We knew that this was coming. It was inevitable. Toss the words “Great Depression” and “1930s” around a bunch of hipster New Yorkers and what do you get? Depression chic, of course.

It seems that harkening back to those bad old days has struck a fashion chord for edgy young style-setters, so they’re wearing feathers, vests and newsboy caps on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, according to W Magazine. There are even a few old-fashioned-style bars and eateries showing up in the area, with bartenders wearing bow ties or pocket watches with their vests, the magazine says on their Web site.

All of which made us wonder how hard it is to find real vintage clothing from the ’30s. We landed on a few sites that claim to have authentic Depression-era clothes. We can’t vouch for their authenticity, but cruising around the sites is a pleasant diversion from obsessively checking your 401K.       

Ballyhoo Vintage has an assortment of clothes they say were worn from the 1930s through the 1970s. For example, there’s a lace evening gown from the ’30s with delicate buttons on the cuffs for $225 (above left). Another evening dress, copper satin with bugle beads on the back, for $145 (above right). There’s a beautiful  black velvet opera cape (below left), the hood trimmed in ermine and lined with ivory silk for $175. (Oh, by the way, PETA would have been apoplectic over the fur-laden fashions of the ’20s and early ’30s. Monkey fur, anyone?)

It appears that much of the the coveted vintage fashions on these sites belonged to the upper crust. Lest we forget, much of the “fashion” during the Depression was not fancy. It was cheap and durable, and even this basic floral short-sleeved dress (above right) with a cinched waist would have been considered very nice ($59). Oh, and these ’30s clothes are selling like hotcakes on this site.

Davenport and Company is another site with vintage wear from the ’20s and ’30s, such as this mauve crochet lace dress with a lace collar and crystal buttons for $105 (above left). They’ve also got a striking purple silk gown and matching bolero jacket for $175 (above right).

Perhaps one of the toniest vintage clothing sites is Antique Dress, where they claim that many of their items were worn by celebrities or created by some of the top designers of the time and are quite rare. Their site is full of amazing vintage clothing from all decades. A red silk matador jacket with heavy gold embroidery from 1938 is $765 (below left). An odd looking navy straw hat has a red velvet ribbon and fake tiny flowers on the brim (below right). They qualify it by saying during the Depression there weren’t a lot of fancy hats. This one is fancy today, and costs $285.

To mimic more typical Depression-era clothing, we’d suggest a hipster buy a plain, cut-rate dress, then wear it over and over for several years until it is frayed and faded and worn. Then give it to your younger sister.

Just think, when they’re older, these trend-setters can tell their children that they got through the Great Economic Disaster of the ’00s by continuing to capriciously spend money on clothes and ignoring the long lines of homeless and unemployed people. Unless they become one of them.