Vintage clothing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vintage clothing is a term for garments hailing from another era. Generally speaking, clothing older than 25 years is considered to be vintage, though opinions vary on this definition. Many sellers of vintage clothing consider even more modern pieces to be 'vintage', provided that they are particularly representative of the era in which they were made. For example, the very simple slip dresses that emerged in the early 1990's as an expression of the impact of minimalism and grunge aesthetics on fashion would be considered 'vintage' by many collectors and sellers of vintage clothing.
Recent fashion trends, along with factors such as the popularity of eBay, increased mainstream interest in thrift and consignment shopping, celebrity interest in vintage frocks, and cultural movements such as the rockabilly and swing dance scenes have all created a large demand for vintage clothing of almost all types.
Socio-culturally, increased interest in vintage clothing is often considered to be a reaction to the widespread perception that fashion is swamped by cheap mass-produced ranges, and more broadly to a nostalgic sense of a loss of values and security in society as a whole.
Vintage designer garments produced by houses such as Dior, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Fortuny have become desirable collectors items.
Pieces from pre-1950s eras are increasingly disappearing into personal collections, and so are becoming more difficult to find, and more expensive to procure. Vintage clothing from the 1950s and later is generally fairly easy to locate, and can be quite affordable (barring, of course, designer and couture pieces, the value of which has only increased with time).
There are many places to buy vintage clothing both on-line and in the physical world. One resource that's developing at the moment is the Vintage Fashion Fair or Exposition. These typically have 40 or more stalls selling everything considered vintage; including jewellery, accessories and menswear.
Several designers are renowned for their vintage designs, such as Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell.
