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Influences & Individuality: Why the ghost of fashion past has snuck into our closets

Stephanie Herold

Last updated: Monday, December 1st, 2008

“[C]lothing is frequently mixed and matched to create options rather than mandates. Wearing vintage clothing could be considered as another viable option for expressing individuality.” Hooked on Vintage!

Vintage, Retro, Inspired: these words are constantly used to describe fashion, perhaps more now than ever. If you’ve caught yourself red-handed at Value Village, or searching for that perfect lady-like blouse to match your skinny jeans at H&M, then perhaps you know why we’re longing to celebrate the past in fashion. Maybe its nostalgia, maybe fashion is just a giant cycle as they say, but street-fashion and designer fashion today seems like a constant music sample; taking the best from the past, dusting it off and remixing it for our own wearing pleasure.

Fashion sages Mary-Kate and Ashley have recognized the pull of the past. In MK and A’s November book release, Influence, they recognize and pay homage to the numerous fashion designers, artists and icons that have influenced them during their memorable red carpet appearances and countless Starbucks runs. Fashion Theory, one of relatively few academic fashion journals, has also identified this trend in two particular articles, Hooked on Vintage, and Dressed in History: Retro Styles and the Construction of Authenticity in Youth Culture. But the question remains, why are we unearthing the pieces that have already had their 15 minutes?

It seems like we’re not shopping at Salvation Army or buying that dated looking blue velvet mini-skirt just because it’s cheap. In Hooked on Vintage, the authours state: “Wearing vintage is primarily about being involved in a change of status and a revaluing of clothing beyond the original time period or setting, and only secondarily about markets for resale of clothing.” By wearing clothing inspired by the past or from the past, and pairing it with newer styles, we create our own unique look that doesn’t perfectly fit into any era’s trend set. The only thing dictating what we wear is our own creative imagination informed by what past and present looks we appreciate.

By wearing history’s greatest hits we are deliberately creating our own individual and seemingly authentic aesthetic. Scholar Heike Jenß agrees is in Dressed in History: Retro Styles and the Construction of Authenticity in Youth Culture, and explains this process: “By adopting a philosophy of “retro-brand with multiple identities,”…[we] display these postmodern ideas and concepts of identity, authenticity, ‘realness,’ and credibility.”

Just as individuals are sampling the past to create an individual identity, designers are as well. The Toronto Star printed an article entitled: “Prim and proper; Thanks to the shaky economy, women are investing in ladylike dresses and feminine accessories.” The title is self-explanatory. Designers are referencing stable times while being caught in a shaky economy.

Equestrian styles are also prevalent this season, as manifested in calf high riding boots, blazers, and vests. Valerie Steele, director of the Fashion Institute of Technology, states “I n short, the riding habit was perceived as being prestigious, even “aristocratic,” but also highly erotic…” It seems as if designers are aiming for a shyer sexy, straying from mini skirts, and vacuum sealed clothing, and heading for a more elegant, and conservative appeal.

The moral of the story is choose your clothes wisely: whether they be from a dusty old chest, or off a really nice wooden hanger. Letting yourself be influenced by a few different eras when playing dress-up can allow you to reference specific periods or looks you identify with, while at the same time differentiating you from the crowd. If a designer isn’t making the clothes you like, try a vintage or gothic clothing store, or perhaps a little boutique. Look for inspiration from your influences, and then make your look your own.

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