Happy Shopping
h&l vintage, xx
Levi’s 501
I ♥ 80s
All Trends Make a Comeback
Who remembers 80s fashion showed up on the night time soaps like Dynasty or on the first Madonna’s video clips? – boxy shoulders, large buttons and necklaces.
80s blazers with footballers’ shoulders best look in combo with light washed Levi’s 501 shorts or chlorine soaked jeans with the top blue denim lyer removed. Cut-offs, white jeans with blue undertones and 80s boyfriend oversized jackets – everything available now – at Harper & Lewis Vintage. xx
Boyfriend blazers available here
The Sun Is Shining & We Are In Full-on Gig Mode. It’s Not Too Late To Choose Your Festival Outfit!
Listen up all you festival vintage fashion lovers, Summer is that time of year when all our thoughts turn to festivals! Get inspired by Harper & Lewis’ coolest vintage festival must haves this year, from Levi’s 501 hot cutoffs through to worn 90’s dresses, 70’s waistcoats, heavy leather jackets and dr. Martens boots. Festival season has kicked off weeks ago but if you’re still not ready for the one you are going to, then begin on with our definitive edit of all you need, whatever the weather – stay vintage – come rain or shine.
Whichever festival you’re off to within the next few weeks – V Festival or Reading/Leeds Festival – and whatever vintage look you plan to make your own, our retro collection of all the clothing beauties was chosen for dancing out the days in!
As long as you want to feel comfy – a summer festival essential. The jumpsuit saw a revival of epic proportions last season, and thank to its comfort zone it seems to be a trend that won’t ever go away. The loveliness of the playsuit is also that it is a whole outfit in one piece – leaving more space in your bag for more vintage beauties! Go for loose, oversize linen version in grey – in case you were going to be covered in dust while dancing right in front of the main stage!
Oh, don’t forget these season’s hit – them dungarees. We absolutely love them! Hundreds of them available in our ASOS Boutique.
Keep your toes dry – wellington boots has long-been a favourite foot cover with festival-bound lovers. If you have ever been to a festival you most definately have all donned the waterproof wonders. Wellies are the only shoes to wear when the rain is falling and don’t forget we are in rainy Britain so a wet festival is more than likely to happen! For downtime, they’ll prove the perfect partner to cut-off shorts or 90’s dress worn with a wax jacket when the weather starts to thaw. Quite simply, they’re a buy you definitely won’t regret, especially when you’re off for a festival anywhere in Europe!
Make sure you’re prepared for whatever the Great British weather throws at you in…
If you’re off to any of the upcoming big festivals (so as we are! 🙂 ) in the next few weeks of August, then there is a big chance you might get caught by a warm summer shower. But don’t let the gloomy water coming down from the sky dampen your vintage apparel. Add a rustling neon vintage mac with showerproof hood to your backpack – you will always be prepared for both rain and wind!
Keep your feet comfy while jumping long hours in on of these hipshaking tents till early morning hours (if you know what we mean 😉 ). Our retro NIKE, Adidas, Diadora and Puma sneakers are right here waiting for you to get them and start flying on the dancefloor right after jumping in front of the headliner!
Are you more into stars and stiffer rubber sole? Then we have these beautiful worn Converse All Stars trainers waiting for you in our ASOS Bouitique. The more worn look they have the coller your outfit looks like. Our model is completely addicted to those Chuck Taylor’s beauties, her favorite are the ones with soles partly fell off – true story. The charm of those rubber-soled ankle beauté is hidden in the history they have been through – the more festivals they saw the better and more vintage they look!
I see a red door and I want to paint it black. Want to flaunt yourself proudly in the crowd and let everyone know what cult bands you’re into? Get one of these black vintage tees to say “I’m with the band”. We’ve got loads of motif T-shirts available – from Guns’n’Roses through the Rolling Stones and Nirvana up to Marilyn Manson and other masters. Paint it black.
Tie Dyes – they are so colorful it’s untrue! Perfect to throw on and go to see your favorite band on stage. Sublime match with Levi’s 501 shorts. Add a little sunshine in a dark muddy day and walk proudly in the crowd – be sure your friends can always see you, even if the sun goes down!
You can never get bored of them. Never ever. We all know that! Made 140 years ago by Levi Strauss to become a summer style best friend ever. You see, these worn denim 501 are just perfect for every dressing at the festival – perfect match with tees, jumpers, coats, macs, shirts, wellies, sneakers, crop tops – simply everything! But we’ve been through this story already 😉
Why sit on the grass with your guy when you can use your super-size multicoloured scarf which can work anytime as a blanket? Why keep your heavy jumper in the bag in case it gets chilly when you can wrap yourself in a scarf? Oh wait, don’t frget the little ones – Channel your inner-70s wild child and wear it as a headband across your forehead! Silk bandanas are perfect for adding that little something extra to simple get-ups. Now fill your festival suitcase up with those handy extra layers.
One of the new festival dressing essentials and it has just arrived this Summer at Harper and Lewis Vintage! Go back to the 70’s – waistcoat makes a perfect combo with a silk shirt and Levi’s shorts or jeans. Feel like your mum spinning around with flowers in her hair!
With all that dancing, spinning and pogoing a secure bag is absolutely required for any festival stay. Wear it around your hips or across the shoulder and keep your belongings safe all the time! Bum bags are rocking at H&L, you should get one too.
Come up smelling of roses!
If you like your look with plenty of femininity, then the ultimate throw-on 90’s floral-print dresses should be your festival fashion fare of choice. Its print, and the way it looks paired with a biker jacket – we just love it. Dress it down with a pair of Dr Martens boots, sneakers and a leather or denim jacket. Go babydoll and don’t forget to add round mirror shades to get a 100% boho chic.
Festival look is more about having fun with your fashion – so even if these slouchy printed hareems would not neccessaily live in your everyday wardrobe, they will be perfect for throwing on with a black top on V or Reading/ Leeds Festivals!
Reflect the Sun off if it is burning your skin for too long. If the yellow star is shining and you feel as you were baking then these white tops will be a style dream – just stay away from any muddy patches later!
Festival’s evening chill sets in? Then the baggy beige jumpers will keep you out the cold. Get the slouchy look by getting an oversized one. Wearit with heavy black boots or wellies. Stay cool and bang on trend!
We would all go hell for leather this season. Well, any season as the leather jackets are always in! It is a fail-safe go-to when it comes to hanging at the festivals. Put in on a vintage tee and go rocking.
Walk back to the 14th century and become one of the Aztec empire. That’s right, shirts inspired by people living in Aztlan ages ago are an absolute must have at this year’s festivals. Team it with a pair of denim shorts to continue the look.
The colorful patterns, the oversize, the cool-girl vibe it gives off—you just can’t go wrong wearing on of our vintage silk shirts. Tuck it in your Levi’s 501 or simply wear it as a dress. Hell yeah – as a dress! Feel the warm wind on your skin. Sounds like a bliss doesn’t it?
denim jacket
Do it in denim! Get back to basics with our denim Levi’s, Lee and Wrangler jackets and shirts, the ultimate must have in fesival wear. Always cool, always grounge. Great for rocking out in day or night.
Talking about grunge – show your teen spirit for classic grunge. What was Kurt wearing all the time? Checked flannel shirt of course. Come on, it always makes you looking cool and casual – that’s what grunge is all about.
Work the military trend into the festival season ahead with our camo shirts and jackets! Perfect for throwing on over a band tee and washed jeans on one of those milder nights on a campsite.
Do you want to become head-to-toe 80’s style girl? Distress your way to the perfect vintage denim acid wash high-waist jeans. Perfect to go and see 80’s rock masters on stage with an oversized tie dye t-shirt and crop-tops.
Hooters and Las Vegas tees do not really need a description. Simply – Hooters and LV. They will always leave you looking cool.
Right guys, get your vintage bargains here and let us know if you’re going any festivals in August with us!! Hope to see you there, H&L xx
How to wear Vintage Levis 501 Shorts!
We obviously love vintage denim Levi’s shorts at the moment. So how do we wear them and rock our vintage world? The high-waisted look is nothing new, it first came around in the 1940’s. Sounds like ages to most of us, nevertheless the immortal cut-offs are still a must have in our wardrobes. They elongate your legs, slim your waist and make your bum look awesome.
Levi’s 501 has been with us since 1873 and there is nothing new under the Sun about this model – it has always been just great. The story of Levi’s started years earlier though.
The Two Horse logo was first branded onto the leather patch of the 501® jeans in 1886 in San Francisco, California.
Its purpose was to illustrate the strength of the trousers and reinforce Levi Strauss & Co. as the originator of patent riveted clothing.
The inventor of the quintessential American garment – the blue jean, was Levi Strauss, the German-American clothier. His firm, Strauss & Co, began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.
He became an American citizen in January of 1853. In March he arrived in San Francisco, establishing a dry-goods business under his own name. He soon sold all his trade goods. Strauss saw his chance when he found out that “up in the diggings,” where the miners worked, chinos wore out very quickly. So Levi made some pairs of riveted canvas pants to sell to miners. More and more miners were coming to Strauss and asking him for a pair of those canvas trousers. Not entirely happy with canvas, Levi started using denim, a new cotton fabric from Genoa, Italy. The weavers there called the fabric “genes.” Strauss altered the name to “jeans” and then he called his pants “Levi’s”. Whatever the name, Levi’s new pants were very popular with cowboys as well as miners.
In 1928 Levi Strauss & Co. registers the Levi’s® name as a trademark.
- Among the first people to wear jeans were all types of laborers, including these miners from Placer County, California in this photo taken in 1882. The traditional name of the pants were “overalls” until the 60s, when the more modern term “jeans” was first used.
Since then Levi’s jeans has been hugely popular among men. Well, with miners and laborers at the very beginning. But what about women? As we all know since the adoption of trousers in Western Europe in Late Antiquity, pants have been worn by men and not by women until the early 20th century. Hence, the first pair of woman’s jeans were found at the beginning of 1900’s. It was exactly in 1934 when the first Lady Levi’s were first introduced. They were designed with many similar features of the men’s 501 jeans, made of pre-shrunk denim with a feminine shape.
Lady Levi’s® jeans are introduced, the first jean for women.
The first product Levi Strauss & Co. made for women was called “Freedom-Alls:” a one-piece garment made for both work and play, perfect for the women of the American West who had active lives.
Since then Levi’s jeans were the most wanted trousers in the world, while Levi’s 501 became the must have model of all the times. Must have item – got it?
Levi Strauss dies in September 26th, 1902 in San Francisco, California, U.S, and newspapers describe him as a “merchant and philanthropist.”
Quiz Time
Question: Which of these people have never worn a pair of jeans in his/her life?
1) Marilyn Monroe
2) Levi Strauss
3) Walt Disney
Answer: Levi Strauss
True story.
🙂
Time for ours!
For 140 years people have brought their own unique style to the iconic 501® and as you all know we sell a wide range of cutoffs Levi’s 501®.
The most important thing about this model is to make it your own. Levi’s 501® should be a part of your own style. It has been worn for the last 140 years by laborers, miners, hostesses, hippies, punks, rockers, skinheads, greasers, mods, factories’ workers and the like. Basically it bacame popular among a wide range of subcultures and simply ordinary people.
How do you like wearing it? If you got one of those rocking beauties from our store, or you are about to get one in the future but you have no clue what to wear it with, here are few outfits suggested by Harper and Lewis Vintage staff.
We created few outfits with four different pairs of shorts.
1. Don’t forget Levi’s 501 when going to a festival.
The bright colour and easy feel of the stonewashed denim makes for a casual look. Just throw on a dark tee and slip into some black boots for a rocking and cool approach to warm-weather festival dressing.
Rainy and muddy days at the festival? Just put a vintage leather jacket on to make your outfit look even more rocking.
Our model is wearing
2. Chilly days alternative
No one has ever said that Levi’s cutoffs were designed for hot and sunny days only. (So as not for miners only! 😉 ) Just rag a jumper out! It can be the one borrowed from your boyfriend – the more baggy it is the better it looks. Could be a bit of a tom boy but looks as sexy as man’s shirt in the morning. Add bangles to make it look more feminine and knee high socks if you’re really cold. Really cold, rainy and windy? Oh yes, we’re in UK. Put a vintage jacket or coat on!
Our model is wearing
Wax Jacket (more coming soon)
3. Levi’s 501 in an office
Need to look a little bit more smart sometimes? No worries, our cutoffs will make do here as well! Just slip into sandals or high heels and add a nice shirt to your shorts. The silk one looks perfectly smart. Don’t forget to add some jewellery and tuck your shirt in so everyone can see the most important part of your outfit!
Our model is wearing
Summer Black Levi’s 501 Shorts
4. No idea where you’re going
The truth is, popular cutoffs will do for any ocassion, any weather and in any part of the world. They look cool in combo with trainers, heavy boots and high heels, tees and shirts, jumpers, jackets and coats, with or without belt. If you have no idea what to wear your pair today with, just rag a casual shirt or any cool top out!
Our model is wearing
Striped blouse (coming soon)
Stay cool while looking hot with our Levi’s cutoffs.
