Muse: Issue 02

THE SKINNY
CAT-EYE
FRAMES.
THE CHUNKY
SNEAKERS. THE
WHITE BOOTS.
We’ve seen our favorite celebrities sporting
these fashion pieces, whether it’s at
high-profile events or simply on the
streets with their casual, model-off-duty
looks. These trends have one thing in
common – they’re part of a set of trends
making a comeback from the 70s, 80s,
and 90s. Today, we’re seeing a boom of
retro and vintage pieces in the fashion
world. Designers are integrating these
trends into the clothes they put out, and
consumers are excitedly reaching toward
them. Of course, such trends look great
when paired correctly and have the
potential to create truly novel looks. But
why do we love throwback fashion?
What’s the appeal of retro and vintage
trends, even for those of us who don’t
exactly have ties to the decades these
clothes were popular?
In examining retro and vintage fashion,
it is important to distinguish the two
terms. Retro represents style that imitates
trends, music, and attitudes that
are no longer modern. On the other
hand, vintage refers to an actual piece
of clothing manufactured in the past. In
other words, retro clothing doesn’t indicate
a specific time period a piece of
clothing was created, but instead allows
vintage trends to come back into our
fashion today.
The first reason retro trends might be
making a comeback today is as a
response to fast
fashion. We all
know the feeling
of walking into
Forever21 or
H&M and discovering
a great deal
for a great piece of clothing. Fast fashion
is the process of creating fashion trends
quickly and making them cheaply available
to customers. This new style of
manufacturing has become the new
trend. However, according to Marilyn
DeLong, a researcher in apparel design,
consumers might be looking for something
other than just mass-manufactured
garments. She believes that as shoppers,
we wish to create our own individual
identities and escape common
trends, which is achievable by wearing
both retro and vintage items of clothing.
This is especially applicable to vintage
pieces of clothing. In a research article
entitled, “The Rise of Vintage Fashion
and the Vintage Consumer,” a representative
from the British vintage store Little
Red Vintage stated that the underlying
themes of vintage clothing are “originality,
authenticity, and quality.” As we all
know, combining retro and vintage clothing
with contemporary pieces lets us
make truly novel looks. We all become
our own designer, and a “symbol of fashion
independence.”
There’s a piece of clothing that is a
prime example of our search for individuality:
mom jeans. According to a New
York Post article, mom jeans became
popular in the 1980s because they were
a reference of “starlet silhouettes.” Now,
we see ourselves wearing mom jeans
without batting an eye toward the trend’s
supposed “older” look. And according to
Jessica Morgan, the co-creator of a popular
celebrity style blog, she credits this
increased popularity of mom jeans to
their potential to make an outfit look
simply more interesting and unique.
Also suggested as to why we’re so
intrigued by trends from the past is
ON THE OTHER HAND, VINTAGE
REFERS TO AN ACTUAL PIECE
OF CLOTHING MANUFACTURED
IN THE PAST.
perhaps a fascination with past time
periods. Let’s face it - we’re surrounded
by a rapidly-changing environment. So
who can blame us if by focusing on retro
and vintage pieces, we are finding relief
from this environment and are attempting
to instead connect with the past?
Regardless of whether we have an
age-related connection to the past, we
may still view the 90s as an age of simplicity.
The past comes with a certain
nostalgia, and perhaps we are comforted
by the ability to grasp it.
Of course, there’s a huge contributor
to the popularity of retro and vintage
trends we’re constantly surrounded by.
Take social media, for example. Fashion
influencers achieve millions of followers
on social media, and these influencers
have the power to globally impact all
types of peoples’ perspectives on fashion.
Many of these popular fashion bloggers
and influencers are heavily falling
into vintage and retro trends. Many of
vlogger Emma Chamberlain’s aesthetic
Instagram pictures feature items such
as bell bottoms, retro striped denim,
and cat eye sunglasses. Blogger Kavita
Donkersley, who runs the blog titled
“She Wears Fashion” often documents
her love of vintage fashion. Aside from
social media, media such as film and
television often incorporate vintage and
retro fashion, once again increasing its
appeal. For example, the show Girl Boss,
featuring the founder of Nasty Gal,
vintage clothing is brought to the forefront,
emphasizing its unique and
stylish charm.
With consumers constantly turning
their head toward vintage and retro
pieces, there is one concept that plays a
huge role in retro and vintage fashion:
thrifting. We all
know the feeling
of finding that one
perfect shirt for a
great deal at the
thrift shop, and
the rush that
ISSUE 02: SUBCULTURES IN FASHION
PHOTOGRAPHER: Silas Chu, @silas_shc
MODEL: Cassie Collinge, @cassiecollinge
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