Vintage?

I just went online to a site called Modcloth, that I learned about from Facebook.  I clicked on the tab for vintage clothing, and lo and behold, they had clothes just like I used to wear in my teens and 20's!

Who knew that those clothes were vintage?  There were long "granny dresses," fringed vests, Indian style tunics, tiered skirts, ponchos, floppy hats, and bell bottom jeans.  I was shocked!

My mom always said, "Just wait 20 years, and it will be in style again."

I always wanted one of those jackets with the long fringe.  Never had one, but I admired them from afar when I saw them on other people.

I remember wearing my first pair of bell bottom jeans to a baby sitting job, and the father asked me, "Do you know someone in the navy?"  Sailors used to wear pants that flared at the bottom.  I don't know what the uniform looks like now.

I had a collection of vests, and I wore them with BVD t-shirts we used to get from my uncle's store in Hoboken.  We wore the shirts outside of our jeans, not tucked in.  Hair was long and parted in the middle.  To complete the outfit, we had love beads, long strands of tiny beads - I still have one of those necklaces.  The quintessential hippie look...

Another favorite look was wearing blue overalls with the t-shirts.  I'd wear platform sandals with overalls - don't know how I didn't break my ankles!  I loved those shoes because they made me about four inches taller!

I had one granny dress that I'd gotten for my 19th birthday.  It was a pale green Indian print with a smocked bodice and long sleeves.  I wore that dress so much that my mother wanted to throw it away.

It was funny how people related to you based on your appearance.  I remember walking in the city dressed like a hippie and how easy it was to talk to similarly dressed people.  Then I was dressed professionally for a job interview, and when I walked in the city like that, I was almost shunned by hippies.

I used to go out dancing in my mother's dresses that were 40 years old.  The dresses were gorgeous and unlike anything that was the style at that time.  I've since given them to my nieces, but I loved those dresses.  I wonder if my mom felt surprised to know that her dresses were vintage...