It takes more than clothes to carry off the retro look. It takes panache. You need to feel good in your own skin. Most of us now days never put an iron to our clothing. We usually just wash them, dry them and hang them up, but to pull off the retro look you need to look like you were well put together. If you don’t look well put together you will just look shabby. You don’t want to look shabby, but you do want to look sheik. I like to iron my blouses with a little spray starch, and press my clothes if they need it.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to look great. The way we dress should make a statement about who we are. Wearing clothes should do more than cover our bodies, they should reflect our personality. Check out your closet. If you wear vintage style clothing, and you want a fresh new look, but don’t have the cash or the inclination to go out and buy all new clothes, you don’t need to go out and buy all new clothes. What you need to do is mix and match and accessorize. Don’t throw those old clothes out anymore; if you keep your old clothes long enough they will come back in style. Just jazzing your vintage clothing can give you your own unique bedazzling look. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to give yourself a new look.
Vintage clothing is stylish no matter what era you are in. Add scarves, vests and wide belts and you have a brand new outfit. I have an olive green fishtail skirt and jacket that I have loved since the late 1970s. I found a bright neon multi-colored green and pink blouse that went perfect with it, and I accented the ensemble with a wide patent leather belt. The best place to find shoes and accessories to complete the retro look is at high end thrift stores. I completed my look with some dark olive green suede sling back pumps that I bought from the American Thrift Store. I had a brand new outfit that looked really high end, but didn’t cost me much of anything. The shoes I got for $5, and the blouse was for $8, and the wide belt I bought at Walmart for $12. For $25 I was able to bring a lovely old suit back to life and it looked like it belonged in this century.
I love going to the thrift stores, and I love the retro look. I like to wear my hair swept up, and dab on a touch of dark bronze lipstick to complete the look. There is something very classy about the retro look. It’s so simple to dress up a simple outfit. When I see some of these “old fashioned” dresses I am put in mind of the movie Pearl Harbor. The women in the movie looked really classy. You can take that retro look and bring it into the 21st century with a set of pearls, or a pretty costume gold or silver necklace and bracelet. Add some retro styled shoes and a sleek leather bag and you are in business.
