Is Vintage the Same as Second Hand? The Meaning of Vintage Clothing
Your friend just raved about this vintage dress she found at the local second hand clothing store down the street. You smile and congratulate her even though you are really thinking in the back of your mind, “what the heck is vintage?” You have a vague idea but picture images of old fashioned gowns with lace up corsets. No, that can’t be right, you think to yourself.
Well, actually you are half right, but there’s much more to vintage clothing than you think and that actually most of the general public thinks.
So, what exactly does vintage clothing mean anyway?
Vintage clothing is clothing that is from a previous era within 20 to 100 years ago. The clothing is normally representative of that era and the styles that were popular during that time.
Yep, so that means that something from 1990 is technically considered vintage. Dang it, you should have never given away those cool threads you used to have!
Key things to understand with vintage clothing:
This means that vintage clothing can be from almost any previous decade. To each their own. Vintage clothing allows you to go with whatever style that appeals to you most! So, vintage clothing can be 80s style, 60s, 20s, etc.
- Any style of clothing that is over 100 years old is considered antique and is no longer vintage.
- While second hand clothing stores carry new and used clothing there is a high possibility that you will be successful in finding vintage clothing there!
- Something being vintage is no indicator of price, quality, being a collectors item, etc. It’s simply just describing the time frame it is from.
- Vintage clothing can be handmade, designer, big box brands, etc.
It can get confusing…
Since vintage clothing has become all the rage, the term now is used almost as a name for a certain type of style of clothing. Even though vintage should represent clothing that is actually vintage. So, here’s where it gets pretty confusing.
Places like Forever 21 and H&M jumped on the vintage bandwagon and offer clothing that is “vintage style.” Why buy it at places like that when you can get actual legit vintage pieces at second hand clothing stores for half the price!
Check out this opinion from a vintage clothing enthusiast and writer of the blog Retro Chick as to why she chooses to wear vintage clothing from second hand clothing stores.
“I wear vintage clothes because before I bought this dress I had never in my life owned a fitted dress that didn’t pull on my hips and go baggy round my waist.
I wear vintage because I can find better quality second hand and vintage clothes than I would ever be able to afford new.
I wear vintage because I like the visual aesthetic of the 30s, 40s and 50s, but I don’t care whether the dress I am wearing is a vintage repro made last week, a “40s style” dress made in the 80s or a vintage original.
I care about quality and fit. I love the feeling that someone else loved this dress before, and I get to wonder how it got to the place I found it. But then sometimes, just sometimes, I only care that it looks nice.”
To read more check out her cool blog post: The Meaning of Vintage
Now you can consider yourself fully educated on what it truly means for clothing to be vintage. What’s been your favorite vintage find from a second hand clothing store?
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