A bullet-bra, a dress in the waist and silk stockings: 9 brands of clothes in retro style
Modern retro aesthetics - this is not even a fashion trend, but a whole subculture with its own industry, traditions and role models. Bloggers and shops promoting clothes in the style of the 1920s and 1950s feel great in Europe and the USA, but are practically not represented in Russia. Meanwhile, girls who are close in spirit do not just dress up in dresses purchased in vintage shops or custom-made, but tend to completely copy the image of the chosen epoch up to the correct curls in a hairstyle or stockings with a seam. However, neither for convincing reconstruction, nor for conditional stylization of one vintage is not enough: the proportions of the figures have changed a lot, and many dresses made in the last century simply do not sit down. So there are more and more brands offering adapted models of the past decades.
Today, more and more people are interested in such things: someone gets a dress at once for a theme party, and someone, tired of the domination of sports and street fashion and minimalism, is looking for inspiration in the “same” conventional feminine aesthetics. Meanwhile, the reconstruction of the designs of the past is closer to modern fashion than it might seem: for example, Miuccia Prada regularly reproduces models from the 1920s and 1960s, simply, as a rule, “hides” them behind trend styling. We, on the contrary, have chosen brands that do not pursue trends, but prefer to sell retro in their purest form.
Top vintage
A large online store that processes ideas from past epochs began as a family business in the Netherlands, Angelica van den Bornso, with a starting capital of one thousand euros. Today, the company sells many different labels, among which there are several of its own clothing lines, for example, a special collection released in honor of the recent tenth anniversary of TopVintage. In general, the store looks like an exemplary platform for the sale of retro clothing: with a pink background, hearts and a simple optimistic presentation of bright fitted dresses, to which the service immediately suggests picking up shoes, jewelry and stockings.
What katie did
The British Katie and Richard Thomas launched What Katie Did in 1999, and today this is a well-known brand of exquisite retro-dress. In particular, the brand reproduces the bras of the “bullet” form, they are also the bullet bra that Marilyn Monroe and Jane Mansfield wore to create truly fantastic forms, that is, those that have nothing to do with reality; and corsets on metal bones, providing a grand pull. By the way, a review of classic seamed stockings released under the What Katie Did label can be found in the friendly blog Garterblog.
Prettie lanes
Under this name works designer from Zurich, Francis Schlupsky. The girl offers a “new” alternative to genuine vintage, makes things according to individual standards and promises to make them as “real” as possible, using exclusively metal zippers, edging the seams with viscose ribbon, exclusive textiles and a lot of handwork. Impeccable outfits of Prettie Lanes look descended from the pages of fashion magazines of the middle of the last century - and to enhance the impression, the author of the brand styled photosets under vintage Vogue covers.
Wear dreams are made
If the style of the 1950s is quite an extensive niche in the market for retro clothing, then there is some shortage for earlier eras. Against this background, American Wear dreams are made, which specializes in handmade dresses inspired by the era of flappers and (albeit episodically) the style of golden Hollywood of the 1930s, favorably. Jay Gatsby can be dressed up for a party by paying between $ 150 to $ 350 and waiting up to five weeks (outfits are made in the right amount by pre-order), while all outfits correspond to price and expectation: they are diligently decorated with patterned embroidery, festoons and long fringe.
Ginger jackie
The only Russian brand in this list is the author's project of designer Ekaterina Blinova. Blinov approaches the creation of things with particular care, studying in detail the technological and design techniques in the design of the 50-60s and integrating them into the cut of modern clothing. Spectacular dresses and coats of Ginger Jackie are worn by the burlesque star Dita Von Teese and popular vintage girl Aida Dapo. In Russia, the main fans of the brand are office workers with medium and high incomes who want to look a bit more feminine than the traditional dress code suggests.
Unique Vintage
To get dressed in retro from head to toe, you need to explore more than a dozen sites. Somewhere you can buy canonical silk stockings with Edwardian seam, somewhere - ultra-high-rise jeans shorts, somewhere - pin-up t-shirts (for fans of ironic reading of the image), somewhere - underwear or caps. There are large sites like Unique Vintage, where many products are presented, but many users recommend to pay attention to one thing, in this case, to swimsuits. Here you can buy multi-colored swimsuits: single and single, with low cutouts and high sitting shorts - all of different sizes.
Miss l fire
The original shoes of the first half of the last century are mostly not suitable for today's customers: sizes have changed a lot since then, and the technologies that ensure an optimal fit on the leg have moved forward. Therefore, the "old" shoes are looking for modern brands that produce more or less convincing stylization for vintage. In particular, the American label copes with this task with an almost fifteen-year history of Miss L Fire: in its collections one can see both "Victorian" shoes and feminine shoes in the spirit of the 30s-40s.
TheSeamstressOfB
The British shop reproduces not only the silhouettes of the 1940s, but also the materials of that era - while doing so quite delicately and successfully fitting into the aesthetics of the currently popular romantic minimalism. All products are made of viscose silk, another name for which is rayon: this material is comfortable to wear and easy to use, so you can expect that such a dress does not lie on the top shelf of the wardrobe waiting for a special occasion. In addition to dresses, the shop offers loose Marlene pants and blouses with round collars and nostalgic pulling buttons.
Vivien of holloway
Briton Vivienne began to sew clothes at the age of ten, opened her first store at eighteen, and then for many years did not change her chosen aesthetics - she replicates dresses from the 1950s. However, not only dresses - the range on the site is impressive: here you can find funny shower caps, charming knickers with frills and wedding dresses just like old romantic comedies. The brand's business card is dresses and skirts, tailored to the silhouettes of the 1950s, but made of modern fabrics with perky prints.