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Cheryl J
LouieVintage: The story of how it got old, and quick
October 21st 2007 11:52
Sometimes I hate fashion, or more specifically, when something is in fashion. As someone who consistently tries to not wear the in-the-moment look, being confronted by what seemed like every girl on George Street wearing my style was like a slight on my wardrobe philosophy.
This happened a few years ago, and according to fashion experts, designers, icons and industry persons, it is not going away too soon. If ever. The buzzword I’m referring to is ‘vintage’. Trawl eBay these days and anything you’re looking for is likely to be touted as ‘vintage’, ‘retro’, ‘old-school’ and ‘so [insert era]’. To clarify, I don’t have a problem with vintage wear at all. It practically consumes all my hangers, shelves and drawers. My issue is with the consequences and ramifications of ‘vintage’ becoming what I would call a cultural movement.
The whole concept of vintage wear is that what you select is supposedly one of a kind, a piece of treasure, like a wearable signature. It’s meant to be invocative of a period, nostalgic and classic, a refreshing and unique spritz of style. A few models, celebrities and socialites later and it was no longer a haven of stunning fabrics, well-made articles and flattering designs. It had become one of those trend nightmares whose expiry date is well due. This, however, is the conundrum: to me, the vintage item is loaded with personality and anecdotes, and current fads fade before my (overly) critical eye. Suddenly, these two arenas of concept I had firmly established in my mind were solidifying into one mass. What was I going to wear? Would I be ‘trend’ labelled? Who was I going to be? Fashion is a distinct medium of communication, but now everyone was singing my song.
To be clear, I do not believe I was the only person wearing the clothes of another epoch. I was, and am, well aware that many others subscribed to the thrift store, op-shop and designer boutiques catering for the past. It was just tsunami of women crawling over one another to be vintage, live their nanna’s lives and get their retro on. Being identified as ‘one of them’ scared me senseless. I eventually reasoned that people were wearing beautiful clothes again, and I could admire the proliferation of apparel on offer for me to admire. Where did she get that? How does that dress work? Why have the prices of clothes in this store suddenly tripled? Didn’t I see someone else wearing that exact blouse ten minutes ago? Yes, the mass produced, ‘pseudo’ vintage item. We were now in the second wave of vintage.
The second wave of vintage spoke loud and clear: this is a trend and we are doing everything we can to cash in on it. When something moves from aestheticism to the economy, you have to question its appeal. Was this selling out? From a standpoint of preferring the originality of vintage wear, then yes. I could get the same blouse in four colours and six sizes.
I was, and still am, in vintage no-man’s land. I can’t speak negatively about vintage wear because I love it. I can’t be unique if everyone else is wearing individuality as well, and I can’t commit to a trend because I was part of it before it came along. Plus, it’s just against my style code morals. I’m still hoping it will die down. I will happily become last season as everyone else updates. I also hope they’ll donate their genuine vintage to the op-shops, so I can once more be thrifty and do my own thing.
This happened a few years ago, and according to fashion experts, designers, icons and industry persons, it is not going away too soon. If ever. The buzzword I’m referring to is ‘vintage’. Trawl eBay these days and anything you’re looking for is likely to be touted as ‘vintage’, ‘retro’, ‘old-school’ and ‘so [insert era]’. To clarify, I don’t have a problem with vintage wear at all. It practically consumes all my hangers, shelves and drawers. My issue is with the consequences and ramifications of ‘vintage’ becoming what I would call a cultural movement.
eBay, and in a very vintage setting. Image from wdr.de
The whole concept of vintage wear is that what you select is supposedly one of a kind, a piece of treasure, like a wearable signature. It’s meant to be invocative of a period, nostalgic and classic, a refreshing and unique spritz of style. A few models, celebrities and socialites later and it was no longer a haven of stunning fabrics, well-made articles and flattering designs. It had become one of those trend nightmares whose expiry date is well due. This, however, is the conundrum: to me, the vintage item is loaded with personality and anecdotes, and current fads fade before my (overly) critical eye. Suddenly, these two arenas of concept I had firmly established in my mind were solidifying into one mass. What was I going to wear? Would I be ‘trend’ labelled? Who was I going to be? Fashion is a distinct medium of communication, but now everyone was singing my song.
Zooey Deschanel, collector of vintage coats, original vintageer and total babe. Image from jena-malone.info and cropped.
To be clear, I do not believe I was the only person wearing the clothes of another epoch. I was, and am, well aware that many others subscribed to the thrift store, op-shop and designer boutiques catering for the past. It was just tsunami of women crawling over one another to be vintage, live their nanna’s lives and get their retro on. Being identified as ‘one of them’ scared me senseless. I eventually reasoned that people were wearing beautiful clothes again, and I could admire the proliferation of apparel on offer for me to admire. Where did she get that? How does that dress work? Why have the prices of clothes in this store suddenly tripled? Didn’t I see someone else wearing that exact blouse ten minutes ago? Yes, the mass produced, ‘pseudo’ vintage item. We were now in the second wave of vintage.
Potential suspect of the vintage sunglasses boom, often witnessed in YSL, Jackie-O and Wayfarer II Shades. Image from wordpress.com
The second wave of vintage spoke loud and clear: this is a trend and we are doing everything we can to cash in on it. When something moves from aestheticism to the economy, you have to question its appeal. Was this selling out? From a standpoint of preferring the originality of vintage wear, then yes. I could get the same blouse in four colours and six sizes.
Clothing from the actual past. Image from spitalfield.org.uk
I was, and still am, in vintage no-man’s land. I can’t speak negatively about vintage wear because I love it. I can’t be unique if everyone else is wearing individuality as well, and I can’t commit to a trend because I was part of it before it came along. Plus, it’s just against my style code morals. I’m still hoping it will die down. I will happily become last season as everyone else updates. I also hope they’ll donate their genuine vintage to the op-shops, so I can once more be thrifty and do my own thing.
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