What’s Your "Vintage" ?

Have you been watching Channel 4’s “This Old Thing” ?  Dawn O’Porter tries to persuade hapless 20-somethings that vintage clothes are the way to go.  It seems like a nice premise for a programme.  Take some people to a second hand (sorry, vintage) clothes shops and dress up.  The problem I have is this: 1980s fashion IS NOT VINTAGE !  

I recently had someone tell me that Antique=100+ years old; Vintage=50+ years old; Retro = 15+ years old.  (Which makes me …. urmmmm, Vintage.  Ok, less of that.)  Anyway, it’s not about a formula or an official definition, but, well, I don’t care how much the lovely Dawn says they are great, 80s fashions were awful when we were in the 80s and are still awful now.  Wearing them – even if you weren’t born in the 80s – is a RETROgrade step! 

Floral dress, worn to death !

Wait though..... back in the 80s when I was a hip young thing with an eye for what we called second hand clothes (when did we start using the term vintage for anything other than wine ?), I favoured 1950s frocks and handbags.  That’s the same time lapse of 30 years, but did our mums think the clothes were awful ?  The thing is, I think not.  I think that they had moved on and didn’t want to wear them any more (good news for us because the flea markets and the charity shops were full of their cast-offs).  But I don’t think they were embarrassed by them.  Were they ?

I have a liking for architecture on clothes !

So, would you wear fashions from the 1980s ?  Or 1970s ?  Is your wardrobe full of padded shoulders and ra-ra skirts from 30 years ago?  Do you think it’s the next hip thing ?  Or have you spent the last 30 years trying to erase your 1980s wardrobe from your memory ?   Were you young and trendy in my chosen “vintage” era, the 50s ?  

What’s your idea of vintage ?