Fashion is cyclical, and many of the hot trends for fall pay homage to looks from decades gone by.
From ’70s-style tie-neck blouses, ponchos, wide-leg trousers and midi skirts that hit mid-calf to ’80s-style animal-print blouses and embellished shoulders, there are ample opportunities to incorporate vintage and vintage-inspired pieces into your wardrobe, according to Vancouver stylist Janna Moats, co-owner of Willows Lifestyle Boutique (www.facebook.com/willowsboutique, www.atshirtgirl.blogspot.com).
Other throwbacks to past decades on trend for fall include lace, leather jackets, denim jackets, plaids, faux-fur vests, vintage T-shirts and cross-body bags, she added.
These items can be found new at stores such as Willows in downtown Vancouver and Lily Atelier (www.lilyatelier.com) and Accentuate in Camas (www.accentuateofcamas.com), or used at places such as the Vancouver vintage shop Most Everything (www.mosteverything.us), the east Vancouver shop Deja Vu Consignment (www.dejavunew2you.com) and Goodwill (www.goodwill.org).
To keep vintage clothes from looking costumey or frumpy, Moats recommends mixing them with more contemporary pieces. When buying actual vintage clothing, make sure it isn’t stained, and have it tailored to ensure a good fit, she said.
Woodland’s Kate Stilwell has been wearing vintage clothing since high school, when she would borrow her mother’s apparel from the ’60s and ’70s.
About two years ago, though, when she took up swing dancing, Stilwell, 25, started acquiring dresses from the ’30s and ’40s.
One of her favorite vintage shops is The Urban Eccentric in Uptown Village (www.etsy.com/shop/urbaneccentric, www.facebook.com/urbaneccentric).
Stilwell, a certified teacher currently working as a sales associate at Cotton Babies in Vancouver, also likes several vintage shops on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard in Portland, including The Red Light Clothing Exchange (redlightclothingexchange.com) and Crossroads Trading Co. (crossroadstrading.com).
For new clothes with a vintage flair, she favors Anthropologie (www.anthropologie.com) and Free People Clothing Boutique (www.freepeople.com) in Portland.
Even when buying clothes from mainstream retail stores, Stilwell likes to incorporate vintage accessories to make the look more her own.
“I like to be different,” she said. “I don’t want to wear the same thing that everyone else is wearing, so I like to mix it up.”
Accessories such as cat-eye glasses and styling touches like red lipstick or a pompadour hairstyle can help give an outfit a vintage flavor, Stilwell said. The right attitude helps, as well.
“If you have the sass and attitude to wear vintage, that’s a big part of it,” she said.
Stilwell and Paige Pienkowski, a 28-year-old Battle Ground resident, recently came to The Columbian’s studio for a photo shoot to showcase vintage-inspired looks that Moats put together.
Stilwell’s favorite ensemble from the shoot was a vintage plaid midi skirt from Most Everything paired with an L.A. Idol denim jacket, black Michael Stars camisole, plaid-lined booties, woven belt, bag and feather earrings from Willows.
“It was closer to classic vintage, but it had a lot of spunk and edge,” Stilwell said.
Pienkowski, a baker at Je T’aime Bakery in Uptown Village, liked the ’70s-style outfit Moats put together for her, especially the brown suede Banana Republic jacket from Deja Vu.
“That was incredible,” Pienkowski said. “That’s just totally my style.”
Mary Ann Albright: www.twitter.com/col_malbright; www.facebook.com/MaryAnnAlbright1; maryann.albright@columbian.com; 360-735-4507.
