The Glamour, Glitz and Glory of Womens Vintage Clothing UK Style
December 17, 2018Womens vintage Clothing UK sites and stores give you a multitude of options for recreating the glamour of the bygone eras with authentic or re-imagined vintage clothing.
Women’s vintage clothing eras from the 1920s through the 1950s were all about elegance and style as the world emerged triumphant from two world wars and the Great Depression.
Score exclusive vintage clothing, accessories and styles from vintage clothing UK online sites or brick-and-mortar stores to recreate the essence of these unforgettable fashion decades.
Woman by the sea wearing Polka dot dress, 1937. FOTO:FORTEPAN / Zsilinszky Sándor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Emergence of Womens vintage Clothing UK style
When the world emerged from the dark days and the deprivation of the First and Second World Wars and the Great Depression of 1929, everyone celebrated with exuberant, playful fashion and style pizzazz, all available for you to relive in vintage clothing UK stores online or on the high street.
Annette Hanshaw modelling Dress designed by Gladys Parker, Oct. 1934. Photographer credited as Jackson. Ensemble designed by Gladys Parker., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
As the decades unfolded, the flapper and other carefree vintage clothing of the 1920s gave way to the minimalist and classic elegance, glamour and sophistication of the 1930s, which in turn evolved into the workmanlike, functional styles of the 1940s, which blossomed into the business and street-wear styles of the 1950s.
In the 1930s and the 1950s, we saw similar trends where ladies returned to classic, structured styles that were a perfect blend of sly demure modesty and sexy come-hither silhouettes all at the same time.
Womens vintage clothing from these two eras emphasized the hourglass shape, full skirts down to mid-calf length, gloves and hats for coverage, mystery and sophistication.
You can find the essence of these vintage clothing trends and styles both online at vintage clothing UK sites or in your local thrift and consignment stores.
Vintage clothing UK sites offer you a vast array of choices, clothes, accessories and shoes in all kinds of price points and in both authentic and reworked options.
And vintage clothing UK shops give you the pleasure of touching and feeling the fabrics, embellishments, jewellery and accessories before you find and buy that perfect outfit or essential piece to bring the best vintage fashion looks back to life.
Poster from the 1930 film Showgirl in Hollywood. First National Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Hollywood Influences Womens vintage Clothing
Visit Womens vintage clothing UK sites like Rokit UK to find retro designer wear that epitomizes the Hollywood icons of the past.
Picture Bette Davis in her platinum blonde bob and bold, rosebud red lips and arched eyebrows. Or Vivien Leigh in all her ladylike elegance and classic, timeless vintage clothing.
The look of Hollywood’s heyday was all about exaggerating the female form with tiny waists offset by big puffed sleeves and shoulder pads.
Butterfly sleeves Illustration and pattern, 1922. Brown, P. Clement (Percy Clement), 1886-, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
All about the Sleeves
Go treasure-hunting at your local vintage clothing UK thrift stores and look for fit-and-flare dresses with butterfly or cap sleeves.
Recreate the vintage clothing look for evening in satin and silk, or for day in tweed or cotton. Sleeves were puffed up and emphasized with shoulder pads and frills and flounces finished the ladylike look.
publicity photo of Katharine Hepburn in the 1942 film Woman of the Year. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (work for hire), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Practical Day Wear, Vintage Clothing Style
Source authentic and one-of-a-kind day wear at vintage clothing UK consignment stores. Picture Katherine Hepburn in her sportswear pant suits or classic button-down shirt with high-waisted full pants and you have the inspiration of cult vintage clothing, menswear-style.
Elsa Schiaparelli two piece suit, circa 1938 – 1939. Manuelarosi [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
Designers of Fashion’s Heyday
Dior silhouettes, Balmain dresses, Schiaparelli vintage clothing and Lanvin shapes and styles all set the trends for vintage fashion.
Browse vintage clothing UK sites like Beyond Retro or Best Days Vintage to find genuine designer wear from these fashion houses that you can rock today.
Go with an authentic piece that you can mash-up with your current wardrobe or order a customized recreation of vintage clothing trends that is tailor-made for you. Vintage clothing UK sites also offer you entire outfits from head to toe, so you can create entire looks at one store.
Jean Harlow, 1930s. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Womens Vintage Clothing Accessorized the Authentic Way
Jean Harlow with a black beret and black wrist-length gloves, offsetting a white ruffled collar with nipped-in waist and full skirt. Or Greta Garbo in a slouch hat titled provocatively over one eye.
Ladies of peak fashion eras used accessories to add those essential finishing touches to their vintage clothing style.
Check out vintage clothing UK sites or your local thrift stores for berets, wide-brimmed straw hats, T-strap shoes or Oxfords to add that glam factor to anything you wear.
Day to Evening Glam
Vintage clothing was glamourized with costume jewellery, made famous by Coco Chanel. Day suits in classic tweed were finished with strings of fake pearls, while evening wear was glammed-up with chunky bold earrings and bracelets, worn over elbow-length gloves.
Visit your local vintage clothing UK consignment store to find heirloom pieces of jewellery to bring that bygone glamour into your look today.
Walis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, 1934.
Attributed to Angelo Laviosa, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Wallis Simpson Womens vintage Clothing Style
Wallis Simpson was both notorious and emulated and was always the best-dressed woman in the room.
Scour vintage clothing UK sites and stores to find the pieces that epitomized her look: nipped-in waists on fitted tweed jackets, pussy-bow necklines on fit-and-flare dresses, coat dresses embellished with big shiny brooches and shirt-dresses with big buttons and long full skirts.
Finish the look with short white gloves and bold red lips and you have the timeless look of a vintage clothing fashion icon.
1920s photo of Coco Chanel and Dmitriy Pavlovich. AnonymousUnknown author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Reworking Vintage Fashion for Today
So many timeless classic styles and trends of the past continue to flatter and glamourize the runways of today.
Recreate the vintage clothing styles of past decades by taking a virtual tour of vintage clothing UK online stores to find those never-goes-out-of-style pieces like fit-and-flare dresses with short puffed sleeves, flounced midi skirts and ruffles at the neck.
Pair the look with modern accessories like block heeled pumps and a structured hand bag and you can work your retro vintage clothing style in any setting.
Other classic looks to source from your local vintage clothing UK store are tweed skirt suits, which never go out of style.
This look comes back season after season, and is as timeless as Chanel. Give your suit a modern look by splitting it up and pairing the jacket with skinny jeans and white T-shirt and the skirt with a turtleneck sweater, tights and ankles boots.
Timeless classic styles
Timeless vintage clothing accessories include berets, oxfords and ladylike structured bags. Modern or vintage clothing UK stores and sites both have a large selection for you to choose from.
Pick solid warm colours for your berets and classic black or brown for your oxfords. Rock the vintage clothing look of berets with turtleneck sweaters and cigarette pants. Add the perfect touch to your mini skirt with chunky-heeled laced-up oxfords worn over tights.
And don’t forget the structured bag. This is the quintessential piece to polish your office look or add glamour to your evening wear.
Have you been inspired to bring vintage clothing styles and trends to life? Check out the vintage clothing UK site of Collective for retro styles reworked in modern fabrications. Or head on over to Etsy to find one-of-a-kind pieces from the past to enhance your personal style.
You have endless Womens vintage clothing UK virtual stores and main street shops to find and buy those special pieces that recreate the best of vintage clothing fashion, with your own personal touch.
Notes
[iii] www.bestdaysvintage.co.uk
