Did you catch my last post on understanding the difference between retro and vintage? I never understood the difference until I started learning more about vintage clothing and previous time periods. I think it’s important to know because not only does it inform your purchasing choices, it helps you define your personal style. This post is about the two things you need to do to look more retro or emulate a vintage feel to your wardrobe. Before we get to that, we need to understand the specific silhouettes of each era.
The silhouette is what changes the most from era to era, and is what defines the fashion of each period.
My favorite fashion decades are the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s so I’m going to specifically focus on those in this article. If you want more details, check out the Vintage Dancer website, an excellent place to do a deep dive on fashion history and also discover where to buy vintage reproduction clothing.
To briefly touch on other decades, here are some pictures of earlier eras:
Starting with the Edwardian era: a raised hemline (from previous decades), straight skirt silhouette, defined natural waist, and loose fitting top.
The 1920s: Even shorter hemlines, a dropped waist or straight waist, and sleeveless top.
This brings us to the lovely 1930s.
The decade began during The Great Depression so women used what they had to make clothing. They repurposed older clothing and used the fabric to make new things, or used things like cloth feed sacks to make dresses. These feed sacks were often adorned with pretty floral designs and made for a pretty and feminine fabric. Clothing manufacturers made dresses out of fabric with these motifs too, (usually a small, random floral print known as ditsy design).
Dresses and skirts didn’t use much extra fabric, the waist was defined at the high natural waist and skirts were fairly straight or natural. Tops were fitted but not tight, and flowy fabric was used with flirty details. Art deco architecture was the thing of the day and these details were used in clothing too, in belt buckles, jewelry, and patterns. Hemlines fell to the mid calf or just above the ankle.
The late 1930s brought the US and UK into WW2 and fabric became rationed; everything extra had to go to the war effort. The clothing certainly reflected this as dress silhouettes became more utilitarian. Waist lines were defined at the natural high waist, the A line skirt was popular and tops were blousy but fitted.
Clothes had to do double duty as women went into the workforce and held things together at home. Swing skirts were also popular as young ladies went out dancing. In the late 40s swing skirts and circle skirts gained popularity as more fabric could be used. Hemlines rose to the knee or just under it, depending on the age of the wearer.
The post war era of the 1950s was a time of prosperity and luxury, values that were certainly shown in the clothing of the day. Women wore corsets to cinch the waist, circle or pencil skirts, and form fitting tops. An extreme feminine form was en vogue. (This is reflected in the modern pinup girl look.) Hemlines remained about the same, just under the knee or mid calf.
Here’s the bottom line: If you want to dress with a more retro look, the two most defining features will be:
- A defined, natural waist.
- A hemline that is knee to mid calf length.
And that’s it, those are the two things you need to keep in mind when building in a vintage feel to your outfit, or defining a more period specific look. For more inspiration, check out my pintrest boards!
I hope this helps you on your vintage fashion journey as you enjoy putting together everyday and special event looks. Don’t forget that it’s okay to mix and match eras and in one look, and go from time period to the next, you’re never locked into anything in fashion.