The Return of 1990s Grunge

Ok, OK, don't panic! If, like me, you remember wanting to look like Claire Danes, insisted on putting a flower on your floppy hat and begging for hand painted Doc Martins, then this blog will not please you. It's official though, the 90's are now 'retro' and trend wise, its creeping back. All I can say is - thank goodness there wasn't Facebook in those days because the thought of my heavy brown matt lipstick and crop tops all over the web are enough to make me drop my push pop.

One of the easiest trends to adopt is the floral skirt lengths as rocked by Shannan Doherty in Mallrats [below].  Cropped vintage print dresses that are thankfully worn with heavy opaques and rich winter plum colours, personally I'm going to be wearing with tights, but the braver amongst you may prefer the slightly more raunchy over-the-knee sock.

Shannon Doherty rocking a 1990s floral dress

Image reblogged from http://fy-wgg-rock.tumblr.com/

Of course, the majority of the grunge look was inspired by the sounds of the decade, and for the most part that was grunge bands that were blowing up out of Seattle.  For an edgier version of this look, you can't beat the king and queen of 90s grunge: the late Kurt Cobain and his wife Courtney Love.  They may have taken it to the extreme with their unwashed herion chic look, which no one should want to re-create, but thankfully the 1990s re-visit is more about being inspired by elements of this look such as plaid (dresses for girls, shirts for the boys), layering with oversized knits and of course Dr.Martens classic 8-holes.

Grunge for girls was all about taking that nice lace dress or cute floral outfit that your mother would like, then layering it with chunky beat up boots, oversized knits and the obligatory matt lipstick in shades of red, burgundy and brown into a look that your mother really wouldn't have liked.  For boys, it was a case of plaid, plaid and more plaid, mixed with washed out band t-shirts, and occasionally even the odd floral dress.  Much of the grunge era clothing would have been bought from thrift stores and charity shops - you really didn't need to spend much to get this look yourself.  In fact, the more worn out your clothing was - the more grunge you were.

We've got plenty of check shirts, vintage band t-shirts, vintage florals and battered knits in store at Uncle Bucks so you can easily create this look yourself ~ and of course if you're looking for inspiration then check out our grunge heroes here:

Melissa Auf der Maur of the Smashing Pumpkins [style notes: check the matt red lipstick and floral dress with lace trim]

Image re-blogged from franciscofloresart.wordpress.com

 

Kat Bjelland, Lori Barbello and Maureen Herman of Babes in Toyland

 Image credits www.last.fm

Babes in Toyland work the grunge look.  Style notes: more matt red lipstick, and lace dress, toughened up with black boots [not seen]

Reblogged from www.ear.fm

Courtney Love with obligatory red lippy, and ivory dress with black opaques

Image from anotherdelirium.buzznet.com


Rock on!

Getting crafty for autumn...

We're already looking forward to the autumn collections ~ and having had a sneaky peak we're going to be making sure we've got all the vintage you need to look current ~ but with that special unique edge that being a vintage vixen gives you.

One of our fave looks for AW11/12 is the 1970s crafty comeback.  Think macrame, crochet and homemade knits across bags, belts, coats and well, pretty much everything.  For catwalk inspiration we love House of Holland's multi-coloured crochet clothing - dresses, jackets and skirts made out of what looks like the crochet blankets my mother made me and my sisters back in the 70s:

House of Holland's crochet clothes AW11/12

For a more subtle take, get inspired with Rodarte's neutral toned loose knit midi skirts - slamming two AW11/12 trends in one:

Rodarte AW2011/12

 Or mix it up like Christopher Kane's punk take on the homespun trend with inky black cashmere crochet pencil skirts mixed up with leather jackets:

Christopher Kane AW2011/12

So, if like us, the catwalk's a little out of your budget, and of course being vintage fans you're probably looking to stamp your own mark on this look, there's nothing like making your own clothing for that truly unique vibe.  We suggest that you check out Crochet Ninja's blog here - it's got everything you need to get you started on crochet - or if you need a little help, then do what we're gonna do, and scour charity shops for handmade blankets to make up into your own garments.


Of course, if that sounds a little too much like hard work then we spied these ready made items already available - We love all the hand crocheted garments at Annie Briggs' Etsy store - and suggest you check out all her 'hip threads with a feminine edge', our favourites are these two fab skirts:

Annie Briggs' crochet skirts

Keep real with crochet!