How to wear a vintage jacket

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How to wear a vintage jacket

YSL leather jacket from the the fall 2003 collection
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Styling tips to make a 7-year old YSL Leather Jacket look modern

I have an authentic vintage Yves Saint Laurent black leather jacket that I purchased around 2002 when I worked for the company. The blazer style leather jacket with shoulder pads was very expensive at the time and cost ?2k (over $3,100). Luckily, I was able to use my employee discount. Unfortunately, I have not worn it much since.

With the return of the big shoulders this season, I think that I could I get away with wearing it… what do you think?

What would you recommend wearing it with? Should I wear jeans and heels or a dress. I wear a lot of dresses so what style would you suggest. What style of jeans or trousers would be best? And what kind of heels? How about stilettos as I have some lovely YSL stilettos that are also gathering dust.

For some descriptive info about me- I am 5’5″ tall, a size 8, age 38 with pale blonde kind of grey hair.

Sorry for all the questions but my YSL jacket is hand-stitched Italian leather so I do not want to let it down by wearing it with the wrong thing! (via fashion advice page)

We turned to our vintage fashion expert Andrea Perini to sleuth out your style. Andrea’s go-to vintage couture and ready-to-wear fashion source VagabondNYc is known for “Hunting & Gathering Vintage for Industry & Regular People,” so here goes her expert tips…

Hey lady!

You are right to seize on the shoulder pad trend and wise to have purchased what is now considered a highly collectible piece of YSL history designed by then controversial industry darling Tom Ford—Msr. Saint Laurent famously snubbed him. Hold onto your jacket as its value will appreciate over time

Even better, leather and skins of all kinds emerged as a prominent feature in the Spring 2010 collections and are integral to many of the pre-Fall showings. While shoulder pads have softened or been replaced by volume building sewing techniques, the look is still relevant

You mentioned that your blazer was from 2002, but from your description and after some research I am tempted to say that it’s from the fall 2003 Yves Saint Laurent collection which featured a lot of glossy leather trenches and blazers and skirt suits with built-up shoulders and fluid bias cut silk dresses and techno fabric cropped pants.

Robert Rodriguez Twist Knot Pencil Skirt from ShopBop is an interesting touch to freshen the vintage look

The pale silks against the earthy leathers, and the cropped black leather blazer with tuxedo lapels feel really of-the-moment and you might very well want to use the collection as a touchstone as you style yourself. That said, there’s a bit of an overt sexuality and fussiness about it that is dated.

When you are considering a pant or a jean, it helps to know if you are short or long waisted as the former usually does best with a low slung, hipster sort of waistband and the latter does better with a natural or high-waisted pant that grazes the floor works best. Now that you have a sense of your proportions with the over-all aim of a balanced upper and lower half, I’d suggest you style your blazer with a cigarette style pant or jean with a stiletto or bootie. The slim bottom half will counterbalance the pronounced shoulders of your blazer creating a nice Y-silhouette

To look very of-the-moment, I would say make a pencil skirt your second choice and opt instead for a skirt in a fluid fabric, cut on the bias to the knee with your stilettos. The most modern colors for the bottoms are stone, pale lilac, taupe, pale rose and I’d opt for these versus primary brights which, set against your blazer, will look brash and a bit tacky.

Another choice would be a slip dress with an empire line for short torsos. Fashion Tip: A rule of thumb for short torsos is to go for straight or slightly flared skirts with narrow or no waistbands. And for long torsos you generally want to wear straight skirt with a natural waist.) – Andrea Perini, VagabondNyc

Just Ask:
Are you feeling a little less than haute these days? Don’t worry, we can make it work. Just ask Sharon and her team of experts for some rocking fashion advice.

Published on February 04, 2010

Sharon Haver

Resident fashion expert- With just about 20 years experience in the glamour industry as a New York-based photography fashion stylist, syndicated columnist, contributing editor, lecturer, on-air television/radio fashion expert, and founder / editor in chief of FocusOnStyle.com. Sharon Haver knows the modern-thinking woman wants easygoing style that suits her individual needs, spiced with just the right amount of flip and wit to make it personal.

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Tags: Andrea Perini , how to wear , leather jacket , Tom Ford , VaganondNYc , vintage , YSL , Yves Saint Laurent