Five of the best vintage style brands

The style of vintage clothing from the 40s and 50s is beautiful, but the fabrics and fit sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Modern bodies and twenty-first century laundry habits don’t always sit happily with a vintage wardrobe but, thankfully, there are a lot of amazing brands out there who create clothing that is either faithfully reproduced from vintage patterns or at the very least inspired by them. Here are a selection of my current favourites.

Heyday!
Heyday specialise in reproduction vintage style clothing from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. They claim that it looks just like it should, but with the ease of fit and care of modern clothes. Just what we’ve all been looking for! They have some beautiful styles and plenty of followers who really know their stuff. The gorgeous Fleur wrap dress was developed with and named after vintage model and blogger Fleur de Guerre and their stunning 5th Avenue Coat is a firm favourite of Gemma from Retro Chick.

Freddies of Pinewood
I had been searching for vintage style jeans for a long time when I discovered Freddies. They’re the pioneers of 1940s and 1950s reproduction jeans for women and men. Made from high quality washable denim with no stretch they fit just like the originals. So that you know you’ll be getting a pair of jeans that are the perfect fit, they list all of the measurements on their site, so I had no problem checking that their New Jeanies would fit my thighs! As well as their amazing collection of jeans styles, they also have capri pants, tops, dresses and accessories.

Tara Starlet
If you’re looking for vintage inspired clothes with a pin-up girl rockabilly style, look no further than Tara Starlet. Their 40s and 50s style pieces have been “designed in London especially to give you an original starlet look”. Their Homefront Dancing Dress is a gorgeous easy to wear 40s style and their bright Sailor Slacks are perfect for summer. As well as tops, bottoms, suits and dresses, they now sell nightwear too.

What Katie Did
To go underneath your vintage style clothing, you’ll probably need some suitable underwear. What Katie Did is the world’s leading brand of vintage inspired lingerie. Selling retro underwear inspired by designs from the 1940s and 1950s, the patterns are often adapted from vintage pieces and so will sit beautifully under vintage styles. Their Clarice bra gives an authentic 40s shape, the signature bullet bra is very 50s, and their shapewear will give a smooth silhouette under the slinkiest of clothing.

Betty Blues Loungerie
Because vintage gals don’t want to relax at home in boring modern lounge wear, Betty Blue’s Loungerie aim to provide glamorous garments to recline in – just as the stars of the classic Hollywood silver screen did. Not only can you get yourself ready for a Grease style sleepover with their gorgeous babydolls, bedjackets and headscarves, their Rita Siren Suit is far more stylish than a high street onesie and the Bettie Robe should be on every glamour puss’ wish list!