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wearing vintage or inspired

LoserVonTeese

Familiar Face
Messages
72
Location
CA
who wears vintage clothing or mostly vintage inspired clothing on here. I wear vintage inspired i love it i know that the fabric will hold up, but does wearing vintage make you feel better? what the thrill of wearing vintage?
 

RodeoRose

A-List Customer
Messages
415
Location
Vermont
For my everyday clothes, I would say about 75% is actual vintage (mostly 1950s or earlier) and the rest are modern pieces with a vintage or classic look. I wish I had some reproduction vintage sometimes, as I have to be so careful all the time about popping a seam or spilling things, but I can't afford it. (I did get a sewing machine recently, so I hope to be able to make my own things soon!)

However, I really adore actual vintage and would prefer it over repro any day. I love to imagine the history of the garment; I can't articulate it very well, but I get this wonderful rush when I finger eighty year old silk or sixty year old chiffon-- I'm sure many of you know the feeling! I love the idea that I'm wearing a piece of history that graced a woman decades and decades ago; the connection to the past is so appealing to me, as it's almost like time travel. Vintage textiles, tailoring, and finishings have a very beautiful quality to them, too, that I just don't believe you can find for the same price in modern clothing. 1930s, 40s, and 50s pieces are my favorites as you can tell the designer was really thinking about how best to flatter a woman's body.

The one-of-a-kind factor is also nice; I never worry about wearing the same thing as someone else!
 

Katinka von K.

A-List Customer
Messages
316
Location
Germany
I´m wearing mostly vintage inspired because it´s hard for me to find real vintage clothes within my price range around here. I wish I could sew. I´ve got the patterns, so all I need now is the knowledge.

I´m into 40s and 50s fashion, I love the style and the hair and that you can wear alternative fashion and still be absolutely feminine. I´ve got a quite boyish character and my biggest fashion fear for years was to look like the ordinary girlygirl or bimbo. I never wanted to be a fashion victim. But I love my curves and have been searching for a way to show them off the alternative way. And this is where vintage fashion comes in.
Another reason for vintage is ethics. I don´t like to support todays consumer behaviour (new wardrobe every season? Come on...) that causes exploitation of people and resources, child labor and everything else that comes with it. It just doesn´t feel as good.
Plus: I´m a patient hunter. I love the fact that you never know what you´re taking home.
 

Valya

New in Town
Messages
30
Location
Canada
Another reason for vintage is ethics. I don´t like to support todays consumer behaviour (new wardrobe every season? Come on...) that causes exploitation of people and resources, child labor and everything else that comes with it. It just doesn´t feel as good.

That is definitely one of the reasons why I wear vintage. I'm not a proponent of consumerism at all. I wear mostly vintage repro that I sew from old patterns, but if I can find real vintage I will wear it.
 

LoserVonTeese

Familiar Face
Messages
72
Location
CA
thats awesome... thank you for all your replys. I really love vintage inspired clothing i love thrift store it allows me to get some clothing on a budget.
 

RodeoRose

A-List Customer
Messages
415
Location
Vermont
That is definitely one of the reasons why I wear vintage. I'm not a proponent of consumerism at all. I wear mostly vintage repro that I sew from old patterns, but if I can find real vintage I will wear it.

I forgot about this; though I got into vintage just because I liked it, I've always hated the idea of "fast fashion" and supporting megacorporations with questionable ethics like the use of sweatshops and child labor. Additionally, the environmental issue is important to me-- most modern clothes are stitched overseas, meaning exorbitant amounts of carbon is being released to ship them over here. It's actually quite ironic: almost every girl on my campus has some sort of t-shirt or tote bag with a cutesy "go green" slogan on it, but we vintage gals are the greenest dressers of all.

I must agree with LoserVonTeese, though-- the low prices are what keep me coming to vintage! If I could afford the clothes at Urban Outfitters and ModCloth I'd have lots of new vintage inspired stuff, but in my area the old stuff is the cheapest.
 

Lauren

Distinguished Service Award
Messages
5,060
Location
Sunny California
These days I suppose I'm more vintage inspired or reproduction. I don't buy much vintage clothing anymore at all (excluding hats, accessories, and patterns). I've weaned my "collection" down quite a bit over the years by selling things that don't fit anymore or styles that I wasn't as keen on. I started when vintage was cheap but I was also smaller, so even though the dresses were killer I knew I'd never fit them again. Heck, when it started getting popular it was helping me pay my bills for a while :D
These days I seldom buy authentic vintage if it's not exactly what I want. I love detailed pieces but find I can make most of what I want, and I suppose I'm turning more into a collector than someone who wears it all the time. If it's a steal I'll grab it, but I'm more finicky about condition and cut than I used to be. My husband and I were recently in the midwest and even though I saw a few 30s clothes for somewhat reasonable prices I passed them up because of condition issues- in the past I would have just snagged them up because they were 30s. Now I think that even if it costs me the same price to make it at least I can wear it without worry and for a longer amount of time.
I dress pretty casually day to day so most of my wardrobe is made up of slacks from vintage patterns, a few pairs of 50s jeans (that hit like capris on me), a pair of freddies and a pair of jeans from Jitterbuggin. I wear shirts I made from vintage patterns or washable vintage shirts (probably mostly 50s or early 60s) with vintage cardigans or pendletons. It's funny, I probably dress more vintage now day to day than I did before but it's mostly because I make most of my clothes.
98% of the clothes in my closet were made by me or bought at estate sales or thrift stores. I agree with the other gals who say they don't agree with modern commercialism. It's a very rare thing for me to go to the mall anymore- most things I buy are secondhand except for fabric and supplies. Even if I think something is cute I find overseas labels to be a huge turn off, so if it's cheap, in my budget, and I like it but it has a "Made in China" label I'll generally skip it.
I looked into starting a line of repro clothing not that long ago but hit huge blockades put up by the state of California especially, coupled with minimums and that I wasn't willing to produce offshore or go "under the table" with production. My hat goes off to those who have vintage clothing lines. I used to be a critic for "accuracy", but heck, even if I'm not totally into the styles I really admire what they do and how they've made it work for them. I guess for now the patterns I'm putting out are my version of a clothing line. It's rewarding as I get to see what others make from it, and I love seeing the creativity people have. It takes me forever to make a single pattern, but it's worth it to see the end result others have made and inspiring to see their creative twist on it.
So yeah, still love vintage clothing, but for now my number one concern is that it's serviceable and wearable. I'll save my fancy vintage duds for special occasion or study.
 
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Amy Jeanne

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,858
Location
Colorado
I make my own vintage from original vintage patterns. I don't like real vintage. Most of it is too plain for my tastes and I don't like the idea of wearing something that may rip with any movement. I don't even collect vintage clothing and sold what I had on etsy.

I buy new stuff. Even stuff that's not remotely vintage and wear it with my vintage creations.
 

Jools

New in Town
Messages
43
Location
Seattle
I love vintage, but a lot of it is very fragile. I went to a fashion show tonight, wearing a beaded puce dress with a peplum, mink "fascinator" with a veil, black beaded purse with rhinestone clasps, and a full lenght mink- all authentic 1940s. However, I didn't wear a garter belt, or stockings- too uncomfy, and I couldn't find my black 1940s shoes, so wore reproductions. However, the vintage stuff WAS incredibly well made. After all, to stand up to being 70 years old is quite a feat! Some things were made a LOT better back then- typically shoes, suits, and coats. Keep in mind that women had fewer clothes- and what they had, was made to last. The dress I wore is getting fragile- some of the beading is coming off, because the THREAD was cotton, and is coming loose/rotting. The dress itself is just fine.

I only wear vintage for special occasions, not everyday. Sadly, I look a LOT better when I do!
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,715
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
I wear actual vintage for special occasions, but otherwise it's all homemade from vintage patterns. I'm not much concerned about strict authenticity to a specific period -- I'm not dressing up in a costume, these are my actual clothes -- but at the same time, I stick to styles that look good on me, and it just happens that those styles tend to date from the mid-thirties to the early forties. Modern clothes look ridiculous on me, and I feel ridiculous in them, so I don't even bother trying.

Underwear and shoes I do buy new -- but I stick to traditional styles in both, and preferably those Made in the USA by Union Labor.
 

Penny Dreadful

One of the Regulars
Messages
224
Location
Winnipeg
I feel a little guilty about it, but I only wear vintage inspired - so far. I would love to get some real vintage but so far I haven't been able to find anything to suit my taste. I've tried finding vintage dresses as lovely as yours but no luck yet. Right now I wear tons of Pinup Girl (I know, I know lol but I love them so much) and Stop Staring! when I can afford it. I'm a huge dress addict, I forever have a list of almost 10 dresses that I desperately want and can never seem to afford.
The one real vintage item I own is a 50s clutch from Etsy that has been upcycled to include gold buttons with skulls on them. It's very cute :)
 

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