Vintage Spotlight - 1960s Vintage Fashion

Vintage Spotlight: 1960s Vintage Clothing

1960s vintage clothing is currently as popular as ever, with many of the current high street styles taking inspiration from the swinging sixties. If you step into any fashion retailer you will see shift dresses, mini skirts, tunic tops and peter pan collars – all taken from original 1960's vintage fashion. 

In the early sixties, the Mods were shaping and defining popular fashion for young men and women, with more and more designers coming on board to produce more sought after pieces that lead to an increase in fashion interest and sales. There was much less emphasis on accessories, as 1960's clothing was such a statement and clean lines and strong colours were key.

In 1964, the infamous Mary Quant introduced the mini-skirt, one of the most groundbreaking moments in fashion history. Starting as a risque piece of 1960's clothing, the mini skirt was eventually to be worn by almost every stylish female in the Western world. Then of course came the mini dress. In the 1960's, this was almost always either a sleevless shift or an a-line shape. There was also a tendancy to use materials such as PVC and sequins. Bold floral patterns, contrasting colours and fluroscent tones were also often used in 1960's clothing.

For outerwear in 1960's clothing, young women chose brighly coloured swing coats, dyed fake furs and short plastic or PVC raincoats, with a high shine or wet look. One of the iconic looks of 1960's clothing is a shiny white plastic mac with knee high white go-go boots. Black and white monochrome looks were huge in 1960's clothing – made famous of course by Mary Quant, and worn by the most popular models of the era such as Twiggy.

1960's clothing in the latter part of the decade leant more towards the hippy/boho look. Both men and women wore bell bottom trousers, sandals, blouses and headscarves. Head coverings changed a lot in this period, as hats became less popular and more people began to wear the bandanna style pieces. 

There are certain elements of 1960's clothing that are most popular in modern day fashion. Swing coats and tunic tops are now common place in a current wardrobe, as well as shift dresses, a-line skirts, longline fitted tops and gypsy style maxi skirts. The monochrome mod look, beehive hairstyle, dark heavy eye make up and pale lips is certainly commonplace now, and is all taken from 1960's clothing and 1960's style.

There are of course, lots of novelty versions of 1960's clothing, usually the fancy dress shops, but the best way to try any style of 1960's clothing is with original vintage pieces. You can buy vintage 1960's clothing from vintage shops, auctions and online vintage boutiques, with items to suit any budget. If you are new to vintage, then maybe start with a few accessories or a statement piece like a coat or a pair of shoes. More seasoned purveyers of vintage clothing will have a certain look or cut they go for, and will trawl through rails upon rails of 1960's clothing until they find just the right thing – that's dedication!

 Copyright 2012, My Vintage - Vintage and retro clothes. May be reprinted in its entirety with full credit given to My Vintage and a link to www.myvintage.co.uk.

Vintage Gift Boxes - New Styles Added for Mother's Day

Vintage Gift Boxes - New Styles Added for Mother's Day

Buying gifts can be tricky... in an ideal world you want something for your loved one that is truly special, original, high quality and beautiful but doesn't cost the earth. It may sound inpossible but we have the perfect thing for any lady in your life... a stunning vintage gift box.

Our vintage gift boxes have been tastefully themed and feature beautiful original vintage pieces such as vintage scarves, vintage handbags, vintage purses, vintage jewellery, vintage homewares, vintage china, vintage collectibles and more...

Not only do we collate and coordinate these gorgeous gift items, we also wrap them elegantly so they are ready to give straight to the lucky recipient! You can even have your vintage gift box delivered straight to their address if you prefer!

These vintage gift boxes are not only special and unusual, but as each piece is vintage and has been brough together by us, each box is literally one of a kind - a gift that NO-ONE else in the world will have!

And if that sounds expensive to you then you're wrong! Our vintage gift boxes start from as little as £12 and go up to around £60 for some of the deluxe versions.

MOTHER'S DAY
March 18th 2012 is Mother's Day and this would be a perfect gift for your mum, grandmother, wife, girlfriend, sister, best mate or auntie - and you can order up until 12noon on Thursday 15th March to guarantee the vintage gift box is with you on time!

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts on our beautiful vintage gift boxes, and hear your stories about the reactions you got when you gave one to that special someone!

Leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter or Facebook!

Happy gift shopping!

Yves Saint Laurent - Designer Vintage Clothing Profile

Designer Vintage Clothing Profile - Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent was born in Oran on August 1st 1936, then lived in French Algeria; he left for Paris after secondary school to pursue a fashion career and at 17 was hired as couturier Christian Dior's assistant. When Dior died four years later, he was named head of the House of Dior. In 1961, Yves Saint Laurent opened his own fashion house and quickly emerged as one of the world's most influential and spectacular designers.

In 1953, Yves Saint Laurent submitted three sketches to a contest for young fashion designers, organised by the International Wool Secretariat. He won third place and was invited to attend the awards ceremony in Paris in December of that year. While he and his mother were in Paris, they met Michel de Brunhoff, editor-in-chief of the French edition of Vogue magazine. De Brunhoff, a considerate person known for encouraging new talent, was impressed by the sketches Yves Saint Laurent brought with him and suggested he become a fashion designer. Saint Laurent would eventually consider a course of study at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the council which regulates the haute couture industry and provides training to its employees. Yves Saint Laurent followed his advice and, leaving Oran for Paris after graduation, began his studies there and eventually graduated as a star pupil. Later that same year, he entered the International Wool Secretariat competition again and won, beating out his friend Fernando Sánchez and young German student Karl Lagerfeld. Shortly after his win, he brought a number of sketches to de Brunhoff who recognised close similarities to sketches he had been shown that morning by Christian Dior. Knowing that Dior had created the sketches that morning and that the young man could not have seen them, de Brunhoff sent him to Dior, who hired him on the spot.

Although Dior recognised his talent immediately, Yves Saint Laurent spent his first year at the House of Dior on mundane tasks, such as decorating the studio and designing accessories. Eventually, however, he was allowed to submit sketches for the couture collection; with every passing season, more of his sketches were accepted by Dior. In August 1957, Dior met with Yves Saint Laurent's mother to tell her that he had chosen Yves Saint Laurent to succeed him as designer. His mother later said that she had been confused by the remark, as Dior was only 52 years old at the time. Both she and her son were surprised when in October of that year Dior died at a health spa in northern Italy of a massive heart attack.

Yves Saint Laurent found himself at age 21 the head designer of the House of Dior. His spring 1958 collection almost certainly saved the enterprise from financial ruin; the straight line of his creations, a softer version of Dior's New Look, catapulted him to international stardom with what would later be known as the "trapeze dress." Others included in the collection were dresses with a narrow shoulder and flared gently at the bottom. At this time he shortened his surname to Saint Laurent because the international press found his hyphenated triple name difficult to spell.

His fall 1958 collection was not greeted with the same level of approval as his first collection, and later collections for the House of Dior featuring hobble skirts and beatnik fashions were savaged by the press. In 1960, Yves Saint Laurent found himself conscripted to serve in the French Army during the Algerian War of Independence. Alice Rawsthorn writes that there was speculation at the time that Marcel Boussac, the owner of the House of Dior and a powerful press baron, had put pressure on the government not to conscript Yves Saint Laurent in 1958 and 1959 but reversed course and asked that the designer be conscripted after the disastrous 1960 season so that he could be replaced.

In 1983, Yves Saint Laurent became the first living fashion designer to be honoured by the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a solo exhibition. In 2001, he was awarded the rank of Commander of the Légion d'Honneur by French president Jacques Chirac. He retired in 2002 and became increasingly reclusive, living at his homes in Normandy and Morocco with his pet French Bulldog Moujik.

He also created a foundation with Bergé in Paris to trace the history of the house of YSL, complete with 15,000 objects and 5,000 pieces of clothing.

A favourite among his female clientele, Yves Saint Laurent had numerous muses that inspired his work. Chief among these was the Somali supermodel Iman, whom he once described as his "dream woman." Other muses included Loulou de la Falaise, the daughter of a French marquis and an Anglo-Irish fashion model; Betty Catroux, the half-Brazilian daughter of an American diplomat and wife of a French decorator; Talitha Pol-Getty; French actress Catherine Deneuve; Nicole Dorier, a YSL top model in 1978–83, who became one of his assistants in organizing his runway shows and, later, the "memory" of his house when it became a museum; Guinean-born Senegalese supermodel Katoucha Niane; supermodel Laetitia Casta, who was the bride in his shows in 1997–2002.

In 2007, he was awarded the rank of Grand officier de la Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

He died June 1, 2008 of brain cancer at his residence in Paris. According to The New York Times, a few days before he died, Yves Saint Laurent and Bergé were joined in a same-sex civil union known as a Pacte civil de solidarité (PACS) in France. He was survived by his mother and sisters; his father had died in 1988.

He was given a Catholic funeral at St. Roch Catholic Church in Paris. Yves' body was cremated and his ashes scattered in Marrakech, Morocco, in the Majorelle Garden, a botanical garden that he often visited to find inspiration and refuge. Bergé said at the funeral service: “But I also know that I will never forget what I owe you and that one day I will join you under the Moroccan palms”. The funeral attendants included Empress Farah Pahlavi, Madame Chirac, and President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife at the time. Forbes rated Yves Saint Laurent the top-earning dead celebrity in 2009.

 Search for vintage YSL clothing at My Vintage - Vintage Yves Saint Laurent Clothing, YSL Vintage Clothing

Get The Gorgeous Pin-Up Look with Our Vintage Inspired Range!

We have had our super vintage/retro inspired range in stock for only a matter of weeks and it's proving rather popular already!

We have ravishing red betty frocks, rocked up animal prints, chic velvet forties numbers and crazy kitsch patterns to boot!


These dresses are brand new but all take inspiration from the styles of the 1940's and 1950's - it's really just a case of adding slick of red to the lips and you're good to go!



There are sexy fitted dresses that cling to all the right places, and also outrageous swing dresses that are perfect for rockin' and rollin'! And dresses range from a UK size 6 to a UK size 22! Prices are great too, ranging from £20-£60 so why not have a peep?

Some sizes are selling out alreay so be sure to check the site today and see which of these beauties takes your fancy!

As always, if you would like to send us a picture of you wearing your new purchase then we'd be thrilled to add you to our customer gallery! Say cheese!

Over and out!
My Vintage x

Just Arrived - New Vintage Retro Style Clothing

Just arrived at My Vintage HQ...

A fantastic range of brand new vintage retro style knitwear, tops and skinny jeans for men and women!!!

All come in a variety of sizes...but hurry sizes are selling out fast!

above - vintage retro style jumpers...

above - vintage retro style skinny jeans...

To view our full range of vintage and retro style clothing click here...

Dont forget we offer FREE UK delivery on all orders over £75 and FREE International delivery on orders over £150.

Also keep an eye out for more brand new vintage & retro style clothing arriving soon at My Vintage along with fabulous and unique vintage clothing, accessories and jewellery.

My Vintage