clothing can actually be haunted by previous owners? Well, yeah, kind of—although in a way less graphic way than your favorite scary movie. To detach that energy, you might want to use tips from energy experts. We talked to Reiki healers Kesaine Walker and Christine O'Day as well as Julia Popescu, a vintage curator, who all have experience with this very topic.

Meet the expert

Think of it as ghostbusting for vintage designer duds 101, below.

How to Tell if Vintage Clothing Is Haunted

Walker states that "energy's everywhere, including on vintage clothing." However, if you're picking up on something while shopping, the best thing to do is try the clothing on. It's possible that the energy you feel isn't from the piece at all, but rather the store, the employees, or even other customers.

"Tune in to what you're feeling while touching or wearing the items," says Walker. "You may not be able to touch while online shopping, but you can still tune in to how the items make you feel while looking at them."

O'Day says she's definitely felt people's energies on vintage clothing, both from the previous owner and those who have handled these items. "Vintage clothing definitely has energy attached to it, especially if it was worn often. It feels like a glimpse into someone else's mood. I can feel it as soon as I touch an item," she tells InStyle.

How to Cleanse Vintage Clothing

With Smoke

According to O'Day, the quickest way to cleanse an item is to wash it like you would any other piece of clothing—only with an extra step using special ingredients. "I would also use frankincense and myrrh," she says. These herbs are known to detox objects, spaces, and energies. Simply lay the items of clothing on the floor and burn the herbs as incense in the room to cleanse the items in question.

With a Spray

Popescu admits to having handled vintage clothing that may have been haunted by the previous deceased owner. To cleanse pieces like these, she suggests lightly spraying the clothes with lavender mist from afar.

"If you want to truly get witchy, you can also tuck a mojo bag of cleansing herbs into a pocket," Popescu says. Grab parsley, rosemary, tobacco, or lavender for this. "Cleansing clothes is highly creative, so you can pretty much use any cleansing rituals from your witch toolkit!"

By Speaking

Don't underestimate the power of your words. To get rid of bad juju on vintage clothing, say things that you consider to be energy-shifting. Thank the clothing for fulfilling their previous purpose and then for destiny bringing you together. Thank them in advance for the journey you are about to embark on together. Our clothes can be sacred, and therefore, so is our relationship to them.

Walker also recommends setting an intention to release any energy that doesn't belong to you or serve you on the items and even using Reiki on the clothes themselves. "I like to lay hands on each item for several minutes and visualize the old energy being released while I infuse the clothing with positive and loving vibrations."

The Bottom Line

Clothing can be our connection to the past, other realms, and our psychic selves. So, before you slip into those vintage jeans or carry around a previously owned item from Etsy, you might want to cleanse it first. Once you smoke it, spray it, or speak to it, you should be good to go.

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