Vintage-Inspired Fashion: Hip-Huggers and Hipsters for Today’s Fashionistas

Hip-huggers first appeared in 1957, when Irene Kasmer designed the first pair from denim fabric. Also known as hipsters, the style had a unique cut for a typical 1950s fashion item.

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Fitting snugly around the hips and thighs, waistlines were placed at the hips, rather than at the waist. They flared out below the thighs into wide bottoms. The legs were quite long, sweeping the floors as you walked. This always resulted in frayed, dirty hemlines.

Quite similar to low-rise bootcut jeans, hip-huggers became very fashionable and became a wardrobe staple in the mid-60s. The style was popularised by the mods and psychedelic groups, mainly in nightclubs. They continued to trend until the 1970s.

Hipsters and the Hippie Lifestyle

Also associated with the hippie lifestyle, the trend was (in some way) inspired by urban living, rock bands, and other music icons. Rock stars like Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Sonny and Cher, and Mick Jagger all wore hip-huggers.

The style soon became the basic wear, not only for the psychedelic group but also for pop musicians and disco fanatics.

From 20th Century Vintage to 21st Century Vintage-Inspired

Today’s version of hipsters and hip-huggers, once staples of beatnik cafés and psychedelic rock scenes of the mid-20th century, has reemerged into the fashion scene as retro-inspired streetwear.

The vintage-inspired look, popularised by the style-conscious Gen Z crowd, fashion influencers, and musicians, stems from a nostalgia for reproducing vintage fashion, but with a more stylish touch using modern textiles.

Brands that carry the design include House of Sunny, Lulu & Sky, and Reformation.

Whether you wear them to music festivals or as an everyday fashion item, the vintage-inspired look is a throwback to styles from an era of youths who dressed with purpose and personality.

How to Rock 60s-Inspired Hip-Huggers Today

To style modern hip-huggers with a vintage twist, pair them with:

• Cropped knit tops
• Psychedelic print shirts
• Fringe vests
• Platform boots
• Big (oversized) tinted sunglasses
• Accessories like wide belts, chunky retro rings, and small neck scarves.

You can also layer the ensemble with crochet cardigans, vintage band tees, or suede jackets to create a more authentic look that echoes the free-spirited fashion of the 1960s.

For a perfect balance, avoid wearing a total vintage look. Rather, aim for a perfect balance of vintage on the bottom and modern on the top, or vice versa.

Articles of interest

7 Famous Fashion Designers of the 1960s

Vintage-Inspired Fashion Accessories

Memorable Fabulous Clothing Through Time: Antique and Vintage Fashion for Women
Ugly Vintage Clothing Styles We Will Hate to See Come Back

Vintage-Inspired Fashion for Women: Empire-Style Dress

Classic Empire-style dress.

The Empire-style dress is an old classic. It’s a style that evolved around the late 1700s, influenced by loose, white tunic clothing, belted under the bosom and worn by Greek and Roman women. 

The Empire dress design is vintage-inspired at its best! The dress has a fitted bodice with it being either short-sleeved, one-sleeved, or sleeveless, which ends just below the bust.

This is what gives the style its characteristic high waist. From below the bodice, the dress falls to the floor in a soft body-skimming (not body-hugging!) but loosely fitting way.  Fabric must be soft, light, and almost airy.

Revived in the sixties and now back in fashion, this beautiful style conceals your waistline and de-emphasises your wide hips if you have one. On the other hand, it will emphasise your bust line and give your body a slimming, longer silhouette. 

• Wear the dress with a short or cropped classic wig or hairstyle, and if you want a softer look, go with short curls.
• If you have long hair, there is no need to cut it off. All you have to do is wear it up high, off your face, and pile it up your head; ensure you leave loose wisps of hair around the head. 
• For a classic vintage look as a bridesmaid, or at an evening event, if you are bold enough, accessorize with elbow-length gloves, ballet-styled shoes, or dainty strap sandals.

The empire-style dress is also great as a mother-of-the-bride-or-groom dress.

Are Vintage-Inspired Clutch Bags Back in Vogue?

The clutch is one of the chicest and exclusive of all women’s handbags. They are the most appropriate handbags for formal occasions, evening wear, or dinners, that exude sophistication whenever a lady holds one.

A vintage-inspired clutch bag with black and white stripes.
(Image used under license from iStockPhoto)

Traditionally, clutch bags were only used by women of style and panache, meaning that they were not meant for everybody or just any wear. Initially, they were small and used as money purses, but as time progressed, they became fashion accessories, worn to the theatre, special occasions, and the like.

Its use is not much different today, however, there is a wider range of clutch bags that are incorporated into casual day wear, but are still great as evening bags too.

The Art of Holding a Clutch Bag

There is an art in holding a clutch bag the right way. Fashionistas will tell you that you hold it in your left hand, close to your midriff, or held with your hand hanging down your side. Some may prefer to use it with its thin over-the-shoulder strap, but it is much more ladylike when worn without the sling or strap.

Clutch bag shapes range from small, square ‘pillbox’ shapes, to triangles, circles, tubular and heart-shaped pieces and larger-sized modern styles. Materials used range from leather and skin to satin, velvet, ornately embroidered silk and heavily embellished pieces.  

What is the good thing about clutch handbags? Their timelessness makes them a classic fashion accessory – and good thing, they are now back full circle. No woman’s wardrobe must be without a couple of clutch handbags.

Related Article

Lucite Purses - Popular Bags of the 1940s

Vintage-Inspired Bustiers and Corsets: Latest Trends in Fashion and Style

Bustiers and corsets are historical women's undergarments that were popularly worn during the Victorian and Edwardian Periods. They were worn as essential items of their underwear.

They primarily shape a woman's bosom by uplifting and tightening the upper abdomen which then pushes (lifts) up the bust while cinching and shaping the waist, literally carving out the perfect silhouette of every woman's dreams.

To produce the hourglass figure, women had to wear bustiers and corsets to squeeze their bodies painfully into shape. 

Almost like a basque which is really a longer corset that's a body-hugging item of lingerie, a bustier is shorter and extends no further than the waist.

Bustiers were regarded as fine lingerie and majorly worn by wealthy elitist women who desired lingerie meant to 'mould' and form an ideal body shape but though the earlier women undergarments of the 16th century don't look as edgy and fashion-forward as the bustier-corsets of today, they definitely served the essential purpose of body-shaping.

The trendy fashion-forward vintage inspired underbust corset worn as an outerwear garment over a vintage style bustle skirt.

This is because they were formed with boning made from whalebone or giant reeds with the aim to squeeze tight a woman's torso until it reaches the desired shape. They usually fasten at the front with hook-and-eyes or with a busque (a rigid element placed at the centre front of the fifteenth and eighteenth-century lingerie which keep the front rigid and upright).

Some bustiers and corsets are still made with boning to retain their shape and clasp the body very firmly, however, instead of the use of animal bone, boning is now made from hard plastic, mesh panels, and steel.

Today, vintage-inspired corsets and bustiers mainly serve as fashionable outerwear and can be worn both formally and informally. They can be worn informally just as you will a camisole top with a pair of jeans, shorts, or mini skirts, or as a formal top for evening wear like floor-sweeping velvet skirts, formal tailored pants, or full-circle evening skirts.

A burlesque vintage-inspired corset/bustier made from lace and satin. It has steel bones and a demi-cup for a full lift and support.

And for the modest who don't like to expose the midriff or a bra under a sheer transparent top, a bustier will serve as a great innerwear. They come embellished, embroidered, lacy, fashionable underbust, sassy, and lace trimmed, and made from materials like embroidered satin, brocade, Jacquard, velvet, mesh, taffeta, and cotton.

Further Reading:

Suspenders and Garters - Vintage Inspired Lingerie 

Vintage Inspired Lingerie for Plus Size Brides 

Interesting History of Women's Underwear