I polled you on Monday for this week’s roundup and the people have spoken: walkable, work-from-home, casual finds. So we’re taking a page from Lindsay Sword’s recent Casual Vibes Only book, but making it vintage.
Convenient, because I’m cruising up the Maine coast on a sailboat in August and I’ve been scouting for my outfit visions (no catwalk too humble for this girl).
The first vision, as my tiny Instagram following of approximately 100 people (thanks for following along, if you do) already knows, is a vintage rugby.
If you know me in real life, and more importantly my husband, you know he has been wearing rugbys for a decade, and not as a fashion statement. When I told him I was doing this roundup, he jokingly claimed I was taking his culture as a costume.
I assuaged his concern by agreeing that I’ve come around to their practicality, their timelessness, and their low key cool.
He is the resident expert, though, so he kindly shared his insight with us (me), and I’ll pass it along: ideally the buttons are covered (you know, for all the tackling we’ll be doing in them), and rubber. The classic rubber buttons exist because rugbys were built for actual rugby on 1800s English pitches, before Ivy League kids stole them for weekends. The energy we’re after is less frat basement, more young Paul Newman on a sailboat, which conveniently is the assignment.
This is also where vintage or secondhand is 10000x better than anything you can buy new: it’s already worn in and looks like it’s been living in your closet for decades. The goal!
The base
You know my philosophy by now: a reliable foundation, then fun, layered (potentially vintage) things on top. Everything in the base below I own and wear three out of five summer days.
The tank is the FloreFlore you’ve heard me talk about 10000x. I am still not anywhere close to large enough for ShopMy (still humbling!), but if anyone at FloreFlore is reading this, I would happily be sponsored.
For a less expensive option, my friend Aliki loves this tank from J.Crew and I’m eyeing this one for due diligence testing from Los Angeles Apparel (I like a slightly thicker strap, personally).
The shorts are track shorts (I have in white and green), but anything works here. I also love these Chan Luu taffeta ones for a bit nicer vibes.
One note: because we’re going bigger on top, I’d skip bermudas (which I do otherwise generally love, and Angela Galvez did a great roundup for petite girls). But in this scenario we’re aiming to go big/oversized on the top and show the leg.
The rugbys
If helpful, I tend to target men’s mediums (I’m petite!).
Top row, left to right:
Americana stripes (men’s L; $38)
Y2K Eddie Bauer in red (men's L; $16)
Izod green and navy stripes (men's L; $20)
Middle row, left to right:
90s multi-stripe (men’s L; $27)
90s Ralph Lauren (men’s M; $55)
90s Savile Row (men's M; $20)
Bottom row, left to right:
90s three stripe (men’s S; $42)
80s Debadged (men's L; $35)
Blue navy striped (men’s XL; $40)
Same base, switch it up
My best friend from college was visiting last week, and she’d bought one of the first jean jackets I ever posted (after sharing my own Bill Blass vintage jean jacket). She agrees it’s superior and has been living in it ever since. We can use the same base as above, but switch out accessories and styling.
Whether you’re working from home or just running errands, accessories are what dress up an outfit (great place to go vintage!!!). You’ll look put together on Zoom calls, even if you’re ready for a workout on the bottom. And if you’re wondering whether a jean jacket counts as an accessory: in this house, it does.
I also love pairing this (or even the above rugby look) with ballet flats to mix it up and make it feel just a touch more polished.
The same idea applies to vintage jean jackets as rugbys: the more worn, the better, imo. Look at the below Prada and Doen ones. They are literally copycats of the vintage ones in the roundup below.
There are tons to choose from, but I try to go for something that fits more like a chore jacket or a husband's Barbour. Call it the Borrowed Barbour Test: hitting a little below the hips, deep pockets, and a structured collar.
If helpful, I have a size large in my Bill Blass jacket (but it is quite large/oversized on my frame). My friend got a medium (she’s much taller than me) and it’s still a great oversized fit. All this to say you have wiggle room in sizing on this front!
Top row, left to right:
Vintage Bill Blass lighter jean (women’s XL; $75)
Vintage Bill Blass (women’s M; $50)
90s Liz Claiborne (women’s L; $169)
Middle row, left to right:
Dunbrooke jacket (women’s L; $45)
90s Woolrich (women’s S; $45)
90s Ralph Lauren (women’s S; $96)
Bottom row, left to right:
Vintage Ralph Lauren (women’s S/M; $45)
Vintage Bill Blass (women’s S; $54)
90s Lizwear (women’s M; $60)
The irony of this roundup is not lost on me. I spent the better part of a decade teasing my husband about his rugbys, and I am now a woman with many saved rugby searches. He would like this noted in the record. Noted!
But the bigger point is this: when people hear “vintage,” they picture occasion wear. I think the even better trick is the reverse: one interesting, aged piece dropped into your most casual outfit. Hopefully this post makes that idea more approachable.
One small ask: if you can share this with 1–2 people, that would be amazing. I have a goal of hitting 1000 subscribers/followers by the end of the summer (I will literally take hitting this goal on any platform). This is truly for the love of it until I find more of my people (and I love this little community).
Finders keepers,
SN
Some of these links may earn me a small commission, which I appreciate, since this whole thing runs on love.
Thank you for reading! If you love where this is headed, the best thing you can do is it share with a friend.
Each week I’ll be sharing things from across home, fashion, travel, and littles, and mostly wherever my vintage hunting and rabbit-hole deep dives take me.
This post is inspiring me to dig out my father's old college rugby (from his rugby days) for the fall to wear over leggings! (It's a bit too long for me to wear over shorts because it literally reaches my knees). Can't wait to wear it.
Re: ShopMy, if you'd like to give signing up a try, sometimes using a referral code from a creator to create your creator account can work, even if you're smaller. Mine's here: https://shopmy.us/join/fewerandbetter
I need a rugby shirt now!! I am also loving that bandana bag!