Blackfriars' 'Boeing, Boeing' follows the appeal of vintage

What's old is new again in the wardrobe world, whether you have an appreciation for classic styles or want to incorporate a funky piece of clothing into an otherwise modern ensemble.

Vintage is big, with high-profile supporters like the AMC show Mad Men, musicians Adele and Ariana Grande, and celebrities on the red carpet at this month's Golden Globes.

Here in Rochester, the upcoming comedy Boeing, Boeing from Blackfriars Theatre capitalizes on the trend with the wildest looks of that era.

Director and production designer John Haldoupis went with "really wild, very graphic, and really bright" costumes that weren't difficult to find given the period's popularity and the fruitful bounty on eBay, which offers more than half a million options for clothes, shoes and accessories from the past. The classic farce, based on a 1960 French play, opens Friday.

Haldoupis' personal fondness for vintage extends into childhood and didn't stop at clothing: "I was a weird child. I had a Victorian black parlor sofa in my bedroom when I was 12."

Vintage may have historical implications, but its appeal appears timeless.

"The demand absolutely never ceases," says Joan Lincoln, owner of Panache Vintage & Finer Consignment in Brighton, which carries a small collection of vintage hats, dresses, handbags and outerwear. "Every day someone comes in looking for something vintage."

Lincoln recently "paid a fair amount" for a hat from another store — brown velvet, lace-trimmed, with a band of ostrich feathers — that she wanted to carry at Panache, knowing it would be an exceptional find for the right person.

She sold it soon after to a woman who was attending a Downton Abbey-themed event and needed a hat to "blow all other hats out of the water."

More recently, a customer who wanted to dress up like the matriarch from The Brady Bunch (Florence Henderson's Carol) for a party bought an avocado-green, polyester dress with gold-brocade rickrack.

Lincoln enjoys researching the history behind certain garments, such as fur muffs with zippers for concealable pistols used from around 1600 to 1900.

"And a lot of new designers we have in the store look like they're old because they've rejuvenated an old style," she says.

Fashion blogger Sammi Cohen of Perinton favors vintage reproductions, particularly fit-and-flare silhouettes from the '50s and '60s that tend to be modest and most flattering on her figure.

"I love anything with a novelty print that's a little bit quirky," says Cohen, who regularly highlights the vintage finds she discovers on Etsy at thesoubrettebrunette.blogspot.com.

She goes for the real thing, too: "True vintage garments are going to last longer because they were made to last. Something you get for $15 from Forever 21 isn't going to last material-wise or trend-wise. But something vintage could last a lifetime if you take care of it."

Morgan DeLapa, who owns Treasure Trove Vintage on Park Avenue, considers it a bonus that her passion is so popular. She enjoys bringing new life to looks from bygone eras by pairing them with modern pieces.

A 1950s dress with a leather jacket, for example, or an unconventional pantsuit with contemporary platform shoes, "not those old pumps that are hanging around at the Salvation Army."

So yes, vintage may mean antiquated, but there's a certain eye for fashion required when choosing once-worn garments to wear.

And nostalgia is just as important as that style quotient, says DeLapa: "You can look at the history of America by looking at vintage clothes. It's one thing to read about history and imagine what happened, and another thing to look at a piece that makes you think, 'Wow, these people were really here and this is what they wore.'

"I have a piece from the 1910s and I just feel different when I wear it," she adds. "I get a little more puff in my stuff."

Flanigan is a Rochester-based freelance writer.

If you go

What:Boeing, Boeing, a period comedy about a young man juggling his three fiances.

When: Friday through Feb. 8.

Where: Blackfriars Theatre, 795 E. Main St.

Cost: $28.50 to $36.50.

For tickets: (585) 454-1260 or go to blackfriars.org.