Monday, April 23, 2007

Say It Ain't So

Reading Style Bubble today was a little alarming, Susie was commenting on an article that states "it’s time to archive the vintage". What? As someone who loves wearing vintage clothing and plans on starting a career based on vintage clothing this seems somewhat disheartening. The article's author says that "vintage" has become snobby, that women who wear it feel that they are "unique" because no one can find the clothes that they are wearing. She feels it is not "unique" because now "everyone is into vintage". She also states that "in fashion’s inner circles, it has become a bit embarrassing to be into vintage."

There may be some truth in this article, but I disagree that vintage needs "to be archived".

For me it is about the creation process. I love taking a vintage dress and remaking it into something modern, some creative and something beautiful. I love mixing vintage with designer pieces. It is not that I feel I am more "unique" than everyone else because I purchased most of my outfit at the local thrift store, it is that I feel fufilled using my creative juices to create a whole ensemble. I didn't just look at a mannequin and take home the outfit. I looked at the mannequin and thought how can I make this my own - and usually that means I pulled out the vintage.

Oh well, I love it and I know you all love it too!

4 comments:

Ringo, have a banana! said...

As far as I'm concerned I'll be wearing vintage until the day I die. I didn't start doing it because it was cool, and I'm not about to stop because it isn't. Vintage isn't a fad--it's a way of life!

Anonymous said...

Magazine editors, designers etc aren't going to make any money out of us if we buy vintage so it doesn't surprise me at all that there's a backlash.

Anonymous said...

i think what the upper-eschelon-type fashion dudes say are(don't get me wrong, i love the suzie) merely over hyped opinions. they are driven by different considerations altogether. people with a rightous sense of style with enough creativilty and innovation will naturally make and find our their opionions, regardless of whether or not they are in vogue.

Maven said...

It's funny, I've been thinking about this comment about "archiving" the vintage for the last few days and getting more and more irritated about it. I guess I don't exactly understand the author's point: she seems to be saying both that we should stop wearing vintage because now everyone's doing it, and also that vintage is annoying because its wearers are smug about being unique. And nothing about sustainability and better quality even enters into the article--it's completely about trends. Whatever. People are always going to look to the past, and ain't no fashion people gonna dictate otherwise.