5 Vintage Clothing Items That Will Never Go Out of Style
There’s a reason why vintage clothes are so beloved. They are fun to find, one-of-a-kind pieces that give you a totally unique look. Vintage clothes are well-made and lasting, so they are awesome choices if you want sustainable fashion because they don’t use new resources that pollute the Earth.
The clothes that have the most enduring appeal are those signature items that define each decade. These are the perennial favourites of the fashion world because of their combination of classic style and functionality. The evergreen pieces of the vintage wardrobe are good clothing resale ideas since fashion lovers will continue to want these staple vintage looks in their wardrobes. If you don’t have these items yet, check out the huge vintage selection on Vestiaire Collective and embrace vintage.
Durable vintage denim
Denim is one of the most beloved clothing fabrics in the world. Besides transcending time, clothing made from denim has also transcended place. All around the world, denim leads the charge in terms of staple fashion.
Denim isn’t the friendliest material for the planet, though. A single pair of jeans requires almost four thousand litres of water to produce. There are alternatives that minimise the impact of wearing the beloved blues. Eco friendly clothing brands like Reformation and Nudie Jeans offer jeans made with sustainable production practices that are committed to helping people and the planet. Even better is to shop your denim favourites pre-loved through Vestiaire Collective. We have all the big names in denim, with a smaller carbon impact.
Denim has existed since the late 19th century when the Levi Strauss company stamped the first pair with 501. Today, these jeans are vintage collector’s items. Even Levi Strauss is after vintage Levi’s: in 1997, the company paid twenty-five thousand US dollars for a pair of circa 1890 501s. Check out Vestiaire for our selection of vintage jeans. Who knows? You might just get lucky and score an original pair that will increase in value into the future.
Each generation has given its own distinct flavour to the material. From ‘30s Western cowboys to ‘50s mod, from the bell-bottomed free-spirit of the ‘70s to the baggy looks of the ‘90s, there is a vintage denim look for you.
It’s not just jeans where denim shines. Denim jackets have been in style for decades and they are great for customising with pins and patches. No matter what denim piece you buy, denim jeans and denim jackets are among the very most versatile clothing items.
The timeless trench coat
The trench coat is a timeless wardrobe item. Ever since its inception as a coat for officers in the military during the First World War, people have adored its functionality. The trench is incredibly versatile. You can wear it in any type of weather and during practically any season. Equally beloved by men and women, its great genderfluid design means you don’t have to pick sides. The trench coat is an unassuming piece so it’s easy to dress it up or dress it down to suit the occasion. Whether you are going to work or for a night out, the trench will be your trusted overcoat so you always look stylish and put together.
Trench coats have hardly changed in design since Burberry made the original style. There has been no need since it is simply a clean, classic piece. For this reason, trench coats are excellent to shop pre-loved on Vestiaire. The design is nearly the same throughout the ages so the only difference in choosing one second-hand is that you don’t increase your carbon footprint when you buy it. Camel coloured looks are a perennial favourite since they compliment any ensemble but the trench isn’t limited to traditional colours. You can make this staple item a fashion statement by choosing a bold high-shine patent leather trench or maybe an eye-catching leopard print version. Designer statement pieces such as these ones are perfect for shopping pre-loved on Vestiaire.
The Evergreen Belstaff leather jacket
Belstaff has been around since 1924 and has carved its reputation with high-quality leather jackets for men and women. Leather jackets are highly versatile pieces since anyone can look stylish wearing one. Whether you want to wear it with a floral dress or a punk shirt from your favourite band, the Belstaff leather jacket never fails. It is a cross-gender piece that can be used for high-fashion or for epic motorcycle adventures.
A-listers like Brad Pitt and David Beckham are fans of the brand because it gives a certain nonchalant edginess factor. Ewan McGregor even chose to wear a Belstaff jacket on his 30,395 kilometer motorcycle trip around the world for the 2006 documentary Long Way Round. That should give you an idea of the durability of this jacket.
Leather from Belstaff is durable and made to last so the most sustainable way to purchase this item would be to check out our selection on Vestiaire Collective. Leather becomes pleasantly softer with age, so choosing a vintage jacket means it is already broken in and ready to wear.
If you are a collector, there are plenty of limited release jackets that are highly sought after thanks to appearances in Hollywood blockbusters. A 1960s era Belstaff jacket worn by late actor Steve McQueen sold at auction for 32,000 US dollars. Such a fan of Belstaff, he was rumoured to have once cancelled a date with his girlfriend in order to rewax his jacket. If you are as much of a Belstaff lover as McQueen was, set a notification on your Vestiaire app for the next time one of these coveted vintage pieces comes in stock.
The vintage logo tee
Nothing says ‘throwback’ more than a vintage logo tee. Many times, they will feature the year printed on the shirt so you don’t even need to wonder exactly when it was made.
A logo tee is a great way to express part of your personality. Whether you are wearing an alumni tee from your dad’s university days, or a tour shirt from your favourite grunge band, these are clothing items with a clear story. Vintage T-shirts can help you feel connected to the past. They’re also a great conversation starter, especially when you come across a fan of the uni or band you’re sporting.
Perhaps you’ve heard about upcycling fashion clothes and want to give it a try. Vintage tees are an awesome place to start playing around with how you can take existing clothes and give them a revamp. Upcycling your clothes contributes to sustainability. Plus it’s a really fun project you can do with your friends or even by yourself. Upcycled tees allow you to flex your creativity and have a unique piece that is the total opposite of mass-market fashion. A simple idea to get you started with upcycling is to find a preloved shirt from Vestiaire and turn it into an infinity scarf. It takes basic sewing skills but no sewing machine required. Once you’ve made the shape of the scarf, you can continue to customise it with embellishments like studs or fringe.
Whether you wear it as is or create a new shape for your vintage tee, as far as alternative creative fashion goes, this piece will never go out of style.
Vintage designer clothing
Vintage designer clothing has a special place in the hearts of fashion lovers. These pieces represent iconic moments in fashion so they are like wearable bits of fashion history. All the big names in luxury from Versace to Marc Jacobs, and all the Parisian fashion brands like Dior and Yves St. Laurent have an immense treasure trove of vintage delights for those willing to seek them out. With each new collection, these brands build upon their legacy of past fashion successes and inspiration. But there is just nothing like the original design of a piece that catapulted a brand to fame, like Chanel’s little black dress that she created way back in 1926. In many cases, the top luxury brands that we love today are directed by someone other than the original founder. While we adore contemporary designers, shopping vintage on Vestiaire keeps you closer to the original essence of the brand.
Vintage pieces note only reflect the brand, but also the designer during the time period in which she or he was alive. Clothes are always a mirror to society, so going through the vintage section at Vestiaire is like a trip back in time. You can see all the influences that important cultural and political events had on a generation. After all, Burberry would never have created a trench coat if there hadn’t been a war going on at the time.
These original designs that represent both their brands and their time periods become vintage fashion statement memorabilia that only becomes more valuable with time. For the best selection of vintage luxury, download the Vestiaire app and start your trip down fashion’s memory lane.
For the style-conscious who don’t want to contribute to the fashion industry’s polluting practices, shopping vintage is a no-brainer. The whole essence of vintage shopping is sustainable because the items are pre-loved. Vestiaire Collective is the best place to start building your wardrobe with amazing vintage finds. We add around eight thousand items a day to help you find the perfect vintage item in an earth-friendly way.
Remember that at Vestiaire, we define items as vintage when they are 15 years old or older. That gives a huge range of time periods and styles that you can choose from when curating a closet that is stylish and expressive of the unique person you are. Mixing and matching from different decades is completely OK. Vintage fashion is open to interpretation. We know that with the 5 pieces we’ve highlighted here, you’re going to look chic and stylish because you’ll be wearing the best the fashion world has come up with in the last century and a half. These are the enduring pieces that have already weathered several generations of fashion trends, so these beloved clothes will never go out of fashion.
Vestiaire Collective can help you find these and other vintage favourites. We have a large and growing community so shopping vintage with us is going to give you access to over 10 million closets around the world. When shopping for vintage, we recommend that you slow down and enjoy the hunt. Discovering great vintage finds can take a little patience, but we make it as easy as possible so you can enjoy wearing your pre-loved vintage treasures as soon as possible.