Vintage fashion refers to pre-loved clothing, shoes, and accessories that are at least 20 years old, typically from the 1920s through the 1990s. It is often associated with nostalgia and classic elegance, but its definition can be a bit confusing. Vintage clothing can be haute couture or quality mainstream fashion labels, and it can be used, new (from deadstock), or even vintage chic.
Vintage chic is a style that draws inspiration from fashion trends of previous decades, combining classic elements with a modern twist. It is often much better quality than newer clothing, as natural materials like cotton, wool, and silk are found more frequently than newer items. Wearing vintage fashion has become increasingly popular over fast fashion, and it is a generic term for garments originating from a previous era, as recent as the 1990s.
Vintage clothing is usually much better quality than newer clothing, as natural materials like cotton, wool, and silk are found far more frequently than newer clothing. Wearing vintage fashion has become increasingly popular over fast fashion, and it is a unique and timeless style that has been highly appreciated today. Its roots stretch back to the early 20th century, when sharp suits, polished shoes, and impeccable ties personified the refined elegance of the Great Depression.
In summary, vintage fashion is a cultural force that defines how we dress and shop, with a focus on pre-loved clothing, shoes, and accessories from the 1920s to the 1980s. It is a popular choice for those who want to embrace the timeless elegance of the past while staying true to their personal style.
📹 Vintage Style: What, Why, How?
A bit of a longer video explaining some of the reasons I do what I do! My Insta: https://www.instagram.com/rachel_maksy/
📹 VINTAGE STYLE | Find Your Personal Style
Today’s video features the VINTAGE style type. It’s part of a series featuring the most common style types where I’m helping you …
I’m really in love with the fashionable decades of 1930s-1950s specifically 1940s era. I describe my current style as modern vintage. I started looking through my grandmas collection she keeps everything! Magazines, jewelry, purses, clothes so she has so many great pieces. Then I hit the library and youtube, google, and pintrest. I hit yard sales, flea markets, and estate sales are the best! I got a lot of furniture pieces cheap that way than repaired and modernized them. Vanity tables, bird cage, armoire, chest, mannequin, picture frames, perfume bottles, perfume pots, old lipstick cases and put new lipstick in them. I then just mix in a few modern pieces in shoes or clothing. I often get complimented by men who will open doors or escort me, or you get the older woman who like your jewelry, or sometimes people tell me I look like their past sweetheart or family member.
Once I get out of high school, I’m definitely going to embrace my love of long skirts and vintage dresses. I honestly don’t have time to put too much effort into my outfits right now bc leggings and big T’s are everything (and easy to style). Im definitely a 50s-60s girl with a bit of gypsy thrown in there 🙂 I’m very new to your website and I love it so so much!
I really love vintage style! Lately I’ve been getting really into it;; It started with the hairstyles, which I adore, but which were always super daunting until I tried it myself! And I adore the red lip look, it’s just so fun!!! I recently went to my local vintage store and picked up a bunch of super cute 30s – 40s dresses and skirts and shirts! I’m planning on growing my collection more,, thrifting,,,, it’s pretty small now but woah I really do love it all. I’m also a high school student! A junior. I don’t mind standing out at all, and I get lots of compliments (if there are weird stares I don’t notice them HAHA). Occasionally (when I’m uber lazy) I’ll just do the hair and makeup and then like, black pants and a t-shirt and I throw a vaguely old-ish looking coat over it and I get lots of people saying I look “so vintage” LMAO. It’s given me a lot of confidence and I’m so happy I’ve decided to dress like this! So so fun and I just love fashion now :)) you’ve been one of my big inspirations on this!
I’ve always been drawn to and more interested in fashion from past decades rather than what is relevant and popular now. Of course I don’t dress exactly from the past and is modernized but overall my style is heavily influenced by past decades. Today’s marketed fashion just does not interest me in the slightest and never has, I can’t really explain why it’s just my personal preference. It makes me happy and makes me feel the most me if that makes sense. Who cares what’s popular, as long as it makes you happy and doesn’t harm anyone then do it! Life is too short and those who don’t care aren’t worth the time. Also little side note… I just wanted to add that I really love your articles, and appreciate you and your personality. You are truly spectacular vintage or not my dear. Sending all my love and support. xoxo
I love your articles so much! I don’t have a lot of vintage or vintage-style clothing because of how pricey the majority of it is, but its my favourite style. There are always people that are going to think that how I dress is weird, but the people who go out of their way to compliment my outfits totally make up for them! Sorry that this is kind of a rambley comment ♥
I’ve been following you for a good while on Instagram, I had no idea you made articles! I love vintage style, I’m currently trying to make all of my wardrobe vintage style. Haven’t had any weird comments yet luckily, but I have had people assume that because I dress vintage I think all women should dress modestly, which is a bit weird because I’m all for everyone doing their own thing 🙂
Thanks for the tips. Recently, I’ve discovered that I have the same type of connection to vintage style and disconnect from modern trends. This shouldn’t surprise me, since my mom raised me on mostly code era movies. I’ve dabbled a bit in the past, but now I think I’m gonna jump in and JUST DO IT! 😀
Main thing I do is the hair with the victory rolls and red lipstick. I wear it to school and get complements on it and most of my friends and teachers are use to it by now, especially since one is a rock n’ roll and film history teacher who got me into everything about 2 years ago. But when I do somewhat dress up people don’t say anything bad which is very surprising in high school
New subbie and I’m perusal a marathon of your articles at midnight lol My dad’s a World War 2 historian so that might explain my natural pull towards everything vintage too haha I’m just starting to transition my wardrobe/channel/entire existence to a 40’s-50’s aesthetic and I never felt more like myself! XD
I just got a new job that has an all black dresscode and let me tell you, its so hard to find daily wear vintage (or vintage repro) clothing thats black. I keep finding some of the more super sexy punup evening dresses and im not sure its appropriate for work. Same with finding some of my favortie vintage style shoes too. Some of my absolute favorites are brown or brown and white or black and white but its a no-no for work. Ive found a few dresses that should work, and i know i can always pair a black blouse with black skirts… If i can find any 😭😭 i just wanna dress vintage at work too
I really love your style! I’ve been wanting to go vintage and more feminine for a long time now, but I found it hard to look for a style like yours (I’m not a big fan of rockabilly or Gothabilly fashion, and that’s what I usually came across). Your website really helped me get those vintage and girly gears turning! Thanks for all the inspiration. 🙂
I feel exactly the same about the late 30’s-early 40’s and the whole WW2 aesthetic. I love it when people look at me with a hint of “oh! i’ve seen that on my history textbook!” Yes, it’s an emotional connection, something out-of-hand that keeps feeling as if I have lived in there. It’s strange, annoying to get young kiddos to yell out “grandma!” or creeepingly staring at me, but it’s totally worth it to just show what’s inside
I don’t know how to put this particular style into words. The “classic” vintage style I suppose? Despite the lack of a label, I think “The Pinup Companion” is still a wonderful name in terms of being an actual companion to the sultrier styles of pinup and rockabilly. I actually prefer this “classic” style for myself, but I admire pinup and rockabilly from afar. Like, damn 🔥Haha. For the last several months, you and Lily Jarlsson have been becoming my favorite representatives of this style. ❤️ I’ve been a jeans and t-shirt girl since forever, but I’ve fallen in love with this side of fashion. I mostly want to tuck away some of my usual slobbishness for looking clean and primped every now and again. Hoping to slowly build my wardrobe with pretty, multi-use pieces, and wear dresses and skirts a little more often 😄
You certainly have the right looks, by which I mean that during those eras women looked like they wore very little makeup, yet still looked gorgeous. I think you need a very good skin and well shaped brow and cheekbones, to get off with looking like you’re just wearing a touch of mascara and lipstick. You carry it off perfectly.
Great article! Like you, I feel deeply connected to the 40s/50s era. My Mom, among others, has been a big inspiration to me. Her home is full of antique furniture and decorative charms of yester year. More often than not, she has 40s music playing as well. I couldn’t have said it better; Things of that era just make me happy too. Perhaps it’s because, in some regards, things were simple then. Vintage/retro style, be it home decor or fashion, are iconic, well made, comforting, refined etc. By the way, love the hair. Rita Hayworth would be proud. 😉
I’m really into 1970s fashion (and no, I don’t mean the stereotypical “hippie” crap, I mean actual normal clothes), and I’d love to dress like women did in the 1970s, but I feel like I would look really out of place and don’t have the confidence to dress like that in public on a daily basis. Do you have some advice?
I love 50’s thru 70’s clothing. my personal style is like a hybrid of boho/70s/’ladylike’ aka modest fashion. I love the femininity and classic appeal of the 50’s silhouettes. Its all so flattering in my opinion. My Pinterest board is all over the place but it makes me happy. My dream closet would be organized by era/style.
For a long time, I have been drawn towards 70s style, but it’s only been in recent years that I’ve become brave enough to go against the current styles in order to wear vintage clothing. I really look for stuff that is from the 70s to early 80s in thrift stores. I’ve been pretty lucky to find some good stuff there. I supplement through etsy and rustyzipper.com. Occasionally, current stuff passes for the vintage look, especially with jeans and shoes, which are hard to find, let alone in my size.
Would you say you have to have the full makeup, red lips, cat-eye etc to rock the vintage look? I might do that sometimes but I just feel more comfortable in less makeup, like lots of blush and little bit of lipstick / mascara. I have felt the vintage look has been my dream for many years and just decided to wear stuff like that.
This is a fantastic series of articles, thank you so much Erica, you clearly know a lot about style and you speak very clearly with a beautiful, soft American accent you so rarely hear these days, it’s really a pleasure to listen to you. I love Alexa Chung although some of the outfits you showed are not to my taste. I grew up in Italy in the 70s and, age 58, I’ve recently gone back to wearing similar outfits, for example corduroy bootcut trousers (also worn in the 90s by Carolyn Bessett-Kennedy), double denim with trucker jackets and straight leg jeans, gingham shirts, also worn with denim, white straight-leg jeans with a blue t-shirt (like Jackie O), velvet suit with flared trousers, pussybow blouses, platform shoes, contrast collar t-shirts, David Bowie vintage t-shirts. The funny thing is that my style now is similar now to what I was wearing in the 70s when I was a child or teenager, these pieces are modern classics (but not too classic, as I find classic style is often ageing and too ladylike – there’s a fine line). I would not say my style is vintage but I love the odd 70s touch, also in the colours (orange and brown, khaki), just as I like wearing the odd edgy or even sexy item.
I love second hand shopping and hunting for the unique pieces. Vintage clothes in general have higher quality and a lot more flattering for a women’s body. Also vintage style has this understated elegance that I really like. Compared with vintage shopping, I don’t get excited shopping in the mall anymore as all the stores carry more or less similar trendy stuff, made with mostly polyester and unflattering cut .