RETRO VIBE

From vintage fashions to yesteryear diversions, nostalgia is on trend.

By Julie Beun | Photos by Angela Holmyard

The vintage baby pink, square-toed patent leather Louis Vuitton ankle boots winked at me from inside their glass display case at Ragtime Vintage Clothing.
I adjusted my facemask and pushed past the racks of sweaters and nylon blouses, my eyes unwavering. My heart raced and I readied myself for disappointment: they’d be too small, too expensive, too ridiculous.
But they weren’t too small. In fact, they were a perfect size 7.5 and at $150 for a $1250 pair of designer kicks, they weren’t too costly, either. But oh, my giddy aunt, they were definitely too ridiculous.
In the midst of a pandemic, where the actual hell was I going to wear pink ankle boots, even if they did have chrome heel tips?
The answer is anywhere because it’s the year that all bets are off. Like every other Zoom meeting attendee who wears business on top and comfy track pants below the waist, I’ll be sporting my beautifully inappropriate boots in virtual meetings to remind me of better days ahead.
It’s a bit of indulgent hopefulness, but as a trend, the dive back into nostalgia is as on-point as it gets.

As we lurch from one mind-bending headline to another, we are turning to anything old-school and comforting, from drive-in movies and bread-making to vintage clothing. A recent US study by MCR Data found that retro TV shows like Taxi, Twin Peaks and Melrose Place are all
enjoying a resurgence.

“Many are turning to nostalgia, even if they do not consciously realize it, as a stabilizing force and a way to keep in mind what they cherish most,” notes Clay Routledge, author of Nostalgia: A Psychological Resource.

And that goes double for retro clothing. As people stuck at home go the full Marie Kondo on their closets, carloads of old clothing are being delivered to vintage stores like Ragtime Vintage Clothing on Flora Street, say owners John Greaves and Shirley Griffith. The iconic shop, opened in 1978, has been experiencing a tsunami of “really nice high-end clothes from Europe, beautiful Yves St-Laurent suits and very nice accessories,” notes Griffith.

As we lurch from one mind-bending headline to another, we are turning to anything old-school and comforting, from drive-in movies and bread-making to vintage clothing. A recent US study by MCR Data found that retro TV shows like Taxi, Twin Peaks and Melrose Place are all enjoying a resurgence.

“Many are turning to nostalgia, even if they do not consciously realize it, as a stabilizing force and a way to keep in mind what they cherish most,” notes Clay Routledge, author of Nostalgia: A Psychological Resource.

And that goes double for retro clothing. As people stuck at home go the full Marie Kondo on their closets, carloads of old clothing are being delivered to vintage stores like Ragtime Vintage Clothing on Flora Street, say owners John Greaves and Shirley Griffith. The iconic shop, opened in 1978, has been experiencing a tsunami of “really nice high-end clothes from Europe, beautiful Yves St-Laurent suits and very nice accessories,” notes Griffith.

“We’ve always dealt with people emptying out their homes,” adds Greaves, “people who have hung on to things for generations because of sentimentality or for their beauty. These days, during the pandemic, they don’t just want their things to go into a landfill or the donation bin. They’re thinking more of recycling and supporting local. They want to keep the money in the Ottawa community.”

Filling out the circular recycling and repurposing economy are fashion- and budget-minded shoppers, particularly those under 25, who are increasingly choosing one meaningful vintage piece over disposable fast fashion. Despite reduced pandemic hours, says Greaves, retro clothing has become the focal point of people searching for a sense of continuity amidst social isolation.

Across town at Westboro’s Rikochet Resale, owner Mona El Rafie has also witnessed an uptick in young shoppers looking for one-off pieces either in store or through her online shop. Although “it literally changes from month to month,” she says, “the go-to pieces like 90s handbags [and] old Danier leather jackets with buttons are huge.”

If she could change anything about shopping in the pandemic, aside from not having a pandemic, it would be to encourage people to think vintage.

“We carry everything, the range is massive, there’s something for everyone. And every piece is unique.”