Bringing back retro

Let's bring back retro fashion

Retro Fashion 

You can’t actually go shopping for clothes anywhere without saying the words “that’s so retro”. The fact is, retro fashion is back and the different eras are merging into one another.

I personally love retro fashion, but you do need to know how to wear it. Ever era had it’s good points and it’s not so good points. It takes some restraint to make it work.

So that’s what I want to do in this article. I want to show you, my spin on bringing back retro fashion and the good points I think you should focus on when you try put together your own retro fashion throw-backs.

Let’s get started with the 20s…

The 20s

The fashion of this era was fun and flirty. All you have to do is think of the movie Gatsby and you already know what to expect.

Now as beautiful as the 20s fashion is, I think you’ll struggle to pull of elbow length gloves and tassels.  But then what do I know, I’ve gone out for an evening of dancing in a red tops hat…

See?

Anyway, for some 20s fashion rather focus on:

•          A dropped waist;
•          Strappy heals;
•          Lots of beads and bracelets;
•         Fun hair accessories with sparkle and maybe some feathers; or
•          A cloche hat (as close to).

There’s my take, see dropped waist, hat and strappy heals.

So, nothing noteworthy happened in the world of fashion in the 30s and 40s. I think everyone was more worried about recovering from war to be fashionable. So lets jump to the 50s.

The 50s

This is another era of beautiful fashion and I personally advocate for drawing on your inner pin up girl as much as possible.

For 50s fashion, I’d say focus on:

·         Poka dots! And lots of them!;

·         High waisted;

·         High heals; and

·         Red, red lips!

Oh and curly hair is a must here, it adds to the flirtiness of this fashion. Here’s my versions.

The 60s

Now to another of my favourite fashion eras, the 60s. This era is fun, sassy and cute. There’s also lots to work with, so here’s what you can use:

•          High waisted pants and short (yes please);
•          Short dresses with a fitted waist;
•          Shirts and dresses with petter pan collars;
•          Caplets;
•          Fun bold prints; and
•          Of course, if you’re feeling hippy vibes, peace signs accessories.

The 70s

Now let’s bring back disco. The 70s were about fun and partying and the fashion shows that. So for your 70s through back, focus on:

•          Bold and psychedelic prints;
•          Boots. If I could find a pair of white GoGo boots, I’d be all over them;
•          Of course, there's the bell bottoms. Just be careful with these. If you’re big on top, then the bells may just make you look bigger; and
•          If you’re brave, a plunging neckline too.

Just please no yucky tassels.  Those are a bad through back.

Now, let’s get colourful

The 80s

Let’s not lie, the 80s were bad. Bad, bad, bad! Too many mismatched colours and some fabric textures that should never be repeated.

So if you’re going to try pull off the 80s, stick to:

•         Bright colours (a few but not too many);
•         T-shirt with bold slogans and pictures; and
•         Layers.

My version doesn't look very 80s at all I know, but I kept it to the 80s use of bright colour with neon pinks and green.

If you want to do more than that… good luck and please send my photos!

But… in the spirit of retro fashion this did happen…

Yeah… anyway, onto our last era.

The 90s

Oh the bubble pop and girl power. With the influences of the Spice Girls there was a lot of pink and sparkle. This was this era of the platform sneaker thing and pigtails, not to mention my childhood.

To pull off a bit of 90sness go for:

• Crop tops (if you’re a prude like me just wear a tank top underneath it);
• Bell bottom jeans;
• Lots of pink;
• Sneakers (if anyone still has their spice girls shoes, then you’re my hero);
• Acid washed denim shorts and shirts;
• Tommy takkies;
• Floral and plaid prints; and
• Over sized shirts. 

Here’s my 90s throw back.

With all of these things, restraint is key. Pick one or two focus elements and make them stand out.

Retro fashion is about having fun and mixing it up.

So go get your retro on and I’d love to see photos of your retro fashion.

I'll leave you with this image of boyfriend (he's meant to be Prince) and myself before hitting Flash Back Friday last night.

Yes... I went 80s...