Chic - define Your Vintage Style

You know how sometimes you would see someone wearing vintage and be like …….Eewwww, It is oftentimes tricky to strike the right balance between making a chic statement and looking outrageous à la looking gaudy with vintage fashion, this is one look that is  more difficult to pull off and still remain  trendy and chic.

Vintage clothing when probably styled can be quite unique and make one stand out in a good way. When you purchase a vintage piece, you are getting something that cannot be found at every departmental store by the thousands.  It is a limited, if not one of a kind item just for you, this can mean you would probably be the only one wearing it at your next event. They also offer a sense of character, history, style, and it’s an aspect of fashion where you can really bring your individuality into your look. 

Here are a few pointers for getting head turning vintage style

1. Ooze confidence! 

This is my first rule with everything in life especially fashion, for me style is having confidence, I believe if you wear things with confidence you can pull almost anything off. So pucker up....shoulders square and strut your stuff, you are wearing something unique and different as opposed to what everyone else is wearing, trust me the compliments would be many. 

Drew Barrymore in Eighties style body con dress with vintage earring and cut out ivory and black Giuseppe Zanotti

2. Flaunt your stuff

Know your body type, choose pieces to highlight your best feature and cover up whatever you want covered.   Never choose an outfit because it looks good on someone else.....it might not work for you. If you have a small waist, then flaunt it with a waist cinching 50's party dress. The trick here is to find what you like the most about yourself and focus on it, this rule actually works across various styles. Most times our best assets are usually what we like the most about us. On the contrary  If you are not crazy about your hips then try a 60's a line dress that fits snugly in the bust area and then flare out from there. Do not sweat what you do not like about your body , "Just remember: someone loves everything you hate about yourself.” -Frank Ocean

Kate Beckinsale in vintage Balmain

3. Do you!

Stay true to your style and own it! But also consider shape, cuts and fabrics that work best for you. We all have our own unique tastes when it comes to fashion.......'Do you, as only you can!

Kim K looking like a Retro Diva

4.  Start Small

I would not advise starting off wearing vintage head to toe if you have not done it before; a good way to start is to ease yourself gradually into it. You can do this by wearing vintage accessories like scarves, hats, jewelry, handbags, or belts. Like with everything less is more, so choose one accessory at a time.

5. Fit is everything

Vintage is one area where clothing has to absolutely fit perfectly! Or you would end up looking gaudy and ridiculous. So fit your outfit properly before buying or have it amended to fit your measurements.

Blogger Tanesha Awasthi of Girwithcurves wearing a vintage dress with contemporary accessory

6. Stay on Trend

Stay updated with what’s trending in magazines, blogs, and fashion websites in other to get inspiration on current styles, colours, textures and prints and incorporate these into your vintage styling. Since fashion is constantly being recycled, there are styles from the past being made again, and there is a good chance you can find the original version of a style in a vintage item from that era.

7. Mix Old with New

Its  a great idea to mix and match your vintage pieces with your contemporary pieces. If you've found an amazing 80's sequin top you can pair it with a new denim shorts or pants. Alternatively you can add touches of vintage by pairing vintage accessories with your contemporary pieces, for example you can add a vintage handbag or vintage sunglasses to your contemporary look. With vintage, when in doubt… pair with basics or black and white to be safe just like with any other trend.

Christian Hendricks in a super stylish Stella McCartney outfit and retro cat eye sunglasses 

8. Accessories..... Accessories...... Accessories!

A good rule when wearing vintage clothing is to make sure it’s styled with great accessories, this doesn't necessarily have to be vintage accessories.  Try adding a bit of character to keep your whole look interesting and new, something as simple as a scarf around the neck, a brooch or a belt on a dress for added shape can greatly refresh a look.

 Eva Longoria wearing a vintage Neil Lane brooch 

9. Dress around one dramatic piece

Wearing head to toe vintage can easily tend towards looking outlandish....I would advise not to wear vintage head to toe unless you are absolutely sure or you don't mind looking like you are going to a Halloween party. A safe route to take is to pick a great piece e.g. a great Jacket or Jeans and pair with simple neutral accessories to make it look low key and modern rather than like you just stepped out of a time machine.

Blogger Tanesha of Girlwithcurves wearing a vintage jacket

Chloe Sevigny

10. Be Inspired 

It is helpful to collect visual inspiration from Blogs, Pin interest, magazines etc. It helps to have a visual reminder when you are not sure.

Blogger Salewa of forStylesake wearing beautiful accessories

Finally, clothes from the past were made with better fabric and technique than we have today. In the past there was more emphasis on clothing being well made because clothes had to last longer since people did not buy new clothing as often as we do today.

There was a lot of handmade processes in the manufacturing of vintage clothing, unlike today where most processes are machine made. they also tend to fit better because patterns were cut and fitted on actual people....not just a computer program made to mimic what looks good on a hanger.

On a larger scale, the cost of production for these items have already been incurred, i.e. you are not paying for the production of a new item ( fuel for shipping, energy to produce, emission from factories, dumping of chemicals etc), so you are essentially not contributing to pollution and stopping these items from going into a landfill

If you ask me....its a win win situation, you are buying superiorly made, one of a kind, fashionable clothes and at the same time helping the planet! Whats not to love about that!

xoxo

Have a fab weekend!

Photo Credit 
girlwithcurves.com
Forstylesake.blogspot.com

celebritysunglasseswatcher.com
posh24.com