With our Resort Collection pre-order underway, we have had all things vintage leisurewear on our minds. Summertime clothes, casual-wear, sportswear, resort collections, vacation ensembles and the like inspired us while we were designing this footwear collection.
Like we mentioned in our last post about designing the Resort Collection, this time of year (late winter in the northern hemisphere) is traditionally when designers release their resort-wear collections ahead of spring. These sorts of collections typically contain outfits designed for vacations and traveling, as well as for leisure activities and warm weather. This definitely helps with getting through the last doldrums of winter! We kept this in mind as a concept while designing Betty, Beverly, Clementine, and Cora- our own version of a resort collection.
So, today we wanted to take a look at some vintage clothing that would pair beautifully with our latest collection of shoes!
As travel, leisure, and sporting began to rise in popularity amongst the upper-middle classes in the late 19th century, so did corresponding fashions (more about that here). the vacation-wear and resort-wear that we think of when we imagine ‘vintage resort’ really started to ramp up in the 1920s. Between World War 1 and World War 2, the glamorous traveling habits of the rich and the famous intrigued the public, and of course, what they were wearing was a topic of fascination. This is when you started to see design houses putting out more and more resort collections and leisure-inspired clothing. Think beach pajamas and the like!
In fact, fellow Schiaparelli enthusiasts may already be aware that dear Elsa started out with casual-wear, with her Schiaparelli Pour Le Sport collection in 1927. Evening-wear didn’t follow until a few years later!
After the second World War, folks had more disposable income and time to travel than in periods past. Additionally, traveling by rail and air was less expensive than ever before, so more social classes had opportunities to travel for leisure. Around this time is when the custom of releasing resort collections in late winter became an established expectation for fashion houses.
What characteristics did these resort collections have? For one, fabrics were geared towards warm weather climates; think cotton, seersucker, linen, and the like. Looser fits, more relaxed lines, and openness was favored for resort wear. Colorful prints and playful themes were also popular for womenswear.
Trousers and pantsuits/playsuits for women were also popular.
For footwear, sandals, fabric shoes, and wedges were all popular options. Multi-colored stripes and color-blocking were as popular for clothes as they were for shoes.
Well, this blog post could turn into a book if we didn’t stop ourselves. This is such a fun sub-section of fashion history! It’s no wonder we were so inspired, we had to make our own Resort Collection.
The Resort Collection is 15% off from Feb. 21- March 2 in our US and UK/EU stores. Pre-orders are the only way to guarantee you get your favorite color and size, so if you’re now in the mood to create your own vintage resort wear wardrobe…select a pair (or three) for a screamin’ deal!
Pre-Order is Open
Feb. 21- March 2
15% Discount Per Pair
AmericanDuchess.com
