How to Find Your Vintage Style
First, let me start by saying that your vintage style,
preferences and aesthetics can and will change over
time.
However, sometimes in this pinup and vintage fashion world
we can get overwhelmed easily with all the inspiration we find. In particular,
how can we figure out what our own vintage style is so that we can curate our
wardrobes?
Yes, this blog post is part of the Curate Your Wardrobe
Series and you can find links to all the other content at the bottom of the blog.
I do also go further into what 'pinup style' is, the fashion
eras and influences on the modern pinup in the e-book Beginners Guide to Pinup. However, this blog is to
serve as a practical guide and some tangible steps on how to find your vintage
style. These steps and questions to ask yourself are also covered in the Curate Your Wardrobe Workbook.
Why do I need to define my style?
Now, I am not saying that you should be like: "I am a
40's lover, therefore everything I do, wear and style HAS to be 1940's
inspired". The joy of pinup and vintage styling is that you are free to
express yourself in the fashion and create your own unique look.
What I am saying, is that it can be beneficial to define
what style parameters you like, in order to make your wardrobe curation process
easier.
So, let's do say for example you love 1940's fashion. Now
think about the keywords and descriptive elements that encompass that fashion
decade:
- A-line
- Collars
- Jackets
- Military/
Utility
- Shoulder
pads/volume
Therefore, with those keywords front of mind, you can easily
find outfit inspirations on Pinterest and have those silhouettes in mind when
out shopping for your next clothing item.
Spoiler alert! Fashion is cyclical - meaning
that styles and silhouettes will trend and come back into style in later
years.
So, you may find you already have a few of the items with
your chosen attributes in your wardrobe, or can easily spot them out on the
clothing racks in stores. For the frugal shopper, knowing your silhouettes and
clothing attributes can make op shopping all the more enjoyable as some more
recent decades were inspired by earlier styles such as:
- 1990's
brought back the slip skirts and dresses from the 1930's
- 1980's
brought back full gathered skirts of the 1950's and button up dresses of
the 1940's
- 1970's
brought back tailored jackets with shoulder pads and pointed collars
- Recently,
high-waisted jeans and pants are now back in mainstream fashion
- just
to name a few...
What if my style changes per activity?
There is no rule to say that you can't have multiple style
inspirations. We all live very unique lives, each with its own diverse
activities. Think about your most frequent lifestyle occasions and what you are
most comfortable wearing. By keeping to a few keywords, you will be able to
curate a wardrobe of pinup and vintage inspired clothing that will be easily
incorporated into your common activities.
Here are a few examples:
1940's + lots to do = go with wide leg, high-waisted pants
inspired from the 1940's that you can still wear to run your errands in.
1960's + office job = go with pencil dresses and skirts that
can easily to styled for work, special occasion or pinup event.
1950's + casual = go with cropped shirts and high-waisted
shorts that you can throw on but also dress up with added accessories.
As you can see, there are so many options available to you
if you investigate what your vintage style is and analyse its specific
silhouettes. If you would like a starting off point for decades of style, check
out the Pinterest Boards we've created and
start jumping off to other ideas and inspirations.
While we are on the topic, start your own Pinterest board
called 'my style' or 'looks I love' and just start pinning and saving away all
of your visual inspirations. Pinterest also has a feature where you can create
your own pins, so you can feel free to screenshot and take photos of all of
your inspiration (freeze frame movies anyone?) and keep them all in the one
place.
If you would like a more personal place to keep your
inspiration, you can always create a photo album on your phone or go ol' school
and create a mood/vision board.
Are you ready to dive deep into your wardrobe and style
preferences to curate your perfect wardrobe, that will work for you and serve
you for many years to come?
Check out the other content in this Curate Your Wardrobe Series available here.
Renae xo