Picture this: You are strutting down Fourth Avenue with a group of your girlfriends, and out of the corner of your eye you see an old thrift store calling your name. Vintage is trendy this season, and adding a certain flare of Retro to your look can really make an outfit. The only problem is that when it comes to vintage, it doesn’t take a lot to tip the scale from chic to shock. A lot of people don’t know how thin the line is between retro and tacky. Worry no more, I am here to help.
Makeup- Too many people try for the retro glam look, and end up looking like an 80s drag queen. You all know what I’m talking about. I mean the caked on diva-blue eye shadow, the spider web fake lashes, the deep pink blush climbing up your cheeks to your forehead, and the blindingly bright red lipstick that you saw someone rock in Grease. Tip? Tone it down. A lot. This look can easily be brought to red carpet glam with just some simple modifications. First of all, lose the blue eye shadow. Even toned down, this shade of eye shadow is overbearing and unflattering. Save the blue shadow for stage makeup. Instead use a pale pink or nude eye shadow. The retro-glam look concentrates more on lips, and if you have bold lips you have to tone down the eyes. For your eyeliner, swipe a thin line of black as close to the lash-line as you can get, and then slightly wing it out at the corners a la Marilyn Monroe. Use a light hand, and swipe pale pink blush on the hallows of your cheeks. To make the look really pop, grab your favorite red lipstick, (Russian Red by Mac is modern and fabulous), and apply that to your lips, finishing off with a clear gloss.
Clothes- When you thinks of retro clothing, you might imagine a giant pink prom dress with fluffy sleeves, or bellbottoms with a tie-dye shirt, or the dreaded platform boots of the nineties, (think the Spice Girls). But when it comes to adding a retro flare to your outfit, less is definitely more. Instead of dedicating your whole outfit to the 70s, maybe throw on a print top over your shorts. Instead of going for the prom dress from hell look of the 80s, grab an off the shoulder shirt-dress off the rack and match that with some 80s inspired leggings. Please leave those bell-bottoms in the dress up trunk where they belong, and substitute them for some acid wash studded skinny jeans. It is easy to draw the line between “what does she think she is wearing??”, and “How can I get that look?”.
Accessories- It is always hard to see bad accessories on good people. We are just going to continue on with the moral of this article; a little goes a long way. If you are going for the retro look, you do not want to deck yourself out with the big black lacey bow on top of your head, the stacks of bangles up and down your arms, the tiers of pearls hanging from your necks, and the pendant rings adorning every finger. If you are going to class and are wearing some skinny jeans and a print top, throw on a big ring and a necklace with a funky pendant on it. If your going with the off the shoulder dress, grab some chunky bangles, and a retro headband. And you can never go wrong with a big pair of silver hoops. Hoops go with everything. When your going through your parents old jewelry boxes looking for the hottest retro accessories, just remember, it is not Halloween.
And there you have it; some simple tips on vintage dressing. You can find all of these retro looks in places like Forever 21, H&M, Urban Outfitters, and American Apparel.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Arizona chapter.