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Vintage Fashion

Posted 22/05/2011 by Lauren Hughes on SKRBBLR

The recession has seen some of us making major lifestyle changes. Not only are we growing our own vegetables and skimping on the weekly shop, but a thrifty approach to fashion has led to vintage becoming an emerging trend.

Leeds City Centre is fast becoming a vintage hotspot, with shoppers taking advantage of boutiques full of specially sourced one-offs ready to revamp Topshop-saturated wardrobes everywhere.

So what’s a fashionista to do in these tough times but swap a costly pair of Louboutins from the third floor of Harvey Nic’s for some seasoned Jimmy Choo’s? The great thing about vintage is that the same designer names are still available on a budget – they just come with a little history attached.

Leeds Scribbler spoke to Lorna jasper, vintage expert and owner of Upstaged, a vintage boutique in the Grand Arcade.

“I do joke that we sell to Leeds’ eccentrics,” said Lorna. “We get a real variety of people. Everyone from gentlemen looking for vintage shoes to shoppers exclusively looking for Doctor Martins and to the burlesque girls that come in for corsets. I meet interesting people every day.”

As well as catering for both men and women, Lorna encounters a variety of age ranges from fashion-conscious teenagers to elderly women. “I had a 92-year-old buy something the other day,” Lorna said. “She bought a beautiful coat. It was bright red and it really suited her as she was a real character. It doesn’t matter how old customers are, they still want to look individual.”

Lorna also encourages vintage novices to give the trend a try, advising them to mix in exclusive pieces with their existing wardrobe. “I once sold an original Edwardian frock-coat to an archaeology student. She wore it with high street jeans and it looked fabulous. I don’t dictate how people should wear things at all. The idea is that we support people who don’t want to dress in typical high street fashion, but there is nothing wrong with mixing the two. When I had a picture done for a magazine displaying my favourite outfit I had an original 1940s dress on, but I teamed it with a BHS cardigan.”

Though the vintage scene is growing in Leeds, Lorna isn’t fazed by the competition due to the distinctiveness of each vintage store. “I’d be happy if even more vintage stores opened as we’re not selling the same things,” she said. “Each item is a one off piece so you’re not going to find the same piece anywhere else. We specialise in the 1940s and 1950s dresses, where as a lot of the other vintage stores cater for a much more recent vintage market from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. I will go up to the 1980s, but I draw the line at the 1990s. I don’t consider that vintage, not yet anyway.”

Lorna believes that the increasing popularity is partially down to the thrifty approach to shopping during the recession, as high quality fabrics are being sold at far lower prices. The trend has also appealed to shoppers’ sense of ethical responsibility regarding manufacturing. “Shoppers are aware of some of the child labour and sweat shop issues concerned with high street fashion, and it’s not just the cheaper quality stores that have been associated with it. I don’t like thinking about how cheaply clothes are made, especially if they involve child labour.

“I’m old enough to remember the last time vintage fashion was really popular and that was in the 1980s. It seems the more oppressive the government is, the more reactionary the youth culture is.”

The other obvious benefit is the individualistic nature of vintage. Rather than emulating a Topshop clone, shoppers are safe in the knowledge that they won’t have that awkward oh-god-that-person-is-wearing-the-same-outfit-as-me moment.

“At my son’s prom there were two girls wearing the same dress, and they were absolutely devastated,” Lorna said. “That’s very unlikely to happen if you buy from me. If you buy a prom dress from here and someone else has it on I’ll give you your money back.”