'Vintage-style' versus vintage style.

Yesterday, I got a press release saying that Beyond Retro are launching a clothes line. I like Beyond Retro. I've bought a lot of clothes from the Swedish/British chain of second-hand stores, including this spunky little shoulder-padded jumpsuit that I was sporting back in 2007. (Angela Chase haircut alert)

I especially like the interesting events they host at their Cheshire Street store. So why did their email fill me with apprehension?

Like everyone else, Beyond Retro are trying to develop their brand (just like Topshop's new makeup line and Grazia's new networking events) in a market overwhelmed with choice.  Their strength is their knowledge of second-hand clothes but, although the cat print on their romper suit is undeniably cute, I don't understand why they've chosen to develop new products.

The market's saturated with 'vintage look,' almost to the point where the lines have become blurred and the terms 'retro' and 'vintage' don't mean anything anymore. Nearly every label in the basement floor of Topshop Oxford Circus calls itself retro inspired. Of course, the past's always going to be full of inspiration for designers but for every genuine Fifties dress on Ebay, there's ten or twenty modern or even eighties dresses, labelled as Fifties.

I like vintage because the fit suits my old-fashioned figure and I'm unlikely to bump into someone at work wearing the same item. If every dress is 'vintage look,' doesn't that take away from the joy of second-hand?



Vintage also stands for a high-quality finish. There's no way I could afford to buy a new silk dress that's lined and boned to fit my body, but with careful second-hand shopping, you can find extremely fancy and carefully made items. This kind of finish just can't be replicated by the low prices on the high street.

I haven't seen these Beyond Retro pieces in real life, so I can't comment on the quality and finish, but I suspect that if it's a beach two-piece I'm after, I'd still rather rummage in the second-hand stores than buy new from one of the places that taught me to love vintage.