Jennifer. J. Chow

Going Retro

My desire to escape to the past could be due to the news. Or maybe I just need a different creative outlet than writing. Whatever the case, I’ve been leaning in on retro clothing choices. Okay, so I’ve always had a penchant to dress in period pieces (hello, poodle skirt for Halloween!). And I admit to having gone in themed outfits to match musicals (see example below):

Now, I’m actually wearing vintage attire on regular days. I’ve been enjoying a hand-me-down pair of flared pants (not quite bell bottoms-width but wider than I’m used to). And I’m happy to again own a corduroy jacket courtesy of a local shop. Plus, this vintage-inspired dress still has me smiling (thanks for convincing me to get it, El!):

Recently, I also discovered there are a bunch of vintage stores in the SoCal area (see  lavintagemap.com for more details). I kinda love it when I find clothes separated by era. Actually, I scored this from the freebie rack at one such shop!

But how do I style this? And when should I wear it?

And my younger kiddo truly enjoys thrifting, always asking me to go to various stores and pop-up events. (Of course, now that there’s this thing called Y2K vintage, I feel really old.)


In what ways do you escape to the past?

29 thoughts on “Going Retro”

  1. I was with you when you bought the dress! It looks so cute on you!

    LOVE 20s headpiece. And purple jacket is awesome. If you want to go full hey remember the 80s, I recommend leggings, leg warmers and a headband worn Olivia Newton style in her song, “Let’s Get Physical.”

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  3. I love the past. The Gatsby band is fabulous.

    I’m more of a 40s style, when I can find something in my size. And I kind of prefer the “guy” look. Me and heels and dresses are not a pretty thing.

    hence the fedora affixiation. Did you know fedoras were originally a female accessory? It took the male species about 30 years to figure out it was a cool Tb ing to wear.

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  5. Y2K vintage? I was pregnant with my first at that time. It can’t be vintage yet!

    Like Patricia, music is generally my escape to the past. There’s a local station that plays all the music I remember from my teens and college years.

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  6. Love your Gatsby headband! If they fit, I think I could dress from my closet for the 70’s and 80s! Since I quit trying to be fashionable some 30 years ago, I must finally be back! Much like Patricia I use music to return to “the good old days”!

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  7. What cute pix, Jen–I recognize that black dress. Adorable! I’m our family historian, which means I keep tons of photo boxes and old-school albums, going back to the late 1800s (they used black paper with white ink captions). And…slides. So. Many. Slides. Clothes-wise, my mom was quite a collector, so I have vintage pieces from several eras. The issue is staying small enough to squeeze into them (retro base garments are a no-go for me)!

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  8. Historical mysteries are about my only regular escape into the past.

    Actually, I guess you could add my watching/rewatching of some old sitcoms as an escape into the past, too.

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      1. Retro tv!

        Let’s stay with mysteries. Best sitcom for it? A fabulous looking Irishman who “didn’t exist”. Enter Remington Steele. I loved Doris Roberts. And all the old movie references!
        Which was why he was in so few James Bond movies, timing conflicts.

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  9. Love the vintage looks, Jennifer!

    This winter when it’s cold and things get a little overwhelming (I live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area) I dig out my mom’s old Officers’ Wives Cookbooks and make recipes from my childhood, like beef stroganoff, chicken cordon blue, meatloaf, and angel food cake.

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    1. Thanks, Robin!

      Mmm, that’s the best way to escape into the past! I have several cookbooks that have been passed down to me, by family or friends. Whenever I cook or bake one of those recipes, it’s like a little hug from them.

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  10. I had a friend back in the ’70s who used to joke about being a member of the group, “People for a Bell Bottom-Free Future.” I did wear them in the late ’60s, I’ll admit, but quickly moved on to courduroys and straight-leg Levis. And then in the early ’80s I went full-on New Wave, with pegged black slacks and short spiked hair.

    Like Hestia, I’m a fan of ’30s and ’40s fashion, especially vests. But for escaping to the past, I go to historical fiction far more than fashion.

    Love the headband, Jen!

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    1. I don’t know if I could survive without jeans. Yay for New Wave Leslie!

      I’m an admirer of vests but feel like I can’t pull off the look. As for historical fiction, I hop into the past now and again, but mostly stick to modern.

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  11. Jen! Your Great Gatsby look is top-notch! And the sparkly purple jacket? That is some serious razzle-dazzle! Love this post — I feel like we should plan a group outing to thrift stores.

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  12. You kook great! I love the outfits. I love vintage clothing. I have one of those fox biting fox furs that they used to wear. Look up a photo of Kim Novak in a favorite movie “Bell, Book and Candle” where she wears those tight black pants with a sweater. That jacket would look good with her pants. She was a witch in it and it was during beatnik times. I have all kinds of my family’s papers, photos and slides, appliances (Wedding gifts of a Waring blender and Singer Featherweight Sewing Machine in portable case and the table it fits in, their card table, mother’s wedding dress and her hope chest along with her squirrel fur from 1941, etc.). I still have all of my audio equipment from the records I bought (45s and LPS) from the 1960s until they started cassettes along with my record player, speakers, cassette player, and tuner from the 1970s. Then Hubby Dearest gave me a CD player way back when that plays 5 CDS and several boom boxes. Also, my father’s 8 tracks and players. Hundreds of CDs. My most prized items are my Blue/White Schwinn Hornet Bicycle with horn and headlight that I got for Christmas in 1959 and got it gifted again to me in 1982 by my parents and my Barbie doll I got that same Christmas and her wardrobe box full of her things and then I got Ken in 1962.

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  13. I love the headband! I’ve also been going retro for a comforting escape by rewatching Murder, She Wrote. JB Fletcher rocked ’80s business fashion. Her suits were beautiful. And the blue dress she wore in the Magnum P.I. crossover episode, I would LOVE to own.

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