We are hugely excited to share with you our interview with Dawn O’Porter. Dawn has become the face of vintage recently, having written a book called This Old Thing which was released earlier this month and appearing on 2 vintage magazine covers. With a Channel 4 show to accompany it hot on it’s heels, this summer is going to definitely be a vintage one!
We asked our Facebook followers for questions to ask Dawn and these were our favourites:
YVL: As a vintage clothing enthusiast is there a particular item of clothing you have had for years that holds great sentimental value that you just cannot part with and why? (Kerri Trow)
Yes, a green 70s Ossie Clarke shirt dress that I found in my auntie’s wardrobe a few years ago. It’s a real one off, and it belonged to someone I love so it’s so precious to me. I will never part with it, but there is a good chance I won’t always get into it.
YVL: Does your love of vintage clothing come from a feeling you were born in the wrong era, a love of recycling, a desire to be unique or just an unexplained feeling of excitement when you see something you haven’t seen before? (Kerri Trow)
All of those things! I love the idea that these clothes get a second life. Most weren’t made in factories, they were lovingly made by hand and they shouldn’t be disregarded. I hate the throw away culture of the high street and that people don’t buy clothes the way they used to. Dresses were for life, not just a season back then. A woman’s relationship to what she wore meant so much, it was so charming. I think cheap, fast fashion means we have lost some of that charm. Also, I don’t want to look like everyone else, and stepping off the high street is the best way to guarantee that.
YVL: If you could pick any decade/ point in history to live in, which one & why? (Clare Owen)
The 60s, without a doubt! Fashion was looking to the future for the first time, breaking rules and smashing boundaries with tiny skirts and high boots. The pill was introduced in 1961 and women were freer than ever. I would have loved to have been part of that revolution.
YVL: What point in your life did you discover vintage and how? (Rebecca Benson)
It’s always been there. My parents worked on Oxford Street in the 60s so it was always talked about. But I really got into it in my early 20s when I loved clothes but couldn’t find an identity on the high street. I discovered vintage dresses and felt more myself than ever. Feeling a bit bonkers in what I wore suited me somehow
YVL: Who is your style icon and why? (mine!!)
Peggy Moffitt, an awesome American model from the 60’s. She had a Vidal Sassoon five point cut and was the ultimate style puss in the 60s and 70s. She is still rocking out in the same clothes in LA. She is endlessly cool. I want to be her when I grow up.
Thanks to Dawn for sharing her love of vintage with us all.
This Old Thing presented by Dawn O’Porter will be coming soon to Channel 4. Her book of the same name, £20, is available from Hot Key Books
GIVEAWAY!
We are giving away a bottle of The Body Shop’s raspberry body lotion and the Eau De Toilette to one lucky one reader this week. And all you have to do is:
- Follow the blog via email or BlogLovin
- Share this fact with your Facebook or Twitter followers adding @yourvintagelife and @TheBodyShopUK into the update
Simple. We will draw a winner randomly on Monday 12th May.
