Do you think you have a signature style?
My personal style has definitely evolved over the 5 or 6 years I’ve been writing this blog and recently I’ve found myself wondering about the idea of a signature style, and if I even have one. I think if I had to define my style I’d say “classic with a twist”. I generally like a ladylike and elegant aesthetic, but I love to mix it up with surprising prints and accessories. (Which is why I have fallen totally in love with this totally outrageously expensive designer dress)
In one of my very first outfit posts from August 2008, A 40s style shirt dress and NO LIPSTICK AT ALL.
I’ve always basically loved dressing up. There are themes that run through most of the outfits I chose to wear based on what suits me and what I find aesthetically pleasing. I love the 30s, 40s and 50s, and those styles suit me. The slinky 1920s and 1960s, not so much, so you you’ll only see its inspiration very occasionally and very adapted. I have short curvy legs and I think short skirts only really work on me with high heels, so I don’t wear them very often, sticking with below the knee styles. I’m incredibly lazy, but like to look presentable, so you’ll see a lot of hats when the weathers right. Sometimes I’m in the mood to plan outfits, match things and make a huge effort. Other days I make the minimum effort possible and even brushing my hair is a bit of a chore.
In Summer 2009. Vivien of Holloway 50s style dress and skull and cross bones print peep toes.
A few months ago, after a Historical Sauces hair class, I went into my corner shop at 8pm on a Sunday night in the hugest victory rolls you’ve ever seen. Now, everytime the same chap is on the counter he says something along the lines of “Not very vintage today” (including sometimes when I really am, just not wearing victory rolls).
In Summer 2010. Vintage Mickey Mouse T Shirt, pearls and a pencil skirt.
I kind of embraced the idea of “vintage” as an all encompassing style. In my mind it encompasses everything from a pure 60s reenactor in original go go boots to girls with a penchant for mixing their vintage dresses with crazy tights. You can be vintage if you recreate perfectly a look from 1943, without wearing a single item of vintage clothing, and you can be vintage if you wear original 1940s dresses with studded shoes and straightened hair. It’s a name that started off defining the age of an item of clothing, but it’s meaning is evolving.
In August 2011. Heyday Repro 40s style dress, fishnets, Abilu Creations custom hat* and crazy victory rolls.
Recently, as “vintage” becomes bigger and bigger and people get more fixed ideas of what it means, I’m starting to find it quite limiting. Once people decide you dress “vintage” you feel like you’re letting them down if you turn up tomorrow without setting your hair, or with stripy tights and glittery shoes under your pencil skirt and blouse instead of seamed stockings. Sometimes I want to be period perfect, other days I want to be a little more inspired. I’ve developed a bit of a crush on comic book prints and platform shoes.
In August 2012. More victory rolls and a touch of the tropical in an 80s vintage dress and platform shoes. This is one of my favourite outfits ever.
Terms like “vintage” (or goth, or hipster) mean that other people can develop an idea of your style that’s not really yours. Do you want people to think they know exactly what you’re going to look like when you turn up at a party, or do you want to keep them wondering?
From my perspective, I wonder how this fits into blogging. I write what is ostensibly a fashion blog. A vintage fashion blog. Am I obliged to wear vintage clothes? Vintage style clothes? Â People might arrive here with a particular view of what they will find, am I a huge disappointment in my TK Maxx shoes and New Look dresses? Do they, much like my corner shop chap, wander off to other corners of the interweb muttering “that’s not very vintage.”
Vintage 2013 style. Love Ur Look Repro Dress* and TK Maxx shoes and cardigan.
When I think of my wardrobe and the clothes I wear, my biggest fear is falling into a rut. I have outfits I wear a LOT as they are comfortable, smart and pack well, but if you never try anything new and only ever wear the same styles and outfits then where’s the fun? Your clothes might not be the most important thing in the world, but I genuinely believe that a touch of experimentation in your wardrobe can bring a much needed element of joy to life. Life is largely boring, sometimes difficult and stressful and often serious, and for most of us what we wear off duty can be pure frivolity in a way that not much else is.
So I plan to carry on wearing seamed stockings with comic book print dresses, team my vintage hats with multi coloured nails and vintage dresses with platform shoes. I’ll dye my hair pink, blue and aquamarine and put it in victory rolls and finger waves and confuse the chap from the corner shop (who really is just making polite conversation and doesn’t really care about my hair).
Do you think you have a Signature Style, or do you like to keep people guessing?
Comments
50 responses to “That's Not Very Vintage”
RT @Retrochick_uk: That’s Not Very Vintage: http://t.co/5tbVRicniV
Love this article by @Retrochick_uk ! Do you have a signature #style ? http://t.co/wAC3vJVKb5
@Retrochick_uk great journey, and you look fabulous
Fabulous blog post!
I know exactly what you mean, and can relate to what you say about do I look vintage enough! I got into a heated “discussion” with a lady who wears nothing but vintage on a social networking site, she took offence that I had both vintage and primark and new look in my wardrobe!
I think if you want to mix it up and that your happy with the style thats all that matters – its taken me a long time to find a style I feel comfortable in and I would class my style as 40s/50s with a pin up twist…
I met a woman in a charity shop like the corner shop man, she had just opened a “vintage” tea rooms and when I tried to help her find an outfit she classed as vintage, she said to me well you don’t look very vintage! On this day I thought I looked particularly 1950s – esque!
Anyway, thanks for the blog post, I enjoyed reading 🙂
Katy
xox
RT @whatkatiediduk: Love this article by @Retrochick_uk ! Do you have a signature #style ? http://t.co/wAC3vJVKb5
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In the picture from summer 2010 where you are wearing the pencil skirt and the Mickey Mouse T shirt, where are the shoes from they are gorgeous!
They were from a Charity Shop, but they were New Look shoes. They are very, very dead now sadly!
RT @whatkatiediduk: Love this article by @Retrochick_uk ! Do you have a signature #style ? http://t.co/wAC3vJVKb5
Great article. What I’ve always liked about your style is your individuality and creative eye. I’m not sure if I have a style. I seem to change from year to year and season to season (occasionally from hair style and colour to the next). Overall, it’s clean lines and structure with the ability to run after children (mine).
I work in a 1930s building. I used to do my hair in victory rolls quite often, up to the day that the BBC turned up to film a 1940s flash-back for a popular daytime soap. I have never felt so bloody awkward in all my life. It was like I’d turned up with my hair done like that specifically to appear in *said popular daytime soap*. Mortifying. The extras kept giving me evils and I wanted to take them by the lapels of their ARP-warden uniforms and go “I DIDN’T KNOW!!!!!!!!! FOR GOD’S SAKE, I HAD NO IDEA!”
Muahhaha! That’s made me laugh a lot!
This post says everything I say and feel about dressing vintage and my personal style. I feel that my style is very eclectic, I basically dress in what I like with no particular style, some days it’s vintage, other days it’s rock chick, other days just something simple because I can’t be bothered, other times I just mix everything up to confuse people but I at the end of the day I don;t it really matters what other people think as long as you are happy wearing what you’re wearing.
I think our styles are always evolving and changing without us realising it, we see things we like and just incorporate it into our existing style which is good because then we develop our own personal style by mixing it up.
I too have had the ‘you don’t look very vintage today’ but I think you’re right when something becomes a trend people had a blinkered view of what that style should look like or you dress a particular way or if you listen to a particular type of music they expect you to dress a specific way, people are always surprised that I’m really in to heavy metal because I wear pretty dresses and stuff.
I think it’s good that you mix it up, I like your style, it’s always fun and shows your personality.
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I love a good mash up of vintage and modern, designer and primark! (Not in an early Lily Allen way – bit old for that) I love the way your style has evolved and may have a slightly stalkerish copy wardrobe 😉 But that’s fine we live in different parts of the country! I don’t think I have a signature style I like a bit of a mix up, this weekend saw glam biker chic Saturday Night followed by a full on repro vintage leopard print dress with petticoat and peep toe shoes and victory rolls – on reflection I may have been a tad over dressed fro Bluewater, but then my mum says I never look like I am going to the same place as anyone else! A compliment I think 🙂
No such thing as over dressed! It’s good if you have a copy wardrobe, if I ever find myself stranded near you I can just pop round and borrow your clothes!
Ive always been a fan of mixing the vintage and the modern. Sometimes I dress head to toe in vintage, but most of the time my outfits are a combination of vintage, reproduction, and modern. I adore reading the blogs of the gals who only dress in vintage, but I also read the blogs of women who only wear the latest fashions. I know I have a signature style because I get emails from my readers saying, “I saw this garment and it is sooooo you” and it totally is. But I also like to keep people, especially myself, guessing. Life is too short to be boring, so I say dress however you like. Your readers will love you no matter what you wear.
Thanks doll,
The Glamorous Housewife
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Great article! It’s often something I think alot of Bloggers or just girls of the vintage persuation battle with in today’s modern existance (including myself). Even the most dedicated of vintage reinactors (who often look down their noses at those wearing repro pr heaven forbid highstreet!!) will use the internet or a mobile phone. Not very Vintage aye? I say wear what you want, I skip era’s & hop from inspiration everyday! I love the dress up! My outfits tend to be hair related…if I haven’t set my hair then I tend not to wear anything strictly vintage as it doesn’t make me feel good or does the look I am trying to reproduce justic. You look happy & gorgeous & most importantly YOU in every picture. Some style is not my style but looks great on others. You have to figure in budget too & wearability of vintage plus dressing the best for your body shape! Love Hayley xxx
This is an excellent post!
I think you’re right with your notion of “vintage as an all encompassing style”! It’s a great gift being able to (postitively) surprise others and keep them guessing, in style as in other terms. Your blog offers inspiration to a lot of different “vintage” people and is never boring to read.
I think real style and taste comes from the heart. One’s ability to put together a great look can definitely be trained, though, and usually one’s style changes over time. I believe, someone who has to think too much about one’s signature style is not really being him/herself and isn’t that what fashion and style is supposed (or aspired) to be about, reflecting one’s inner self? It’s fine to have a signature style if that is what one is comfortable with, but it’s also fine to play around with one’s style and to look different every day in one way or another. Fashion should be fun, after all and no pressure of having to look a certain way should be involved.
Personally, I prefer to keep people guessing a little, but I think I’m also only at the beginning of developing my own vintage style 🙂
~ Sesame
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It’s really fascinating seeing how your look has evolved – I’d never have known the first photo was of you. (I have mild prosopagnosia, and have learned you as a redhead, so I still get surprised to see you as a blonde!) I’m glad you don’t conform to other people’s notions of what vintage is.
I do a blog post each January on how my wardrobe has changed/evolved – I started doing it when I first got into wearing more vintage clothing, and since then it’s been a useful way to look at what I’ve bought, what gaps there are in my wardrobe, and what bad shopping habits I need to break (repeat too-small purchases!). My style appears to be: natural fibres, woven patterns (tartan, tweed, houndstooth) rather than print, one-colour shift and tea dresses, an absence of frills, ruffles or frou-frou, all accessorised with boxy bags and mahoosive brooches, usually outrageously fake diamante ones. A cross between Miss Marple and Miss Scarlet! Knowing that helps stop me making too many more regrettable impulse buys.
Yes, I suppose my wardrobe can be disturbingly full of worn once impulse buys! But I never know what is going to unexpectedly turn into a much loved wardrobe staple!
Sorry my hair confuses you 😉
I think that having your own style and mixing vintage/repro/modern clothes helps those that are exploring styles to see what can be done. Not everybody wants to, or can afford to buy authentic vintage clothing 100% of the time. Personally I like 30s, 40s and 50s styles and while I have a few vintage and repro pieces most of what I wear is put together from what I can buy from high street/charity shops/eBay to create my own “based on….era” style. Some days I look more vintage than others, most of the time I don’t look vintage at all, I just look like me!
I hope that makes sense, I seem to be struggling with being coherent today!
Perfect sense! 😀
Great article, this expresses exactly how I feel. I dress for the way I feel when I get up in the morning – sometimes that is 40s/50s, sometimes it is my inner 80s child and sometimes it is a mishmash of whatever makes me happy that day. My only bugbear is that dodgy joints mean that I can’t wear heels, so many missed shoe opportunities.
My mood changes daily, lol. Some days I feel like setting my hair and really going all out, some days comfort and ease rule. I try not to limit myself to a style or it can become a chore, but I also try to not slip into a style-less rut which is easy for me to do especially when I am home a lot.
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I totally agree…sometimes it is the only “fun” thing I do…like is so serious much of the time.
suellen
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I am a bi believer in wearing what you love. I don’t care if it’s not my usual style (which tends to be very late 50s/early 60s) or if it’s vintage or if others think it’s weird…I just want to put on my clothes and feel happy. For me that means I do tend to wear the same sort of style all the time…but of course, like any person, this does evolve over time. People grow and change. Wear what makes you happy right now is my philosophy.
Great post!
I’m so glad you have addressed this as I was just about to start writing a series talking about the exact same issue. I used to identify as vintage but over the years my style has changed (or perhaps the term?) and now I feel… unsure or odd labelling myself as vintage (when in reality my day to day wear in new clothing!). I have so much more to say on the topic but I wonder what others think as well? x
Interesting blog about mixing vintage with modern from @Retrochick_uk I’m all for mixing things up a bit 😀 http://t.co/Gvk5P53UDi
Labels can be restrictive. I wouldn’t describe myself as wearing ‘vintage’ because most of my stuff is just vintage-inspired. ‘Retro’ is more accurate really, but to me all labels sound a bit naff. I tend to wear 1930s/1940s inspired outfits. As my other job is managing a punk band, the punk/rockabilly side of my wardrobe comes out for gigs too, which often just involves a lot of leopard print. My opinion is: I’m just me, I like what I like, and I don’t really want to be labelled. People have complimented me on my style, and I love it when people ‘get it’. I absolutely love 30s/40s fashion and only wish I had the money to get more beautiful clothes, and the time to put more effort in. There are such lovely repro dresses around, but there’s no way I can afford them, so I do what you do a lot of the time and buy vintage-inspired outfits from charity shops or high-street (mainly ebay), and style them up. That’s enough about me! x
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It’s always intereesting to look back on how your style’s evolved!
I would never want to be predictable style-wise – it’s always fun surprising others in something very unexpected!
The ‘stereotype’ vintage thing drives me mad, along with the assumption that filmstar-decade-perfect ‘is’ the aspirational ideal, so if you choose not to, you’re ‘still learning’ and not quite there yet. You are right -it’s so limiting! I have always mixed vintage, repro and slightly indie-modern. For (gulp) 18 years now. So I’m not ‘new to vintage’ and I haven’t ‘not yet dared to go full 40s’ …. Comments I get now from people when I never did before. Before people would just observe that I had a retro twist. But now, marketing has got some people thinking vintage is floral and twee – and the flipside to that is some hardcore fans wanting their style preserved have got ultra purist. And lots of us are stuck in the middle!
Vintage means wearing clothes of 30+ age/style. With whatever hair and makeup. It’s not like when you buy an antique they go ‘oh, but you have a computer and a microwave in your house … Not brave enough to do full Victorian?’ Grr!
Thanks for an interesting and though provoking post.
I often feel my blog isn’t really taken seriously by some, just because I shop on the high street and not exclusively in charity shops and vintage stores. (Like by buying modern I forgo the right to be a lover of vintage or something!) I wear what I like when I like, I mix modern and vintage and I go through phases with styles. In a nutshell I adore clothes old or new, always have always will. I don’t intend to limit myself to just one thing though I do find the attitude of others incredibly frustrating at times
An interesting post from Gemma over at Retrochick. Expresses a lot of how I feel about the latest incarnation of… http://t.co/zfeEFACnQU
I’ve really enjoyed seeing your style evolution. I dislike when people say I was born in the wrong era. I actually love the time I live in so I can mix it all up. That’s part of the fun!
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I have been ” vintage” for 30years , mainly 60s but I do like to dabble with other eras . Why not ! I say , I dress more 50s for Northern Soul nights because its easier to dance and spin. I like to put in victory rolls and wear a pretty tea dress too. I love Victorian Music Hall , therefore I have an outfit for that . I do wear a lot of original pieces but I am not adverse to the high Street either .
I love this article!!! I feel the same way, I love vintage looks and putting my hair up in rolls but at the same time I love wearing my jeans and leather jacket!! It’s all about making your clothes fun for you ad loving the things hanging in your wardrobe!!! Brilliant article!! And that 80s vintage dress looks incredible with those platform shoes!!! Colour me completely jealous of that outfit!!!! xxx