About this time of year, the fashion magazines begin showing the “new” Fall styles and, inevitably, I see clothing and accessories that echo many of the wonderful true vintage items in my closets. These oxfords are officially “vintage” from the Eighties, even though they’re styled after shoes from forty years before that!
Just goes to show that everything that goes around comes around and that is so true with fashion. Of course, some decades do it better than others and having some superbly made originals can be the ultimate best. I’m happy with these, because they’re still made of good leather with Vibram soles, and should continue to last as long as the 1940’s originals would do.
My original 1940’s ones are still my favorite, but they’ll come later. I’ve got a ton of shoes to photograph and you’ll be seeing lots over the next few weeks. These are from the ’80’s and look great with suits, pants, dresses and skirts from the 1940’s, as well as many other outfits. There’s nothing more classic than a good oxford shoe. And, if they;re made well and fit well, nothing more comfortable except bare feet.
Especially if you have a lot of walking ahead, from hideout to hideout . . . . . . . . . . .
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
BOOK: HOW TO FIND THE BEST IN VINTAGE FASHION – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM
I LOVE these shirts! Of course, I can’t wear them (WAY too big), but I couldn’t resist anyway. The photo doesn’t show you the details well, so I’ll describe. Let’s start with the true vintage shirt on the right.
This one was made in Hawaii in the 1960’s or ’70’s. Beautiful heavy 100% cotton fabric that is so characteristic of true vintage garments made there before about 1975. Since that time, the fabric usually isn’t so nice, nor the construction. My apologies to Hawaiian clothing-makers if there are exceptions.
The prints on these materials are also superb – nice designs and astounding colors. The label and the buttons used are also good clues as to the age of the shirt.
The shirt on the left is retro – probably 1980’s – but it is such a nice reproduction of a 1950’s to early 1960’s men’s shirt that I decided to pick it up. Really nice retro-style fabric that sets it apart. I can’t identify anything about the maker on-line and I’m not sure if the buttons are original or not, but I like it anyway.
So, you see that some of my decisions to buy are gut-level decisions, but they are good decisions. I’ve said good-bye to old experiences of sometimes getting home and saying to myself “Oh, darn, I probably goofed here – I’ll have to give this one away or try to re-sell it”. That was a downer, a drag and a bother.
But, with persistence, experience and growing know-how I finally became . . . . . . . . . .
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
BOOK: HOW TO FIND THE BEST IN VINTAGE FASHION – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM
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