Lucy Loves Vintage!

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Lucy Smith, Fashion Stylist and Fashion Promotion student at the Uni of Glam, waxes lyrical about her love of everything vintage and shows us some of her recent and very beautiful styled shoots

“Thanks, its vintage actually”, was my reply to the flurry of compliments thrown my way. I was 18, attending my school graduation ball. Revelling in the fashion glory, and sheer smugness, this was officially the ‘best day of my life’. Soaking up all the admiring glances and envious looks, my risky decision to ignore the more popular brand dresses and risk fashion and possibly social suicide, had paid off. Not only did I have an exquisite, one of a kind, silk-lined sequin gown, but the price didn’t make my Dad break out into a Visa bill induced sweat either!

I’d endured weeks of agonising over the dress, trailing Cardiff’s high street in a desperate search for ‘the one’. Discounting one LBD after the next, I almost ended up with a lemon ‘Ra Ra’ dress that I later realised (thankfully before I made the mistake of buying it!) made me resemble a meringue. All because I wanted to just look different from everyone else.

The reason I regularly wear vintage items in favour of some of the high street brands, is that it guarantees that no-one will be wearing the same as me. It also says ‘I’m original’, and not a slave to the latest fashion or, a catwalk clone’.

I’m a self confessed ‘rummager and rifler’, and nothing satisfies me more than spending the day searching through the musty rails of a jam-packed charity shop, or scouring the vintage stalls of Camden Market on a Sunday to find the one-off pieces I covet.

I see vintage, or pre-loved clothes as ‘story-ridden’. The fact that they were once owned and loved by somebody else truly captivates my imagination. I always find myself asking the same questions: Who did this belong to? What were they doing when they wore this? Where has it been?

I have a pair of beautifully embellished 1930s suede gloves that were purchased in a New York flea market. Whose hands did they keep warm? Were they the delicate, manicured hands of a Wall Street wife? Or maybe the hands of a beautiful aspiring actress?

My most recent vintage purchase was a spectacular antique bag, with a tortoise shell Lucite frame and black wool pouch. The pleated grosgrain ruffle that’s nestled neatly into the side seams is an example of the intricate original details that current designers often try to mimic. I imagined it being worn on the arm of a 1940s housewife, waving her husband off to war.

If you’ve never been vintage shopping, it’s something you need to experience. A vintage boutique can awaken a lust for things you never knew you even wanted.

Head on over to Looby Loo’s Boutique in Cardiff’s High Street arcade for your vintage fix. It’s the perfect sanctuary from the mundane sameness of the high street stores. Their vintage basement is a sight to see. Enhanced by butter soft lighting you won’t be able to ignore the treasure trove of sparkling tunics and eye catching florals. The sheen of vintage silk draped across a mannequin is sure to get your heart racing. Hobos, of the same shopping arcade is also home to vintage denim and is the place to go for original 60s dresses, 70s disco shirts, and 80s sportswear.

If you don’t mind a rummage, any of the charity shops in and around Cardiff could also supply you with your vintage needs. After-all, one ladies ‘so 1968’, is another fashionista’s vintage gold!

Also check out the following charity shops:
Oxfam, 8 Windsor Road, Penarth
Tenovus, 23 Windsor Road, Penarth
Oxfam, 36 St Marys Street, Cardiff
Scope, 7 Churchill Way, Cardiff
The George Thomas Hospice Care Shop, 130 Clifton Street, Cardiff