Best of the Bygones

One of my favorite pairs of jeans – a pair my mom particularly dislikes – is a torn up, faded thing decorated with little blue birds. I bought it from a shift shop when I was 17 and the holes were decorative – now, five years later, they start at the middle of my shin and end at the bottom of my thighs. A recent painting spree has left gobs of white paint (occasionally in the mysterious shape of thumbprints) all over them, as well as stiffened the bottoms’ frayed edges.

I really love them, but the huge holes at the knee mean that they can be quite chilly sometimes. On my trek to the grocery store yesterday, the fuzzy Christmas knee socks I wore managed to combat that problem, but that they kept falling down. I found myself wishing for garters, then immediately started thinking about all the other clothes of yesteryear that I would really like to see again.

Garters, for starters, make sense. Socks, stockings, whatever, they keep ‘em up, and then you don’t have that weird imprint from waist-high stockings on your tummy. Fantastic.

Yes.

Another thing I’d like is a cloak. Not one of the weirdly intricate, snazzy ones from places catering to people who want to be wizards without the rather important magic bit, but something altogether more hardcore and serious. I’m talking a thick woolen thing lined with fur, buttons from neck to ankle that you could do or undo as needed, interior pockets for your hands, and an adjustable hood. Full-length coats still leave your hands cold unless you have gloves, but a cloak has that locked down. No problems.

Eh. Close.

You guys may not know that I detest skinny jeans (ahem - I detest skinny jeans) but what you almost definitely don’t know is that I strongly prefer flares. I don’t mind jeans fitting snugly around my thighs and bottom, but I really hate it on my calves. And it cuts off circulation. My ideal would be a sort of bell bottom with a higher flare, something that begins to bell above the knee and, rather than the bellbottoms of old, that doesn’t flare enough to house a small animal – just enough to keep loose and airy around my shins.

Yes.

Though I rarely wear dresses, I’d like to see more of them, too. Specifically floor-length day dresses that don’t have a halter top or a strapless thing going on. I think dresses are elegant, like them a lot, and want to be able to wear them when it’s freezing without also having to wear a parka and/or snow boots up to my hips. Dresses now seem short all the time or desperate to bare your shoulders. Maybe I don’t want my shoulders bare. Maybe I want to feel pretty without freezing my bits off. They're really hard to find, though - it seems like at some point the world forgot how to make long dresses that are simultaneously warm and attractive. 

Not bad. 

Wrapping off this wish list is suspenders. Not because I think they’re especially necessary, what with belts and all, but because I think they’re hot and wouldn’t mind seeing more of them.

Yum.

What about you guys? What fashions do you want to see brought back? Or are there some you want to exist that just don't?