When you think of vintage fashion, the first thing that probably comes to your mind is ’90s graphic tees, ’80s acid-washed jeans, and the iconic Cheetah Girls matching tracksuits from the 2000s. While these are all amazing fashion trends, the kind of vintage fashion I’ve been drawn to is that from the 1940s and ’50s, but I never thought I would end up dressing this way. I first fell in love with the style when watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a show set in the late 1950s, and I loved the look of the bouncy curls and the big, flowy circle skirts. However, I thought there was no way I could actually dress like this in the modern day, but then I came across a woman on Instagram and YouTube named Laci Fay, who dresses in 1950s style every single day.
She was the first of many influencers I found on social media who dresses vintage all the time, and that was how I first learned that there are people who dress like this on a regular basis, and that’s when I started researching. This journey of mine began in 2020 when I was just 15 years old. I’m almost 21 now, so I have six years of knowledge under my belt, and these are some of my opinions that I’ve garnered through my personal experiences experimenting with vintage fashion. So I’ve gathered a list of four things I have learned from dressing vintage, and some tips you can take if you want to start dressing vintage.
1. “vintage style, not vintage values”
This motto addresses one of the most common barriers for people looking to get into vintage style, including myself. Many people tend to associate vintage clothing with the society it comes from, which obviously makes sense. In a way, you can’t completely divorce the fashion of the time from the society itself, which oftentimes included laws designed to oppress women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities. So we often wonder if by dressing vintage, we are (in a way) endorsing the values that existed at the time, which is not what we want to do. That’s where “vintage style, not vintage values” comes in, a phrase whose origins are unknown, but has been championed by many vintage fashion influencers, primarily Dandy Wellington, who is a bandleader born and raised in Harlem, New York.
The meaning behind the phrase is essentially that though my fashion and my clothes may be old-fashioned, my views on human rights very much are not. People like myself use vintage fashion as a way to better learn and understand history through clothing, which is a very hands-on and interactive way to understand the past. We remind ourselves of the trailblazers who came before us, those who dressed this way and fought for their basic human rights at the same time.
2. Consult real life photos and media from the time period
Whatever time period(s) you choose to take after, there really are no rules, which I’ll expand upon later on. However, if you want to go with a more period-accurate approach, I highly recommend looking at photos and media that come from the time period of your choice to see what kind of fashions existed at the time. For example, you may love the fashion of the 1950s, which many people associate with poodle skirts, cat eye glasses, and bright colored dresses. If this is the style you want to do, by all means, go for it, but these aren’t representative of what everyday people were wearing in the ’50s. Take this photo of Judy Garland, for instance, which is from the ’40s, but the decades share a lot of the same trends.
Here, she is wearing a more casual shirt and a pair of white shorts, which many women opted to wear over dresses, depending on personal preference. In short, there is a wide variety of fashion trends from any era you select, so it’s important to do your research to find which ones work best for you. And when it comes to film and television, I don’t tend to consult films as often, as they tend to portray a more glamorous, Hollywood side of vintage style that I don’t personally gravitate towards, and doesn’t align with the casual, everyday style that most people would be wearing at the time. TV shows like I Love Lucy tend to showcase many outfits that would’ve been worn by your average individual in the 1950s, ranging from around the house to going for a night out. This is what I’ve found works for me, so pick and choose what works best for you.
3. heatless rollers are where it’s at
If you are going for a more authentic approach when choosing to style your hair, I highly recommend some kind of heatless curling method. And no, I’m not talking about the viral set from TikTok that gives you a ’90s style blowout, I’m talking about classic rollers that remind you of your grandmother. These are important, especially if you’re going for a style that’s from the ’60s or before, as you will get so much more volume and definition than a curling iron ever could. There is so much to say about vintage hairstyling that I can’t possibly get into in this article, so I’ve linked a video here from Cherry Dollface that goes over many important tips for setting your hair into curlers.
There are many types of rollers and methods out there, so just like with the clothing, just play around with different ones until you find one that works best for you. In the video above, she uses pillow rollers, which are my preferred method because they give a softer, looser curl than foam rollers do, which are the rollers with the little plastic barrier around them. Foam rollers tend to give a more structured, tighter curl. Many of these curling methods aren’t the most comfortable to sleep in, but the results are so worth it.
4. there is no right way to do things
While doing your research, you may find opinions from influencers that conflict with one another, or you may come across some people who seem to be doing everything right while you’re still figuring it out. There is not one right way to dress vintage, and it will take a lot of trial and error to develop a personal style that works best for you. For one, you don’t have to dress vintage every single day, even if you see vintage influencers doing it. Your style is your own, and if you just don’t feel up to it one day, or most days even, you are allowed to revert back to comfort over style.
I know for me, after six years of researching and dressing vintage, I do not dress that way 95% of the time, and that is okay. Everyone’s journey will look different. Most of the time, I am still held back by wondering what people will think of me, or if I’ll get weird looks for dressing in the way that makes me the happiest, but I am slowly getting over that. In short, we only get one life on this earth, and you might as well spend it doing something that makes you happy. And if that thing is dressing vintage, then absolutely do it!