Fashion: When Vintage Is Too Much
For a few years now, the fashion scene is obsessed with vintage style, meaning theoretically be individual by wearing clothes that apply a timeless but highly unique touch to you as a human being. But in practice, 'vintage' really means anything that’s taken out of your granny’s wardrobe and is at least 100 years old, but it is oh so ‘stylish’ and ‘en vogue’.
Wherever you go these days, everything has to be vintage, in particular your dresses, jumpers, accessories and more recently your comfy pair of sneakers too.
A few weeks ago, journalist Rosamund Urwin spotted kicks at Barneys in New York, that have a very special look. The fashion brand defines ‘vintage’ with a radical meaning of ‘used look’. Their new collection of sneakers looks like they've just survived a very wet and muddy festival season, including holes which round up the wrecked design. I guess a distinctive smell comes all inclusive. These shabby, slouchy kicks, or ‘must-haves’ come at a price of £750 and THERE ARE people out there, who aren't put off by the price nor the unusual style.
The question is: how come? To be honest it doesn’t really surprise me at all that those acclaimed ‘pre-loved’ sneakers are on the rise and soon to be mass manufactured for our high streets. I’m selling my unwanted clothes and shoes on a clothes swapping website and I’ve seen vintage shoes on there sold at ridiculous prices. Just to give you an example: a pair of Converse shoes, new from the store, costs around £60 in Germany. On that website people set-up prices for worn Converse with holes, broken laces and rancid gluey soles far over the original price or still want at least £40 for it. Those advertised shoes get hundreds of hits and requests. Trashed shoes are not only in high demand by cute girly Bloggers chasing vintage pieces; they are also attracting shoe fetishists who would pay anything to get their hands on ‘well-worn’ sneakers. Let’s hope they’re paying the price just to sniff them!
If you ask me I would very much prefer shoes that are new and have a colourful and energetic design. Of course shoes can still have the vintage or timeless look, giving the features of a sneaker a touch of heritage style, but without paying a horrendous price for mud, chewing gum and scraggly laces - which you can have for free at any festival. Do you agree?
xx Caz xx
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