Why Do People Like Vintage Clothes? October 02 2015

I have been asked in the past “What do you like about vintage clothes & lingerie?”  I tell them “Everything!” 

The quality of the workmanship, the styles, the elaborate trims and decorations which manufacturers no longer use, the expensive bound buttonholes on a dress or robe, the yards & yards of flowing sheer nylon in peignoir sets, the exquisite fabrics used in nightgowns, etc.

I could go on and on but the best part of vintage is that it is a journey into the past.  It takes you from this busy often mundane world of today back to the day when things were slower and nicer and much prettier than today.  It makes you remember when you wore that beautiful prom dress to your Senior prom or the Winter Formal that everyone was dying to go to.  Also, that wonderful evening that you had with that dreamboat when he finally asked you out and you wore that beautiful dress that you talked your mother into getting for you.  Those days are gone forever but they can be relived over again when wearing a vintage outfit or dress.

It reminds you of when you smell a certain perfume that you wore on a special night like Fame, Arpege or Chanel No. 5 or any of those luscious scents that one rarely smells nowadays and many that have disappeared altogether.  All of a sudden so many of those memories come rushing back into your mind like it was yesterday - what you wore that night, what was said, where you went, what you did and all of the fun you had.  It transports you back to yesteryear and brings back so many wonderful memories of a good time you had when women looked so much more beautiful, elegant and fashionable than today.

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 That is why women love vintage clothing.  It brings back all of the good memories that you had tucked away and forgotten for so many decades.  And it enables one to relive even for a short time some of those wonderful memories and dreams that we all have from bygone years.

True vintage women's clothing have qualities that “vintage style”, “knock off vintage”, “retro-look”, “vintage inspired” and “vintage reproductions” do not have.  All of those clothes no matter if they are cute are no more than reproductions, knock offs and imitations of the real thing - true bona fide vintage clothing.  It is not the genuine item and consequently does not have the same value or quality or style as an original vintage dress or piece of lingerie.  That is why an authentic vintage nightgown, peignoir set, dress or evening gown will cost more and have more value to it as well as the fabulous quality and workmanship that we all remember and loved from those many years ago and which have lasted for over 65 years & more.

The majority of the beautiful vintage sleepwear including nightgowns, peignoir sets and women’s dresses were made by manufacturers in the United States although some did come from France and Italy from their top designers there but NEVER from China or any third world country as is happening today.  That is the reason you cannot find quality in "reproductions" or “retro-styles” or "vintage inspired" items. 

First of all there is no quality in the item, they are cheaply made, they are cut extremely small and not suited for women sizes in the U.S.  What is labeled a size 3 XXX will not even fit a U.S. size 6! Although the style may look cute, the item never has the quality workmanship that vintage clothing has that was made in in the United States in the ’50s, '60s, '70s & '80s and that is the reason so many women love vintage clothes.

Not only are you buying American products when you buy vintage clothing manufactured in the United States which is wonderful and important for our country and our economy but you are recycling at the same time.