Turning back the Sartorial Clock, cause WE need some GLAMOUR and VINTAGE FASHION for old time’s sake

To be glamorous, is far from tacky. It is, in fact, when someone is able to balance sophistication with pizzazz.

I know you may be used to a more serious tone in my blogposts. I’ve been talking a lot about health and wellness, ageing, parenting, sustainability and ethics in fashion. All the serious stuff, but not much about VINTAGE FASHION and GLAMOUR! 

The truth is I’ve been missing for a while some extravaganza and high heels in my life! I’ve been yearning to make more of my every days, wearing something extraordinary, making life more about celebrating and painting in colours, and less about politics and dilemmas.

In other words I’ve been missing the good times, carelessly spending my time talking to friends, drinking wine, going out, dancing all night at the music of George Michael and early Madonna, wearing my my mother’s Thierry Mugler Angel perfume and her pair of dangling gold cross earrings!

Giving in to my nostalgic mood, I called a friend and we hit it off for our version of a Christmas party. Julie and I both love vintage fashion and of course glamour. As people working long time in fashion we both are interested in fashion history and we both get a special kick when finding something on the vintage market that has a story! It felt natural that instead of having a traditional Christmas Lunch we go for a treasure hunt at one of our favourite Vintage Stores in Zurich with the enticing name Love at the bus stop. 

And that idea was meant in honour of the old times. I find we all have built lives around one idea: busy busy busy! And no time for anything…especially for fun! These days it’s all about work, family, exercise, food, health and other serious things…it feels difficult to relax, to do nothing, to simply listen music or go on a shopping spree…And everything is infused with “have to”, “should or shouldn’t” do, guilt, shaming and other stressors. But as I found out this year busy doesn’t mean powerless.  “The world is busy because my mind is busy”. And what my mind focuses on becomes my world. 

Because it is very important to not forget who you are, no matter your age, your job, your family and all the plans others have for you!  

Julie and I both love vintage fashion, but of course not just any vintage piece. 

JULIE: My love for vintage started in the mid 90s where I spent an exorbitant amount of time hunting down the perfectly used pair of jeans. I have great memories of thrift stores with great big racks of every imaginable color and cut, and how seriously I took every purchase. 

The fascination only expanded while living in France as it was home to Jean Paul Gaultier. His ‘Enfant terrible’ reputation left a stamp on fashion which went far beyond his insane level of creativity: the Madonna cone bras, power suits worn by Grace Jones, Coco Rocha dancing the Irish jig or Beth Ditto closing and opening his 2010 show. The common thread was allowing woman to own their bodies while proudly flaunting their feminine energy. 

His bold statements were an inspiration to push my styling limits and to bring an intense lovely of pure joy to outfits. Today, that joy of a phenomenal vintage find still gives me a rush. My current obsession, a Dior gown from the early 2000s. What can I say, my love of French couture has stayed! (Discover more on Julie’s styling tips on her Instagram and Blog Finding Fashion Jules)

I grew up in the 90s watching John Galliano and Alexander McQueen who transformed the world of fashion forever, who became almost like rockstars in the industry, while stealing every woman’s heart by putting her in the centre stage of their dream empires. In case you don’t know, Galliano gave women the sexy slip dress, the spaghetti straps and everything inspired by lingerie and by the curves of a woman’s body. As for McQueen, he empowered women to use their imagination and to constantly reinvent themselves.  

I was 16 watching fashion empowering women and the 90s supermodels of course who seemed to rule the world. 

Other examples were Alaia’s signature black ultra feminine body-hugging dresses and of course Gianni Versace provocative Miss S&M with its fetishistic elements worked into glamorous evening pieces. I loved the controversy, the power those sexy women exuded on the runway, fully owning their femininity. Were they just sex objects or they had the power to use their sex-appeal as they wanted. You can decide for yourself as you can decide whether you like these guys or not. 

I remember in my second year of University, I designed my first Ad Campaign using images from Tom Ford for GUCCI and two women fighting over a GUCCI bag. Till this day I can never say no to a sumptuous velvet suit dripping with signature Tom Ford Sex-appeal or a shiny silk pair of pants with a dress shirt. 

Tom Ford know how to make a woman look and feel sexy. That’s his magic

As you can see my style is heavily influenced by these fashion moments and till this day I like to add in my style references from these designers. Most of the time is not intentional, it is simply engrained in me, but going to the vintage store that day made me think again on my style choices. 

As it turns out Jürgend, who is the owner of Love at the Bus stop, a vintage fashion store in Zurich, Kreis 4, is a fan of Galliano, Tom Ford, Gianni Versace and Azzedine Alaia as well, but his list of favourites is much longer than mine: YSL, Jean Paul Gaultier, Viviane Westwood, Issey Miyake, Claude Montana, Thierry Mügler, Martin Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto. “Every piece I select for my store, I have to fall in love with, otherwise it is not a match”, says Jürgend. “For example your Tom Ford dress. It is not from the late 80s or the 90s, but I love the tailoring and the details. Tom Ford knows how to make a woman feel sexy, that’s his magic”. 

When I ask Jürgend how did he start working in fashion, he tells me with a cheeky wink that he started modelling as a baby. His uncle was looking for a baby model for an international campaign catalogue and he was just there. 

And then we keep chatting about what we miss the most in fashion these days, how everything has changed and fashion is not any more about creating fantasies, no more theatre, and instead street style and real life. I think just like me Jürgend feels a little disappointed with that. 

One thing I didn’t know about Jürgend is that he worked as a casting director and backstage team for the Vienna Life Ball for 18 years. That’s how he found himself one day walking the runway in five inch heels for Gianfranco Ferre with Erin O’Conner and Alec Wek behind him. 

Finally we go to the topic of fashion faux pas and his most current coveted collection. 

He says in a cheeky tone he never had a fashion faux pas, or at least there are no such records of him as he grew up in an era without iPhones and social media. 

Currently Jürgend is in love with Maison Schiaparelli, which keeps its codes intact, away from the banalities and reality, feeling the fantasy for another world, not as final destination, but rather a state of mind.  

DRESS IN A DREAM

ESCADA and Armani vintage dresses, both in black but in amazing design details!

Not all black dresses are made equal!

And below are a few more vintage fashion pieces we fell in love that day:

ESCADA velvet Jacket

GUCCI leather trousers

Balenciaga red boots

another ESCADA dress with beads

DIOR couture dress designed by Jean Paul Gaultier