a good vintage: "two for the road"

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Magazine: "Two for the Road", US Vogue 2000
Photographer: Michael Thompson
Fashion editor: Tonne Goodman (of course!)

This is classic US Vogue editorial from 2000 - beautiful American sportswear, a fresh outdoors-y setting, Gisele.

Sportswear started out as a term for separates (blouses, trousers, skirts) - the opposite of suits and dresses, the opposite of looking perfectly "done". This is what I mean when I say sportswear, I don't mean hoodies or things made of nylon.

Coco Chanel had the right idea when she started doing jersey separates for women, but apart from her, Americans like Claire McCardell and Clare Potter are considered the true precursors to modern sportswear. Whatever the origins, sportswear for women sprang from a desire for a polished but relaxed look, a desire for clothes that suited women whose lives were becoming increasingly active, fast-paced, emancipated.

Because of these ideals, I'm quite sentimental and attached to the idea of American sportswear, and I consider it a foundation for my style.

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I like this edit because it appeals to my dual desire for a life in a city, and out. It prescribes classic, clean lines, fresh neutral tones, a fuss-free attitude. There's nothing edgy about the clothes, and it's very safe styling, but you wouldn't look at it and deride it as "pandering to Middle America". Instead, you look at it (well, I did anyway) and see a celebration of classic sportwear, a lifestyle to long for. The look is simple but sophisticated, and it has that gloss and polish that is a Vogue signature, the sort of aspirational thing they used to do so well.

These days, I rarely want to be the woman in a Vogue editorial, but back then, when I was 16, I looked at this, and thought, 'That's how I'd like to dress when I grow up'.

Pictures scanned by burbuja8910 via tfs

Comments

Ammu said…
These images give me serious late 90s nostalgia :) I love the ease of these looks - actually reminds me a little of how Gwyneth Paltrow used to dress in the Brad Pitt years...she always looked so graceful back then.
lin said…
Pret a Porter P: I know what you mean about "hyper fashion" - sometimes I feel like what I see are almost parodies of what people think fashion should be.

Ammu: I'm definitely having a late-90s moment myself. I've been going through some of my old magazines and loving that some things still look fresh and relevant after 10 years. I hope I feel the same way about some stuff in my wardrobe 10 years from now..
Jennifer said…
Yes, definitely, magazines used to provide a goal or ideal when I was younger too. Now I find I am particularly drawn, in sharp contrast, to clothing that is never depicted in media, has no advertising, and is not shown on models.
Amanda said…
For the longest time I never understood Giselle's appeal, but as I've grown older, I've come to appreciate her ability to look timeless and sexy - her personal fashion sense is also a good reflection of such.

The last picture is a perfect representation of something I would wear all summer long!
lin said…
editor: I feel more like that now as well, although I still get information and inspiration from magazines and media etc. I guess we all grow to be more discerning and immune what is being sold to us. I have noticed that I rarely actually want anything in the pages.

Amanda: Gisele does have a unique appeal...she may have become short-hand for "bombshell" but she is more interesting to look at, and has so much more vitality than say, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley or Miranda Kerr, to name a few other well-known bombshells.
son said…
ive been contemplating buying an old favourite edition of vogue us on ebay for exactly the reasons youve described. i guess theres also a sentimental component, but i still genuinely love going through the editorials from that period.
lin said…
son: I regularly go on ebay to see if I can find an issue I love that I no longer have. Earlier this year I found an issue of Bazaar I really liked from 2000, and I bought it.

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