The Vintage Commentaries

In the olden days, there were the enviable, fashionable few women who dared defy traditional wear and set a new bar with a rebellion of cuts, styles, colors. Most of the other women were modest (or not so modest but not as creative) housewives and mothers and sisters and daughters whose self image and family image couldn't reconcile daring yet classy clothing. And then post the 1920's, the wall began to fall. More and more women explored their femininity and began to express it freely with a self tailored dash of individual flair.

Clothes from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s... all bear this richness of details, an indelible stamp of hark ye, back to that age of peaceful rebellion and crossing borders and breaking boundaries, a golden era of music, spiritual, cultural and intellectual explorations. These are the fashions and the clothes that are coming back into fashion today and being worn as women's vintage clothing to create a new individual fashion, distinctive and very declarative of independence.

The thing with vintage clothes is that by the very classification of being from the 1920s to 80s, they're dated, old and have been used before. What shoppers need to keep an eye on when they're shopping is the vintage condition of these clothes. It really depends on how well they've been preserved over the years - how many wash cycles they've undergone, whether collars, sleeves, elbow patches, linings are intact or frayed or shiny, whether buttons are intact, and most importantly, if there are tears, or stains in the fabric. If women's vintage clothes are in a bad state, it is better not make the purchase at all, however fabulous the clothing item may be. Although of course if all it needs is basic repair work, take it home and fix it up. If a particular item is a designer piece in good or great condition, you've found a gem - don't resist.

The best thing to do with vintage clothes is to go all out and drip feed it into your wardrobe. Mix and match the vintage clothes with subtle Goth or biker wear touches; wear the sunglasses, hats, pumps and little hand bag with skinny denims and a chic razor back; wear a vintage jacket with a corporate get up or go classic with the evening dresses. A fusion of vintage and contemporary creates chic overlays of many nuances, in many directions.

The vintage influence is not to be missed in the apparel of the metro sexual man of fashion of the twenty first century. The men are bringing vests and trousers, shirts back from that era with a few stylish inclusions when donning their evening wear and heading out for the night. More significantly, the designers are keeping the style alive through their lines, modeling a little bit of the 20s right up to the 70s either in concurrence with the theme or expression of their collections, or by introducing converse, contrary elements that create new ripples in the industry by their peers, critics and aficionadas.