Posted on 11/29/2009 8:02:39 AM PST by rellimpank
Retro clothes are not vintage clothes.
Retro clothes are new-made garments designed to imitate or evoke the fashions of as bygone era -- often, the 1940s, '50s or '60s. Vintage fashion is the real thing: sturdy garments well made in America (usually by union labor, if that matters to you) that remind us of an era when all the best stuff, from movies to muscle-cars, was "made in the U.S.A."
It's about nostalgia, yes, but in this unrelenting recession it's also about the "recessionistas" -- that's what Alison Houtte calls her growing new customer base -- realizing they can get not only a distinctive look but also a better-made garment by "going vintage," at a fraction of the price they've been paying for toss-off foreign-made garments at the big name stores.
Unanswered so far: Are people from overseas now visiting us to buy American vintage -- mid-century antiques of all kinds, but particularly fashion -- not just to wear, but also as a "not-making-them-anymore" appreciating asset to sock away, just as those with wealth have always hedged their bets against a withering paper currency by stockpiling gold and silver coins, first edition novels, engraved antique fowling pieces?
If you want a quick course on vintage, start with Houtte's book, "Alligators, Old Mink & New Money," in which she describes her own transition from top fashion model to purveyor of vintage rags in far-from-stylish downtown Brooklyn, N.Y.
(Excerpt) Read more at lvrj.com ...
...Interesting article, been thinking about the past, on this Thanksgiving weekend. Feel like I’ve been blessed and might end this year on a lot of positive things for a change. Might actually celebrate the New Year, 2010...
I did have a girl friend that was a knock out in hip hugger bell bottoms.
I won a denim leisure suit once, made a great fishing outfit.
Well I do notice that I still have flannel shirts from 20 years ago that are in decent shape, vs the ones you buy today that are dust rags after a few washings.
You’re supposed to wash those flannel shirts?????? Hell, I treat them like my wranglers. If they don’t stand up in the corner by themselves, they ain’t ready for the washing machine.
Union labor... that's the labor where the workers get paid the same whether they do a good job or not. The kind of labor that breeds mediocrity.
At Holloween I was telling my wives that kids need to create their own traditions. My father’s generation turned over out houses and put wagons on top of barns and stuff. My generation threw water balloons. Since then no generation has been able to come up with any way to have fun. They copy our clothes, our music, remake our movies, etc. No creativity left in the world, I guess.
“Vintage fashion is the real thing: sturdy garments well made in America (usually by union labor, if that matters to you)”.
It’s a lie. Most clothes were manufactured in the South, non-union.
Instead of toilet paper, we once “forked” someone’s lawn. Several boxes of plastic forks... stuck ‘em prongs down all over the yard. We thought it was pretty clever. Oh, and some guys in my class once stole real estate signs from all over town and stuck them all in this girl’s front yard. She woke up to her father screaming about the 50 “For Sale” signs outside. They did the same thing with flashing barricade signs to someone else.
I actually have, not exactly bell bottoms, but flared leg pants from the 1970’s I believe. Hadn’t worn them since I got fat. Maybe it’s time for me to get them out again. Actually, I liked them...they didn’t constrict my legs like pants do today.
And leisure suits: My father had one good suit which he wore to weddings and funerals. When leisure suits came out, my Dad loved them. He said he didn’t feel so stuffed into these suits as he did with the traditional suit. Unfortunately, when those suits went out of fashion, Mom got rid of them. Dad was not happy.
When one of my sons was in highschool an old girlfiend threw a bunch of old bras and panties up in our tall bushes.
Been looking at a CHERRY 1966 Austin Healey on Ebay . Had a 55’ 100-4 in college and would really like to go out in style .
The fork thing is brilliant. I’ve seen the real estate sign prank done before. There were some who would bury a dozen eggs a month or so before holloween so they’d be good and gamy when they threw them at folks. Ah, the good ol’ days.
If you are looking to purchase a car in the near future and looking to spend $40K or $50K, look to the hotrods. They are well built older cars, thick steel of great quality, good engines, most have air conditioning, stereos and all the other comforts. Hotrods afford you the fun of the past, will last longer, and will go up in value, unlike the new cars. You don’t need the gas guzzlers or the $100K cars as seen on TV, just a well built hotrod. It’s also an ego trip you wouldn’t believe. As an example, I have a neighbor that is building a Model A coup with a flat head. It has three carbs on it but will still get about 18 miles per gallon. It’s not done yet so it’s value is about $8K. When it’s done, it will be worth about $17K to $20K.
One of my friends had the school bus stop right in front of her house. One day when the bus pulled up to drop her off, she saw that her little brother had taken a whole box of maxi-pads, written “Kelly” on each one, and decorated the tree in the front yard with them so everyone on the bus could see.
i watch turner classic movie channel sometimes, and often think how much classier some of the older fashions are.
If the best of the 40s and 50s fashions came back as vintage clothing, wouldn’t be a bad thing
Downtown Brooklyn has transformed it’s self over the last 15 years. It is turning into little Manhattan.
I worked in Kuwait in the late '80s and made friends with our female Paki computer operator. One day I was grumbling about the shoddy quality of U.S. made goods and she laughed. She said her brother just bought a pair of sneakers and at every opportunity he would put his feet up on a table so everybody could see he had shoes made in the USA. At a nearby souk (mall) she watched as two women debated and debated over some linen fabric, trying to decide if it was made in the U.S. If not, no sale. Quite an eye-opener for me.
“wives” should have been “wife”.
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