Oh is that Vintage too?

With fashion styles being at the palm of our hands and a browse away, you can simply google Solange Knowles fashion diaries for Vogue and boom you are well on your way to looking stylish and turn a few heads for the day.

Eavesdropping on a conversation at Neighbourhood walking past two young girls with my cocktail special in my hand, “I’ve grown to like vintage clothes nowadays, it’s all I have been shopping for lately. Is that a vintage blouse on you too? I have something similar friend” and then they give each other an emphatic high-five. I composed myself back to my table withdrawing from purposely spilling one of my mojitos on their oh-so-Vintage blouse.

I’m not here to define what vintage is as I have better things to define but may I say there’s a big difference looking like you haven’t shopped since 1998 and wearing Vintage, I’m sure you get the picture. I’ve lived in Cape Town most of my days here on this Earth and I’ve seen the giant leap of style and culture transformation just by mere observations. I remember the sad era of rasta/ soul sister/ female poets you call them whatever you want, they had their whole body covered and if you dare show some skin, at grapes and weren’t vegetarian you were shun upon, and where did that take them? no where. Fast forward to today, most of those “soul sisters” have come back to the light dragging in their weed-smoking habits, their skirts are shorter, their laugh is louder, and not forgetting their signature identity hair of dreadlocks is shaven off. This is a sad and insensitive truth I’m saying but someone had to say it. Then I asked myself, “would wearing Vintage just be an era too?

Excuse me two girls on the balcony of Neighbourhood I understand that wearing Vintage clothes makes you look stylish but could you please go back to your shopping habits of looking like the next girl, I’m sure Country Road and Woolworths are keen to have you back. Leave the Vintage markets and the dusty charity stores alone, do not try to be something that you are not or else I’ll ask the previous dead owner of that blouse to visit you in your sleep.

Siki Msuseni is a design student, a passionate blogger and an avid twitter head filled with opinion follow her @msuseni and follow her blog www.sikidesign.blogspot.com

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