Vintage clothing is inescapable at the moment. Red carpets and Instagram feeds are filled with archival Versace (worn in the last year by Jenna Ortega, Bella Hadid, and Zendaya), Jean Paul Gaultier (Hadid, the entire Kardashian-Jenner clan, Olivia Rodrigo), and Valentino (Zendaya and Emma Chamberlain). Rose-tinted nostalgia has also been an undercurrent of many runway collections this season, from the wasp waists at Dior to the power shoulders at Saint Laurent. It’s easy to love clothes from long ago—but for some people, the appeal goes far deeper. There are those who wear gowns modeled after the mistresses of Versailles, or 1860s silhouettes remixed in modern fabrics. Hobbyists who painstakingly reconstruct robes à la française for hundreds of hours, or dedicated historians for whom wearing a century (or centuries)-old style is an extension of their careers. Whether they call themselves historical costumers, interpreters, or vintage enthusiasts, their dedication to the aesthetics of the past is compelling. If fashion is a form of self-expression, what does it mean to forgo modern trends in favor of 18th-, 19th-, or 20th-century silhouettes?
It’s a pressing question for people of color who have embraced antique or historical clothing. A common refrain is “vintage style, not vintage values”; in other words, “we may dress this way, but please don’t assume we want to actually revert back to the 1950s or the 1860s.” So says Christine Millar, M.D., an anesthesiologist and historical costumer who favors 18th-century European gowns adorned with ruffles. “I do think it’s important to put ourselves out there, because there aren’t that many minorities in historical costuming. Those of us saying ‘vintage style, not vintage values’ are also saying that there were people of color in the past, and they [also] wear these fashions.”
For some, anachronistic attire is a conversation-starter; for others, it’s merely a joyful form of escapism….
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