Vintage or Retro

Vintage or Retro? I Love Them Both!

Retro is “relating to, reviving, or being the styles and especially the fashions of the past: fashionably nostalgic or old fashioned” this is according to Merriam Webster Dictionary and if antique refers to items created at least 100 years ago then vintage is harder to define. Merriam Webster defines vintage in relation to wine; “to a season’s yield of grapes or wine from a vineyard.” So I investigated further and in the Oxford Dictionary referenced to wine/grapes but also refer to “the time something of quality was produced.” Yes, it can mean wine but can refer to piece of art, furniture, or/and textiles.

So my take on vintage items could be labeled by the time period it was produced i.e. “vintage 50’s”. However I wouldn’t say vintage is 70’s or 80’s but retro. When I think vintage it represents items made prior to 1970’s. In my opinion retro items are of the recent past from the last 20 years. I don't have a favorite time period for I appreciate certain things from each era. I am interested how and why items were invented/created during that particular time.

“Tomato or tomata- Potato or Potata”, it can be confusing with terminology. I guess everyone’s perception of antique, vintage, retro can be different. I just know I love good home décor pieces in all past time periods.

Do you love retro/vintage like we do? Tell us about it? Do you have a treasure of one’s own from the past that you would like to share?

Contributor –Michelle Richardson

     
                   3D Floral Art (1950) by Metalcraft Corp. Chicago. Crepe Textile fabric (1950)
                                                     Michelle Richardson's own collection