Bringing It Back: Recreating retro trends

Trends come in waves, and 2022 is a year of major fashion comebacks. 1990 letterman jackets, neon winter coats and striped shirts might not currently be at the top of your clothing wish list, but these looks are being styled by celebrities and influencers more and more everyday.

When performing my annual closet cleanout, I have a tendency to throw any item I’m even slightly not fond of and toss it into the “donate pile”. But, every time I’m on my way out the door to visit the Savers drop-off bin — multiple trash bags of clothing in hand — my dad stops me, selecting clothes that he insists will “come back in style.”

My dad grew up in a small town in Iowa, where he was the lead in the school musicals and captain of the basketball and football teams. He uses these activities to back up his “cool” reputation when he tells me about the clothes he wore.

So, I decided to test this theory that trends come back for myself. I dug through the storage bins in my basement, most of which seemed to have been closed since the 1980s, in order to find old photos of my parents. I looked through my moms and dad’s scrapbooks, and let the retro “yet hip” looks inspire me. There were a few favorites that stuck out to me, so I headed to a few local thrift stores to challenge myself to find similar outfits.

The first photo that especially moved me was one of my dad and his friends sledding at midnight — this looked like such a core memory, and my dad still talks about how fun it was. He and his friends were all bundled up in a variety of colorful puffer coats, but the one that especially caught my eye was a swirl of purple and green. It reminded me of “‘80s ski” after-party themes that I see posted all over social media. Ironic, isn’t it? A whole party theme based off of our parents’ teenage winter looks? Maybe my dad wasn’t wrong after all.

I went to City Thrift off of Wornall Road, featuring it’s own vintage section, on the hunt for a similar puffer coat to my dad’s. After looking through all the neverending coat racks, I found one with similar shades of purple, green and pink.

Not only was the coat similar to the one my dad wore, but it was actually fashionable. The colors are fun, it keeps me warm and I really do imagine Urban Outfitters will be soon releasing one for $80 — it will definitely be making an appearance in my winter wardrobe.

After the jacket was secured, my next target was a classic: the iconic letterman jacket. Displayed by the cute jock in every single rom-com from the ‘80s, we all know that when it’s pulled off the right way, it can create a look that is nothing short of really, “really” cool. 

I didn’t need to go to a thrift store for this jacket, since the green St. Edmonds High School jacket is proudly displayed in the closet where my dad keeps mementos from growing up.

Although I don’t see many letterman jackets worn around East, I know many students still letter in a sport, even if they don’t display it on their arm like they did in the antique movies or during my dad’s childhood. I do predict these funky, retro jackets will be making a comeback, and I may even wear my dad’s to school every once in a while.

The third and final outfit I was on the hunt for was a simplistic long-sleeve red, purple and orange color block shirt. The style is similar to that of a rugby shirt, and my dad wore it frequently around his college campus in the early ‘90s. In the scrapbook, he wore this shirt surrounded by friends that were all wearing similar style shirts.

My search took me to the second City Thrift off of Shawnee Mission Pkwy. There, I was able to find many complementary styled tops. I found a lot of shirts that I liked a lot, and would have bought for myself. But the closest match to the original rugby shirt, was a shirt with similar colors, that had an ‘80s pinstripe pattern. 

I really liked the pinstriped shirt, and intend to continue wearing this shirt on a daily basis. 

Even though my dad wore all these outfits over 25 years ago, I was still able to find similar outfits at thrift stores near me and found a lot of outfits that I really liked. I’d recommend looking through old photos of your parents for outfit inspiration as it’s a fun way to look for new clothes and connect to them — while staying on trend.

I am excited for the trends of now to come back when I have kids, some specifically would probably be high top shoes and claw clips. Next time I go to clean out my closet, I will be sure to save some clothes for future trends.