Vintage Clothing

Vintage design refers to an item of another era that holds important and recognisable value. This style can be applied to interior design, décor, clothing and other areas. Vintage design is popular and vintage items have risen in price. Outlets of Vintage design have shifted from thrift store to shabby chic stores.

Most antique dealers consider an item to be vintage if it is at least 40 years old. Even though many vintage items are nostalgic, they are sought after for many reasons beside their age. This includes decorating and collecting.

What is Vintage Clothing?

Vintage clothing refers to items that were manufactured in a different era with the most recent be in the 1990s.

As much as the younger generation may say the early 2000s are not classed as vintage just yet!

“Vintage” is a colloquialism commonly used to refer to all old styles of clothing. A generally accepted industry standard is that items made between 20 and 100 years ago are considered “vintage” if they clearly reflect the styles and trends of the error they represent.

How can you tell if a clothing labels 'Vintage'?

Identifying vintage clothing labels can first and foremost help date a garment. 

Simply look for the copyright year. These aren’t listed on all garments, but if present, they help to prove authenticity and give you a hint about when the vintage eco friendly t-shirt or dress was produced.

Retro Clothing

An item regarded as retro is made recently but designed or in the style of items from the 60s, 70s  80s, 90s and very early 2000s.

Is Vintage Clothing Secondhand?

For an item to be considered vintage by the commonly accepted industry standard it needs to be at least 20 years old but does not have to be previously owned by someone else however because of their age many vintage pieces are second hand.

This is the joy for vintage collectors and sellers, finding vintage items they’ve never been worn or in great condition. Many of my customers say I found this in a cupboard didn’t know my mother/relative  had this or it’s never been worn.