I know the order is usually ‘strawberries and cream’, but in this case we have already had the cream and I’m now following up with strawberries. As I mentioned in that last style post, I am encouraging myself to wear things I already own and if I really need something or just get a horrible craving for newness, to first consider buying vintage.

It’s interesting to see how vintage shopping is going more and more mainstream, mostly for sustainability reasons (although there is also a cost element involved). I have never been a big vintage buyer, not because I have any sort of a fundamental problem with it, but because I’m impatient and lazy. Vintage often requires time investment and work – it can take months to track down the thing you want, in the right size. When you find something perfect in theory, it can require adjustments – I’m very unlikely to get my act together and alter/clean/tailor the thing. The motivators behind the ‘first wave’ of vintage’s popularity – uniqueness, authenticity, a certain bohemian aesthetic – seldom moved me, but the environmental argument does.

So I set off, having in mind a potential list of items, including a leather skirt. Now, I think leather is a great thing to buy second-hand, as there is quite a lot of it available and it’s a hardy material. If you like leather but feel uncomfortable with the ethics of using it, extending the life-span of an already existing piece seems like a good compromise. Et voilà, I found a red knee-length skirt at Fankadelik in Tallinn. While I had originally envisaged something more neutral, I do wear red a lot and will surely continue to wear it in the future. So I went for it and added a red jumper as well – again, it’s the kind of thing I like (rollneck!) and it allows me to do that monochrome look I have become so attached to.

One reason some people are wary of vintage is that it can look too ‘period’. Not anyone is a fan of coming across too obviously inspired by a certain time and I can understand that. If this has been holding you back, I urge you to go and do some research, however: there is no shortage of vintage shops that (also) sell classic pieces. A lot depends on the styling as well: I don’t think my look here has an overwhelmingly vintage vibe and what it does have, is mostly provided by the cream boots. If you wore the skirt with a black silk shirt and black pumps, it would look entirely timeless.

The other option is of course to go in the opposite direction and search for pieces that are the originals of things in fashion right now. With current Nineties, Eighties and Seventies obsessions, you are well placed to find something. In fact, the red rollneck here has puffy sleeves, a detail that is very much this season. And again, if you do like your fashion references but don’t want to be too literal, you can avoid that by mixing your decades.

How do you feel about vintage?

All clothes my own – jumper and skirt from Fankadelik, boots by Zara Join Life. Images Getter Kuusmaa, location by KOMA Pühaste Õlleresto.