The Costume Rag
Shop at the best online vintage clothing stores as voted for by vintage fans! We’ve curated a list of suppliers so you can buy your perfect vintage dress and vote for your favourite retro shops. This list includes luxury second-hand designer pieces as well as vintage bargains on Ebay and Etsy. Start hunting for vintage … Read more
If you haven’t already heard about the Chap Olympiad – now into its second decade of events – then you have some catching up to do. Every year hundreds of well-dressed competitors assemble in London’s Bedford Square Gardens to compete in such games as ironing board surfing, umbrella jousting and volleyball with bowler hats. The … Read more
The costume world is a passionate crowd and for that very reason you can probably name a good few people you’ve never met who manage to fill your social media feeds. Whether you call them bloggers, vloggers or influencers, we spoke to a few of the many internet-savvy costumers to have gone viral on the … Read more
I rambled a lot. Breaking down my misconceptions starts around 7:03 ! Blue sweater is from Firecrackerfarms on etsy. Earrings by Betsey Johnson. ✩✩✩ Also to clarify: I really do respect and admire all sorts of styles. Whether it’s gothic…
Vintage shoes by the great Salvatore Ferragamo made for stars of Hollywood’s golden age are to be re-released as a capsule collection by his high-end brand alongside an exhibition of the work he performed in Santa Barbara, California, between 1915 and 1927. The original 1920s shoes were made for the likes of Clara Bow, Rita Hayworth, … Read more
If you have a stash of trims you’ve been lying to yourself about for years – waiting for the perfect project for them to miraclously arise – then redemption is finally here. Amazon’s new production of Picnic at Hanging Rock stars Natalie Dormer as stern headmistress Mrs. Appleyard amidst the disappearance of several schoolgirls and their … Read more
There’s no denying that hats draw a lot of attention when worn out. Sometimes they win casual praise and admiration but they also inspire shocking abuse. In fact, the sensation of a headband and the captive heat can make wearers feel more self-concious and embarassed. To a certain extent hat wearers are an oppressed minority. … Read more
Sadly there is definitely a point when an antique garment is simply too old and fragile to wear. But how can you care for historical costumes in your collection regardless of whether you wear them or store them for future generations? 1. Buying Interestingly the most important step to caring for historical costumes is at … Read more
This stunning image of Sarah Bernardt poses multiple questions as while dated 1907 the outfit seems to hark from a few decades before that. Seeing the very unnatural line of a backdrop behind her this was likely a shot from a performance with its own retrospective costume. Fortunately we have managed to source the very … Read more
Have you ever stopped to think about your favourite vintage hat and its connection to the original Mad Hatter in 1865? Fear not for this is not the Daily Mail health column but just a century ago literally thousands of hat makers received chronic exposure to mercury fumes when felting rabbit furs to make headwear. … Read more