Suggestion for a new vintage repro/inspired Clothing Line?

[resortes805]

Hey gang,

My friend has kicked off a new clothing line and she is focusing on 1940s-1950 reproductions/inspired clothing and accessories for women. I wanted to start a thread to see what clothing items or accessories you would like to see made available that may not necessarily be offered by other designers. Then, I can pass these suggestion on to her and hopefully we can bring back some rare and hard to find items.

 

[lyburnum]

Dungarees! Oh how I crave a pair of repro dungarees. I've been looking high and low for a pair. Also, all the other sites only make their clothes with waist sizes 26" and up, and I'd love love love it if a site made clothes small enough for me. I have a 24" waist so can never find any repro clothes to fit me

 

[pdxvintagette]

Okay, my biggest gripe with reproduction clothing is the damn poly blends so many companies use. I don't care if it costs more, if I want me some gabardine Kate Hepburn pants ... I want gab pants, not rayon/poly or wool/poly, or cotton/poly. (By the way, I'd love some high-waisted, wide-leg 40's style women's trousers. Side button, please.)

I won't give repops the time of day unless they

a) Are made of good material and of the same quality I get when I buy vintage. That means metal zippers, etc.
b) Avoid "dumbing down" the style - ala Stop Staring! They take out all the details that made the fit of a good 40's or 50's dress, and expect spandex to fill in the blanks.
c) Avoid what I call "pop culture assumptions" Make everything in cherry print or pink/black? You've lost me.

Of course, I'm a hard sell for reproductions ... so probably a terrible person to ask. But I'm a great target audience for the RIGHT company who is willing to give a damn and offer really convincing items.

 

[Lady Day]

Okay, my biggest gripe with reproduction clothing is the damn poly blends so many companies use. I don't care if it costs more, if I want me some gabardine Kate Hepburn pants ... I want gab pants, not rayon/poly or wool/poly, or cotton/poly. (By the way, I'd love some high-waisted, wide-leg 40's style women's trousers. Side button, please.)

I won't give repops the time of day unless they

a) Are made of good material and of the same quality I get when I buy vintage. That means metal zippers, etc.
b) Avoid "dumbing down" the style - ala Stop Staring! They take out all the details that made the fit of a good 40's or 50's dress, and expect spandex to fill in the blanks.
c) Avoid what I call "pop culture assumptions" Make everything in cherry print or pink/black? You've lost me.

Brilliantly said! :eusa_clap

Also, I dont think most repo places realize that a lot of those clothes required a fitting, so some hem allowance for skirts, dresses, etc would be lovely. Also garments that are designed to fit with foundation garments and to list the suggestion of such on the tag/site/garment/somewhere.

But pdxvintagette's point of designing the clothing to be clothes and not a caricature of that time would be much appreciated.

LD

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

Dungarees! Oh how I crave a pair of repro dungarees. I've been looking high and low for a pair. Also, all the other sites only make their clothes with waist sizes 26" and up, and I'd love love love it if a site made clothes small enough for me. I have a 24" waist so can never find any repro clothes to fit me

You can get repro dungarees with a 24" waist from Vivien of Holloway! In Camden and I think she has a shop somewhere else too. At least I assume her dungarees come in 24", her trousers certainly do.

I would personally love to see a variety of cotton, day dresses, in cute, period correct prints. Shirt waisters, buttons all the way down, jumpers, wrap, anything, as long as it's in cotton (and therefore easy to care for) you can put me down for 10!

 

[Helen Troy]

Okay, my biggest gripe with reproduction clothing is the damn poly blends so many companies use.

How right you are! I am myself very picky about fabrics, a 5% man-made fiber in a blend is the most I can take! That is one of the reasons I love vintage, much better quality of fabrics. Rayon and viscose could be OK, thought, as that is a man made fiber made from natural wood pulp, so it behaved totally different and is very nice in some garments.

I also second the trousers request. I would like for a clothing line to have many different trousers, wide legged and slim, side zippers and flys, but all really high waisted! Then I probably wouldn't shop trousers anywhere else.

 

[lyburnum]

I was just about to come back on here and write about fabric when I realised you lovely ladies had one it for me! Another of the reasons (other than size) that I haven't ever bought any re-pros (apart from a pair of Stop Staring jeans, which made me realise 'never again'!) is the fabric. I hate polyester or nylon or spandex fabrics and avoid them like the plague. No matter how nice a dress looks, I will not buy it if it's in cheap fabrics. I'd much rather make it myself.

I'd also like some day dresses, as I find re-pro stores are great for dressy wear, but the selection of day wear is somewhat limited.

The more I think about it, the more holes there are in the vintage repro market waiting to be filled. I think quality and variety would be wonderful.

 

[Ada Veen]

b) Avoid "dumbing down" the style - ala Stop Staring! They take out all the details that made the fit of a good 40's or 50's dress, and expect spandex to fill in the blanks.
c) Avoid what I call "pop culture assumptions" Make everything in cherry print or pink/black? You've lost me.

I heartily condone these. Go for authenticity, rather than 'a modern take'. And patterns - what's wrong with some nice small florals in navy or brown? Why is it always red polka dots?

 

[gluegungeisha]

I heartily condone these. Go for authenticity, rather than 'a modern take'. And patterns - what's wrong with some nice small florals in navy or brown? Why is it always red polka dots?

Ditto, and agreed! Aghhh, the polka dots and cherries...can be cute in moderation, but really...!

 

[imoldfashioned]

Another ditto for pdxvintagette's great post, especially the point about nice fabric.

I'd love to see a broad size range too, although I know that can be difficult for startups. I think there's a market for vintage repros in the 18/20 22/24 size range that isn't really being addressed right now.

 

[deadpandiva]

I'd really like to see some sets with hats gloves and purses. That is what is lacking in my collection. Soem simple tilt hats would be great.
It would be great to see some dresses with more than a 10 inch difference between the waist and hip, but I don't no how feasible that would be..

 

[Fletch]

Okay, my biggest gripe with reproduction clothing is the damn poly blends so many companies use.

MY biggest gripe with reproduction clothing is that unless I want to dress exclusively in military uniform, I'd have to become a transvestite to wear most of it.

So my request to amiga de resortes: no olvidar los hombres!
We have a particularly hard time finding long-collared shirts - dress or casual. But that's just for starters.

 

[The Shirt]

b) Avoid "dumbing down" the style - ala Stop Staring! They take out all the details that made the fit of a good 40's or 50's dress, and expect spandex to fill in the blanks.

I wanted to pipe in - that I generally am attracted to the details of vintage pieces. Interesting collars, buttons, bustlines, scalloping, embroidery. This is what drives me to look at Anthropologie vs. Stop Staring. I am 35 and cannot carry off cherries and polkadots all the time, nor do I want to. I am a bit beyond my rockabilly days but still love vintage looking items. I think there is a lack of sophisticated looks (primarily lack of daywear). I agree with what has been said about fabrics as well.

As for specifics - I would love to see some cute 40s - 50s suit with interchangable skirts/pants. As well as blouses, I never have much luck finding lovely condition vintage and tend to buy modern ones to fill the gap.
Vintage/repro shoes seem to knock the girls out here as well.

Good luck to your friend - hope to see her stuff soon.

 

[nyx]

I agree with the day wear. There's so many "fancy" night dresses, but it's tough to find a comfortable cotton day dress. Something I can go to the grocery store in.

I'd also put my vote in for some work wear-stuff to wear to the office-suits and nice skirt/blouse interchangeable sets.

I want to minimize my closet, not make it more crowded. So interchangeable skirts/blouses/sweater sets would be great for me. Gets more outfits out of less clothes.

 

[pdxvintagette]

Good heavens, and here I worried, as I posted, that I was going to come off as an abrasive wretch and rub everyone the way! (Truly, I believe I have found "my people.")

I am so glad some of you mentioned the day dresses, especially in unique prints. My 40's cotton day dresses are all wonderful - but for the most part, pretty worn out, with some threatening threadbare spots, and multiple repairs. I have two reproductions, make out of vintage feedsack cotton and metal zippers that I absolutely love. They're staunch, washable, authentic.

I would love to see some of the "weird" color combinations that get ignored anymore. Purple, black and chartreuse. Navy and orange. Etc. Coordinating pieces such as hats, gloves, shoes and jackets would also increase my liklihood to buy.

For instance, I missed out on the most fantastic set at an estate sale a couple months back. It was cream and mint green pinstripe - chunky 40's heels, a cream topper/tilt with a "puff" of that fabric in front, dress, with a solid color belt and solid matching jacket, and solid color gloves with the pinstrip at the cuff. Not to mention the similarly designed (but in shiny patent leather) handbag. I would die if I could pull together a full outfit like this in reproduction. And drop a pretty penny on it, too.

 

[deadpandiva]

There is a vintage look that I love. The one peice dresse that look like two peices (blouse and skirt) with matching jacket. I love that look and haven't seen it reproduced much. And Mix and match seperates are always great and dresses with scarves.

 

[ShortClara]

I would personally love to see a variety of cotton, day dresses, in cute, period correct prints. Shirt waisters, buttons all the way down, jumpers, wrap, anything, as long as it's in cotton (and therefore easy to care for) you can put me down for 10!

DITTO DITTO DITTO!! I don't need 800 evening or cocktail gowns (although it would be wonderful if I did!) but Day Dresses in easy care (real not poly garbage) fabrics. Kudos for original and vintage type prints. Blouses, too, are rather hard to come by. I bet costs will be determined by many factors, but if I didn't have to spend $200 or even $100 on a dress, I'd buy way more

 

[Trixie]

DITTO DITTO DITTO!! I don't need 800 evening or cocktail gowns (although it would be wonderful if I did!) but Day Dresses in easy care (real not poly garbage) fabrics. Kudos for original and vintage type prints. Blouses, too, are rather hard to come by. I bet costs will be determined by many factors, but if I didn't have to spend $200 or even $100 on a dress, I'd buy way more

YES! Definitely day dresses (in cotton please!) that dont cost $250!!!!

 

[Joie DeVive]

I agree with high waisted pants, fitted blouses, and day dresses in good quality fabrics, with as reasonable of prices as can be managed. I understand small businesses often have tighter bottom lines, but I would guess a lot of us gals can't buy much at $100 a dress, or $75 for a pair of pants. Just a thought.

I would also love to see a few playsuits. They were very common in the Golden Era, but I don't think I've seen many reproductions (ReVamp being an exception). I have a few patterns with shorts and one type or another of half top and then a matching skirt. They are so fetching. I'd love to see some of those for sale.

 

[kamikat]

Many of the ladies have already stated what I'd want, but just in case pure numbers are needed to show the store owners what we want: I would like more affordable day time wear, a wider range of sizes, and accessories. Anyone who had ready-to-wear petite repros would have all of my clothing budget in a heartbeat. I'm sure the taller ladies feel the same way about clothes in tall sizes and the plus ladies feel about plus sizes.