Saturday 17 May 2014

What is 'vintage'?

Yesterday I received a belated Mother's Day present from my girl which was quite a surprise as I had completely forgotten about the fact that Mother's Day was last Sunday. Obviously I forget things quickly :-) 


The gift was sent in a huge Australia Post bag and I had no idea what it was going to be.


 Hmmm, I wonder what is in there?


That looks interesting! It's not is it?
Yes it is...a vintage chalk board! I love it. 


It fits in well with my old fashioned tins...


 and my vintage cup that I bought at the beach last year ...


and was keeping for a special occasion.

I read a lot these days about 'vintage' this and that, especially vintage sheets some of which are actually the same as the sheets we received as wedding presents back in the 1970s!
 Does that make ME vintage, I wondered? 
To me the word refers to the period in the early 1900s. Is that just because I am in my sixties and the same word for a young person would refer to a different period? It can get a bit confusing so I did a 'What does vintage mean?' search and was still confused after reading the results. Some people who were selling on ebay were trying to find out whether their items should be considered 'antique' or 'vintage' and there didn't seem to be any straight answer to their questions.

According to Wikipedia, when referring to clothing...' generally speaking, clothing which was produced before the 1920s is referred to as antique clothing and clothing from the 1920s to 20 years before the present day is considered vintage'.
So, if that's the case I guess I AM vintage! 
Oh well, I'll blend in with my new chalk board and cake tins I guess :-) 
Tell me, what does 'vintage' mean to you?
 

7 comments:

  1. Lol when I read the title of your post my first thought was 'Me' ... I still think that:)
    But to be serious, vintage to me represents a time when life was slower paced, though people worked harder but did not have all the modern conveniences [instant communication] that can tie up so much of our time. Afternoon tea with an embroidered table cloth, cups and saucers, home baking on the table. Playing cards in an evening with no background noise. Sometimes I think 'vintage' was idyllic:) Love your tins! I have the Uncle Toby's one, an Arnott's delivery truck, and a couple of ANZAC tins, plus others of no particular 'denomination'.
    Great post Nanna Chel!!

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  2. Shirley, I think 'retro' and 'vintage' are bandied around a bit and it does get a little confusing. Perhaps we just have to accept the fact that we are both 'vintage' though and I am happy with that. :-)

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  3. Lovely gift. Vintage to me is before WW11 and retro is 50's and 60's and maybe 70's.

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  4. Deb, that sounds right to me too.

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  5. Well vintage is "in" so that makes you one ahip lady:) What a lovely chalk board gift. You have a great collection of tins too; I'd like to find some to put my sewing notions in them.

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  6. Zena, you might pick some tins up at the Op Shops. I did buy the Weetbix and Uncle Toby's ones from the supermarket when they were on sale and they were filled with Weetbix and oats and I wasn't sure if I should buy them but I gave in as I just love them so much.

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  7. My mental picture is the same as Deb for 'vintage' and 'retro'. I'll never forget taking my grandmother to the antique store when she was 99 years old and when we walked out she said "it's just a store full of the stuff I threw away so we could have new!" Perspective is everything! :) I like the chalk board - great gift!

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