Vintage Trends for 2013

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Vintage has has been a key fashion buzzword all throughout 2012 and that looks set to be the case well into the new year as well. Fashion shows have hosted a multitude of designers experimenting with the hot trends from decades gone by and, as Vogue reports, the 1950s American era was given a revisit by designers such as Marc Jacobs for the Spring/Summer collection. In particular  feathers and wet look leather have been featuring heavily in vintage trends.

Despite being several seasons ago, the Royal Wedding is still causing ripples in the vintage world. Kate Middleton’s Alexander McQueen designed gown sparked global lace inspiration and that filtered through to the high street and shows no sign of going away. Lace is everywhere, and certainly no longer just a “trimming” – top to toe lace might be a bit much for some people but nothing says vintage quite like it.

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2012 also saw the expansion of the craft website Etsy into countries such as France and Germany. The online marketplace for independent crafters provides the perfect outlet for all things kitsch and lovingly homemade and is the perfect forum for vintage pieces that have been updated and re-purposed  Handmade is seeing a tremendous upsurge this season, with the emphasis on unique one of a kind looks.

So what can we expect in 2013?

Vintage trends for the new year are creating quite the internet buzz. New media is getting an “old-over” as photo effect apps such as Instagram grow in popularity (and power having been taken over by Facebook) and old fashioned charm begins to seep into advertising and marketing trends. It seems that vintage trends are no longer just for the wardrobe.

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My hot tip for vintage winter elegance is velvet, which looks set to continue its success as a vintage wardrobe essential. If you want to really step out in style for valentine’s day, proving that the party season is by no means over, a velvet evening dress is the way to do it, perhaps teamed with some simply silver earrings.

All in all, vintage for 2013 is about understated glamour and class. Grunge is long gone and vintage is here to stay and the handmade trend means that customization and adaptation has never been more in fashion – no better excuse to rummage through some vintage clothing stores and crack out your creative streak!