Vintage Fashion = A New You

Clothes-shopping at rummage sales can make the world a better place, says Margaret Wilds, author of “Wear Vintage Now: Choose It, Care for It, Style it Your Way” (Margaret Wilds, 2020).

“I worry about the present state of new fashion available to most of us, with much of it poorly designed, inadequately made by terribly underpaid workers, and without a sense of freshness in spirit, production or style,” Wilds writes in the book. “I worry about the use of the world’s resources as fast fashion is bought and discarded more rapidly all the time. I worry about people and how this ever-accelerating world makes them think and act.”

A handy guide for body measurements to make shopping a breeze

A handy guide for body measurements to make shopping a breeze

The cover of "Wear Vintage Now: Choose It, Care for It, Style It Your Way," written and published by Margaret Wilds in 2020.

On the other hand, she writes, slow fashion is like slow food. It doesn’t mean being unfashionable, but it does mean choosing better and fewer fashions, taking care of them rather than throwing them away and adding to environmental waste.

Moreover, vintage clothing was made with finer fabric, better buttons and trims, by fairly paid garment workers, in the United States. Tags on 1950s fashions will proclaim the work by a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), which at one time was one of the largest labor unions in the U.S., and the first to have a primarily female membership.

“In comparison, Green America’s Retail Scorecard gives Walmart an F, Target a D+ for use of sweatshops and forced child labor,” she writes.

Wilds began wearing vintage in 1974 because she “had the pocket change of a teenager and the soul of someone who didn’t feel she fit in.” She started selling on eBay in 1999 and is now president of the Vintage Fashion Guild. She also provides information and sells the book and other items on her website, denisebrain.com. The name is a tribute to the late French horn virtuoso Dennis Brain (192157) because of her first career as principal horn at the Spokane Symphony and as horn instructor at Whitman College.

Vintage fashion is also more accepting of diverse body types, Wilds says. The 1920s and 1960s favored straighter, thinner shapes, but the late 40s to early 60s was the “hourglass era.” During the World War II era (1939-46), and even the 1970s, clothes took on a more natural shape, neither straight nor super-curvy. The 80s were more like the 50s. The book has delectable color photos of fashions from the 1910s-80s, as well as period advertisements to provide context, and contemporary ensembles by other bloggers.

Burlesque diva Dita Von Teese may “time travel” to the 40s and 50s, but most women mix up eras. Wilds suggests buying brooches as a good first step, followed by handbags, scarves (think Vera designs of the 1970s – my Mom and I bought matching black-and-white ones), earrings, eyeglasses and hats. The book has a wonderful chart for determining which hat styles complement various face shapes.

Vintage sizes are not uniform, however, so one of Wild’s most helpful takeaways for shoppers at both rummage sales and vintage stores is a chart for taking your measurements. In order to shop for clothes on the fly, you will need to create your own graph from the following dimensions:

• Bust (with your bra on, at the fullest part)

• Under bust

• Shoulder width (across the back, from your armpits)

• Waist (just above your belly button)

• Hips (heels together, at the fullest part, 8 inches from your waist)

• Outer sleeve length

• Upper arm

• Neck

• Back length to waist

• Inseam (groin to hem)

• Outer leg length (waist to hem)

• Rise (from the groin to the waist, front and back)

Stretchy material will provide a little bit of “give,” but you have to be honest with yourself, or risk popping seams and destroying an outfit.

The clothes you buy may inspire adventures, like a trip to a jazz club or a cocktail party with friends. See accompanying furniture story and Mid-Century Modern barware (page 11)

“More than any time in history, style is individual,” Wilds writes. “Go ahead and be that self-assured and stylish pack of one.”

LEFT: The cover of "Wear Vintage Now: Choose It, Care for It, Style It Your Way," written and published by Margaret Wilds in 2020. ABOVE: A handy guide for body measurements to make shopping a breeze. RIGHT: Vintage items found by Wilds, including a crochet pattern purse styled to match the original photograph from the 1940s (top). All photos courtesy of Margaret Wilds at denisebrain.com

by Suzanne Hanney