What Is Vintage Clothing?

What Makes It Vintage?

If you've never come across the term vintage clothing before then we've set up this little guide to explain what exactly we mean by the word vintage. In lay man terms the word vintage, can simply mean old but we can obviously get much more specific than that. By definition it normally means clothing manufactured more than 20 years ago. So from today anything officially made during or before the 90's would count as 'vintage' but it can mean different things to different people. Today's youth, hipsters and fashionistas may class clothing made 10 years ago as vintage simply because they see that as very old so the term can used very loosely to describe old clothes. It's not always easy to date every single specific item of clothing as there is often a lack of data and also a lack of time and resources to research every single item we sell so in these circumstances it can sometimes be used to mean old, second hand or pre-loved.

The beauty with vintage clothing is that a lot of older garments were very well made or even hand made so you know you're getting quality items made with quality fabrics and it normally means paying less than you would for something brand new. You're best off starting your collection with something simple, classic and timeless that will last another 20 years.

Vintage Brands

Most of the time vintage clothing items won't be anything mass produced on the high street or by high street retail brands and they are more likely to be classic well known brands such as Levi's, Lee and Wrangler for your vintage denim or Adidas, Nike and Champion for anything vintage sportswear related as well as unique, one-off, hard to find boutique pieces. These are the real gems when it comes to vintage but obviously there are many more brands available depending on the items of clothing you're looking for whether it be a classic patterned wool jumper, hawaiian shirt or a trusty pair of vintage jeans.

Antique

Anything older than 100 years ago ie before the 1920's is considered antique. Obviously as time passes what counts as vintage gets more and more modern but again it's not always easy to distinguish between an antique garment or a vintage item and values will vary massively.

Retro Clothing

If you're wondering what the difference between vintage and retro clothing is then keep reading. Basically, retro clothing is considered to be more modern or new clothing garments which have used old, vintage or past era designs and styles. For more info check out our guide to retro clothing.

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