On the Definition of Vintage

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Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

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On the Definition of Vintage

— by Angie

on March 21, 2011

According to Wikipedia, vintage clothing is a generic term for new or second hand garments originating from a previous era.

The Wikipedia entry further suggests that wardrobe items are “antique” when they were produced before the 1920’s. Clothing, footwear and accessories produced between the 1920’s and 1980’s are “vintage”.

This definition resonates. An item that’s around 25 years old starts to feel vintage-y to me. Today, that takes us to 1986 give or take a few years. Clothing, footwear and accessories from the 90’s are indeed items from a previous era, but they don’t quite quality as vintage items. In my book they need to grow a little older. Of course, this is somewhat subjective and I’m sure some people will disagree.

Here’s a question that is interesting to me: How many of you own FIRST HAND items that are now considered vintage? I own a fair amount of vintage jewelry and the odd handbag, but no clothing.

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45 comments · Add a comment

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

Does my Jr. High drill team uniform count? My first pair of Doc Martins are just about vintage- I bought those in high school, and still have them. They would probably fit dd now- I should get them down and have her try.

March 21, 2011 at 2:50 pm

Queen Mum

Veteran

I was going to say no until I read Khris’s comment. Yep, the Drill Team uniform would be the only piece of vintage clothing I own. I probably don’t even have any vintage jewelry. I’m not much of a saver… once something is past it’s prime it’s outta here.

March 21, 2011 at 2:56 pm

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Those items absolutely count, Chewy. It’s *amazing* that you’re passing your own 25 year old Docs down to DD.

March 21, 2011 at 2:58 pm

Mellllls

Veteran

I was four in 1986…so no nothing firsthand for me.

oh wait, i own a velvet dress my mom made me in 1984 or 1985 which is GORGEOUS. Obviously, I can’t wear it, but if I eventually plan to give it to my future daughter, does it count that I currently own something vintage?

March 21, 2011 at 3:04 pm

Beth

Veteran

Wikipedia’s definition sounds about right to me, too.

I still have three Coach bags from the late 80s back when they were known for their classic lines and beautiful leather. I also have several 1950s dresses that I bought as vintage in the 80s. Can’t think of anything else, though!

March 21, 2011 at 3:08 pm

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I was 1 in 1986, so I do not have very many things. A stuffed animal and a blinkie blankie. Not much for clothes

March 21, 2011 at 3:09 pm

Helena

I do! And I still wear it several times each year. My mom made a sweater in the early 80’s. After a Dutch designer Frans Molenaar. It is black and white and timeless. She also made me a knitted coat. Hubby hates it and I love it! I still wear it often. Again made from a pattern by a designer, I forgot wich one. I also have a cardigan that my mom bought me when we left Holland in 1982. Navy blue, timeless and still elegant. I have changed the buttons on if frequently to bring it on par with the current style. Pearl buttons during my Laura Ashley style. Currently they have plain wooden buttons.

March 21, 2011 at 3:09 pm

Aziraphale

Veteran

Yipes. You know you’re old when stuff you wore in high school is now considered VINTAGE. (I was 14 in 1986). Chewyspaghetti, I believe I too have a pair of vintage doc martens kicking around in the basement somewhere.

March 21, 2011 at 3:14 pm

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

Mum’s silk dress that I can’t wear, but keep so I can have one made in my size some day. Fab polka dot dress with cowl neck and a-line skirt!
Mum’s handbag – usable, signs of wear and tear very present, but I’m very careful with it though and keep it stored.
A few of mum’s silk blouses, one of them I actually can wear and am waiting for summer!
Mum’s skirt (which I just mentioned on the forum response), black with tail detailing at the back. It is in excellent condition and I am trying to find a way to wear it (and one forum member may have given me a lead this weekend ).

March 21, 2011 at 3:15 pm

crasdy

Active Member

I can think of a few items. The first is an Irish-style cardigan that my grandmother knit for me in the mid-80s. The second is my First Communion dress from 1977, which my daughter currently uses for dress-up play. The last items is a delicate strand of graduated pearls that my grandmother started for me when I was born, and finished on my 16th birthday in 1986.

March 21, 2011 at 3:16 pm

Lisa

Veteran

I have no clothing but do have a couple pieces of jewelry, all yellow gold.

March 21, 2011 at 3:19 pm

Inge

Hm, not many at all actually (wish I had more, especially from family members). I have a few pairs of earrings from my Mum and Aunt, and a black handbag that’s not really my style but my Mum gave it to me so it has sentimental value.

When I was in my teens my Mum gave a way some fantastic pairs of boots (one pair of amazing cream gogo boots e.g.) because she wasn’t wearing them anymore. I wish I had the fashion sense I have today, you bet I’d be sporting them right now!-)

March 21, 2011 at 3:21 pm

Christie

No, I don’t have any. I was only 11 in 1986.

I recently thrifted an Esprit bag (remember the stenciled ESPRIT on the outside pocket) to use for a grocery bag. I love it. I paid $1, which is quite a bit cheaper than my beloved bag in 1986, which I didn’t save.

March 21, 2011 at 3:44 pm

Margot

I have my beloved Levi’s jean jacket, which I saved up my babysitting money to buy when I was in 10th grade (1987). It still fits, and I do still wear it about once a year–it still rocks over a dress!

March 21, 2011 at 4:00 pm

Laura65

Yes, I do!
Marithe & Francois Girbaud jeans … circa 1981.
Maybe a couple of other choice items …
Are they actually worth something, finally??

March 21, 2011 at 4:05 pm

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I’ve got a couple dresses from the 60s/70s that used to be my Mom’s, but I don’t wear them – don’t think they’d fit at the moment. I’ve picked up some items at thrift stores that I suspect are that old, but I have no proof. Other than that, just some of my grandmother’s costume jewelry.

March 21, 2011 at 4:15 pm

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I have a good one with a an even better story. A real Scottish cashmere turtleneck from the mid-seventies. My great-grandfather was visiting the US from Australia. He first went to see some family in NYC. While he was there he did some shopping. The sweater was meant for my father (we were in Washington State at the time). My father hates turtlenecks but it was such high quality that my mother absconded with it. I was about 3 years old at the time. I have no memory of my great-grandfather. My parents were divorced shortly later.
After my mom died I found it in her cedar chest. My Dad recognized the sweater and told me the story. It had a few small moth holes. I took it to be repaired. I still wear it(re-inherited it 9 years ago).
It is the most fantastic quality, and has never pilled. It’s a bit big, almost like a tunic, but I love it.
I do also have some jewelry.

March 21, 2011 at 4:25 pm

taylor

Veteran

I have a Louis Vuitton and and a Furla that I bought in 1985 that I consider vintage .

I also have some very old Dooney’s that are so outdated they look vintage.

March 21, 2011 at 4:45 pm

Sparky

Veteran

Oh boy, this brings back some wonderful memories. DD wears some of my old nightgowns which are clearly vintage since I wore them when I was a little girl, and she has just outgrown the handmade “graduation” dress I wore to my kindergarten ceremony in the 70s (it’s beautiful ~ a full length dress with short puff sleeves, brown with a white daisy pattern on it and a ruffle neck, and eyelet trim ~ just add a bonnet and I would have been right at home on “Little House on the Prairie”). I have four of my grandmother’s dresses/skirted suits from the 50s and one of her dress coats (a gorgeous purple wool coat with a fur collar ~ I would never own fur otherwise), and wear those occasionally. I have a couple of my mom’s outfits (60s) that I’ve worn once or twice. I still wear four pairs of knee-high argyle socks that I got when I was in high school, which also meet the vintage definition. Talk about quality ~ they’re only just now starting to wear thin on the heels and toes. Then there are some of my father’s button-down shirts which are used by the kids as art smocks or by me for tasks like interior painting, which are from the 70s and 80s. I also have some clothes from the early 80s that I’ve kept as mementos of that time in my life that are tucked away in a box in the very back of a storage closet. I do like to pull them out from time to time. It’s also fun to show the kids clothing from different stages of my life; they think some of the get-ups from the 80s are a complete riot! I remember being fascinated by my mother’s closet when I was young, and looking at clothing from different periods of her life. I hope it’s the same for my kids.

Egad, I just realized that a lot of my jewelry, including my pearl necklace, is all vintage, since I received these pieces in the early-mid 80s. Add to that all the jewelry that belonged to my grandmother and mother, some costume and some fine, and I apparently live in Vintage City!

March 21, 2011 at 4:57 pm

Amrita

(Wow…the 80’s are considered “vintage.” I feel so old!) I’ve got a couple pair of Faded Glory bellbottom jeans from the 70’s around somewhere and a white eyelet skirt I made for a school project. Also some turquoise and silver jewelry from the 20’s or 30’s that was given to me in the 70’s when ethnic/folkloric jewelry was so popular.

March 21, 2011 at 5:00 pm

Tiffany

Nothing of my own, I’m afraid (moved too often, purged too frequently) but I do have a couple of beautiful things from my MIL and my husband’s grandmother, so they’re real vintage (1940s and 1960s).

March 21, 2011 at 5:26 pm

Kristina

I’ve got a crocheted dress my great- grandmother made me in the 70s when I was about 3 or 4. Both my daughters also wore it when they were little. I also have four formal dresses from high school, two of them Gunnie Sax, one a very classic floor- length gown, and a serious material girl number (cringe). My 15 year old daughter tried on the gown the other day and it fit like it was made for her, so we may have a re-run of that one too, at least at Halloween. My wedding gown probably counts, too, as I was married in 1989.

March 21, 2011 at 5:52 pm

MsMaven

Veteran

I don’t think of myself as someone who saves old clothes for sentimental or other reasons, but when I think about it, I do have a few things.

I have a dress I made for the Winter Prom in the early 60s. White brocade, full gathered skirt. I found it in my Mom’s basement closet when I was home visiting for a reunion 25 years later. I tried it on and it barely fit me at the time. I brought it home and still have it packed in a box in the garage.

I have two Judy Hornby dresses from the 80s that I couldn’t bear to part with despite the huge shoulders. (Also, I don’t think they fit right now.) Judy’s line was carried at NM and I Magnin. She moved to the UK and the latest I read she now designs furniture. I also have two coats from the era, including the black cashmere I posted here several months ago.

I also have 80s jewelry–I did give away some Kenny Lane pieces and I now regret it. Besides my two Chanel pieces I have some great pins, brooches, and a couple of bracelets I occasionally still wear, some from Ciro, but now I can’t remember which is which. Don’t give away expensive fashion jewelry you think has gone out of style! It will come back. I promise.

I also have a few fine jewelry pieces from the late 70s most of which I’ve had redesigned. Most people I know my age have a collection of 1970s gold chains gathering dust in a drawer.

March 21, 2011 at 6:04 pm

juxnz

(website)

Yes – a pair of knee high brown suede boots circa 1985. I saved every cent I made for about month from my weekend job at a fabric store when I was in final year of school.
I started wearing them again about two years ago and still get a little thrill each time I pull them on. They remind me how hard work and perseverance lead to goals achieved.

March 21, 2011 at 6:06 pm

Kyle

Veteran

My wedding dress is quite close to achieving vintage status (think Princess Di) and I have some jewelry as well as a 1940s era coat. I would dearly love to have some of my grandma’s clothes and handbags. She was a 6-foot tall fashionista. Can you imagine?

March 21, 2011 at 6:49 pm

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

I have a suit of my mother’s that she wore in 1964 during the year she was Miss Connecticut. It is a hot pink wool suit reminiscent of something Jackie Kennedy would have worn; it has moth holes and is way too small to ever fit me ever, but I love it and will have it forever.

Growing up, she used to keep her pageant dresses in the hall closet in zippered bags. We used to sneak in and zip them open to pet the bugle beads and velvet skirts. And as a special treat, she would let us sit on her bed so she would pin her crown to our heads.

My wedding dress was also vintage from the 60s, and I’ve had that for 15 years now.

March 21, 2011 at 7:27 pm

Maya

Veteran

Hmm, as a human being, I am just barely considered vintage. So nothing really. Well, maybe some of the baby clothes my mom kept…

March 21, 2011 at 7:51 pm

MsMary

Veteran

I have a lot of jewelry, both costume and real, from the 80s, and I still wear almost all of it. And I have some of my grandmother’s costume jewelry from before then — maybe from the 60s. I still wear the gray cowboy boots my former husband bought me in about 1984. I have a beautiful Gucci bag I inherited from my aunt, who probably bought it in the 70s or 80s.

I’ve gotten rid of almost all the clothes over the years, but out in the garage in a trunk I have a pair of denim overalls from the 70s that I embroidered all over with various motifs including a prominent peace sign and little multicolored hearts around the bottoms of the legs.

March 21, 2011 at 8:20 pm

Sihaya

Veteran

Almost none Angie since you personally helped clean out most of my vintage clothing from my closet. And they really did need to be cleaned out. I have one military jacket from the mid-90’s that I still wear and get compliments on and some pieces of jewellery.

March 21, 2011 at 8:32 pm

catgirl

Veteran

Me. Of course. You’ve all seen my lime green cropped silk shirt. There are others.

March 21, 2011 at 8:59 pm

Joy

Veteran

In a big closet purge about a year ago I finally let go of the few clothing items I’d still hung onto from the 70’s, mostly because I’d never wear anything that short again. I have some silk scarves that belonged to my MIL. The colors are 50’s or 60’s. When was orange (not neon) last a popular color?

March 21, 2011 at 9:17 pm

Marley

Veteran

I don’t have any first-hand clothing items – and the jewelry that I have was my grandmother’s or my mother-inlaw’s – their wedding rings, a beautiful 18 carat gold (with encrusted diamonds) watch and various strings of pearls – all the real deal. I cherish them and wear them often!

March 21, 2011 at 9:50 pm

modgrl

(website)

Veteran

I guess my 20 year old leather blazer is just short of vintage. I’d never think of it as vintage though, it is more like one of my wardrobe golden oldies since I still wear it all the time.

March 21, 2011 at 11:46 pm

Melody

Active Member

I still have my highschool letterman’s jacket and my first pair of Guess jeans that I bought when I started waitressing … high waisted and tapered. I loooooved those jeans.

March 22, 2011 at 7:44 am

Irene

Veteran

I guess I’m just too young for this poll. I was born in 1988…

March 22, 2011 at 8:24 am

HeleenH

Veteran

I am saving a dress that was made for my mother by the seamstress that made her clothes when she was a teenager. I wore it while it fitted me (even if I loose a couple more kilo’s I don’t think my bosom will fit in it anymore) and I hope one of my girls will love it, too, in a couple of years.

March 22, 2011 at 8:26 am

nicoleb

(website)

Veteran

I don’t. I think i’m too much of a baby yet…oh wait! I do have 1 ring that my mom passed down to me! I think it was given to her in the 70s! But thats it for now.

Awesome timing for this post though. I’m about to hit up a few vintage shops in Minneapolis in the beginning of April with a friend. Super excited!

March 22, 2011 at 9:07 am

Diana

Veteran

Well, given that I was six at the current end of the “vintage” era, no. Although my mom may have kept some of my old baby clothes…

March 22, 2011 at 9:21 am

Tatilie

Active Member

I have some vintage jewelry (though most of it is not 1st owned and was passed down to me by my aunt) and a “will-be-vintage-soon” (late 80s) leather handbag, but my most prized vintage possession is a black leather blazer (you would call it boyfriend today) that I bought with my own money back in 1984. I keep it mostly for its sentimental value as a I can’t really close it anymore (I leave it open) and I don’t wear it very often, but it will come out of the closet once in a while.

March 22, 2011 at 10:24 am

jjsloane

I feel old too if my 80’s clothes are vintage. I don’t have too much left of it, but I’ve saved my concert tshirts mostly for mementos. I wish I’d saved my Doc Martens now. I have jewelry that’s been handed down from my grandmothers and my own collection of vintage clothing and jewelry I ammassed in the 90’s via ebay. I recently sold some of it, but I love vintage beaded cardigans from the 50’s/60’s and I kept some of those as well as a have a few cashmere coats, velvet capes and rhinestone jewelry. I don’t wear much of it except for special occasion, but I love having it and will eventually pass along to my daughter to choose what she wants to do with it. My mom used to let us play dress up in her 50’s formal gowns and I ruined them all so I purchased one that looks just like my favorite and have it for my daughter.

March 22, 2011 at 10:56 am

slythwolf

Active Member

I was born in 1982, so I guess I own vintage baby clothes, but that’s about it.

March 22, 2011 at 2:42 pm

SusanM

I have a pair of Frye boots from 1980 or 81 that I’ve just started wearing again. The current style of new Frye’s isn’t much different from my old boots. I also have some costume jewelry from the mid-to-late 80s, including a chunky charm necklace that I get compliments on.

March 22, 2011 at 3:33 pm

The Budget Babe

(website)

I have a few vintage pieces (jewelry, handbag) but I feel like people use the word improperly to describe anything thrifted or purchased at a flea market. It’s like, how do you know it’s vintage?

March 24, 2011 at 3:10 pm

rosee

Veteran

I have quite a few vintage pieces, but I am not the original or first-hand owner b/c I am not old enough to be (I do imagine that if clothes could talk, the vintage pieces would tell quite a story!) Many I’ve raided through my aunt’s storage for — she’s a total fashionista and I don’t think even she knows how much she has.
I was in highschool during the 80s, but not much of what I had then was in good enough condition to keep. My clothes then were basically a few “good” pieces that I wore to death (a dark red Ralph Lauren sweater comes to mind) or punky-junky finds from thrift stores (I was thrifting back then even before it was cool to do so, not by choice though).
I am SOOOO wishing my mom kept her early 60s pieces — she Lived in Europe and much of it was custom-made (with good seam allowances for alterations). I remember trying on stuff when I was a little girl and waiting to be old enough /big enough to wear them. I did wear a few things during my high school years, and I loved doing so, but I wasn’t that adventurous style-wise during my teens. I wanted to blend in more than I wanted to stand out. I thought I’d wait until I was in my 20s to start wearing them when the highschool politics were less prevalent in my life, but by then, my mom gave away her clothes to charity “since I wasn’t wearing them”.
Lesson learned: keep good quality pieces for future appreciation, even if it’s not in your closet with your current wardrobe. The pleasure of wearing, or even trying on for costume, good pieces from different eras is almost priceless.

March 26, 2011 at 10:17 am

rosee

Veteran

@BudgetBabe: knowing if something is truly vintage requires knowing a lot about what was typically produced and how it was produced in each era. A lot of thrift finds are not vintage (or not vintage yet) since they should be at least 20 years old to qualify (late 1980s at the moment).

I’ve read a lot about dating vintage from different sources, but the best write-up I’ve seen is in “THE LITTLE GUIDE TO VINTAGE SHOPPING” by MELODY FORTIER (available on Amazon or the library). In one of her chapters she discusses what factors influenced each era and what innovations in clothing occurred at those times.
For example: the tags (if on clothing) and what they say or don’t say often gives away a time period. The material composition of the fabric, the zippers and the buttons. Designer Elsa Schiaparelli used some plastic zippers as early as the 1930s but most garments did not have them until the 1960s. Actually many garments from the 1930s and 1940s did not have zippers at all, rather used side-button closures.

Another important clue is the silhouette: each era has a distinct silhouette, but this can be copied in later generations as well. Chances are if you see large shoulder pads on a jacket, it’s from the 1980s more so than other eras. Later jackets of that style will usually have still smaller shoulder pads. Even current interpretations of this trend differ from true 80s styles. Hope that helps a bit.

March 26, 2011 at 10:37 am

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