I’m having a flash back to the late ‘80s/early ‘90s lately and I’m loving every bit of it. There is something very special about Vintage and Retro fashion, don’t you think? I mean even beyond the obvious nostalgia, the glimpses of times gone by and the unique sense of style or creativity that is sometimes missing in modern fashion. Clothes seem to have been made with…wait for it…a woman's actual shape in mind. Incredible isn’t it? (I say with sarcasm).
Pants were made with the understanding that women’s legs typically have more shape than say a yardstick (I dare you to try putting on a pair of JCrew pants if you have any shape whatsoever). And, it’s not just pants. Apply it to skirts; don’t even get me started on shorts, and tops can be trouble too. Tops, ugh, snug under the arms and around the chest and billowing at the waist. And we all know that if you have hips, the tent look is not the most appealing and you just can’t belt everything.
High Waisted circa 1995
My lifelong fashion fiasco has been trying to find a proper fitting pair of paints (since I have yet to learn the art of sewing for myself). A typical shopping experience includes grabbing at least two to three different sizes in two to three different styles. Then, pair one, impossible just to get them above my calves. Pair two slide perfectly up my legs and around my hips but then three inches of excess fabric are bulging out my lower back. And the last pair, it requires all the yoga skills I can muster just to get over my thighs and hips to give me, finally, the perfect fit in the waist…a sigh of relief waves over me, then the realization that those pants will only work as long as I stand like a statue in one spot without daring to think of sitting down, ever. It’s an unbelievable frustration and one that can certainly take the fun out of fashion, even Vintage fashion.
Photo pinned from: http://jacindarussellart.blogspot.com
However, I have recently rediscovered a retro style and I am in love! How could I forget it for so long? It has always been a style that works on many shapes and sizes and, although it seems to be back in current fashion, it began oh so many years ago (think 1940s). It keeps coming back for a reason - it fits in all the right places. What is this fashion unicorn I’m referring to, you wonder? High Waisted. And I mean High Waisted anything (pants, shorts, skirts, you name it). High Waisted is forgiving to any shape, typically quite flattering and, let’s face it, way more comfortable than low or mid-rise that may cut off in shall we say less than flattering locations (even Marilyn Monroe wore High Waisted denim and those curves look spectacular). I am certainly no Marilyn but I am so happy to be back in a style that is forgiving for ladies with some curve and that designers are finally recognizing it. Unlike say a JCrew style designed for a woman with the shape of a 12-year old boy. (I mean no offense to JCrew - I in fact love their clothes, their pants are just not made for everyone).
The day I rediscovered my new favorite High Waisted jeans I could swear I heard the Hallelujah and bright lights shined down. And, although I may no longer be wearing High Waisted jeans in acid wash, I am wearing them, and, for the first time in a very, very long time, I don’t dread putting on pants.
Side note, I am by no means a fashion expert. I’m not even a fashion blogger. It’s entirely possible that everything I’ve written so far is absolute hogwash and pertains only to me. Yet, what I do know for a fact is: It makes no matter your shape or size, clothes that fit well will always look spectacular and sometimes you have to go back in time to get it.
Extra side note, I’ve been informed that blog posts should include more images so people will have more interest and they should be personal images so people can get to know me. Unfortunately it’s just not my thing; I’m trying to create some mystery after all. But, I have succumbed in this one instance and only because I am trying to be more open to new ways of doing things (think Life Should #18 and Life Should #20). This goes against the “propriety” side of me but, I’m hoping it doesn’t diminish my etiquette credibility (if I had any to begin with, that is).