The Age of Vintage

The Age of Vintage

you often have to alter the clothes so that they fit, and, as the pieces are one of a kind, you don't necessarily see them everywhere, and thus may not know what to pair them with. As our members say, vintage clothes make you unique, special, and don't cost you a whole month of salary!

For a while now, vintage clothing is more than fashionable,

it's completely trendy, even among celebrities and fashion professionals. It's almost as if, if you don't buy second hand clothes, you're not cool! It's true that vintage allows you to be more creative:

Dress: ebay
Hat: vintage
Wedge boots: Topshop
Bag: vintage

Nadia has found treasures on ebay and vintage shops and manage to create an outfit from another era, which is definitely trendy!

"Most of my looks are retro. I love this style because the clothes seemed more like they were given more time, more love, and more attention from the tailoring to the way even regular people put on their whole ensemble from day to day. Vintage clothing was also generally modest and feminine, and I wish to live again those days vicariously through my clothing!"

Rachel

Blouse and skirt are vintage

"This look was inspired by the early 60s fashions in An Education. I was always quite nervous about leopard print, but I found that keeping it to accessories made it much more wearable, whilst still keeping that glamourous aspect I always wanted from leopard print, but would never have felt brave enough to pull off as a main item of clothing."

Carys

Zara Clogs and clutch, vintage shorts: State of Claude Montana designed by Lanvin, vintage blouse: Eugen Klein

Doina's clothes are all vintage, but they look super modern with those fashionable clogs!

Get Doina's look!

tiered scalloped hem clare shorts on Storets.com (51.69$)

Elizabeth & James oversized silk shirt at Farfetch.com (255€)

Vintage Levi's from Everyday People Clothing Exchange, thrifted vintage blouse from Savers, Forever 21 headband, Target heels, and a thrifted vintage purse from Savers.

"Newer clothes often seem to be made using cheaper materials that fall apart faster than my vintage clothing does, and the detail and character has a tendency to be far more superior to the newer clothes available today."

Shannon

Vintage necklace and purse, New Look dress, Topshop shoes, La Baronne Daphnée cuff.

Who could have guessed that this dress was actually not vintage? Alexiane's outfit is totally in a retro spirit though, with her great grandmother's necklace, and vintage purse.

Ivory oversized vintage jacket with drapy lapel by Ezzentric Topz Vintage and Adidas by Stella McCartney leg warmers

"I'd say I'm pretty used to wearing vintage but there is a step which I can never ever skip before putting them on, that is bringing them to dry clean and have them thoroughly sanitized.

I love vintage not only because it's always cheaper, it's also because each piece is special and unique and always has its own little story."

Twee

vintage levi's, thrifted bag and sandals, vintage blouse, belt and hat

In Kaitlin Isabella's cool outfit, everything is vintage or thrifted. We love our cute boater hat!

Vintage dress, belt and socks from Asos, Swedish Hasbeens.

Get Laia's look

Giant polka sisi dress by Motel a Topshop.com (35£)

Lace top stockings at Storets.com (14.29$)

"I do wear vintage clothes pretty often and visit vintage shops quite frequently. I love vintage because it is like owning a piece of history, it also helps you be more creative since you can find amazing things you'd never find in the hight street shops. trends are not as feminine as they were in the 50s or 60s and since I consider myself to be very feminine, I can normally find things that suit me better in vintage shops, or at least I can admire them or take them as an inspiration when designing other clothes." Laia

A minth dress, black capeline and matching colored vintage purse, and Nicoletta is ready for a day in the countryside.

Nab Nab owns her own vintage shop, Vintage Rockstar, so she sures has an eye for unique and cool vintage pieces!

Ballerinas from Mango, belt from Club Monaco, earrings from Dyrberg/Kern, and dress is vintage

"I have a passion for vintage clothing and accessories, but vintage dresses in particular. Going vintage shopping is one of my favorite things to do, I guess I could call it a hobby. I love going through the 2€ baskets overloaded with old pieces of clothing, because the thrill of finding a piece that would fit into my wardrobe is such a great feeling. I see it as a treasure hunt, once I find an interesting garment I instantly get a vision of when and where I would wear it, and what I would wear it with. This vision is crucial in determining if I should buy the piece or not."

Miamarionette

For Luna red retro swinsuit at Forlunas.co.uk (59.50£)

Get Lola's look!

Fabiola looks stunning in her vintage outfit! The floral dress and hat suit her perfectly, and the red lipstick is very chic!

Yellow party dress is vintage circa 1960s & the headscarf is vintage circa 1970s. Sunglasses & shoes are Charlotte Russe.

"I love vintage clothing because it's one-of-a-kind, and because fashion often looks back 20 years, you can get current trends before they hit mainstream stores at relatively low prices. Basically, vintage makes it affordable to be stylish and unique. I personally wear vintage a lot, and sell vintage in my shop, Knowitallgrrrl."

Michelle

vintage dress from the 50s, cardigan is an old one from Blanco, shoes from Mustang and the brooche is handmande by "La Virgen de los Broches"

"I normally dress in vintage, specially in winter; I've got lots of dresses. I think this kind of clothes are really special, because they used to belong to another person and are from other decades, some of them really old (I've got some things from the begining of the XX century, for example) and I like to guess what king of 'life' they had. Another good point about vintage is that it's really original, you can be really sure that if you're wearing a vintage dress, nobody would look the same as you at an event."

Libertad

Vintage Tonic burgandy/green 1950s skirt, tuxedo style shirt was thrifted from Action is the Fruit, shoes are from payless.com

It was only natural to feature Victoria for "The Age of Vintage". Wearing vintage is her everyday style, it's almost a way of life, and it suits her perfectly! Soon, read her interview in a special feature on HYPEED!

Sam, owner of a vintage shop, shares her tips!

vintage hat and dress

When did you become a vintage clothes seller, and what prompted you to do it?

I opened Twin Cat Vintage in November 2008, after realising that there was a strong market for vintage online. I had previously just cleaned out my wardrobe and was amazed at what things sold for on eBay. This September I am launching my brand new webstore, which is very exciting!

Do you have tips on how to find good bargains in vintage stores?

Try and pay attention to the quality of the fabric and the condition the piece is in, look for any holes or stains. Definitely don't be put off by how overwhelming it can be to walk into a vintage or thrift store and see racks upon racks of individual pieces - just take your time, look for colours and patterns you're attracted to, and imagine what you'd wear each item with, or how you could style it. I also like to keep in mind how easy it is to alter things like hem lengths, or add a bow or belt, it can really change it up!

Do you have vintage clothing hot spot around the world to share with us?

When I was in Japan recently I stumbled upon some amazing vintage stores in Hiroshima, they had a seemingly endless supply of amazing boots - and vintage boots is definitely one of my weaknesses. I was also impressed at their really low prices for vintage - you could pick up a stunning dress for as little as AUD $5.

Don't you think that nowadays, some vintage shops are overpriced?

Yes, as with anything popular, the prices for vintage seem to be on the increase but I don't think there is a right or wrong price for something you're head over heels in love with! Quite often the quality of vintage is much, much better than the quality of a brand new piece you could buy in a modern store today too, because of the incredible lengths they used to go to to produce a garment. Also vintage means one of a kind!

At the moment, stores tend to sell clothes that are noted "vintage" or "vintage inspired". What do you think of clothes that are brand new but are designed to look like they're vintage?

I don't mind it if stores are honest about what they're selling and don't try to mislead their customers, I just hate it when contemporary pieces are sold under the guise of being vintage. This is when a strong knowledge of fabrics and garment construction is important. Also the country of manufacturing, as countries like China or Taiwan weren't getting the bulk of offshore work in the past.
As for designers just being influenced by vintage trends, I think this is great, there were so many wonderful styles and trends that we can borrow from.