If going thrift shopping sounds more like mothball central than nanna-chic, it's time to pop some tax (sorry I couldn't resist)!
Wearing vintage clothing can be a little daunting because there definitely is a fine line between outfit and fancy dress. My biggest tip is to mix your op-shop pieces with modern items to keep your look current and not like you stepped out of a time machine!
Last weekend I visited the Unique Vintage Sale and picked up a few amazing summer dresses and a great cardigan for $40. Yup. FORTY BUCKS. I wear at least one up-cycled item in most of my outfits, so I figured, for those of you who are a little wary of vintage clothes, I'd write a post about how I'd style the pieces I bought at the sale. I've come up with five different looks for five different fashion senses / occasions so let's get into it!
Daytime Dress Ups
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| Dress - Unique Vintage Sale (two for $15) Hat - secondhand from Fitzroy Market Jade necklace - a gift Clear glitter jelly sandals - Sportsgirl ($19.95) Frilly socks - Cotton On ($4.95) |
So I added my straw hat that I bought secondhand from a market to give it some old-fashioned charm (plus it pays to be sun smart!) and a long pendant necklace to streamline the dress since it's a bit bulkier around the waist. Then I finished off the look with a pair of jelly sandals and white frilly socks. Overall, I think this outfit is lovely and feminine. I was initially going to take up the skirt, but now I actually like it better how it is!
Prom Princess
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| Dress - Unique Vintage Sale (two for $15) Flower crown - CrownedByFlowers ($30) Jeffrey Campbell Eva-B - Nasty Gal ($56.07) |
I was tossing up on whether to get this dress or not; it looked so extravagant on the hanger! But it reminded me of the dresses one of the most gorgeous Melbourne designers, Lady Petrova makes and the beautiful oriental lotus pattern completely won me over in the end so I bought it! This is such a cute party dress and so over the top–does a dress really ever need a wing-like neckline, a big bow, a peplum waist and a belt? (The answer is yes.)
I feel like this would be the perfect Spring Racing Carnival Dress, so I paired it with a large white flower crown to keep the colour palate in soft pastels. I didn't bother with any other accessories because the dress, headpiece and platform shoes kind of steal the show on their own!
The Girl Next Door
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| Dress - Unique Vintage (two for $15) Lulu and Rose Vest - Glue Store Socks - gift Festival Boots - Dotti ($59.95) |
I wasn't sure how to style this dress at first, but when I tried it on at the sale and it fit me perfectly, I knew I had to get it. After all, it's super hard to find vintage pieces that don't need tailoring to fit you! I loved the fitted sleeves, the cray-cray floral print and the doily-esque neckline.
So for this little number, I went for a country town girl kind of look with a cropped denim and lace vest, plus scuffed up combat boots with peek-a-boo socks. I feel like old-school Taylor Swift would be all over an outfit like this.
Festive and Feminine
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| Dress - Unique Vintage Sale (two for $15) Flower headband - CrownedByFlowers ($20) Belt - came with a skirt Boots - Sportsgirl ($40 on sale) |
Wouldn't this be the cutest Christmas party outfit? This dress is such a white-christmas-sipping-hot-coco-by-the-fire kind of dress and even the print reminds me of a decorated tree! I'm not too sure how I feel about the massive shoulder pads in it yet, but it's an easy job of cutting them out if I want to remove them. A lot of vintage pieces have shoulder pads which can be a pretty severe look for today's fashion, but it's an easy fix of just snipping the threads so they come off!
I also added a woven rope belt around the waist to help cinch in the dress as it's a little wider than my natural body shape. Keeping in tune with the holiday season vibe, I also popped on a red floral headpiece and lace up, heeled burgundy boots.
Coco Pop Culture
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| Cardie - Unique Vintage Sale ($10 for two, but I bought just the one) Top - Ozmosis (old) Belt - Sportsgirl ($24.95) Rusty Jeans - Jetty Surf Boots - Sportsgirl ($40 on sale) |
I'm a sucker for a good cardigan, so I couldn't go past this amazing colour-block print one with those amazing gold buttons! Though it did have pretty outrageous shoulder pads (not pictured because I cut them out!). It has a boyfriend blazer silhouette (so it's pretty boxy), so I decided to keep the other elements of my outfit fitted and in neutral colours to let the cardie pop.
And yes, I left my specs on for this one! This whole look has a bit of nerd and a bit of chic in it, so I decided to keep my eyesight for this shot haha I just wore a white tank with a tattoo-esque print on it tucked into my faithful high-waisted black waxed skinny jeans. Then I finished it off with a black and gold chain belt to go with the gold buttons on the cardie, plus my heeled boots (can you tell I love them?).
Which of the five looks were your favourite? If you go vintage shopping, what has been your best old-school find? Let me know in the comments below!
very good cardigan, Coco Pop Culture look is my favorite
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I love that cardie too, thank you for stopping by! :)
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