I sometimes get asked what vintage means by those new to the concept. The word vintage is thrown around nowadays so it can be confusing as to what the actual definition of vintage and vintage fashion is. As a general term vintage means made in a past era… but this is across the board and can refer to wine, cheese, whisky, furniture, and many other things which are genuinely old. So when someone asks the vintage of a wine, the answer will be the year it was made.
With regard to vintage clothing and accessories it gets a little more complex. Within fashion’ Vintage’, meaning period or era currently denoted that an item dates from the 1920′s to 1980′s. Anything older would be considered antique. Any items more than 20 years old are vintage, so when we reach 2020 clothing from the 1990′s will become vintage.
Technically clothing from the 80′s is vintage but is equally referred to as retro. Retro, short for retrospective on the other hand translates as something which looks back at the past but is produced in the present. This means pretty much the same as vintage inspired; fashion and accessories inspired by the early 20th century, from the flapper dress to the jumpsuit.
The Rag and Magpie blog is musings, updates, reviews, photos, tips, Q&A's and general ramblings of me (Bella, owner of Rag and Magpie) and my cohorts.
