Primarily, to be vintage an item of clothing must be old. However, you can achieve a vintage look by wearing vintage inspired clothing and accessories too if you know how to make it look the part. Some key elements can help make your look seem vintage even if the clothing isn’t.

First you must pick your era. Each era had different signature details, cuts, icons and accessories which defined it.

High waisted

Throughout history high-waited men’s trousers were often worn with braces, although this also looks fab on women for an androgynous look. Between the 1940s and the 1960s women usually sported a high-waisted skirt or dress, although the length and cut varied depending on the decade. During the 1970s high-waisted wide-legged or flared trousers were popular with men and women.

Drop waist

If  the 1920s and 1930s is the era for you be sure to go for the tell-tale ‘flapper’ style drop waistline.  In the 1920s waistlines were very low on thr hip and hems always below the knee.

Cardigans

Cardigans were one of the most iconic items of the 1950s and were much more elaborate than today’s counterpart. If you want to add a vintage touch to your outfit this is the way to go, in the 1950s dresses and tops were often short sleeved so cardigans were a must-have. Avoid anything baggy as cardigans were shaped to flatter the curves and often had detailed knits including lace knits, patterns, bead-work and ornate buttons.

Twin Sets

You’ve heard of ‘twinset and pearls’ right? But what is a twinset exactly? A twinset is a close-fitting sleeveless knitted sweater (jumper to us English folk) with a matching cardigan. You may have seen images of these being worn by 1950s housewives and will certainly remeber one worn by Olivia Newton John in Grease.

Accessorise your head!

Prior to the 1960s head-gear was matter of fact. Men usually wore or carried a hat be it bowler, tweed cap, triby or other. Women’s hear-wear changed more dramatically over the decades but they usually wore a head accessory of some kind, even when swimming!

In 1920s it was the cloche hat and the head-band (the kind that goes around your forehead not an Alice band) that defined the era, in the 1940s and 1950s it was all about hats to compliment elaborate hairstyles, although in the 50s they were slightly smaller. The 1950s also saw the rise of the headscarf as worn by Audry Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, followed by the Pillbox hat in the 1960s remembered most notably for being work lots by Jackie Onassis, the extra-wide headband (*Alice band) was also big news.

If you’re a fan of fifties kitsch, burlesque frills and Dorothy Gale is your biggest icon, you love the newest addition to Queeni-B Boutique from East London designer BannBee.  These kitsch gingham panties come in a choice of red and white or black and white and both have adorable frills at the hip. The knickers are ideal for a country pin-up look and wreak of 1950’s nostalgia, as they should since much of BannBee’s handmade lingerie is inspired by the style of 1950s pin-ups.

Click to shop Red Gingham Frill Pin-up Panties or Black Gingham Frill Pin-up Panties.

Queeni-B Boutique have been invited by Land of Pash to ‘Pop-Up’ a shop at their debut Vintage and Retro Fashion Fair at Bermondsey’s Biscuit Factory on London’s Southbank. We are very excited to be amongst a selection of inspiring retro traders and passionate vintage fashionistas where we will be showcasing our collection of retro & vintage inspired clothing at accessories from independent designers and cherry-picked vintage pieces alike.  If you pop down you will have the opportunity to try things on before you buy and will be giving special gifts to customers who make purchases on the day. We will be giving out a free entry visa for the event to all our Facebook fans, blog readers & newsletter subscribers a little to closer to the time. There is also rumored celebrity attendance but as it’s all a bit hush-hush we’ll just have to wait and see!

Subscribe to Boutique Secrets Newsletter or become a fan on facebook for updates on the event and to bag yourself free entry thus saving yourself 4 quid (or £2 if you are a student).

A new vintage inspired lingerie set is new in today, brought to us by lingerie label BannBee. This chocolate brown and cream bra and panties set sports the classic halter-neck cut and iconic polka-dot print of 1950s fashion whilst having a slight hint of burlesque influence in the details, the panties are ruched and gathered at the rear and are adorned with a big spotty bow.  The whole BannBee range is lovingly handmade in the East End of London and is such seductive eye-candy it’ll make any girl feel like a proper pin-up!

Today we have an exciting new range in from London Designer Emma Brigitte London. We spotted Emma at one of our favorite hunting grounds Craftactular just before Christmas where she was showing a selection of beautiful and unusual customized vintage knitwear and some yummy handmade 1950s style dresses. Emma has since been working on some new pieces too; some 1950s inspired playsuits. All of the above are now available at www.queenib.com. Each knitwear piece is an individually customized vintage jumper or cardigan adorned with the Emma Brigitte London signature lace insert which adds a romantic feel to a previously disowned gem. There are two super-cute playsuits with giant bows; one leopard print and one pink and black polka-dot, both are perfect for a budding pin-up or rockabilly girl. Finally but not least of all, we have six 1950s style dresses exclusive to Queeni-B Boutique. The six styles include the 1950s inspired ‘Bo Peep’ dress in polka-dot or floral – a pin-up inspired tailored dress with sweetheart neckline and peekaboo back, the 1950s inspired floral ‘Hattie’ short pencil dress with peekaboo back and the ‘Missie’ dress –  a yellow polka-dot dress with adorable plunge white collar back. All of these shapely dresses are designed to emphasize those pin-up curves. Click here to view the Emma Brigitte London collection.