Summer Fashion: The Hottest Vintage Looks & Events

For this Summer’s HOT look, what could be hotter than vintage? Colorado is a nostalgic place, no doubt. Simply search for events and you’ll find a deluge of 1920’s – 1960’s vintage, swinging, lindy hopping, jitterbugging goodness. My goodness, what a lot to say. We talked to the movers and literal shakers shaking up our scene with style to help us get to the bottom of what exactly vintage is and how we can get our style game up.

At The Hop

with Kristie & Adam Laughrey

What is vintage to you and how do you define it for yourself?

Vintage is anything from the 1920’s to 20 years before the present year.  Woah, 1998 is vintage? Feel old?  Vintage to us is pre-loved pieces that were well made, had fabulous details, amazing textiles, pretty patterns, cool colors, and careful craftsmanship. A vintage piece has a story to tell.

What got you into vintage looks?

We’ve have been in love with vintage for over 20 years. We both used to rifle through our parents closet looking for anything old, cool and different. We both dabbled through different decades but found our love affair with the 40’s and 50’s. That era called to us because we had parents and grandparents that told great stories, shared old photos and played great music.

How do we get into the look without breaking the bank?

Shop The Hop! The easiest way to get in, without breaking the bank, is to incorporate smaller pieces into your everyday look. That could be accessorizing with a great vintage scarf, purse, jewelry, or shoes. For guys try a pearl snap shirt with your favorite jeans.  It about how you style it. 

What’s your role in the culture?

We love the vintage and rockabilly lifestyle. We dress like this every day. It is a lifestyle, and people appreciate that. They see us dressed up, feeling good, having fun—and they love it. Rockabilly represents youthful rebellion through dress. We want people to embrace what they love and express who they are. What better way to do that than in what you wear?  ?

Last January we decided to turn our vintage fashion passion into a business. We bought a 1956 canned ham camper, gave it a makeover, named it Tootie, and turned it into a mobile vintage shop. June 2017 we opened the doors to The Hop! We specialize in 40’s-60’s vintage and reproduction styles for men and women. You can find Tootie at breweries, concerts, festivals, and car shows. You can book us for vintage styling and shopping parties at your home. The Hop is local to Longmont but you can find us all around Colorado. Visit our Facebook page @atthehopshop for a listing of events. 

The 1940’s Ball

with Khyentse George

What is vintage to you and how do you define it for yourself?

Vintage to me is a sort of escapism that is very important in our hectic world; a way to temporarily immerse yourself in the music, culture, glamour and warmth of another time.  I am such a romantic at heart, vintage allows me to step into the romance of another time, another place. I love the class and style of the 40’s especially. There was such attention to detail. I appreciate that through rationing came stunning hairstyles like victory rolls, gorgeous repurposed clothing, beautiful stitching and embroidery and even drawing lines on your legs for nylons. I also admire the spirit of this generation and the sensibility and creativity that comes from having to make something out of nothing.

What got you into vintage looks?

I spent a lot of time with my grandparents growing up, they were radio performers in the 1940’s and really instilled a love of the music and culture of the 40’s and 50’s in me.

How do we get into the look without breaking the bank?

We have some great local vintage shops with very affordable options.  And I love to accessorize…hats, stockings, hair flowers gloves are great and inexpensive!

What’s your role in the culture.

I’m the Creator/Director for the 1940’s Ball.  It’s an annual event celebrating the 1940’s at Boulder Airport, complete with real WWII airplanes, vehicles, re-enactors, and big bands under the stars…we also have a 40’s and 50’s themed Christmas event in Denver.

Rockin’ Robin’s

with Angele Wilke

What is vintage to you and how do you define it for yourself?

My guideline is any item made 20+ years ago. In my experience, vintage is in the eye of the beholder. A 60 year old woman may not consider her clothing from the 1980s vintage, but her daughter born in 1995 probably would. Vintage is a feeling, a nostalgia, a remembrance of (and often a longing for) a time that has already passed.

What got you into vintage looks?

I started my love affair with vintage shortly after getting into fashion about 5 years ago. Shows like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire were high on my watchlist; I fell in love with the glamour of the past. I wanted to bring that to my everyday life and help other people find i. The best part of my job is people who bring in their consignments from 30+ years ago. I love hearing stories about individuals’ lives and knowing that with every garment, hat, shoe, or necklace there is a beautiful memory.

How do we get into the look without breaking the bank?

THRIFT STORES! You’d be surprised how many people don’t know the value of their old treasures. I’ve found some of my best pieces thrifting. I once found a damaged 1960s wedding dress at a Goodwill in Iowa. It was gorgeous so I just had to take it home. Lo and behold, buried between the layers a fabric, a Christian Dior tag! Like a dream come true.

What’s your role in the culture?

I am the store manager at Rockin’ Robin’s Retro, Vintage, & Resale, a consignment store specializing in vintage clothing and accessories (1800’s to the 1980’s). We organize items by decade so that everything is easily found. Our staff is incredibly knowledgeable and very stylish (if I do say so myself) each with an individual flare. We love helping customers costume for anything from a 1970’s theme party or a pin-up car show to Burning Man or the much loved local Left Hand Nitro Fest.

Connecting

The Hop – Vintage Shop on Wheels, Longmont, CO

Kristie & Adam Laughrey

[email protected]

720-544-1693?

www.atthehopshop.com

FB | IG | Twitter @atthehopshop

Rockin’ Robin, 233 Main St, Longmont

303-652-4144

FB @RockinRobinsRetroVintageandResale

The 1940’s Ball

www.1940sball.org,
720-924-1945

kgeorge!1940sball.org

FB @1940sBall

Vintage Events:

The Hop: ?Find all The Hop’s events on their facebook page @atthehopshop

?Every Wednesday at St. Vrain Cidery in Longmont

Every Thursday June- August at Niwot Rock ‘N Rails in Niwot

Every Friday in June at Summer Concert Series in Longmont

6/16 at 1940’s Ball in Boulder

6/17 at the Punk Rock Flea Market in Denver

6/19 The Hop’s One Year Anniversary at 300 Suns in Longmont (bring your classic car and come celebrate with us!)

6/22 The Hop is putting on a Fashion Show with other local Longmont retail shops at the Summer Concert Series (4th & Kimbark) in Longmont

6/24 Mash Lab Brewery in Windsor

7/13 Mash Lab Brewery in Windsor

7/14 Horseshoe Market in Denver

7/22 Mash Lab Brewery in Windsor

7/28 on Main St. Longmont for Cruise Night

8/24-26 Modernism Show in Denver

9/14-16 Hot Rod Hill Climb in Central City

Swingin’ Denver

Swingin’ Rooftop Party Benefiting Youth on Record Comes to Heart of Cherry Creek With the Summer Soirée July 15

• WHAT:  Walk out into the sunshine and onto the stunning rooftop patio of Cherry Creek’s Room & Board to celebrate all the wonderful music, food, drinks and dancing that Denver has to offer at the Summer Soirée. La Pompe Jazz and Banshee Tree will be swinging live with original tunes and jazz classics, Swingin’ Denver will be providing swing dance lessons and performances throughout the evening, and the party will be rounded out with signature craft cocktails, an assortment of sips and samples from our liquor and wine partners, and tasty catered bites from Illegal Pete’s. This event is put on by Speakeasy Soirée Entertainment, hosts of the annual Speakeasy Soirée event.

Highlights include:

• • Live Music by two of Colorado’s finest swing bands – La Pompe Jazz and Banshee Tree

  • Cash Bar: Craft cocktails and beer. Ticket includes one complimentary cocktail

  • Food catered by Illegal Pete’s

  • Swing Dance Lesson and Performances by Swingin’ Denver

    

  • Charity Partner: All proceeds benefit Youth on Record, a not-for-profit organization empowering Colorado’s underserved youth to achieve their academic, artistic and personal best by employing local, professional artists as their educators.
    
    

• WHO: Hosted by Speakeasy Soirée Entertainment on Sunday, July 15, 2018; 7:30 p.m. – midnight at Room & Board, 222 Detroit St., Denver.
  
  General admission and donor-level tickets can be purchased at www.SpeakeasySoiree.com

Also from Swingin’ Denver: