The aesthetic pleasure of being out of style

a 2nd phrase that lives rent free in my brain

Feb 03, 2025

Two PSAs:

If you’re not seeing this newsletter in your inbox (i.e. you see it more if you’re using the app or logging into Substack on desktop), it could be because social media likes to arbitrarily change settings on us (the joys of using platforms owned by big companies…) Anyway, you can go into your Substack app settings, check notifications, and set them to email and email alone. This post shows you how. Thanks to the CultureStudy Substack for alerting me to this!
I shared last week that I had a few announcements to talk about on IG. I shared one of them: this winter, I’m a mentor in the MakeSpace program at VisArts!. This is very exciting to me and a chance to get back to my roots - so to speak. If you aren’t aware, I have a Master of Social Work degree, focusing on administration, policy and planning. In that side of my career, I’ve volunteered/worked in nonprofits and grant writing for 20+ years (longer if you count my high school volunteer trips). Suffice it to say, the federal funding freeze of last week caused mass panic, confusion, and chaos across the industry and I’m still trying to understand all of the implications (because yes, this does have implications for that side of my career). Anyway, this is a style newsletter, but everything is connected. I turned to getting dressed this past week because it was one thing that I could control. The reason I like the tenants of the Structure of Style is because it’s guideline focused - it gives you facts and data about clothes and your body. You can remove the emotion from what can feel like a hassle of getting dressed. Sometimes, we need to do just that and get on with the thing. Having a closet built out of facts takes away decision fatigue. Here’s to getting dressed this week and beyond. Thanks for being here!

This person definitely has convictions when getting dressed, is definitely wearing vintage and definitely doesn’t care about being “on trend” or in style. I like that.

While the phase “the courage of convictions when getting dressed” lives rent free in my brain (I wrote about it for Vogue[ish] here), there is a 2nd phrase that takes up just as much time and space in my brain. It is:

the aesthetic pleasure of being out of style

This was the second quote from the Culture Study podcast titled: “Why Do Clothes Suck Now?” that had me voice memo-ing myself. It had a ring to it that captivated me.

Because naturally, in a conversation about why clothes being made today suck, vintage came up.

From my POV (point of view) as a certified stylist, there are three distinct categories when it comes to talking about, and wearing, vintage:

Vintage as an era
Vintage as an editorial
Vintage as every day clothing

DEFINITION:
vintage: items that are at least 20 years old, typically less than 100.
When talking about vintage “eras” - think: the 1920s, Victorian, or the 90s (yes, the 90s).
Antique is usually considered 100 years or older.

When it comes to vintage and, as a byproduct, thrifting, there is a range of reactions. Everything from ‘I love the hunt” to “I would never." For me, vintage has always been about the aesthetic pleasure of not having the same pieces everyone else has.

Some outfits from my blogging days. A vintage green leather skirt, vintage black slip dress, and vintage Ferragamo shoes - all paired with other, more current and modern shapes and pieces.

Integrating vintage into my wardrobe has been a way to stretch, expand, explore, and find my own personal style outside of what Target, Zara, or J. Crew is trying to tell me my style should be. I interact with vintage items as “Every Day Clothing,” asking:

Does this piece work with my existing color palette? Will it expand my color palette in a way that work or be fun?
Does it add interesting texture?
Does it add a new shape or silhouette to my closet that would be fun to experiment with and help expand my overall wardrobe?

I am not interacting with vintage in:

Full, head to toe looks cemented in one decade or era
Crazy, head to toe looks that are better suited for the pages of Vogue (the actual Vogue ;))
Impractical collector items that are better suited for museums because they’re old and ratty

Let’s illustrate what this looks like with some of my favorite creators in each Vintage POV.

Vintage POV #1: An Era: Sometimes folks that love vintage go to far for the every day clothes-wearing person. These are the “vintage as a era” people who love a specific decade. Monica from Chic Education is a great example - she loves a 60s or 70s look and wears it so well and so often - it is her every day look. But, there are fewer of the every day clothes people that want a head to toe 70’s outfit for their daily outfit. So to them, this particular vintage look can come off as costume-y and impractical.

chic_education

A post shared by @chic_education

If you want to interact with vintage as an era, here are some practical tips:

Is there a statement piece that you can combine with other, more modern pieces? If I found this dress at a vintage store, I would 100% buy it. I would style it with black heels and hair in an updo to take it more classic vs. retro.
What single piece from a head to toe look can you use as inspiration or look for? In this outfit, I would totally go for the jacket and wear it with solid bottoms - think: dark or black denim.
Go for accessories. I’m dying over this purse and *in fact* have a similar one I got from my mom. In this TikTok video, I styled it very differently - more me, less confined to one specific era.

Watching the video is worth it for Sean’s breakdown of this outfit alone. This was the original outfit I styled for my Italian Grandpa themed 40th birthday,

Vintage POV #2: Editorial. Then, there are the “vintage as an editorial” folks. These are the people that love FASHUN (see definition below). These are the outfits that you see in street style photos, on style influencers, at fashion shows. They are often current or former magazine editors. Eccentricity is the point. And objectively, they are very fun, great outfits.

DEFINITION:
fashun: “is what non-fashion people think of fashion people — just putting ridiculous outfits together for the sake of fashion (source)

B. Jones Style is a great example of this. I love her sense of fashion exploration. She puts together wild outfits you would expect to see in magazine pages, not the streets. Par for the course, her moto is: “escaping into the land of... always play dress up.” But again, there are fewer of the every day clothes people that want to commit to such a 24-7 bold look, so these outfits tend to go a bit too far as well - they come off as outlandish and impractical.

bjonesstyle

A post shared by @bjonesstyle

If you want to interact with vintage as an editorial, here are some practical tips:

What parts of a bold outfit can you take as inspiration and interpret for your style? I actually love the idea of a patterned suit - definitely not in yellow for me, but I can add: “matching suit” to my Shop List and keep an eye out for what my interpretation of this would be. For example, this Everlane one could be a good starting point.
What shapes / textures can you pull from? Aside from this being a pretty normal outfit (ha) there are loads of things to be inspired by and look for when making purchases: chunky knit sweater, super wide pants, a really long overcoat, a plaid scarf. I’m really into long overcoats now and since this vintage Louis Vuitton one didn’t fit my husband, I would implore someone to buy it.
Choose one statement piece. This outfit is made entirely of statement pieces, but how fun would a jacket like this be in my wardrobe? Or the pair of pants or shoes. Just pick one - I don’t need all three to make a statement. How great would this one be?

These two POVs could easily leave you thinking: “I can’t wear vintage because these looks are insane and my boss would laugh me out of a job.”

Hopefully the practical tips are challenging this belief. I truly get sad when I think of how often all vintage or thrift is equated the first two definitions - stuck in a decade, defined by a costume, not for someone with a corporate job.

Because, in my certified stylist opinion, vintage is the fastest and quickest way to explore your style, have fun, and stand out.

So let’s see an example of POV #3: Vintage as Every Day Clothes.

One of my all time favorite folks on social media is India de Beautfort. She’s an actress, can sew, does carpentry (she built that pink closet ya’ll) and puts together some of the most visually balanced, fun, creative, and interesting outfits I’ve seen.

India showcases how to use vintage as a natural part of real life style. And okay, her life is in L.A. and features red carpet looks and she’s a creative artist, so you might not find all of her outfits are suitable for replication, but you shouldn’t be replicating anyone’s outfits anyway. Just because it looks good on them, does not mean it will look good / work for you. You’re not a paper doll where outfits can just be transferred. You’re a living breathing human with your own spirit, soul and style. So what I DO want you to take away from India (and everyone featured here) isn’t replication, but color combos, proportions, and styling tricks.

And of course, how she talks about using vintage pieces as the perfect add on to make an outfit pop. Her belief and integration of one or two (sometimes more!) vintage pieces into the rest of her outfit is what makes her a great follow. She does it in a way where you would never think of her vintage as confined to an era or editorial - it’s everyday.

indiadebeaufort

A post shared by @indiadebeaufort

If you want to interact with vintage as a every day clothes, here are some practical tips:

Find a vintage thing that is “you” and buy that. For me, I will always and forever buy vintage coats and skirts. These often act as statement toppers and bottoms and integrate really well into an otherwise “every day clothes” wardrobe. A great example from this video is to buy vintage silk blouses.
Still buy modern / current brands and styles. She’s a big fan of Frames jeans (same, although ones fitting me well right now are Madewell and Levi’s). Keeping modern/current cuts in your wardrobe will instantly make your vintage finds less costume-y or too over the top fashion-y. If you want an outfit to feel like you but still have personality - wear mostly modern and add pops of vintage. Think: one or two pieces, it can be big or small (coats or jewelry). This balances your look and people will be wanting to know where you shop. And then you get to smugly say, “Thanks, it’s vintage.” ;)
Use items differently than intended. Here, she has an equestrian coat, here an opera coat. In another, she used a robe as coat, which I also did recently as well! Fun fact - I did actually think this was a coat when I bought it - and how very odd it was that it didn’t zip all the way down - turns out, it is in fact a robe! This TikTok video shares the history of the brand.

I started my styling career as a blogger in 2009. As I shared more outfits, my niche and what I became known for was “second hand first.” I hosted thrift tours, wrote articles, and appeared on TV segments sharing my love of thrifting.

Over time, shopping vintage has become an aesthetic pleasure and way of expressing my style.

You can make vintage mean whatever you want it to be - it can be gross, a costume, a weird outfit, or something that you learn to mix in to your every day clothes to strengthen your personal style.

What’s your POV on vintage? Will you be embracing it this year?

Vogue [ish]

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