Let's do the TIME WARP

Ever dipped your toe into vintage dressing? These women do it all of the time and love it

- MICHELLE ROWLEY

‘I’M KNOWN AS THE VINTAGE LADY’

Yana Prendergast, 50, creates personalised embroidery. She lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband.

When I was working as a reporter for a local newspaper, I had to attend a jive dancing course for a feature. I loved it, and the outfits the teacher wore. As I attended dance events, my eyes were opened to how beautifully people could dress.

I started wearing the full skirts with petticoats at home a few days a week, as I loved how they twirled, and they made me feel feminine. Then, my husband Andrew said, ‘I don’t know why you don’t wear 50s clothes all the time, you seem so much happier.’ Those words were a light-bulb moment.

Since then, I’ve dressed in a 1950s style every day.

I’m known as ‘The Vintage Lady’ in my village – I’ll even wear my top hat to the post office! I can’t walk around without people stopping to chat: mothers whose children think I’m a Disney princess, older people who want to talk about life in the 1950s or people who think I’m part of the experience at nearby Bletchley Park.

Every night I pick out an outfit for the following day, including all-important accessories: shoes, stockings, bangles, brooches, hair flowers. I adore the Dior 1947 New Look and, in 2019, I visited the V&A’s Dior exhibition eight times, which inspired me to learn to sew my own dresses, which I did throughout lockdown. Now, my 1950s wardrobe is 60% reproduction wear and 40% made by me. And learning to sew has added to my network of friends who share the same passions.

Dressing in 1950s style has increased my confidence. Lots of people tell me they wish they could dress like me, and I reply, ‘What’s stopping you?’ Wear what you want, even if it’s just for one day.