Retro style

Retro is both a style and a technique at the same time. It is often confused or simply combined with vintage, which is a mistake. It will always be fashionable, because nostalgia, including aesthetic, is traditionally inherent in a certain percentage of the population. Another question is how to correctly place accents, how to build a style so that it reveals itself in the interior and does not cause a feeling of artificiality, illogicality, and inconclusiveness. And not only in the interior - retro penetrates the image and manner of dressing, finds new visual niches.

Retro is a style that covers the period from the 50s to the 80s of the last century. This applies to interior design, fashion and music. Vintage is rather a definition of rare things and objects. That is, it is a narrower concept. If the house has a beautiful mahogany cabinet made in the early 50s, it will probably be vintage, especially if the surroundings are quite traditional and modern. But if in the apartment there is a place for a closet, which is already a hundred years old, with a high probability it will be antiques. True, to be antiques, you need to exclude the concept of seriality and have an obvious artistic value.

Style Description:

• compliance with the time interval, which will be replicated either in the interior or in clothes (do not mix the 50s with the 70s, for example);
• the presence of accessories, which can often be stronger than the main accents;
• complexity - the predominance of the dominant color scheme for the selected years, the use of materials, shapes, sizes and types of decor relevant for that time, not a single component can be subtracted from this formula.

Assume that retro is all old, and therefore different years and eras can be mixed, too boldly. Usually a person determines which decade is closer to him and tries to recreate it. And also determine the direction, for example, equip the house in a classic American style, but with a tendency towards its features in the 80s, etc.

Clothing in this style does not tolerate the neighborhood with modern elements. Only a very skillful stylist can successfully combine things from other eras in one set. The same goes for hairstyles and makeup.

Both men and women need to decide which decade they are copying.

40-50s:

• dresses have a wide skirt and a pronounced waist;
• fluffy skirts, narrowed waist;
• accent on the neckline, many blouses with this cut;
• coats and raincoats barely below the knee;
• it is important for a girl to choose exactly dresses in this style, because they lead most of all towards this fashionable era;
• lack of male wardrobe details in women's outfits (unisex time will not come yet).

The 60s were called the fashionable new era of the Renaissance. Bright prints and colors, a lot of peas, stripes, cells have come into fashion. The looks are getting more sexy. Closer to the 70s, mini-skirts, high-waisted trousers, high-necked blouses, bell dresses with three-quarter sleeves appear. Styles "hippie" and "disco" were conducted at this time, and "disco" smoothly brought him into the even brighter 80s with large jewelry, exaggerated shoulders in blouses and jackets, leather and patent leather jackets combined with wide cropped jeans.

From the humble pumps favored in the 50s, to the patent-leather shoes of the 80s and trendy sneakers with the brand name prominently displayed, the pivot in shoe fashion was dashing. The shoes were especially impressive at the intersection of the 60s and 70s: Lady Gaga herself could have envied such a tall platform. For those who do not like to stand out and do not want to wear heels, classic ballet flats are suitable: they are ideal for many retro dresses.

In the 50s, every decent fashionista had a hat, often the color of her dress - this was even more important than a bag. And even in the heat, she left the house in lace gloves and with a summer umbrella, which saved from the heat. Fashion houses repeat a lot of bags and even backpacks now - classic and top models are popular today. For an evening out, it is better not to pick up a clutch - the correct geometric shape, monochromatic, without visible accents, it will suit the retro images of the 50s and 60s.

And here, too, there is a strict ranking by decades.

• 40th. The Victory Rolls styling, which symbolized the glory of the victory over Nazi Germany, became the symbol of the decade. Hairstyles of this era were distinguished by symmetry and neatness, the parting could be either straight or oblique. The main accessory was the hairnet.

• 50th. The trendsetter was Merelin, thanks to whom hundreds of thousands of women rushed to hairdressers for a short blond bob, styled with curls on a side parting. The bangs were curled. There were also a lot of fleeces, false bangs and hairpieces. Hair curlers and hairspray became symbols of the times.

• 60th. The bouffant has finally taken hold in fashion. Hive hairstyles and messy curls have become very accented. Here, Brigitte Bardot with her babette can be considered the personification of the era. But in contrast, Twiggy, who appeared in the 66th, played - it turns out that a boy's hairstyle without any bouffant there could have created the world's first supermodel out of an ordinary schoolgirl.

• 70th. Vidal Sasun introduces a fashion for free styling, which is very much in line with the signs of the times. “Children of flowers” ​​appear, and glamor becomes unclaimed. It was fashionable to loose the hair and tie a ribbon around the head, and raise the strands a little at the roots. But the fleece still remained, however, now complete with thick bangs.

• 80th. A bob and a page haircut were considered fashionable. All short hairstyles meant volume, as much and as effective as possible. One bottle of hairspray could run out in a week. Hairstyles were in fashion, magnificently laid on top with a smooth transition in length. So there was a boom in cascade haircuts and a she-wolf.

Early retro meant rather thin eyebrows (which is completely discordant with today's fashion), clearly defined lips, arrows in front of the eyes. The whiter the skin, the better. The blush only accentuated the whiteness of the skin. In the 60s, the fashion came for light lipsticks, including those with sparkles, because the emphasis shifted to the eyes. The same Twiggy taught everyone how to make incredible eyelash lengths and an innocent, cute look. It looks interesting today.

Modern ladies understand: retro style often distinguishes from the crowd, helps to remember and divert attention from small flaws in appearance, because in itself it is very unambiguous in terms of femininity, which cannot be said about many fashionable elements of our days. Designers of the XXI century feel this retro request and constantly offer customers layering of styles, a mixture of eras, subtle and complimentary to the images of the past.

The main rule of retro style is to be stylish, not old-fashioned. The style should be close not only to the attitude of a person, but also to his appearance. It should be an obvious benefit, not a sign of mild freakiness. Fashion suggests not to dress like that every day, because today simplicity, democracy, lightness in everyday bows are relevant, which make up the right background for those days and occasions when a person tries on a retro image.

As already noted, it happens that a person falls in love with films with Dina Durbin, then begins to look closely at the fashion and silhouettes of those years, and retro-looks become part of his wardrobe and part of himself. And then this aesthetics penetrates into his home, into his life.

The ceiling in a house where retro reigns a priori cannot be tensioned. It is easier to whitewash the ceiling without doing anything more with it than to invent how to remake modern materials in an antique way. Plaster stucco molding will be relevant in houses with high ceilings. But she shouldn't be too intrusive.

Wooden beams can be a logical decoration for such a ceiling, preferably in natural colors. But they can also be painted, because the retro was not boring and did not promote maximum naturalness so much. The fact is that in the 50s, plastic and vinyl, laminate and plywood appeared, the design changed and became brighter and more concise.

Painted walls or retro-printed wallpaper are not the most difficult tools to set the right mood for a room. In the 60s, bright patterns appeared in the decoration of the walls, even some psychedelic, and this should be adopted by fans of this era. In the 70s, colors became more muted, natural shades appeared - olive green and golden yellow in the first place.

Since the 50s, bulky furniture is gone, because more elegant and laconic models become in price. If previously uninhabited pieces of furniture were supposed to be strictly wooden, now many metal inserts are also allowed. In the 60s, geometric paintings became the inspiration for decades, shaped chairs became a real highlight of the time - they are especially suitable for retro style in a modern home.

In the 70s, large forms return again, and this trend is only growing. But it is the elegance of mid-century furniture that is becoming a coveted role model for those who today are looking for tables and beds, wardrobes and wooden shelves to create a retro paradise in the house.

This is the most interesting aspect of home furnishing. Without it, any design will not be complete. At flea markets, and even on sites where people sell furniture, jewelry, various knick-knacks, you can find vases of those times (60s and 70s first of all) for ridiculous prices, as well as pick up furniture with authentic handles, find old lampshades that can be pulled over with an imitation cloth. Mirrors (including the so-called trellis) are becoming a super find for the corridor and bedroom.

World brands, knowing the striving for the beautiful aesthetic ideals of the past, are happy to produce retro-style gas stoves and ovens, hoods and coffee makers, make stylized sinks, chandeliers and even heated towel rails. Even the electric kettle, toaster, radio, not to mention refrigerators, repeat the style of the 50s and 60s, and this is in great demand.

Vintage is not an interior style; rather, it is a marker of the age of an object and its uniqueness.

Which of the available vintage items can help recreate the retro style in your home:

• typewriter - it is outdated in itself, but retained its romance and purity of style;
• mechanical coffee grinder - similar products, for example, made of brass, do not have to be in working order, they very accurately place stylistic accents by their appearance;
• vintage cookbooks - both informative and very catchy as a decor;
• pans - you can find these from collectors, as well as from those who are used to keeping the accumulated over the years for generations.

To consider how you can equip a photo zone in a retro style, you can use successful and easy-to-repeat examples.

Photo zones and their details:

• all the details of this area are absolutely modern and made of modern materials, but the shapes, contours, colors, organicity turn everything into an illustration from an old children's book;

• the end of the 40s and the beginning of the 50s clearly look from this picture - the newspapers, suitcases, the old chair and the sewing machine, which have turned yellow from time to time, have very successfully merged together;

• here several eras converged at once, but even this could happen in one apartment: a portrait of a grandfather, a poster from his youth and a picture of Gagarin (if you live in the early 60s, you will most likely have it);

• everything that cannot be found can be drawn - and then an ordinary plywood structure (not necessarily it) turns into an imitation of a wall, and one real chair is enough to complete the image;

• for a street photo zone, an excellent solution with see-through pictures;

• a chair, suitcases and a vintage camera - retro as it is.

Just before giving such a gift, you need to make sure that it is exactly within the boundaries of the interest of the hero of the occasion.

Retro Gift Ideas:

• the alarm clock, stylized as the 50s, looks charming - it can be used as intended;
• candlestick - you can find a thing from those years, or you can have a successful stylization;
• photo frame - in some cases, you can make a stylized frame with your own hands;
• a retro-style radio is a very popular story today, a completely "old" body, nevertheless has a USB connector;
• tableware - antiques are very expensive, but some sets, jugs or tureens from the 70s can be found at reasonable prices;
• containers for bulk, for spices - they are also produced stylized, but it is better to give as a set, so that you do not have to combine with modern models.

The retro style is not so unambiguous, several directions follow from it. For example, a fashionable stylistic trend that is in great demand today, which is called "midsenchuri". It consists in the use of retro objects and accents that belong to different eras and look great under the "sauce" of modern details and materials.