Community: Real Life

The true meaning of vintage


Katherine

Katherine, 21, is an English and Creative Writing student from London who loves reading, writing and shopping. She is passionate about fashion and hopes to become a fashion journalist for a successful magazine.

Katherine is frustrated with the way that the popularity for vintage clothing has lead to confusion surrounding the true meaning of the trend.

Vintage clothes are in vogue. No longer reserved for the quirky, arty types they have been pushed into the mainstream by movie stars, catwalk models and Z-list celebs alike. They are now embraced by the modest everyday woman, eager to make that all-important style statement and become the recipient of such compliments as: 'I absolutely love your dress, it's so original' and 'Where did you find that bag? I must have one!' But does anyone actually know what constitutes vintage i.e. items that are pre-1970s? Or how its popularity and new-found success has affected its original devotees?

Inspired by that all-important celebrity support of high-profile women such as Kate Moss and Sienna Miller, many 'vintage virgins' have taken the plunge away from the mass consumerist market of chain stores like Topshop and H&M and happily delve into the maze of stalls, websites and boutiques that provide that special something for those who love the second-hand aesthetic. However, are these fashionistas being conned into buying someone else's old tat, paying over-inflated prices for items that are nowhere near worth it just to feel as though they too, have jumped on the fashion bandwagon?

A recent trip to Camden Market helped to confirm this theory. A haven for the eagle-eyed style-savvy shopper, its many stalls and one-off shops used to excite me to such a degree that I would spend days looking forward to going. This time was different. After rummaging through boxes of belts and bags and finding numerous identical items (how can they be vintage if there are that many of them?) I felt annoyed and confused at how these places could pretend to sell the unsuspecting shopper items that had clearly been mass-produced and probably been sourced from the nearest bargain basement bin. Vintage costume jewellery also fuelled my suspicions as I discovered not two, but three bracelets in three different shops all claiming to be vintage, yet were all completely the same. Instead of boarding the train home laden with bags of goodies, I was unusually empty-handed, and spent the rest of the journey questioning the validity and originality of vintage.

So not only does this mean that meaningless second-hand thrift is finding its way into our wardrobes, it also means that embarrassing moment when someone declares: "I've got the same belt as you!" is all the more likely to occur. I experienced this after sourcing a fabulous enamel peacock belt off the internet, only to have my friend merrily announce that she had an identical belt at home that she had bought from Portobello Market. Needless to say, my pride at having found this so-called vintage gem swiftly disappeared, and I have since seen the same belt in varying colours all over the country!

"On one search on clothes and accessories alone, Ebay pops up 21,591 entries under vintage to dazzle and bewilder prospective buyers."

Ebay is another traitor to the true meaning of vintage. On one search on clothes and accessories alone, 21,591 entries pop up under 'vintage' to dazzle and bewilder prospective buyers, and I'm prepared to bet that well over half of them are not even a year old, and have been listed under the guise of  'vintage' in order to receive as many hits as possible! How for example is an artificial leather studded bag from Primark last November a vintage item, or a pair of oversized Jackie-O style sunglasses that just happen to be Topshop, circa 2005?

I remember when the whole point of wearing vintage was to make a fashion statement about individuality and creative flair. Its true followers were admired and commented on, but yet now turn away from wearing the style because of its increased popularity and the homogenized culture that it is starting to create as a result. Those who turned to vintage to be different are now turning away from it to be different, as ordinary people buy vintage simply because it is seen as a 'trend' in itself, not because they are trying to express their individuality.

So, next time you consider getting that passport to unique vintage style make sure that you know what you've bought has a history, and isn't just an old M&S top with the label cut out and a price-tag on it more than quadruple the original price. Also, don't just buy something for the sake of saying its vintage; it's not stylish, it's not unique and it certainly won't turn heads! Vintage fashion is about creating a look which suggests creativity and imagination, so get out there, start looking and dare to be different!

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