Wearing Vintage [Stylist Molly Haring]

Everything Molly is wearing here is vintage! This was during the 2012 NYFW, so she is perhaps a little over the top for day. Which I am completely OK with and heartily endorse BTW. In fact I strongly encourage a little impromptu over-day-dressing once in a while please.
What is important is the proportions of the pieces and how they work together.
And she nailed it.
It can be tough to do head to toe vintage without looking like you are on the way to a costume party or just stepped out of a time machine. Unless that is the look you are going for**, the trick is to treat vintage like they are ummmm... ... .clothes? I know that seems a tad obvious but you would be surprised how many girls tend to slot vintage into the "vintage category" of their closet and then stop seeing them like the other pieces. A dress made 100 years ago, or 60, or 20, or yesterday, is still a dress. Yes treat it with respect and care — it is older then you in most cases so deserves a little extra love — but look at it with your modern girl eye! Mix the proportions and colors and eras and decades according to how they look and work together to suit you. Molly did!
** IF you are going to do the true retro look whether its rockabilly, vamp, starlet, 20s, 40s, 50s, 70s... .. go for it 10000% please! Commit! Do it right! The key for that look is to look like you belong to that time — think time machine — not bad costume party. Learn the tricks from that time and make them work for you now. Those amongst us that do the caricature of the look with cheap copies and poor interpretations usually just look tacky. If that is your thing just do it right please! The girls who do and can pull that look off are usually jaw droppingly fabulous no? Think Dita not D film!
photo: fashionista.com