About Vintage Fashion
There is a saying that goes "everything old is new again." This has certainly been the case with vintage fashion or fashion recycled from past eras. Many people prefer vintage clothes because of the fine materials and workmanship that vintage clothing often features. For instance, vintage clothing from the 19th century often features hand tailoring, because the sewing machine did not come into common use before the 1840s. Vintage fashion, along with its cousin retro fashion, new clothing which replicates or is inspired by fashions of past decades, is especially popular with young people, although more mature adults are embracing the look as well. Does this Spark an idea?
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Vintage Fashion
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The term vintage fashion is borrowed from wine making, where vintage refers to the year the wine was produced. But unlike vintage wine, vintage fashion does not have a hard and fast definition. Clothing from the early-20th century and older would certainly qualify, often also falling under the category of antique, which is classified as any object that is more than 100 years old. Vintage fashion may also refer to clothing from decades as recent as the1960s, '70s or even later. Thrift store vintage fashion finds may be quite inexpensive, while consignment stores often feature designer labels and can be comparatively pricey.
Retro Fashion
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Retro fashion is clothing that is new but designed to resemble or reference older styles of clothing. The casual fashion of the late 1960s and early 1970s enjoyed an extended revival in popularity beginning in the 1990s. While retro clothing vintage replicas may be inexpensive when sold by discount chain stores, this is not always the case. This is especially true of retro fashions offered by high-end department stores or specialty boutiques.
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"Mad Men"
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The popular cable television show "Mad Men" has inspired a revival of fashions inspired by the look of the 1950s and early 1960s. Figure-hugging dresses that might have been worn by pinup girl Bettie Page are popular again. Classic vintage looks such as pencil skirts and matched sweater sets have also enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. Consumers seek both genuine vintage fashions and retro clothes in attempting to re-create the look. Many vintage fashions from this era feature designer labels and fine craftsmanship.
The Summer of Love
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The look of the 1960s and early '70s is especially popular with teenagers and young adults. Observers in their late 40s and early 50s can be forgiven if they sometimes feel as though they have walked into a time warp of low-slung jeans, midriff-baring tops, clunky shoes and rebellious hairstyles for both men and women. Although some actual vintage styles exist from this period, most of the clothing fashioned after the1960s and 1970s is retro rather than vintage.
Considerations
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There is truism in fashion that people who wore a look when it was first popular are generally too old to wear the same look when it comes back into fashion. However, baby boomers have increasingly ignored this hard and fast rule, especially with vintage and retro clothing looks. The key to pulling off trendy looks such as vintage and retro fashion is to make an adaptation that reflects the wearer's maturity, such as mixing vintage and retro clothing with high-quality classic pieces.
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