If you appreciate vintage fashion, you will love these dives into the past
While Vogue and The Fashion Channel are obvious YouTube destinations for the fashion lover, these channels are underappreciated gems:
1. Glamourdaze
Glamourdaze is my favourite vintage fashion channel on YouTube. The restored, and often colourised, footage of past places and events give a glimpse into a past that almost feels like time travel. When viewing very old black and white footage it can be hard to feel a connection, but Glamourdaze brings past eras back to life. The below footage shows the high energy and colour of life in 1920's Berlin:
2. Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum channel shares an appreciation for beautiful artwork including historical clothing, outfits made for cinema and extravagant fine jewellery. If you are ever able to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London I really recommend it. In terms of fashion items alone, the quantity of historical and significant pieces that they have on display is staggering. The video below takes a closer look at, "the pinnacle of dressmaking", designs by Schiaparelli:
3. The 1920's Channel
If, like me, you are fascinated by all things 1920s, the 1920's Channel is a treasure trove. The 1920s were a time of great cultural change, excitement, hedonism and creative expression. At the time, a sense of rebellion transformed women's fashion. The 'flapper' aesthetic, in which women wore bobbed hair, knee-length gowns with loose waists and red lipstick, was epitomized by actresses including Colleen Moore, Louise Brooks and Clara Bow. The 1920's Channel covers all aspects of 1920's life, culture and thought. It includes videos ranging from political issues of the time to creative trends and futurism.
My favourite videos on the channel are those that share authentic magazine articles. These give a rare glimpse into the trends, glamour and fashion lingo of the era. Perhaps due to there being few remaining copies, fashion books and magazines from the 1920s tend to be expensive. For instance, original 1920's Vogue magazines sell for hundreds of dollars. Therefore, I really enjoy a free glimpse into the fashion articles of the time, like the two shared below:
4. Vintage Fashions- presented by British Pathé
Vintage Fashions is a YouTube channel, with a focus on the fashion world, that shares retro British Pathé newsreels. British Pathé newsreels, originally shown in cinemas, informed viewers of significant news stories, cultural events and aesthetic developments. They now allow modern viewers a taste of the past.
5. Fashion History Sessions
Fashion History Sessions shares elegantly made documentary-style videos on the fashion world of the past. It includes videos focused solely on particular decades and videos about the lives and creations of particular designers. The videos are relaxing and informative, sure to increase your fashion knowledge and are accompanied by calming music. As a sketcher and lover of vintage fashion illustrations, I find the artwork shared in the video below really inspiring:
While choosing these YouTube videos, I didn't realise how 1920s centric this post would be. I clearly have an even greater weakness for 1920's culture than I had realised. In the comments, please let me know which of these YouTube channels you find the most appealing and why? Also, which fashion era fascinates you the most and are there any more vintage fashion YouTube channels that you recommend?
Non-Linked Image Sources
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/fashion-week/g26238514/old-fashion-week-photos/