How to Integrate Vintage into Your Wardrobe

Vintage items have a unique ability to highlight your individuality, bold styling preferences, and love for fashion.

Let's start with the basics. In an era of smart and responsible consumption, vintage furs and retro elements in wardrobes have become popular. It’s essential to understand which items are considered vintage and which are labeled as retro.

The term and concept of retro come from the French word "rétrospectif," which translates to "looking back." This means that retro designs have details, motifs, and forms that immediately suggest a specific decade.

So, retro items are modern products that replicate or are inspired by the past.

Vintage, on the other hand, refers to items that were created at least two decades ago. Moreover, a vintage piece should reflect the iconic trends of its time. For example, a sweater from the 70s should have the characteristic wide sleeves, wrap style, and wide hem typical of that era.

Now, let's smoothly transition into how to integrate these items into your wardrobe and create outfits with them.

1. Ensure the Vintage Piece Has a Relevant Shape: We’re not talking about trendy features, but about the style of a particular decade. This could be from the 70s, 80s, or 90s.

2. Understand the Decade: To style such items correctly, it’s essential to feel the decade and know the clothes, silhouettes, and accessories characteristic of that time. If it’s a coat with power dressing aesthetics and accentuated shoulder lines, style it harmoniously with a dramatic angular bag or pointed toe pumps. If it’s a jacket with fringe, made of suede with a hint of the 70s hippie style, then adding flared jeans would be appropriate.

3. Rule of Contrast: Do you want your outfits to be as stylish as possible? Then add a touch of unexpectedness (read: trendiness), such as sporty sunglasses, sneakers, or interesting jewelry.

4. No More Than 40% Vintage in One Outfit: This rule prevents the outfit from looking theatrical or like a museum piece.

5. Start Small: If you’re just developing a love for vintage or want to start with 1-2 items to see if it suits your mood, focus on accessories like earrings, rings, or iconic pearls.

6. Neutralize Accents with Modern Shoes and Bags: The key is for them to be as contemporary as possible.

7. Combine with Minimalism, Casual, Smart-Casual, Drama, and Sports Styles: Vintage items pair exceptionally well with these styles.

8. Play with Opposite Seasons: Heard of this stylistic method? It’s when you add a raffia basket to a vintage fur. The outfit instantly becomes fresh and stylish.

Vintage pieces in an outfit make a statement, express individuality, and tell a story about your personality. These are items you won’t see on a friend or colleague. They carry historical value and uniqueness, representing a love for the beautiful.

Seek out your vintage items and experiment with them in your outfits. Dare to make bold choices!