As a fashion designer I've recently started taking a lot of inspiration from vintage fashion, I love the elegant style of clothing from previous eras. In the past vintage clothes were always considered old fashioned and out dated, but in the past few years the styles from previous eras have become very stylish. Vintage fashion refers to clothes new or second hand dating back to a previous era.
During the mid 1900s dressmaking was very common and women generally sewed their own clothes, this meant that each piece created was unique and one of a kind. However due to the development of technology we currently live in an era of mass production were manufacture has been relocated to countries with lower costs; today people buy ready made clothes from the high street. This has decreased the value of clothes and made it very difficult to find one of a kind pieces.
However the demand for vintage clothing has increased considerably over the past decade, partially due to increased interest by well known celebrities. A great benefit of vintage clothing is that it is environmentally friendly as you are taking something and re-using it, perhaps styling it in a different way to introduce a new life for that item of clothing.
What I have also noticed through my research is that a vast amount of clothing from past eras are much more modest than current trends. So for example: The silhouette of the 1920s was very straight and streamlined with mid calf hemlines, and the 1970s introduced boho chic style with floaty long sleeved maxi dresses and skirts.
So next time you go shopping why not stop off at your local vintage boutique and purchase a few items to mix in with your current wardrobe.
