oldies but goodies

Ever feel like you were born in the wrong decade? As soon as I was old enough to attempt my own “style” (somewhere after Chic jeans and before senior portraits), I looked to the past for inspiration. Louise Brooks, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Katherine Hepburn, these were my style icons. No I was not popular in school. I grew up in Virginia Beach, where Roxy rules the day, dude. No offense to my surfer friends, Roxy has some seriously cute dresses, and surf shops will forever remind me of home. But I was not a surfer girl. Probably has something to do with not liking the water, swimming, or tanning.

Of course, my fashion lens to the past may have something to do with the decades I grew up in: the mid 70s to the 90s, probably the worst style decades, ever. We went from bell bottoms to shoulder pads to oversized t-shirts that said, “Can’t Touch This” in neon letters. By contrast, the styles of the 1920s up through the 60s and a bit of the 70s pretty much kick ass. By the way, 80s fashion is considered “vintage” now, so those of us who grew up watching Punky Brewster can feel really old right now.

Apparently The Suicide Girls and I aren’t the only ones who appreciate fashion oldies but goodies. The Satorialist has been running this vintage photo contest over the past few weeks. The Satorialist is, by far, the best fashion blog out there because it covers people on the street who are just workin’ it on their way to Whole Foods and whatnot. Kind of the opposite of the What Not to Wear page in the back of magazines. It’s run by Scott Schuman, who left his career in fashion sales to take care of his daughter in 2005. His photographs capture classic style on the streets of NYC, Paris, Milan and other places he can apparently afford to jet off to on a regular basis.

The vintage photo contest has been fun to follow. Here are some of my favorite submissions.

Much better than key-shaped earrings, right?