23 February 2011

Faking it

Once upon a time as all you long term readers may already be aware of I was an hardcore vintage addict always rummaging around my local shops sniffing out for my next funny smelling pre-loved vintage fix.And whether it took me minutes, hours or complete three day weekends I'd be dead set on snagging something, anything a bit old, a bit dated, a bit granny,a bit dusty, a bit ugly to everyone yet extremely beautiful in my eyes.When your lucky enough to live in such close distance to cool thrift shops, and vintage boutiques you take it for granted: just like one takes their Topshops, Primarks and Newlooks for granted. Its easy shopping that you become accustomed to and think nothing more of it, simply rails buckling underneath the weight of glorious garments.
Well I'm beginning to learn the hard way not to take thrift/ vintage shops for granted, as I now live an area which is surrounded by mind boggling, busy, dizzy shopping centres and a city that on every corner has a cool trendy buzzing H&M, Riverisland,French Connection and Zara etc - etc.No thrift stores or vintage hang outs (wait a minute I just need to dry my eyes*) and try as they might these highstreet giants to create vintage look-a-like collections the majority fail to get it and understand what makes vintage vintage. I've not yet found one single convincing vintage inspired piece in any highstreet store, because they fail to capture the essence of vintage by making silly design detail errors.Such as using the wrong fabric and incorrect colourways that say a vintage Sixties dress would of never consisted of.Being a complete fuss pot, and Sixties obsessive I can't help but spot these silly little design hick ups which with all my might I cannot shrug off or ignore.Which is a real pity because I'm beginning to experience cold turkey withdrawn symptoms,until I find a local vintage treasure gem of a shop I've made the bold decision to ...fake it.

I know, and yes I do remember me preaching about how very much I detest fake vintage, how much of a joke a mass produced highstreet garment dressed up as vintage can be, how over my dead body I'll never be seen faking it how vintage must be the real genuine McCoy or you risk looking like your about to attend an Austin Powers themed costume party.In my defense these extreme vintage beliefs of mine were before I was made aware of fashion designer Kylie Malcolm. This girl gets vintage!Kylie's very pretty dresses are constructed using a mixture soft recycled and found vintage fabrics, ric-rac, ruffles and lace make Kylie Malcolm's vintage inspired dresses, skirts and accessories genuine more genuine compared to the highstreets failed attempt at vintage.Faking it is easy when wearing Kylie's garments now all you need to do is start scouring and digging around for a pair of fabulous vintage shoes.





P.S...TOMORROWS POST NORWEGIAN WOOD ACCESSORIES

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