Why do I love Vintage? This is a question I have posed myself time and again and there are a number of reasons which I believe are behind this Vintage fad I have. First of all, I've always been surrounded by vintage from the very old vintage costume jewellery in my great-aunt's house, to the furniture in my mother's house. There was a time when I considered old stuff just that - old. Then I fell in love with thrifting and buying stuff from markets and auctions. Before I knew it I was picking out items which had a yesteryear feel about them, automatically picking that dress which has the 50s fabric, or that shirt which has a handmade embroidered neckline, or that scarf which reminds me so much of the ones my mother used to wear.
Having a mother who was born in the 20s helped. As did her explanation of what she and her sister word during and after the war; about the New Look. And then there were the drawers full of old fabrics to look through and marvel at, and feel and touch and experiment with - first making dolly dresses and then making my own dresses.
Eventually I developed an expert eye which instanteously picks out the extra special item in a jumble sale and that way I became an expert shopper for vintage. It has taken time, patience, observation and a great love of beautiful things.
Finally - there is the special thing about vintage which makes you look at an old garment, an old pair of gloves or an old handbag and wonder.... who could this have belonged to? why did the lady who owned it buy it? did she or was it a gift? when? And time and again I realise that the special things in our life are usually only special for us, for a reason. It seemed such a pity to realise that so many things which were important and special to some people could lose their importance if they are simply discarded. Adopting a vintage item is like adopting somebody else's little dream and letting it live on.... Why do YOU love Vintage then?
2 comments:
You get to own a piece of history, it's eco-friendly, things just aren't made the same anymore...my list goes on & on :) I love love love vintage! Besides, I'm only getting better with age ;) hehehe
My family members and I recently cleared my late grandmother's cupboard and found that she was a keeper (rather, a hoarder). I found lots of vintage earrings and brooches in designs that we won't see in shops nowadays. They are not quite in style, but nevertheless, precious (she was born in the 1920s).
I realised that it's not easy to get vintage items. At least for me.
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