Classic Fashion

You hear about “classic” cars and “classic” movies, but what, exactly, are “classic” clothes? Old styles from long ago that were hot in their heyday but that no one wears anymore?

Hardly!

Classic clothes are styles that look good on just about everyone and that have been popular for years. Like the humble chicken that can be batter dipped and fried for a casual occasion or simmered with vegetables into Coq Au Vin for formal guests, classic clothes can be dressed up or dressed down for any occasion. With classic pieces, a little can go a l-o-n-g way, so invest in these wardrobe staples so you can wear them for years to come. Classics include:

A Crisp White Shirt

A crisp, white, button down shirt can be worn under suit jackets, with a skirt or pants, under a vest, over a tank top whatever you want. Dress it up with a silk scarf or a strand of pearls for work, or tuck it into jeans for a more laid-back look.

A Form-Fitting T-Shirt

A simple style, form-fitting t-shirt can take you to meetings when worn under a jacket, to a picnic when worn with jeans, and help keep you warm when layered under a shirt or sweater. Forget the logos, cute sayings, or goofy details – just stick with white and fitted for maximum versatility.

Straight Leg Dark Pants

Dark, straight-legged pants in a simple style can take you to work during the day, to evening events at night, and to casual events on weekends, depending on what you pair with them. Dress them up with a beaded top and sandals for night, dress them down with a sweater and flats for errands.

Straight Leg Jeans

A simple style, straight-leg dark denim jean can see you through LOTS of casual activities. Pair them with a silk top and heels for something a little dressier, a t-shirt and tennis shoes for something a little more casual.

A Dark, Fitted, Single-Breasted Jacket

Want to command respect and immediately set a more formal tone? Put on a dark, fitted, single-breasted jacket. It’s appropriate for meetings, funerals, church – you name it – and will immediately upgrade any outfit you wear, including jeans. If you can only afford one jacket, make sure it’s this style.

A Knee Length Skirt

Whether your lower half looks best encased in a straight, A-line, or wrap style, strive for a dark or neutral color with a hem to the knees. Knee-length tends to flatter most women, whereas thigh high or calf length tend to work for very few.

A Day Dress

A day dress in a simple style can take you just about anywhere, from church and teas to funerals and work. You can dress it up with heels and jewelry, dress it down with flats and a trendy jacket.

A Cocktail Dress

This can be the traditional LBD (little black dress) or another color in an evening style and fabric. Wear it for cocktail parties, semi-formal dinners, drinks with friends, or the theater.

A Trench Coat

A classic, belted trench with a zip-out liner can take you anywhere in the world three seasons a year. It will repel rain, sleet, and snow in style, and fold up compactly when not in use. Originally designed as an all-weather coat by Thomas Burberry for use by British soldiers “in the trenches” during World War I, the trench does exactly as intended – keeps you warm in all sorts of weather.

Walking Shorts

A dark or neutral-colored, flat front, straight-leg walking short is a summer staple. It should fit you properly without gaping, pinching, or riding up, and the hem should hit just a few inches above the knee. Wear them with tennis shoes for a very casual look, or upgrade a bit with strappy sandals or cute flats.

Now I have to admit that if I’d seen this list at the height of my clothing consumption (“fashionista”) days in my 20′s, I would have shouted, “boring!” and immediately dismissed it.

But take a closer look at these clothes. They look great all by themselves, but they also offer an elegant background to more interesting pieces. Have a stunning top you want everyone to see? Pair it with your black pants or dark skirt. Have a gorgeous new necklace? Put it with your classic day dress and show it off properly.

It’s like the difference between walking into a white room with light blue carpet and being asked to set it for an elegant dinner party on a $500 budget, and walking into a lime green room with orange carpet and being asked to do the same. The first one allows you to focus on the table; the other forces you to cover up the backdrop before taxing your imagination (and what’s left of your budget) on the table. See the difference?

Yes, trends are fun and certainly have their place, but classics are VERSATILE and allow you to do more with less. Dress them up, dress them down, wear them out – and still look good. That’s the power of classic pieces, and that’s why you should have plenty of them in your wardrobe.

A lot of fashion trends come and go but vintage classic clothing is always in style. Vintage is great because of the versatility. By using neutral colors it is hard to mismatch anything if you keep it simple and classic. We will take you through all the styles available and help you put it all together for the perfect vintage appeal.

Vintage Denim Jeans

- Jean Styles:

* Slim Boot Fit – lean through the top, flaring out at the knee. An updated look pulling the best of the 70′s jeans fashion. Looks good with vintage western shirt.

* Flap Pocket Fit – low rise, fitted through the thigh opening to a slight flare at the knee. Hand-distressed with a worn-in look plus back flap pockets for added detail. Looks great with a vintage military style shirt.

* Straight Leg Fit – sits comfortably at the hip and fits straight through the leg and thigh. A classic fit from the 50′s and 60′s goes well with a vintage graphic tee.

* Relaxed Fit – a relaxed fit through the hip and thigh featuring a boot-cut leg opening. Perfect with a classic button-down or vintage western shirt.

Vintage Shirts

- Button-Down Styles:

* Military Shirts – inspired by vintage army shirts feature tabbed sleeves, shoulder flaps and front flap pockets. Goes with slim boot fit jeans.

* Western Shirts – a vintage essential featuring pearl snap buttons, detailed yoke stitching and unique patterns. Wear with slim boot fit jeans and vintage retro boots.

* Polo Shirts – classic fit and cotton fabric made this big in the 60′s and 70′s especially in the summer. Goes great with straight leg fit jeans and white sneakers.

* Raglan Baseball Shirt – popular in the 70′s, a classic style featuring 3/4 sleeves, ringer collar and knit cotton. Looks great with straight leg or slim boot jeans and sneakers.

- Graphic Tee Shirt Styles:

* Rock Band Tee Shirts – Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles & Woodstock graphic tees go great with relaxed fit jeans. Up your style with a blazer.

* Funny Saying Tee Shirts – a worn and faded look give a thrift store vintage feel to a past funny saying. Goes great with slim boot fit jeans and flip-flops.

* Graphic Art Tee Shirts – cool art designs give a subtle detail with jeans or with layers. Perfect with any type of jeans.

Accessories

- Sunglasses: add detail with vintage inspired aviators, thick-frame square glasses and polarized sunglasses.
- Socks: bold vintage argyle patterns can add some color to your outfit.
- Hats: fedoras, drivers and trucker caps can also help pull an outfit together.

You may have not noticed, but a lot of the celebrity kids today are wearing kid’s clothing pieces that adhere to the Japanese street fashion style. After all, the entertainment press usually covers the likes of Suri Cruise and her penchant for chic, stylish, and almost clinical designer kid’s clothing. But if you look at the likes of Leni Samuel and Kaya McEknna and their eccentrically designed tees, for instance, or Jaden Smith’s hip and street style-infused fashion, it would be easy to see that celebrity kids are also embracing the classy and cute style of Japanese kid’s clothing.

In fact, these celebrity kids may actually be wearing Japanese-inspired kid’s clothing without even knowing it.

Jaden Smith, for instance, wears a lot of kid’s clothing pieces that hardly match. During the Twilight Saga: Eclipse premiere in Los Angeles, he wore a gray vest with silver spikes over a plain white cotton shirt, black straight cut pants, and black boots. His sister, Willow Smith, wore a yellow tank top under a chest length leather jacket with floral print. These kid’s clothing pieces combine the formal and casual kid’s clothing aesthetics, something common in Japanese fashion.

Jaden’s spiky jacket and Willow’s floral printed vest, meanwhile, have very distinct marks of Japanese kid’s clothing style. The floral style on the leather vest is actually quite Victorian-Lolita in aesthetics, although the girly and youthful yellow tank top defuses whatever inappropriateness that particular kid’s clothing has to create a very distinct style, something akin to Japanese kid’s clothing street fashion. Jaden’s jacket, on the other hand, is more hardcore, as it uses the concept of Visual Kei, a Japanese fashion style that borders on the flamboyant and the kitschy. Many fashion bloggers and experts did comment that Jaden’s kid’s clothing piece is very glam rock in style-and glam rock is one of the styles that influenced Visual Kei.

Of course, it goes without saying that Jaden’s and Willow’s kid’s clothing outfits were cute and age appropriate, classy and young-and very Japanese in style.

Many celebrity kids follow the footsteps of Jaden and Willow when it comes to consciously or unintentionally using Japanese kid’s clothing fashion as the template for their own ensemble. Shiloh Pitt, for instance, has been seen wearing very feminine sundresses that look like a mellowed-down Lolita dress. Even the prints of Suri Cruise’s designer kid’s clothing pieces are reminiscent of the ones you’d see in Japan right now!

This is possible due to many reasons. For one, good fashion will always be good fashion-regardless whether the style is American or Japanese. But more than that, Japanese anthropologists and pop culture experts have said over and over again that Japanese street fashion and even the more current Japanese kid’s clothing fashion styles such as the mellowed-down Lolita dresses are actually imitations of fashion styles from other cultures and countries, including but not limited to America. This exact reason makes Japanese kid’s clothing appropriate and fashionably gorgeous and fitting for American kids.