vintage?

[berserker3]

Hi guys. I´ve got what probably seems like a stupid question: what makes a leather jacket vintage? How old must it be? Does it have to do with the shape of the leather, or what? I have a couple of leather jackets made in the 50´s, one of them very rare. Vintage?
Kind regards
Mike

 

[deeb7]

I have a couple of leather jackets made in the 50´s, one of them very rare. Vintage?

Sure, Mike ... vintage.

To me the term would apply to any clothing from another era, or in fact, pretty much anything second hand.

 

[berserker3]

Thanks, deeb! I´ll try to post some pictures of one of the jackets( I just need a camera), which is a swedish military motorcycle- ordnance jacket. Extremely hard to find original ones. There has been modern duplicates made, but thats not the real thing!
Kind regards
Mike

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Definition of vintage really is in the mind of the beholder. And the definition is fluid, depending upon what kind of clothing you're buying. 60s and earlier seems to be a quite often quoted date.

For non-leather menswear my cutoff is in the early 1960s. But that's entirely a personal distinction. I would think that "anything secondhand" would be goin g a bit far. Something made yesterday can hardly be considered vintage.

bk

 

[dujardin]

with belgian regard on this, i want to say that 20 - 25 years old is considered as vintage.
officialy, a car is oldtimer when at least 25 years old.
concerning music, we are now enjoying what we called the eigthies; but we are not yet talking about nineties.
same about the fashion, some peoples begin now to wish the ''old'' look of the 80's on her, but not yet 90's...
i think that yessss 20 - 25 years is a good delay to consider something vintage.
byeeeeeee marcel

 

[deeb7]

I would think that "anything secondhand" would be goin g a bit far. Something made yesterday can hardly be considered vintage.

BK, I think I qualified that by saying "from another era" .... by "anything second hand", I was meaning that this doesn't apply just to clothing.

By giving a cutoff date, you are making it a period, and I don't believe that it is.

 

[Atticus]

The twenty-three-year-old receptionist in my office has recently come to like vintage jackets. She informs me today that any jacket made before the nineties is "vintage".

I think what one sees really does depend on from where one looks.

AF

 

[Roughwear]

Dictionary definition is helpful:

Vintage clothing is a generic term for new or second hand garments originating from a previous era. Generally speaking, clothing which was produced before the 1920s is referred to as antique clothing and clothing from the 1920s to 1980 is considered vintage. Retro, short for retrospective, usually refers to clothing that imitates the style of a previous era. Clothing produced more recently is usually called modern or contemporary fashion. Opinions vary on these definitions.

Most vintage clothing has been previously worn, but a small percentage of pieces have not. These are often old warehouse, or shop stock. These items are usually referred to by dealers as "dead stock", "old stock" or "new-old stock" and can be more sought after and valuable than those that have been worn, especially if they have their original tags.

 

[Stony]

The twenty-three-year-old receptionist in my office has recently come to like vintage jackets. She informs me today that any jacket made before the nineties is "vintage".

Would that also apply to anyone born before her? :lol:

 

[Grant]

Forget the dictionary, I agree with Atticus (even though his receptionist would think I'm older than dirt).

 

[berserker3]

Thx guys. As always you came up with ouick, insightful answers!
Kind regards
Mike

 

[Curahee]

Would a 20 year old A-2 repro be considered an vintage item?

 

[Roughwear]

Would a 20 year old A-2 repro be considered an vintage item?

Acccording to the descriptions used by some Ebay sellers-yes!

 

[bfrench]

Would a 20 year old A-2 repro be considered an vintage item?

Hi, Folks,

From the Online Cambridge Dictionary:

Definition - vintage (HIGH QUALITY)

adjective - of high quality and lasting value, or showing the best and most typical characteristics of a particular type of thing, especially from the past:
a vintage aircraft
a vintage comic book
This film is vintage (= has the best characteristics typical of films made by) Disney.

From the above it would indicate that no age is required to be vintage - "most typical characteristics of a particular type of thing"

But then it does say "especially something from the past"

So an old jacket such as a WWII issue A-2 that has been kept in pristine condition could be clasiffied as "Vintage"

Also a new jacket made by Good Wear Leather which seems to be the closest replica to an original, also be called "Vintage"

Or an almost new condition Schott made in the 70's could also be vintage.

That leaves us with so much leeway calling something vintage that the word almost becomes meaningless especially on eBay ads.

Vintage, as beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Bill French

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I would think that "anything secondhand" would be going a bit far. Something made yesterday can hardly be considered vintage.

BK, I think I qualified that by saying "from another era" .... by "anything second hand", I was meaning that this doesn't apply just to clothing.

By giving a cutoff date, you are making it a period, and I don't believe that it is.

You did indeed qualify successfully.

I guess "other era" is where one gets into issues. To many young people - for example members here and at FLounge - the 1980s is another era. Therefore vintage. And so i rarely use the generic "vintage" term to describe my wardrobe. I stick with very specific eras: "I don't wear vintage, I wear 1930s."

The cut-off, as i say is very personal. Since my major interest is suits, the middle 1960s is where one can see a clear decrease in quality (fabric, cut, quality of manufacture) of off the rack gear, in both the US, and the UK. This is the fundamental basis of my cut-ff, not any arbitrary number.

bk

 

[jacketimp]

Dictionary definition is helpful:

Vintage clothing is a generic term for new or second hand garments originating from a previous era. Generally speaking, clothing which was produced before the 1920s is referred to as antique clothing and clothing from the 1920s to 1980 is considered vintage. Retro, short for retrospective, usually refers to clothing that imitates the style of a previous era. Clothing produced more recently is usually called modern or contemporary fashion. Opinions vary on these definitions.

Most vintage clothing has been previously worn, but a small percentage of pieces have not. These are often old warehouse, or shop stock. These items are usually referred to by dealers as "dead stock", "old stock" or "new-old stock" and can be more sought after and valuable than those that have been worn, especially if they have their original tags.

a repro is a retro.........