Why I Wear Midcentury Vintage Dresses

There are many people wearing vintage out there and many reasons why they choose to wear only or some or just a few vintage clothes. Here are some of the most common ones I’ve heard:

• Wearing second hand clothes instead of new clothes is better for the environment. It’s recycling.
• Vintage clothes are generally better made than mass produced clothes today.
• Vintage clothes are generally unique.
• Vintage clothes are cheaper than their modern equivalents.
• Vintage clothes reflect a more desirable lifestyle than modern clothes.
• Vintage clothes reflect classic books and films and historical events and allow the wearer to feel a connection with the past.

At some point I’ve felt all of these reasons. I’ll touch on these and challenge them later in this post but my personal reasons for wearing vintage, more specifically midcentury vintage, are more practical.

c.1947 Broderie Anglaise Dress - Gingermegs Vintage, Shoes - Clarks, Belt - charity shop

Modern Clothes Don’t Fit:

In the last few years, I’ve measured between 36-25-36 at my slimmest and 38-27-37 at my largest. I generally always have an 11 inch difference between my waist and bust and a 10 inch difference between my waist and hips. A quick look at Topshop’s size guide shows a size 12 to be 36-29-38. Pretty much every modern dress I try on is far too big on the waist and ends up looking boxy. Jersey or stretch dresses to fit my waist are too tight elsewhere to be comfortable. I’m also short waisted so the waist on most modern dresses sits an inch or two lower than it should, increasing the boxiness and causing gaping armholes on sleeveless dresses. Finally, I’m 5 ft 3 inches so I’d have to take up the hems.

Dresses made in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s with their clever tailoring and hourglass proportions are a perfect fit. Almost every midcentury dress I’ve found has at least a 9 inch difference between the waist and bust. I also find dresses easier to find than skirt and top combinations from this era. While 1930s dresses would also fit, these are longer and rarer so less practical for everyday wear.

One of only three 1950s skirts I own. This one was from a charity shop.

Why not wear separates? True, I can wear modern skirts provided they are flared from the waist. Finding tops, particularly ones which match an existing skirt is hard. Shirts are out of the question for the same reason as modern dresses. Blouses and t shirts which fit at the front gape hugely at the back even when tucked in.

Why not get modern clothes altered or just make your own clothes? I’d have to either take them to an alterations shop or do the alterations myself. An alteration shop costs and also means having to take the clothes there at a weekend. I don’t drive and from 6:30 to 6:30 on weekdays I'm either in or travelling to an office in the middle of nowhere. I’d much rather spent my two free days catching up with friends and being outside than being stuck inside at a desk sewing. The last modern dress I bought was a People Tree cat print dress in the Christmas sales. I had time off so could shorten the straps, take in the waist and adjust the front and back darts to make it fit. This was made easier by the lack of lining in the dress and central back (rather than side) zip. Not all dresses would be so easy to alter.

Why not just belt at the waist? Trying to remove 5-6 inches of fabric by belting requires a wide belt which doesn't always suit the dress. It doesn't solve gaping at the back or too-wide shoulders. The dress can also puff out around the belt in an unflattering way.

Even vintage shoes, narrower and with longer toe space fit me better than their modern equivalents. If I want modern gloves, I have to buy them from the children’s section but I have four pairs of leather 1950s gloves which fit perfectly.

Of course, there’s lovely vintage reproduction clothing out there by the likes of Collectif and Vivien of Holloway in modern sizing but it's not for me.

The Weather:

I walk everywhere totalling 30-40 miles a week. On the coldest days, I wear my 1950s dresses with wool tights, boots, cardigan or jumper and coat. I own three petticoats – the heaviest keeps me warm even when it’s below freezing, the lightest I sewed myself and gives shape to the skirts with only a two layers of tulle for the hottest days. I also never have the issue of water creeping up my jeans after it’s rained; the tightly woven cotton of most of my 1950s dresses deflects light rain. While I own a lot of dresses, I wear them all year round.

Petticoat - made by me

1950s Petticoat - Gingermegs Vintage

Brilliant Colours and Prints:

Modern clothes seem to see bright colours and vivid patterns as an exception. I see stripes, polka dots, large florals, tiny florals, Aztec prints when I flick through the websites of a few high street shops. They’re nice but when I see them I think “Is that it?” It’s all very much the same and if you asked me to describe them in an hour or two I’d have forgotten.

Similarly, when I used to read magazines there would always be articles about the bravery of wearing a colour that wasn’t black, white, grey, navy or a pattern less basic than stripes. These fashion writers made it sound like they were preparing you for a skydive, a marathon, or an exam.

Where’s the fun in that? Their grandmothers wore these wonderful novelty prints and loved them enough to keep them so I could wear them today.

Rescuing Old Clothes:

Almost all of my vintage dresses were handmade and all have hand stitched buttons and hems. There’s a lot of attention to detail in the pattern matching, piping, and stitching you don’t really see in modern high street clothes in the same price range.

However, due to their age almost all of my vintage dresses have needed some sewing done to them. This could be going over the seams with my sewing machine because 60 year old thread disintegrates much faster than the fabric, securing or replacing buttons or a large restoration project involving intricate patching. I love rescuing dresses others don’t see any way of fixing. I love making them strong enough to last another 60 years. I love proving others wrong when they can’t see what I’d do with “that old shabby dress”.

While my dresses are vintage, all of my cardigans and jumpers, some of my shoes and nearly all of my accessories are from charity shops. It’s nice to give things unwanted by others a good home, not sitting around being unworn or ending up in landfill. If there’s something I don’t wear or want anymore, I swap it with a friend, sell it on eBay or give it to a charity shop.

Does this mean wearing vintage is better for the environment? Generally, yes because making a new dress involves new resources. However, I do note my cotton 1950s dresses require more ironing and fill up a washing machine faster than your average modern wardrobe.

Happy:

Having unique bright, well made and rescued dresses makes me happy. Working and travelling to work takes 60 hours a week but I can enjoy wearing a great outfit the same time. 

A side effect is it seems to make other people happy too. Strangers often stop me to say I look great and that I've brightened their day. I’ve been street style snapped and made new friends. The best thing, however, is when someone is inspired to wear something different, brighter, and quirkier than their usual. It’s having one of the few women in senior roles in your office and who you admire say you’ve inspired them to find themselves one bright dress and live it up with it. It’s going on a course and finding out the trainer loves vintage and wants her mother’s clothes to go to a good home and is offering them to you. It’s being told by people on your street and at your regular haunts they can’t wait to see what you’ll wear next because it cheers them up

Bring Your Dress to Work Day:

One thing that always struck me as both amusing and poignant is while my dresses are 60-70 years old, a lot probably haven’t seen an office until they met me. They’re living a reverse retirement!

I adore midcentury clothes and some of the furniture, but I’d personally never deck my house out like it was the 1950s or try to live a 1950s lifestyle. I’ve always found events which try to re-enact the 1940s and 1950s unsettling. After all, it’s highly unlikely I could be what I am today – a young, non-white female in charge of an analytical team – back then.

I’m lucky to be able to wear what I’d normally wear at a weekend to work (except for the hats) and it’s nice to subvert the original purposes of many of these dresses.

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So there you have it, folks. I fully admit real midcentury vintage isn’t for everyone. A dress can be anywhere between £20 if you’re lucky and/or it needs repairs and an expensive £100 for a rare and perfect condition novelty print. You need the skills and patience to repair your finds, time to visit vintage shops, and eBay luck. You need to enjoy the look, the colours and the prints. You need to be undaunted by people looking and commenting on what you're wearing. Above all, you need to feel the clothes are comfortable and well suited to you and your lifestyle because that’s what will make you happy!