If I’m totally honest, I always found it difficult to really get into vintage fashion. I am not one for trawling through rails of clothes, (sale rails just look so messy and when you find something good it’s never in your size) and especially when they’re from decades past. Don’t get me wrong, I love looking at historical fashion and I adore a good period drama, and I’m well aware of history’s influence on present trends, but I think I struggle with translating something from a specific era into my (also quite specific) style. It’s obviously not impossible, and if I made an effort, I’m sure I could find something that works perfectly. I have a suspicion that I am just pure lazy.
I have great admiration for those of you who can do vintage or charity shop fashion with ease. My friend, who blogs at The Little Quince, made a commitment at the beginning of the year to only shop in an environmentally and ethically friendly way. She has said that this includes making her own clothes, buying second hand clothes and buying new only ethically. I love this and I totally support it – it’s just not for me. It does of course raise questions that you should be asking of the brands that you buy your clothes from.
When I talk about these things I do feel like a hypocrite – I’m not into charity shop shopping. This is mainly because I can never find anything that I like, and I simply don’t like committing the time to looking at a number of different garments in the hope of finding something that I like and that fits me.
I like internet shopping. I like how you can look at a garment in white space, and on a person. I like how it comes folded up in plastic. Most of all I like that I can buy goth designs that I’d never be able to find in a charity shop or vintage store.
However, Dog & Bone Vintage seems like a different kettle of fish to the vintage shops that I have encountered before. The new shop launched last Saturday and by George is it beautiful. With an extensive men’s and women’s section, along with homeware and lifestyle products, they’ve made vintage shopping much more accessible. Their new location, near Coppergate, makes a shopping trip easier too. In between popping to Urban Outfitters or Topshop, you can now head into a lovely vintage shop as well.
To start, Dog & Bone Vintage has a really cool vibe as soon as you step in. You can tell that the people who work there love fashion, they have up to date technology (I got a proper itemised receipt, guys) and the design of the shop itself has a cool, industrial feel to it too. It’s easy to navigate, with signs for everything. Ralph Lauren shirt for £25 anyone? It didn’t feel dark or musty, either, or like you might have to rummage in a bargain bin at the back.
While I just don’t think that vintage fashion and I will ever truly be one, there are aspects that I can indulge in. For instance, I snagged this black seahorse brooch that now lives on a leather jacket and if I was feeling flush I would have definitely tried on and bought several pairs of vintage black Levi shorts. I could probably indulge in a black skirt or two as well if they’re goth enough – less rummaging, more spotting dark clothes at fifty paces. You can never have too many black skirts though, amIright? I’ll be back for vintage shopping at the Dog & Bone, I think.
How do you guys and gals feel about vintage fashion? I feel like there’s definitely more room for the guys to be involved and be their own person if they’re into wearing vintage fashion as opposed to alternative stuff. Thoughts?
