Vintage: The ultimate fashion statement

Aug 16 2007 by Emma Johnson, Liverpool Daily Post

Emma Johnson reports on the style that has become the ultimate fashion statement from Hollywood to the high street.

KATE MOSS steps out in it, Reese Witherspoon turned to it to ensure she wasn’t caught out on the Oscars red carpet, and Kylie Minogue used it to help re-launch her career via a pair of gold hot-pants.

There is no denying that vintage style – it has become the ultimate fashion statement.

No premiere is complete without a Hollywood golden girl wearing vintage couture, while rising fashionistas such as Sienna Miller and Mary-Kate Olsen have become trend-setting experts at mixing the old with the new.

Whether you’re short of cash or just revel in the idea of finding fashion gems from the past, second-hand chic is every fashion follower’s passport to unique style.

“We all love to open up the September issues of the fashion magazines and see what the latest trends are. But ultimately, it’s what everyone else will be wearing,” says Christa Weil, author of new book It’s Vintage Darling!

“By mid-November, what looked so fresh and enticing already looks a little tired.

“Vintage is for people who want something different.”

Recently appointed Oxfam’s vintage guru, where she trains staff to spot Prada from Primark, Christa’s love affair with vintage began during a publishing job in New York when she was struggling on a measly pay packet and is quite the expert on putting together a stylish second-hand wardrobe.

“I loved the idea of beautiful clothes and didn’t want to settle for cheaply made stuff,” she explains.

“I was astonished that, for £3, you could buy a beautiful Italian silk blouse. That really opened up my eyes.

“Eventually, what was once a necessity became a passion.”

“Let’s face it, anyone can walk down the high street, spend some money and get a fairly fashionable look,” she adds.

“But why not try for something more – an outfit that suggests hidden depths, imagination, allure.

“You can renew yourself with breathtaking garments others were naive enough to let go.

“Dressing up is all about imagining yourself in other lives.”

Kate Moss might set trends with cute waistcoats and quirky dresses from her vintage treasure box, but Christa warns that second-hand chic isn’t necessarily about tapping into the catwalk’s latest looks.

“If you know what the trends are, you can shop specifically for those shapes, prints or colours,” she says.

“But vintage lets you go off in a completely different direction, especially if the style or colour dictated by the fashion gods doesn’t work for your body.

“You can do something far more flattering and innovative for far less money.”

* IT’S Vintage Darling!, by Christa Weil, is out now, published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £7.99.

emmajohnson@dailypost.co.uk

Vintage tips

DIFFERENT eras work on different shapes, here is Christa's advice down the decades:

'20s - This fashion era was made for flat-chested, angular figures. If you've got great shoulders and/or legs, the spaghetti strapped, high-hemmed gowns of the period are made for you.

'30s - Girls with fabulous backs and bums are so flattered by the backless, trim-fitting 1930s styles. Bias-cut dresses will add seductive curves to slender frames, and a fabulous brocade or velvet opera coat makes for daytime drama on larger figures.

'40s - If you're on the petite side, the platform soles and ample shoulders of this era will add tremendous presence and style. An ample bustline can be downplayed with sharply cut lapels.

'50s - The era made for womanly figures: big breasts and hips emphasised by a nipped-in waist, which can be further flattered by a wide belt.

'60s - If you've got the legs, the '60s has the frocks - stop traffic in minis, cute tights and flat shoes or low-heeled boots.

'70s - The great trouser suits of this decade are flattering to a wide range of figure types, likewise the stretchy dresses. Big busts can be concealed, or saucily revealed, with all manner of seventies waistcoats.

'80s - Make an entrance in a drop-dead power suit that flaunts your cleavage. If you've got beautiful arms, don't forget the jolt of a Flashdance sweatshirt.

A really individual look

LIVING and working in a city filled with fashion- istas, for Katie Williams vintage is the only way to ensure she stands out from the crowd sartorially.

The 23-year-old account executive for Liverpool-based Ubiquity PR started buying vintage clothing a year ago and has never looked back.

"I like my look to be quirky and unique and with vintage clothing you get a really individual look," says Katie.

"I know that when I go out in a vintage piece, no-one else is going to be wearing the same dress."

Katie made her first vintage purchase - a flat cap - at a vintage clothes fair in Plymouth but can regularly be found scouring the rails at shops like Retro, on Aigburth's Lark Lane. "I also use a website called www.rustyzipper.com which imports amazing vintage American clothing from the 1940s and '50s.

"My best find, this pinafore dress I am wearing, came from there.

"It cost me $55 and is a 1940s pinafore dress. It is ideal wear to go out for drinks or for an occasion that is not too formal.

"My best bargain, though, has to be an Egyptian cuff bracelet which I got at a vintage fair.

"It only cost £2.50, but it looks so much more expensive!"