Clothing with a Past─Vintage, Retro, or Antique?

Do you love apparel from years gone by? Many of us do, and with good reason. For a start, it’s fun! It's rather thrilling to explore history through your wardrobe, to feel as if you own something with an interesting past. Indeed, that cardigan sweater or veiled hat from another era has a story to tell, no? When you wear such items, you share in that mystique, which adds a unique distinction to your personal style. Especially when you seek─and find─items of quality.

Another benefit of clothing from decades past is that it was often created along simpler and cleaner lines─either handmade or at least assembled with fewer toxic by-products, as opposed to modern, mass-manufactured apparel, which typically incorporates synthetic dyes, chemicals, and other processes to ensure that the end products are cheap, replicable, and easy to launder.

While previously loved apparel may require a tad more care, it’s well worth it. Plus you’ll often acquire better quality for a modest price. If it’s lasted long enough to be a vintage item and still look elegant, that speaks volumes, no? You may, however, become rather baffled on your journey by the terms you encounter, such as vintage, retro, or even antique. With regard to clothing, "vintage" usually refers to items less than 100 hundred years old, as opposed to "antique" which is used to define apparel made at least 100 years ago.

Conversely, the term "retro" denotes something associated with─or revived─from the past and should primarily apply to copies of true vintage items. The word "retro" derives from the Latin prefix retro, meaning "backwards, or in past times." It’s also been suggested that retro fashion spans the decades of 1960-1980, so any authentic pieces from this time frame would be referred to as retro, rather than vintage or antique.

Then you have the term “retrospective,” which refers to a view toward the past. While it’s certainly not a perfect science, it’s all worth considering, because while virtually anything goes with fashion, an awareness of these distinctions will ensure you don’t overspend on a given item, whether from a garage sale, vintage shop, consignment store, or high-end antique boutique.

With all that in mind, you’ll ideally be even better equipped to explore your fashion journey from times gone by. Why not, when you can have fun, celebrate yourself a bit, look fabulous, and make a visual statement that may well refresh the world around you.