Con’t from my series Tips on Shopping Thrift, Consignment, Vintage and Estate Sales.
So you think you might want to start wearing some vintage pieces but aren’t too sure where to start?
I’m going to break it down for you showing you how to style separate pieces of vintage items for a contemporary modern look.
This article will address how to style vintage palazzo & cigarette pants. I have chosen vintage items, however there are many great contemporary pieces that replicate this style.
Vintage clothing is considered to be made between the 1920’s – 1970’s. Prior to the 1920’s clothing is considered antique and after the early 1970’s it looks too recent for my taste and would be defined as retro rather than vintage. This article will show you how to style vintage pieces with other items from your closet.
Let’s start with pants or trousers.
Pants weren’t really popular for women and weren’t worn en masse until after the sexual revolution and second-wave feminism in the late 1960s and 1970s. Therefore they are much harder to come by when shopping vintage.
A couple of styles I have been lusting after that would work very well in today’s fashion environment are the palazzo or wide leg pants from the 1940’s and popular again in the 1970’s.
In the 40’s they were thicker and often made of wool.
When they came back into vogue again in the 1970’s they were thinner and looked like a long skirt when standing still. Notice that both styles have a very high waist, elongating the legs.
Some ideas on how I would style a great pair of sexy palazzo pants I found on Etsy.
A helpful article indeed! I will use some of these ideas this very morning in fact!
cute post. love seeing old vintage pics—especially for style inspo!
xxx
Lady à la Mode
Those 70s flares are fabulous! I have some black silk palazzo pants (modern, not vintage) which I really like. I rarely see vintage trousers, at least not any that I can get into… Cigarette pants are a great look on someone with long lean legs; on me, not so good, but I bet you rock them, Suzanne! xxx
oooh, great post Suzanne! You know this is my nemesis! Just looking at these photos, I’m thinking I should pass on the wide leg trousers completely.
I love the cigarette pants style!
You remind me … I have a pair of lined chiffon quasi-palazzos that need s bit of shortening. I’m a little daunted by them … I might just try to find some very tall black shoes!
No vintage, but wish there were places her to shop. Your post is a great tutorial, and you do that really well.
I’m all about the cigarette pants. Yes, please. I’m too curvy for the others. NO GO.
I want to wear those black wide-leg pants but only if they flare out like that all the time. Great photos.
Hooray!
They are the best. I just watched How To Marry a Millionaire with Greta Garbo and Marilyn Monroe last weekend and got so much fashion inspiration.
Fooled ya! I do not have long lean legs. I refer to them as my “man legs”, or little sausages. The only way I can get away with either of these looks is with some kind of heel. I also have a pair of modern palazzo pants that I’m going to show soon. I need to see you in yours! Might check your blog to see if they are there already.
I think if you were to wear palazzo style pants rather than a thicker material wide pants you could pull it off. Palazzo looks like a maxi skirt because the fabric is so light and thin. The other pants really add bulk and make the body look triangular. In the photo above she is wearing them with heels. They really need a heel.
I’m going to post some photos of me soon wearing some palazzo pants and you can let me know what you think. I’ve styled them before here and gotten mixed reviews. They are so comfortable though I can’t give them up. I think I might have “hit it” with one of my stylings this time.
You have the perfect body for them : )
Thanks Jan.
The higher the shoe the better they will look. Sadly that is true for everything…even bathing suits! LOL When was the last time you wore high heels on the beach? High heels aren’t terribly practical all the time but can make a gal look very sexy and lean.
Interesting… I could have seen you in those palazzo pants with a great belt defining your waist.
I think they come with little men that will hold them out all the time ; ) You just need to be careful not to tread on them as you walk, otherwise they squeak like a dog toy.
Wide trousers are difficult for me as I don’t have curves at the bottom part of my body. So short, fitted tops (which you need) are out of the question. Cigarette trousers I can work. Great article.
Greetje
Thanks for the tips Susanne! I personally like both the wide leg and the cigarette trousers but what I like most about these trousers is that they are highwaisted which makes my waist look thinner 😀
http://www.fashionphases.com
Palazzo pants are tough on me, I’m not a fan. Not sure why, I wear maxis a lot and the concept is similar. I love Marilyn and that is a great pic!
Debbie
http://www.fashionfairydust.blogspot.com
Suzanne, what a great post. I’m going to use these hints and styling suggestions a lot.
Great post! I am a fan of cigarette style pants – I prefer them over regular length pants. I do like the current style with the lower waist line since the higher waist can create a pouch when I don’t need it.
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
These are great ideas! I have a whole bunch of vintage patterns of wide pants. This has inspired me to make some.