Vintage Clothing Guide - Antique, Vintage And Retro Fashion

Today, when you hear the term “vintage,” you would often classify the term not only with old classical memorabilia’s such as gramophones or vehicles, but also with clothing. The popularity of vintage clothing has never ceased to go out of fashion. Telling people that what you are wearing vintage adds a spark of coolness and awesomeness to your whole get-up. It adds an old classical vibe not only to your style of fashion, but also to your persona as the one wearing it. However, the term vintage has always been a topic of debate. People usually refer to it as a type of clothing that was created in the past. But then again, as with any type of fashion, vintage clothing can be divided into three main categories: antique, vintage, and retro.

The first type of vintage clothing is classified as antique. According to most vintage fashion experts, anything that was made before the 1920’s is considered antique. This type of clothing is obviously the hardest to find out of the three categories and are the most expensive because of their rarity. They are very rare that most of them can be only found in museums. Antique vintage clothes are not that type of clothes you see in normal person’s wardrobe. If you were to search them online or at vintage shops, you would find the prices soaring high up to thousands of dollars. They are too delicate and are more of collector’s item than that of a vintage fashionista’s thrill.

The second type of vintage clothing can be classified by simply calling it vintage. These are the type of clothes that were created from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. During the early 20’s, fashion began to have a more artistic look. Famous designers such as Schiaparelli and Patou began designing clothes out of drab fabrics. Fashion during these early periods displayed an art Deco look made out light fabrics in bold and light colors. After the 20’s, the classic Hollywood look became more prominent and were softer and feminine. In the 30’s, fashion became more glamorous and trousers became the new trend for men. However, in the 40’s, fashion became more practical due to the second world war when most designers used rayon as their main material in creating clothes. Moreover, in the 50’s, vintage clothing once again rose into fame, displaying feminine sleeveless and halter neck tops for women.  By the end of the 50’s, fashion was all about femininity with skirts showing the curves of women.

The last type of vintage clothing is retro. This type of vintage fashion refers to clothes that were created from the 1960’s to the 1990’s. They are the easiest types of vintage clothes to find and are mostly present at thrift and vintage shops. The fashion during the 60’s are more targeted to teens, as hippies surged to popularity displaying a DIY fashion. The 70’s is more glitzy and sparkly. The 80’s displayed more of designer oriented fashion. Iconic silver screen actors and musicians sported various looks during these eras, which are arguably still very popular today from likes of Cher, Elton John, Elvis Presly, and Michael Jackson.