Vintage Style- How do I Modernize my Vintage Outfit?
Reader Question
I recently fell in love with buying vintage clothes because I am a fan of decades that have gone by- the glamour of the 50s, the decadence of the 70s…however I am still working on my vintage style. I would love to know how to wear vintage clothes without looking, well, vintage. I want to wear my vintage clothes and still look contemporary. Could you give me some styling tips?
Continue Reading to get ideas on how to modernize your vintage outfit.
MFSL Answer
First of all welcome to the world of vintage fashion! I’ve been sourcing and styling vintage clothes for over 10 years, so I know a lot about vintage style. You are right to be slightly tentative on how to approach vintage fashion, because with a few bad choices, one can end up looking like an extra from deceased shows like Mad Men or That 70s Show. To give you some visual assistance, with this article I provided some images of me wearing one of my favourite vintage trench coats and I”ll take you through how I’ve updated this classic look.
5 Ways to Modernzie your Vintage Outfit
Wear Chic or On-Trend Accessories
Pairing your vintage outfit with accessories like statement jewellery, an on-trend bag or even a pair of bold tights that enter the room before you do, will definitely bring your outfit from the old into the new. Multi coloured satchels are back on the scene and I think the small ones are cute as demonstrated below-
Apply Modern/Unique/Quirky Styling
Now your first response to this may be, ‘But, I’m not a stylist’ and to that I say, ‘Guuurl, with fashion inspiration platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, that’s no excuse. Get online and be inspired!’ I love to pair statement socks with open toed shoes and you can see that in the pictures below. I believe this quirky styling is a great way to look modern when wearing vintage clothes.
Wear Modern Shoes
It’s never a good idea to wear vintage from head to toe, it’s great to pair your wide leg 70s-inspired jeans with platforms but ensure your platforms have a modern look. For e.g. if I saw a girl dressed in a cowboy hat, plaid shirt, jeans and cowboy boots- for me, this is way too much and lacks originality. I would advise mixing it up, for example pair the western boots with a white cotton maxi dress, tie a colourful print scarf around your wrist and so on…
Customise It
I must admit that I’m a bit lazy when it comes to customizing, I’m not a fan of sewing or a hot glue gun. If you are, you can transform your vintage clothes by for e.g. sewing in statement badges, using glue to hold down studs, chains, glitter and god knows what else! I ain’t playing that but what I do enjoy doing is updating a vintage jacket by pairing it with a brooch.
Subscribe to my Blog!
Shameless promotion but almost every other outfit I wear on my blog has an element of vintage in it and I’ve never been accused of looking dated. For example, in this post I am wearing a vintage jacket that looks theatrical but I updated it with a few choice accessories.
As you can see from these tips, the key to fab vintage style is incorporating an on-trend, modern or quirky look into your vintage attire. Just use your imagination and see where it takes you.
Do any of you have other tips to add on how to breathe new life into vintage clothes? Do tell in the Comments section below.
Till Soon
Bisous
Credits
Photographer- Patricia Santos
Trench coat- Humana Vintage, Platforms- Tamaris (old)
