Erin Ogg, 45, of New Orleans, and her friends dress in styles from the 1940s or 1950s when they have drinks at the Sazerac Bar in the city’s historic Roosevelt Hotel. They don dresses with belted waists, pencil skirts and blouses, and accessorise with hats and gloves. A waitress and personal trainer named Ms. Ogg stated, “We receive a lot of comments. “It has a lot more grace and style than a hoodie sweatshirt and Ugg boots,” she said of the feminine ensemble.
Ms. Ogg and her companions don some antique attire sometimes. But nowadays, an increasing number of designers that specialise in the retro appearance produce their clothing as copies of old garments.
Theresa Campbell McKee, 55, the proprietor of the online replica shop Blue Velvet Vintage, said, “I sell to women who say they go to the mall and can’t find anything that isn’t either flimsy and trendy or dowdy and frumpy.” They desire something timeless and special that enhances their beauty.
The majority of mid-20th century trends, in contrast to many modern looks that are layered, slouched, and unisex, were designed to enhance, if not flatten, the feminine figure. Replicas of historic garments have full circle or straight-to-the-knee skirts with the same plain, unadorned lines as the originals. Swishy or pegged trousers are common; Mandarin or flared collars, as well as double-breasted fronts, may be found on shirts (although not the sometimes-problematic yellowed armpits of vintage clothing).
Michelle Larae Koons, 31, a secretary at a utility company and a part-time model in Las Vegas, said, “I love vintage clothes, but they don’t hold up well and they’re hard to fit into if you are a curvier gal.” A double-breasted dress by Bettie Page Clothing with a pencil skirt and three-quarter sleeves and Steve Madden peep-toe high heels is her go-to replica vintage ensemble. (In 2006, Bettie Page Clothing purchased the rights to utilise the image of the 1950s pinup girl for their business.)
On websites like Etsy.com, a growing number of people offer hand-sewn vintage replicas alongside the now-hundreds of new retro companies. Like authentic vintage, the cost of copies varies according to the fabric and tailoring quality, but the majority are reasonably priced, with dresses falling in the $150–300 price range.
Stop Staring! in Paramount, California, generally regarded as the pioneer in replica vintage apparel, was founded by Alicia Estrada, 39, who also serves as its chief executive. “People used to laugh at me when I tried to sell these kinds of clothes when I started 13 years ago,” Estrada said. “At this time, more than 1,000 boutiques worldwide sell my clothing.”
Some purists scoff at the tendency, if not mock it. Reproduction clothing designers have been compared to karaoke bar singers by Madeline Meyerowitz, proprietor of the vintage clothes Web site enokiworld.com, which offers brands including Courrèges and Claire McCardell. She argued that the song should be performed by the original artist rather than you.
However, sales of replica garments are brisk not just in the US but also in Sweden, England, France, and Italy. Anna Olsen, a 29-year-old housewife from Stockholm who only wears retro clothes, stated that while she likes antique clothing, she doesn’t like the musty smell, stains, uncomfortable fit, and fragility that might come with it.
“With the reproduction clothing, I don’t have to worry about any of that,” she reportedly stated in an email. “I’m confident there won’t be any issues with the clothing, and if there are, I can simply return it,” the person said. Her go-to ensemble is a black empire-waisted dress by Trashy Diva with cap sleeves inspired by the 1940s, which she pairs with Minna Parikka platform shoes from Finland.
Reproduction The tattooed, fishnet-clad rockabilly crowd, which also cherishes 1950s music and vehicles as well as fashion, was the first to adopt vintage apparel. But the trend has become more widely popular, appealing to everyone from young people looking for elegant prom gowns to businesswomen seeking conventional yet seductive office wear to older folks yearning for the garb of their youth.
Letty Tennant, 30, is the owner and principal designer of Queen of Heartz in Anaheim, California. “Since ‘Mad Men,’ it’s been crazy busy,” she remarked. “And you can’t say it’s just a fad because these clothes are timeless classics, not something you’d wear “in” one year and “you wouldn’t be caught dead in it” in the following year,” she said.
