Period Clothing Comes Out of Storage Straight Back into Style

Fashion trends, as the saying goes, are cyclical -- more so in hard times, during recession economies, than at other times. Families are raiding their storage units and the backs of their closets to find timeless clothing that once seemed dated, but now has become trendy. Particularly trendy this season are military styles: bomber jackets, trench coats, cargo pants, and camouflage.

Despite the military trend, say fashion experts, dressing stylishly this season doesn’t mean that you have to dress like a soldier -- and you don’t have to have a veteran in the family to find timeless, and still wearable, clothing in your family’s storage locker. Last week, for example, Richmond.com recommended that women consider pairing soft feminine cardigan sweaters with cargo pants, or match riding boots with a skirt that looks like it came from a uniform.

In addition to military styles, this fall’s fashion trends include lace, leather, and knee-high socks, as well as fur trim, hats, legwarmers, and even open-toe boots.

“I’m having a ball looking at the clothes and seeing what’s come back into style,” said Terri Rank, a volunteer for the Grand Island Little Theater in Nebraska's Grand Island Independent, who was quoted as she sorted through old costumes to use for a fundraising sale. “It’s totally fascinating.”

“It’s not just one fashion, it’s all fashion,” Ohio State University fashion historian Patricia Cunningham said in the Denver Post. “From mass fashion, at the lowest price, to couture.”

New York fashion forecaster Sharon Graubard, speaking in the same article, agreed. “It’s part of what we call the heritage trend,” she said. “It has to do with the economy. If you spend money on clothes you want it to last awhile, you don’t want to look ostentatious. You also don’t want clothes in landfills. So there are a lot of cultural, economic and ecological reasons for why we are reaching for these timeless styles.”

For those who have not bothered to save the clothes they (or a relative) wore decades ago, manufacturers are starting to sell clothing that is made to look old, particularly clothing based on military fashions. Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, and J. Crew are all offering new clothing lines based on a military look that dates back to World Wars I and II, with bomber jackets and trench coats. Trench coats got their name because World War I soldiers wore them in the trenches. Cargo pants, which went into style a few years ago and have never really gone out, were originally designed for soldiers as well. Even camouflage is coming back into style.

The trend toward old-fashioned, timeless styles does not only affect clothing. Sometimes it affects antique furniture and period art, as well. If you are raiding your storage unit for clothing that has come back into style, think about pulling out the armoire or dresser that it may be stowed in, as well.

Sources used:

Brown, Douglas. “Military garb’s victory march: hard times recruit followers to timeless look.” The Denver Post. Oct. 19, 2010.

Magsaysay, Melissa. “Peep-toe boots let them all hang out.” The Los Angeles Times. Oct. 17, 2010.

Schulz, Sarah. “GILT costume sale set for Saturday.” The Grand Island Independent. Oct. 17, 2010.

Spruill, Dena. “RVA Trend Watch.” Richmond.com. Oct. 14, 2010.