Vintage fashion has definitely gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. As well as old trends constantly coming back around, people have started to embrace clothes that were made in another time. People are also enjoying buying clothes that can leave them with a clear mind environmentally speaking but also with less buyer's guilt as it usually costs less too! However, the vintage fashion scene can be quite daunting when it’s new to you, so we wanted to put together a little starter pack guide to give you some ideas about where to start!
Varsity Jackets
A varsity jacket is a great way to start a vintage collection. It’s such an American, classic-looking piece, which kind of embodies the whole vibe of “vintage”. They come in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes. There are some amazing branded ones as well as some really cool, old ones that someone will have personalised and added to when they were at college. If you look hard enough you may even find one with your name on it! Some classic brands to look out for if you want to make sure you invest in a real vintage quality varsity jacket are Delong and Holloway and if you are trying to find one of those classic American College Jackets, try using the term “letterman” when searching online!
Vintage Jeans
A pair of vintage jeans is an absolute must-have, whether you’re starting a vintage collection or not! It is possible to find literally any size you need as vintage jeans tend to change shape and size, even the trickiest of sizes are out there. They also tend to be really well made and super comfy from being worn in already. You also can’t beat a pair of customised vintage jeans. The possibilities are endless. Brands to look out for are Levi’s, Lee and Pepe’s. It might also be worth doing a bit of research into what style of jeans were popular in which decades, that way you can use the decade in your searches in order to find the style of jeans you like, for example, if you search for jeans from the 80s, you’ll probably find results for high waisted jeans!
Shirts
A plain old shirt may seem like a pretty boring item to suggest, but shirts are far from boring when it comes to vintage. Finding your perfect vintage shirt, be it branded, jumbo-cord, crazy patterned, or an old worker shirt, can reflect your style. You can even get shirts from brands that don’t make clothes anymore! They can also be a pretty inexpensive piece for building up your collection, but great for making a statement. Nothing beats a short-sleeved crazy shirt tucked into some high-waisted, 80s jeans for the ultimate vintage outfit! A little search tip when browsing for your vintage shirts, especially if you don’t have a brand in mind, is to search for the specific pattern and sleeve length you want. Also, if you want really retro-looking shirts with weird and wonderful patterns, try using the search term “crazy shirt”.
Knitted Jumpers
A knitted jumper can be a great tool if you want your vintage collection to project a specific decade. There are also loads of iconic vintage jumper brands to choose from, such as Coogi, Woolrich, Pendleton, and United Colors of Benneton, all of which have their own signature style and knits. When searching for jumpers, it’s really handy to find what type of knit and material you like your jumpers to be and use those as keywords while you hunt for your perfect vintage jumper! For example, the weird and wonderful Coogi jumpers tend to be made of cotton and are what you’d call a “chunky knit”.
Workwear
Workwear is a great addition to your vintage collection as it’s probably some of the best quality clothing you can get in terms of lasting. This means you can get some really old stuff, so if you like that worn-in look, workwear is the way to go. Similarly to the varsity jackets, workwear tends to be customised, so you can find some personal-looking pieces. There’s also such a wide range of items you can get, like jackets, t-shirts, dungarees, gilets and trousers, the list goes on! Brands to look out for when shopping for the best workwear are Carhartt, Dickies, Red Kap, Big Mac and Wrangler. Great terms to use when doing online searches are “worker” and if you want a worker jacket that’s extra warm try searching for “blanket lined” jackets.
