 | Chako
Street/Urban Wear Expert
The word on the street is... fashion! Our sassy Street Wear Expert Chako is the urban outfitter you need to sport serious threads, G. |
The Vintage Vixen
10/09/00
A lust for vintage has recently swept the fashion world and is oh-so-accessible to all you
ladies en vogue! The craze can be seen in Prada's fall line ads and Miu Miu's bags and sling
back shoes. What's always great about these waves in fashion is that they can always be caught
in cheaper and easier ways than on the shelves of ritzy upscale boutiques. After all, we're all
starving and fashion savvy students here, right?
The greatest thing about integrating urban fashion with vintage is in the details. Pairing
quirky vintage pieces together with simple street basics like fitted dirty denim jeans or
trendy track tennis shoes can really give you an edge above those who simply recreate the
images that were once icons in the age of your grandmothers. A fashion icon of our time is
Mary J. Blige whose street smart style has influenced even the likes of trend-setter, Madonna,
for her recently released album (Mary is a Goddess!). She uses fur in its full glamour
potential and works a fedora harder than Al Capone himself.
Pieces for fall are readily available (perhaps with a little beating from time) in all of
your local thrift stores. It's just a matter of patience and time, ladies. If you don't
have a high supply of either of those things, you can always check out a real vintage/resale
shop, which boots higher prices to its customers but always has an amazing selection. Now,
I almost forgot the easiest place to look is in your mother's closet. We live in a society
where "pack-ratting" is an acceptable and very popular hobby. With this knowledge, I can
assure you that your mother has kept at least some of her old favorites: pieces of jewelry,
handbags or clothing that might just be exactly what you are looking for. So don't forget
to ask her!
Now that I've told you where you can find good vintage and how, I bet you're wondering what
pieces are essential. Well, mid-length coats are very hot. Look for something in tweed or
camel colored that has a nice big fur collar (We're not talking butterfly collars, either!).
If you think this look is too old for you, try removing the fur collar (Try to avoid real fur!!) and
replacing it with a funky faux fur from your local art/cloth store. Lace and velvet pieces
(especially dresses) with muted ruffles or ornate beading always look fabulous paired with an
old denim jacket and a pair of old Bruno Magli sling backs (For shoes: think sling backs and t-straps!). Embroidered sweater tops are always plentiful at the thrift stores and look great with a pair of fitted dark denim; sometimes it is just hard to find one in your size. Silk and chiffon blouses are also a good find and go nicely with bell-bottom trousers for a funky twist. Look for purses shaped like doctor's bags and dyed faux-crocodile purses.
Good luck! And remember thrifting takes a lot of effort but the results are always worth it
because no one will have what you have on!
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