Vintage Fashion Means Something Different For Everyone

Vintage Clothes Shops Camden London (Photo credit: iknow-uk)By Bette Hall

If you were to ask ten women on the street what they thought vintage fashion was, in all likelihood you would get ten different answers. Some people would refer to Audrey Hepburn, others to Jackie Kennedy, others to Jane Austen, others to Farah Fawcett, and others to Nicole Richie.

The truth is, vintage fashion means something different for everyone. Vintage fashion is the hottest trend right now and every style icon of today is mirroring style icons of yesterday, no matter who they are, in their own unique way.

The key to making vintage fashion hot for you, is to make it your own. You start off with the key staples that you like best, and add the right pop of vintage accessories and make the old new again in a very contemporary way.

Vintage accessories are the hottest way to make a sleek contemporary look turn vintage. All you need to do is add the right vintage hand bag, shoe line, or even a cameo broach to a modern black turtleneck and you have got a vintage look that will make heads turn.

Let's start with a classic look that was embodied by Audrey Hepburn. As a former dancer, she loved to keep her look clean and follow the lines of her lithe figure. Black Capri pants and a black turtleneck sweater was a signature look for her. And guess what? These are pieces that you can still buy today.

Add a pair of funky wedges, and you've made the look a little hippy vis a vis Farah Fawcett. Add a pair of ballet flats and pile your hair on top of your head and you've gone Audrey in minutes. Add a slew of bangles to your delicate wrists, and a feathered headband and you've just copied Nicole Richie. Add a lovely faux pearl necklace that hits your waistline, and you've just channeled the great Jackie Kennedy.

No matter what look you love, if you love vintage fashion, you more than likely have a style of your own that you prefer to stick to. Any ensemble can use a touch of lace to add an instant vintage appeal. As well, pearls are a great contemporary way to make a new look a little old, but in the best of all possible ways. The key to honing in on vintage fashion and making the old new again is by making it your own using your key staples and making the most out of affordable accessories.

In this day and age, there are a number of reasons to go vintage. For one thing, vintage fashion is easy on the wallet. We are in an economy where money is tight, and splurging on designer brands is seen as frivolous. Even style icons like Kate Middleton are recycling fashion, as was seen in the fact that she didn't even purchase her own crown for her own wedding. And speaking of recycling, this is also a day and age where recycling is the hippest thing on the planet.

Recycling that which is old, whether it is your closet or somebody else's, is just about the most eco friendly way that you can show off your fashion sense, without spending a lot of cents. What reason you choose to use vintage fashion will be as unique to you as the pieces you select. So get started on your vintage wardrobe with IN:trigue and get in with the vintage style today.

IN:trigue - Wishful Inspirations - great range of accessories, bags, apparel and vintage IN:trigue Accessories.

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Turning Waste Into Clothes

                                   Image via Wikipediaby Annabelle A Randles

We have all grown accustomed to the notion of "recycling" yet the term "upcycling" is relatively new with its first recorded use in 1994.

Recycling is generally used to describe how materials or products are converted into lesser value products. On the contrary, upcycling transforms waste into new products of better quality or higher environmental value.

When applied to fashion, upcycling creates clothes from diverse sources including discarded products (such as plastic bottles or wood cuttings), waste from the textile or post consumer waste.

Turning discarded products into fabrics is probably the most surprising application of upcycling. Polar fleece is probably one of the most popular upcycled textile. While non-recycled fleece is made from petroleum derivatives, polar fleece can be made from recycled PET bottles. Light and warm, fleece is often seen as an alternative to wool. Easy to wash it is a great fabric for outerwear.

Lyocell fabric has recently gained popularity. Made from wood Lyocell is manufactured by dissolving the wood pulp with solvents to extract the cellulose fibre. Lyocell fabric is soft and silky yet very strong and easy to care for.

The manufacturing process is similar to Bamboo fabric but more environmentally friendly as latest developments in the manufacturing of Lyocell include closed loop production where solvents and by-products are recycled. Lyocell is also known under the brand name Tencel. Its high breathability makes Lyocell ideal for sportswear and underwear

Using leftover fabrics is also a great way to bring value, reduce waste and lower the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Overall textile waste (from consumers and fashion industry) is estimated at more than 1 million tonnes a year. Waste takes the form of off-cuts, leftover fabrics or discarded consumer clothes.

A few eco designers specialise in re-using those fabrics and turning them into new clothes. Because of the limited supply of each individual fabric, those clothes are generally made in small batches or even one-offs. This is of course to consumers looking for some exclusivity outside high street fashion.

Over the past decade, upcycling has become more and more popular due to the higher value of the end product, the lowered cost of reused materials and the environmental benefits of re-using waste. The textile industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Aside from the chemicals used for growing conventional cotton, dying fabrics has a huge environmental impact.

Upcycling helps minimise this problem as fabrics are used "as is" without the need to be "grown" or dyed again. By reducing the use of new raw materials upcycling helps reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions generated by conventional manufacturing.

Reducing waste is one of the challenges of our civilisation. Yet there is no point in recycling or upcycling if consumers steer clear of their end products. Next time you are looking for clothes look out for upcycled labels. They might just surprise you.

5 upcycled fashion brands to look out for:

Who Made Your Pants
Do You Green by g=9.8
Worn Again
From Somewhere
TRAIDremade

Annabelle Randles is the founder of By Nature an online retailer based in London, UK specialising in organic and ethical products. http://www.bynature.co.uk

By Nature upcycled fashion and organic clothing collections can be found at http://www.bynature.co.uk/Organic-Clothing/Women

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The History of Menswear - 1970 to 1979

                                                                                           Andy WarholBy Jade Jennison

The nineteen seventies saw a general decline of hippie culture yet most of the clothing styles at that point were influenced by the hippie movement. This period included a variety of technological advances, disaster and the up rise of political rights for women and homosexuals.

Popular celebrities such as Freddie Mercury and Andy Warhol 'came out' which spurred controversy within society. Margaret Thatcher became the first woman British Prime Minster.

The first VCR was invented along with the Walkman which allowed the media and entertainment to advance further throughout the world. This decade was also unlucky when it came to terrorist attacks as a Palestinian group hijacked five planes in 1970 and the Munich massacre took place in 1972.

Fashion has changed exceptionally across many decades. The 1970s spurred a hippie appreciation for the previous decade. General fashion was also inspired greatly by Hollywood movie stars who sported the kind of 'disco look'. Steering towards the end of the seventies a different fashion replaced the previous and this consisted of punk fashion which was completely unprecedented.

Men became much more experimental during the seventies than ever before due to the unleashing of creativity and independence throughout the sixties. During the early times of this era the most popular ensembles of attire included flares, patterns and ties. With the influence of major music artists such as David Bowie who regularly sported a 'glittered' look, men felt more confident to tap into their feminine side.

With longer hair, moustaches and side-burns, this fantastic era saw a turn within fashion than it had not seen previously as it was completely innovative. Despite this peculiar turn the disco era did not last very long as the late-1970s brought the punk rock era.

It has been said that the main influences of punk fashion were Vivienne Westwood and her partner Malcolm McLaren. This curious turn was a rebellion to economic depression and everyone who wore this particular style was reacting against the world.

Male rockers such as Sid Vicious (frontman of the Sex Pistols) played a huge part in working with Westwood to promote such an obscure fashion taste. This style has been said to trace back to the time of the band, The Velvet Underground, who initially began this creative rebel style.

When wearing punk-like attire men would usually have ripped jeans, torn t-shirts and controversial haircuts paired with an old leather jacket. The fashion was described as a 'sense of poverty' as they projected their political feelings through what they wore and felt as if the economy was completely failing. Their rebellious ways began a brand new movement which can be seen in modern fashion today as we still have the jeans and the leather jackets.

Jade Jennison is a dedicated writer in the subject matters of fashion and aims to bring you the latest tips, tricks and styles. All websites which are recommended by Jade have been thoroughly researched and come highly acclaimed from direct experience. Combine fashion in the 1970s with modern fashion today by visiting Life Clothing.

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The Mods - Lifestyle, Fashion and Music

Cover of The KinksBy Jade Jennison

The 1960s introduced a complete new variety of youths to Britain and shook the world for years to come. These youths brought mass media coverage and called themselves 'mods' coming from the word 'modernists'.

It was neither a fashion style nor a music genre but a lifestyle. This group of people were the first youths that did not have to go out to work since the World War began so spent their extra money on stylish clothes and general entertainment.

This rebellious stage was for the typical working-class youngster who would prefer to spend their money on clothes; vinyls and alcohol fuelled events rather than food. Although these people were labelled as 'good for nothing kids,' there is no denying that the excitement of the culture and styling of the clothing is extremely appealing.

Mod revolution was begun by 'teddy boys' who were influenced by the rock and roll which was being released in America and were generally well-known for their immense fashion taste. These stylish and wealthy young men and women dressed to impress with the men wearing slick suits inspired by an Edwardian style whilst the women sported a similar expensive fashion.

Working-class mods were inspired by such style but rebelled against the typical Edwardian suit-wearing teddy boys and created their own sense of fashion which is still seen as stylish today.

With the up-rise of mod subculture the music industry exploded with the likes of The Who, The Kinks, The Small Faces and more who fit into this specific music category. These types of people generally enjoyed socialising in music-filled all night clubs and coffee shops. They preferred to travel on Lambretta scooters accessorised with lights.

The typical male mod would be sporting either a full-tailored suit or a polo shirt, similar to the Fred Perry polo shirts manufactured today, and would almost always finish their outfit with a parka coat or a Harrington jacket. They had a specific style of haircut and always wore tailored shoes. Female mods would wear flamboyant dresses, mini skirts and blouses with distinctive hairstyles and smart shoes.

As this typical style became more commercial, models, most famously Twiggy became the epitome of this particular fashion era. This caused a huge stir for the scene as it was no longer a distinctive lifestyle but becoming popular all across the country upsetting the scene and allowing it to eventually die out.

Despite this fact, some people attempt to relive such an important fashion within history by purchasing similar items to the previous mod style. Films like Quadrophenia and the introduction of The Jam to the music scene in the late 1970s early 1980s were both stimulated by the past and such fashions began to rise again. Famously Paul Weller, the face of Fred Perry and frontman of The Jam, sported a look similar to the mod-style which is still achievable now.

In this modern day, clubs and fashions are still influenced by this particular style and it is still possible to get a gist of such an amazing era.

Jade Jennison is an enthusiastic writer in the subject matter of fashion and aims to provide information to people who share the same interests as her own. The websites recommended by Jade have been thoroughly researched and come highly acclaimed from direct experience. Achieve the mod look with Fred Perry Polo Shirts from Charlie Browns Menswear.

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