Business Wear Part 4: Belt Up

So, you've ventured down to your local charity shop/vintage shop/car boot sale/second hand market stall and you've found a jacket you really really like...but it's just too big. No point buying it right? Well not necessarily. My favourite jacket is a white, 1980's lightly shoulderpadded, gold buttoned summer jacket from the Antoinette range at Harrods. It's a size 12 so, rather than wearing it loose and unflattering, I wrap it round and chuck a belt on it. The silhouette it creates with it's nipped in waist and structured shoulders is flattering and the awesome Harrods quality is obvious (I'll put up a photo when I get a mo!). Adding a waist belt works great with a lot of jacket styles, but my personal favourite is adding it to 80's jackets (which were often originally worn over-sized and a little loose) to create a sharp, updated, smart look. And let's be honest, if belting a jacket is good enough for Coco, it's good enough for me!


H.B.
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Business Wear Part 3: Dress It Up

So far we've discovered that suits don't have to be boring...but what if you don't want to wear a suit at all? There is, of course, another easy option the smart dress. A great quality office worthy vintage dress will see through everything from an average day at work to job interviews, networking events and presentations in a way that will ensure you appear both smart and sophisticated.  Avoiding dresses that are skin tight, noticeably short or cleavagey is always recommended of course, but aside from that go with what you fancy, there's quite literally, something for everyone in the wonderful world of vintage and second hand fashion. However my personal favourite options (examples of which I also happen to be selling in my etsy shop :p )  involve distinctive though not excessively vocal prints and a silhouette that involves elements of both tight fit and loose flowing fabric.

Make: JaegerMeasurements: Bust: 15.5", Waist: 12", Hips: 17", Length: 40"

UK 6

All measurements taken whilst flat

Condition: Fantastic vintage condition, no signs of wear and tear

£38

http://www.etsy.com/listing/77152553/designer-vintage-vintage-70s-jaeger

I absolutely adore this dress: I love the vintage 70's details with the neck-tie and long buttoned sleeves, I love the nipped in waist with loosely falling neckline and the skirt detail and I love the stylized snakeskin pattern. In fact were it not for the fact that that particular midi length is less than flattering on petite frames (at 5'1" midi lengths in general are not exactly complimentary) I doubt I'd be selling it. But for any of you lucky average hight or above size 6 ladies this dress is an absolute dream. Jaeger have always been renowned for top quality clothing (even though their designs saw them fall out of favour in the 90's before their a 21st century rebrand)  and in this dress it is immediately apparent. 

Make: David Emmanuel Collectables

Size:12

Measurements: Bust: 19", Waist: 17", Hips: 22", Length: 37.5", Shoulders:14.5"All measurements taken whilst flat

£16

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75610812/1980s-david-emmanuel-collectables-navy

David Emmanuel didn't always design for low cost, older demographic targeting Bon Marche. In fact in his time he was a highly well regarded, he was even part of the team  that designed Princess Diana's wedding dress along with his wife Elizabeth. This 80's example retains the good quality tailoring prominent in his earlier work and is the perfect dress for looking chic and respectable around the office. I also love the quirky take on polka dots! 

Again, if you're not a fan of either of the items I personally have to be selling there are plenty of good quality vintage dresses out there. As they tend to be a bit more popular then other items of clothing they also tend to be more expensive than the equivalent jackets or shirts etc on sites such as ebay and etsy. They also don't seem to show up quite so often in charity shops and car boots (again, presumably due to the popularity of the vintage dress) but there are still a fair few bargains to be had out there for the canny shopper.


H.B.
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Business Wear Part 2: Beyond the Black, Navy or Charcoal Suit

One of the most common complaints I've encountered at networking events is that shopping for office appropriate clothing is boring. The more interesting stuff either looks (and is) cheap and faintly unprofessional or is way out of the budget of the average shopper. Well that's where buying vintage comes in. 


If you're the kind of lady who likes to stand out from the crowd then there are a whole host of stunning options out on the web, in charity shops, down markets and at carboot sales that will turn heads for all the right reasons. After all, both vintage and adding a pop of colour to outfits are very very fashionable this season (Cheryl Cole's love it or hate it orange and purple American X-Factor combo anyone?).

Vs.

Make: Kasper for A.S.L
Size: UK 8-10
Label states USA size 6
Condition: Fantastic condition, no signs of wear and tear
Measurements: Bust: 16", Waist: 15", Hips: 18", Length: 25.5", Shoulders: 15.5"
All measurements taken whilst flat
Care Instructions: Dry Clean Only

£28
 http://www.etsy.com/listing/76700769/80s-black-and-red-kasper-for-asl-jacket

Make: Bianco
Size: 8-10
Great Condition, No Signs of Ware and Tear
Bust: 17", Waist: 15.5", Length: 23", Shoulders:14"
All measurements taken while flat
Care instructions: 30oC gentle wash, use non-bio, do not tumble dry

£13
http://www.etsy.com/listing/75605071/electric-blue-80s-jacket-bright-graphic

Personally I love the look of a brightly coloured, good quality vintage jacket but for plenty of women, and in plenty of working environments, this just doesn't quite feel right. Fortunately there are plenty of other ways of brightening up a dull office outfit, a statement shirt, for example:

Make: The Edinburgh Collection

Size 14-16
Measurements: Bust:20”, Waist: 20”, Length: 25”, Shoulders:17”
Please Note all Measurements Taken Whilst Flat
Good Condition, shows some slight signs of expected wear and tear but generally very good vintage condition
Care Instructions: 40oC synthetics wash, do not tumble dry

£9 
http://www.etsy.com/listing/75608472/emerald-green-70s-blouse-uk-14-16

Meduim-Large size, all tags have been removed probably due to the fact they would have shown through the slightly see through fabric.
Measurements: Bust: 20", Waist: 20", Length: 26.5"
All Measurements Taken Whilst Flat

£10
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76702111/80s-horse-print-blouse-size-medium-to

White, late 80's blouse with floral embroidery running down the front

Make: St. Michael for M&S
Size 12
Measurements: Bust: 19”, Waist: 19”, Length: 25”, Shoulders:15”
Please note all measurements taken when flat
Condition: Great quality, no obvious signs of wear and tare
Care Instructions: 50oC Synthetics wash, to not tumble dry

£9

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75609008/80s-white-long-sleeved-floral-embroidery

So as you can see, a nice suit and blouse combo doesn't have to be boring, or expensive.

This month's feature: Business Wear, Part 1: The Black Blazer

It's amazing the difference a good quality suit makes. We've all noticed it. Even if a particular person's style is not to our taste a top quality, well fitting outfit gives off the immediate impression of success, competence and business know-how. This kind of stereotyping should, in a dream world, be considered a little inappropriate but rather than fight it us canny bargain hunters can use it to our advantage by avoiding the horrendous costs of expensive first hand business wear and buying second hand and vintage. 


Take a look at these jackets:

All three are standard, run of the mill, black blazers and show quite clearly that you wont even find a quite good quality one for under £65, or under a couple of £100 for the very best. Fortunately for us, the good quality blazer is a wardrobe staple for a whole lot of ladies and thus regularly finds it's way into local charity shops and onto ebay. Just today I purchased a perfectly fitting, practically unworn French Connection Blazer for a mere £4 from my local Marie Curie charity shop (see below).

[Jacket, French Connection, £4, charity shop, Broach £2, charity shop, Blouse, TopShop about 6 years ago, approx £30, Necklace £4 on sale, Eclectic Eccentricity, Belt £18 TopShop, Lace Covered Vintage Skirt, £3, charity shop, Shoes, vintage heeled brogues, £3.50, charity shop. Total cost of outfit: £64.50, the price of one new blazer.]


Some retailers (such as Topshop http://tinyurl.com/67m8xlh ) have even started selling the style of late 80's/early 90's double breasted suit jackets that have been somewhat out of favour with younger shoppers for the last decade or so. Whilst I'm not necessarily saying that this is a trend that is going to catch on, if you like it you'll certainly be able to find a fair few vintage examples down your local charity shops for a fraction of the £65 price tag.


H.B.
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New Vintage Business Wear Line, Coming Soon!

I've been working on a line of vintage business wear for a while and I've decided that now, off the back of the rather fabulous Network of Aspiring Women Birmingham Launch event, is the time to share it with you bargain lovers. We all know how expensive (and dull) shopping for good quality work wear can be so I've decided to launch my own vintage line featuring jackets, skirts, trousers shirts and handbags to make you stand out of the crowd (for the right reasons!) at work. And I will of course be sticking to the So What It's Vintage ethos of fair pricing based on cost and quality. 


I'm hoping to launch it in the etsy shop over the next couple of weeks but to be kept up to date on what's happening in the shop, special offers, competitions and discount codes follow on twitter ;) https://twitter.com/#!/sowhatvintage