Trendsetters

Vintage – what wonders this word now conjures up when linked with fashion! A vintage dress that has been a survivor of the twentieth century and as such has become a classic of importance.

The world is just realising that fashion (meaning the clothes and the fabrics they are made from) has been lifted from the status of what we just wear to being an art form. It is the most recent of the acknowledged art forms. Towards the second half of the twentieth century the designers of vintage dresses have been acknowledged and are no longer in the background behind the manufacturer’s label. Even more recently textile designers and their contribution to the final garment have started to be acknowledged. Colours, shapes, patterns and plains: so much is the world of the vintage dress. When was everything plain and subdued? When were printed patterns to the fore? When were printed patterns overwhelming? When were they used as a totally integral part of the garment? A personal belonging that may be described as a second skin: vintage dresses and favourite items of clothing have the power to transform the body and spirit of women the world over and always have. The interest in vintage clothing ties deeply into this almost physical response to fashion.

Vintage dresses capture not only a historical moment in time, but in themselves can be works of absolute and unique beauty. The techniques and hand working of previous decades, before mass production, can be seen on early pieces up until the end of the Second World War in 1945. Several trends set in earlier decades have developed into vintage clothing classics: the shift dress, the twin set, the tailored suit, the bias-cut gown, the little black dress and many more have not drastically changed since their inception. Even today couture designers plunder the back catalogues in order to study, copy and learn from the vintage dress masters of years before, often mimicking details, such as pin tucks or seam-finishing, as well as prints, pattern-cuts or surface decoration, such as beading, lacework or ribbon work, in their own designs.
 
The 1950s kicked off with a feeling of hope and euphoria following the conclusion of the Second World War, and the generally rapturous applause that had greeted Dior’s New Look in 1947 and the famous ‘Horrocks Tea Dress with its bright and breezy full skirt. The Swinging ‘60s, as they became known, heralded an extraordinary decade of change after the austerity and reconstruction of the 1950s bringing in the famous mini dress and hot pants. Vintage clothing with an ethnic and natural feel dominated the first few years of the 1970.

In many ways today’s fashions evolve from the needs and desires of women rather than the social diktats and conventions that once set the tone of the day. Although fashion has been liberated from the constraints of society and tradition, at this particular vantage point in time we can look back, learn and reinvent, taking what we like from vintage dress fashions that have gone before, wearing clothing in different ways than originally intended, or simply collecting favourite pieces for the sheer unadulterated pleasure of owning something incomparably beautiful rare and elusive.

Vintage dresses and vintage clothing will ensure that current and future generations can always take delight in wearing something distinctive, unique and wonderful!