Vintage fashion fling in the credit crunch

Mar 12 2009 by Dawn Collinson, Liverpool Daily Post

Penelope Cruz wore an ivory vintage Balmain gown to the Oscars _200

Dawn Collinson finds out why the past is the future for style

THE credit crunch is transforming our wardrobes. Fast fashion may be cheap, but it lacks longevity and designer labels are often out of most people’s price ranges. So what’s the alternative?

Why not go back to the future, follow the celebrities, and learn to love vintage?

Hollywood A-listers Julia Roberts and Penelope Cruz have both taken to the red carpet in exquisite vintage gowns to avoid the fashion faux pas of bumping into a star in the same designer dress, while Kate Moss regularly steps out in vintage gear.

High street stores like Topshop, Jigsaw and John Lewis have started to stock a line of vintage garments.

Now there’s even a new novel, A Vintage Affair, based on a character who owns a vintage shop. Author Isabel Wolff cottoned on to the trend years ago, and admits she’s obsessed with all things retro chic.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that, when you’re buying a vintage garment, you’re not just buying fabric and thread, you’re buying a piece of someone’s past,” she says.

And Isabel isn’t alone. In Liverpool, vintage shops have been big business for years, but now they’re reporting an increasing crossover with mainstream shoppers who are abandoning the high street for a classic adventure.

Lisa Pritchard, who runs Resurrection, on Bold Street, with husband Rob, says: “We see people coming in now who we would never have seen a few years ago. It’s a real sign of the times which shows people are not only keen to save money, they’re also becoming more imaginative in what they’re prepared to try.

“Vintage used to be most popular with fashion students and people who were really confident in their own look, but that’s become far more across the board now.”