Vintage style on a budget

I’m not sure whether the recession is guiding our renewed love of vintage and/or retro items but there’s no doubt that several online outlets are catering to this niche. I realize that I could head to stores that specialize in vintage clothing such as the stalls at Portobello Market in London or the Rose Bowl in Pasadena but frankly I don’t have the inclination or time to browse endlessly. Instead, that modern invention, the internet, is the place for me to look for such gear. Modcloth (http://www.modcloth.com) is one such website that has an amazing inventory of retro inspired clothes. Although they do have a vintage section, most of the items are not originals but are modern interpretations of 1950s pin-up glamour for example. Another alternative is Tara Starlet (http://www.tarastarlet.com), a family business that wants to bring back the sultry style of film goddesses like Marilyn Monroe. Thankfully, most of the items on both sites are very reasonably priced, especially considering their focus on timeless style.

For jewelry, I prefer to buy original vintage pieces from sites such as Susan Caplan (http://www.susancaplan.co.uk/) as costume pieces from the 1950s and 1960s tend to be well made (using silver and gold metals rather than brass as you find today) and classic in design. Look for Lisner or Trifari branded jewelry as they were well known designers, the latter of which had designers trained at Cartier!

Here are my favorite 1950s style pieces: