Why Vintage?

There are many who view vintage clothing as just old clothes, or clothing for costume dressing. But vintage is more than that. Wearing vintage clothing is a reaction against the ubiquitous uniform of Western culture. It also breaks the boundaries set on us as woman, who are expected to wear what the large multinational clothing chains dictate as fashionable. I am looking at the Fall Fashion Special in Elle Magazine. Lace dress $4,300, lace clutch $1,200, patent boots $1,605. REALLY? Are these the prices we are now expected to pay to get an item of quality? 


Vintage clothing was made of quality fabric that had lasting value and was made to fit real women....women with curves! Realistically, we will never look like the ultra skinny runway and magazine models, and we shouldn't have to feel bad about ourselves because we don't. Nor should our young daughters. Most of the vintage pieces in our shop still look brand new, even though they were made decades ago, and were worn and loved by others. 


I suppose the greatest attraction for me to vintage clothing and accessories has to do with my vivid imagination. I can't help but wonder about the life the garment had, where it was worn and by whom. Did someone fall in love the night they wore this glorious silk ball gown? Was this elegant swing coat worn to welcome a WWII veteran back home? Did he propose? I'm a romantic fool, I know, but when clothing is uncommonly beautiful, something equally as beautiful must have happened to the woman wearing it!


Above all, wearing vintage gives us the opportunity of being unique. That is, after all, what we are.  Why not express your personality by what you wear? A comment that we often hear in the shop is "I'm afraid of dressing too young". Too young in my view, is wearing mini skirts with wrinkly knees, and exposing wrinkly breasts in mini tops. That is mutton dressed like lamb! I don't think wearing something lighthearted and fun is dressing too young. I think it just shows that you are young at heart. There is nothing more attractive than a woman with the confidence to break the norm and wear what she likes... with class of course! 


Lastly, wearing vintage clothing is recycling at its best. We have become such a disposable society that we don't even expect clothing to last beyond a few washes before we have to throw it out. Interestingly, the fashion focus is on vintage right now, because of TV shows like Mad Men and Pan Am. But what you will get in the department stores is reproduction Made In China-wear that won't last.


If you have never purchased a quality piece of vintage clothing you are missing out. Many of the vintage clothing items in our shop sell for $9 - $49. You will never again have to worry that someone else might be wearing the same outfit. You are assured of being unique!