Women's wardrobe is a storehouse of the widest range of things for different tastes and colors. The same girl in the closet can contain absolutely opposite varieties of clothing in terms of stylistic direction - from modest feminine dresses with a belt to glamorous latex vinyl leggings. Every woman, from a homebody to a business shark, has a bunch of things in her closet that she has already forgotten about.
But there are still several fashion trends in women's clothing that are present in the arsenal of almost every woman. There are a lot of them! But one of the best such trends is rightfully recognized as a vintage style in girls' clothes.
Backstory
What are these clothes? And what are the features of vintage fashion? Initially, the word came from the English term vintage, which literally means "age of wine." The original meaning of this concept referred to the criteria for evaluating the aging of wine drinks. Noseover time, the terminology in this vein has been somewhat transformed and acquired a different meaning. For some time now, the concept has been correlated with fashion, fashion trends, trendy trends, classics of the genre and retro style in the fashion of yesteryear.
Roughly speaking, vintage fashion is a style of clothing from past seasons, correlated with a period of thirty years or more ago. Each generation interprets it differently. The very first mentions of vintage style (photos of some models are presented in the article) originate from the era of the 20s of the last century. It was the girls of those times, with their epoch-making difference in dress, who were the first to become representatives of the standard clothes of the studied direction.
Style features
How can you tell ordinary clothes from vintage? Like any other style of clothing, this kind of fashion trend of bygone years has its own distinctive features. They manifest themselves in different ways and can be represented by the following versions:
- Neo-vintage trend - characterized by worn, faded and artificially aged clothing (often jeans, denim jackets, denim shorts or skirts).
- Purely vintage direction - represented by exclusive originals and originals of eminent designers, as well as famous fashion designers, created no later than the eighties of the last century.
- "Vintage" direction - due to the manifestations of stylization of new samples of things, altered to fit certain fashion trends of past years. It can be an absolute imitation of a fashionable sample.(tailoring a replica), or there may be a separate emphasis on the nuances of style with the help of some elements - style, print on fabric, trim, stitching, and so on.
- Combined direction - provides for the use of appropriate fittings in tailoring. This includes braid, buttons, lace, fringe, bows, locks, rivets and other elements from vintage fashion magazines. By the way, they are also loved by girls because many guys like them.
- Specifically vintage-fabric direction - it means the use of exclusively those materials that were relevant in the old days. It is noteworthy that they are used not only for tailoring rare items in the same style with a bygone era, but also for modern models.
And, finally, the main feature is that girls in love with vintage style personify the fashion of the past years by wearing clothes. Combining classic elegance with sophistication, in tune with modern fashion trends.
The most important attribute
Vintage fashion, namely dresses, was devoted to a whole book with descriptions and photographs of images of the past century. This is a storehouse of useful information for those who seek to at least one step closer to studying the history of the trends of that time and plunge into the world of the most elegant and sophisticated versions of the attire of fashionistas of bygone years. It was released in 2013 and was written by Emma Bexter-Wright.
Book “Vintage fashion. Dresses demonstrates the features of creating amazing compositions from the clothes of the pasttime. In their reviews of it, many regret only that not every description is supported by an illustration. Vintage style photos make you want to look again and again, because they reflect the most interesting versions of dresses from an entire era!
But what are the main features of such unique things? After all, every decade they changed, transformed, modernized and sewn in a new way. The most interesting of them are characterized by the following important details:
- Narrowed waist - almost any vintage dress provides for the presence of a belt or a mandatory narrowing of the cut in the belt area. This once again emphasizes the femininity of the dress, the gracefulness of the silhouette, the refinement and fragility of the girl's figure.
- Flared hem - rare dresses often have an A-shaped cut from the waistline, or otherwise it is also called a "bell". Such a move in the cut of the dress is in stark contrast to the thin waist, due to which the outfit looks even more delicate and feminine.
- Midi length - few rare dresses are presented in the form of a mini. The lengthening of the skirt just below the knee creates the impression of diligence, conquest, and observance of the rules of etiquette. Is it necessary to remember how in the old days they treated the naked body? No wonder that virtually any retro dress minimizes the risk of being stigmatized by society.
- Three-quarter sleeves - if the dress is not summer, as a rule, vintage style suggests the presence of a sleeve with a not completely closed forearm. Summer versions are mainly represented by shortslanted sleeves with lanterns or openwork gathered stitching along the piping line.
- Delicate colors - vintage style does not imply too fanciful variegation. Unless in warm weather it can be delicate light shades of fabric with a floral print. Models for the cooler season are often represented by expensive graphite, dusty gray, chocolate polka dots, dark burgundy, plum, deep blue and other shades.
Skirts
In the tailoring of fashionable and stylish skirts, vintage fashion is also actively visible today. Photos of modern design works and the latest developments of eminent fashion houses, full of glossy magazine covers, are a direct confirmation of this. What features are endowed with skirts in this style:
- Pleating is an amazing feature of small and large corrugated folds on the fabric to make the image even more expressive. The pleated technique of cutting vintage skirts can not only hide minor flaws in a female figure, but also bring zest to her outfit as a whole.
- High Rise - Vintage clothes were never worn on the hips. Neither trousers, nor skirts, nor shorts in retro style are worn below the waist. And today, as you know, high-waisted clothes are back in fashion, which once again confirms the enduring popularity of vintage style.
- Trapezoid format - as in the case of dresses, the optimal midi-length and the hem of the skirt extended downwards is the signature "icing on the cake" in this stylistic direction of clothing. Today, various versions of skirts with eyelets onbelt and sewn-in side pockets actively echo in their style with fashionable skirts of yesteryear.
Pants
The fashion of the first half of the last century did not particularly welcome the attire on women in the form of pants. This type of clothing has always been considered the prerogative of the male wardrobe. Therefore, there are few varieties of retro trousers today. Modern culottes are considered the most relevant and most extravagant version of them. Due to the high fit, the style of these trousers suggests flare from the waist to the ankle line.
The culottes have a slightly cropped length and slant side pockets. They are mainly sewn from suit, cotton, in the summer - linen fabrics. Sometimes vintage-style jeans are presented in this form. In combination with high-heeled shoes, they look incredibly impressive, feminine, elegant.
Blouse
Another elegant and truly aristocratic element of the wardrobe of every lover of a rare trend in clothes is a vintage blouse. In general, hand-sewn things with expensive, high-quality material taken as a basis can already be tentatively classified as good, worthy things. It is the quality and naturalness of fabrics that are the main advantage of vintage clothing.
Vintage blouses are no exception, the main characteristic features of which are the presence of the following details:
- The collar is always fastened to the top button. No neckline. No exposed breasts. Everything is carefully hidden from prying eyes, everything is deliberately official.
- Openwork frill is a common element of retro style, which, by the way, is sometimes also used in tailoring dresses. Folds of thin silk ruffles falling from the neck to the chest look great in snow-white, milky, cream shades.
- Lantern sleeve - initially flared, it converges into a tight cord-like elongated cuff. This is quite practical in terms of convenience - the flared sleeve does not interfere with the meal or any activity involving the use of hands.
- Brooch - often in the area of the top button on the collar of the shirt there is an antique family jewel in the form of a family brooch or something like that. It must be said that such a detail of a women's toilet looks quite impressive in combination with a bow on the chest or an openwork jabot.
Costumes
Skirt suits are the highlight of vintage style. An elongated narrow pencil skirt in combination with a short three-quarter sleeve jacket perfectly emphasizes all the advantages of the owner's figure. A high waist with a belt, a skirt pattern slightly flared down like a fish and an openwork finish on the extreme borders of the bolero (jacket) together create a striking effect of an exquisite, aristocratic, incredibly feminine outfit. Today, all this beauty is often complemented by peplum.
Peplum, like no other detail, surprisingly emphasizes the thinness of the waist and the roundness of beautiful female hips. That is why such a plancostumes are relevant to this day.
Hats
Vintage-style headwear is a separate issue. These tiny bowlers, streamlined hats, flirty berets decorated with a miniature guipure veil - all these echoes of the fashion of the last century are so stylized, so reflect the era of that time that it is simply impossible not to notice and bypass them. The most characteristic features are a voluminous floral display on the side of the bowler hat, catchy medium-length feathers in a miniature rounded beret, and, of course, a seductive mesh veil.
Shoes
If we talk about shoes, neat feminine shoes most clearly reflect the style of the past. What are their distinctive features:
- low heels;
- round toe;
- glass heel;
- Comfortable and stable shoe.
Accessories
Vintage-style jewelry is the personification of family dignity and antique values of bygone years. Basically, antique jewelry is represented by various beads, large stones in a rather bulky metal frame and nominal engravings. Vintage jewelry is devoid of luster, it is solid Bakelite and with synthetic resin, from which antique brooches, earrings, rings and bracelets are made.
Makeup
Vintage style doesn't have war paint or voluminous shadow overlays. On the other hand, minimalismthe clarity and delineation of the lines in the most vivid way reflect all the expressiveness of female facial features in vintage makeup. What are its features:
- Black long arrows.
- Long natural lashes with mascara.
- Bright red lipstick.
Manicure
If you want to complement your vintage-style look with the appropriate manicure, then you should file your nails under an oval or almond shape and paint them in a deep scarlet monotone. If your outfit does not provide for bright accents, then it is better to leave the manicure in its natural form and open the nails with clear varnish. Cleanliness and grooming were the main criteria for the beautiful hands of a woman in the first half of the last century.
Hairstyles
Before you choose the right vintage styling for your thematic look, you should go back to the atmosphere of retro parties and remember those neat “gel” waves of shiny hair, horn-like boucles of bangs curled from the face, and also turn your attention to the veiled grid. All these elements of vintage hairstyles so vividly reflect the then fashion trends that they were simply destined to take root in the image of vintage fashionistas and become associative details of the women's toilet, so appropriately fitting into the outrageous original outfit.
