There are many reasons to collect, use, and sell vintage. Beware, once it starts you'll become an addicted vintage junkie, jonesing for your next fix. Modern retail won't do, you'll need housewares manufactured in the past in every room of your home! Allow me to be an enabler! Here are the top five reasons why you should buy, use, and collect vintage:
Environment
We often forget the negative environmental impact of shopping retail. When you shop vintage you're helping the planet- and getting something you can;t buy just anywhere. Win win!
Value
Your vintage housewares are more valuable than regular retail counterparts, and the value will only increase with time. Buying the right vintage is wise investment.
Quality
It's sad to think that today's particle board furniture won't stand the test of time. Old stuff is just made better, with thoughtful, practical and timeless design to boot.
Nostalgia
I display "vintage" (My god, I'm old! We're old!) from my childhood, like my Transformers and Ninja Turtles posters, in my home for nostalgia's sake. The amount of people who stop in and want to buy them proves that many of us want to surround ourselves with the items that reminds us of happy childhood times and people we love or miss.
Expression
Vintage design is often practical and beautiful. It's inspiring to behold and stimulates creativity. Vintage can express many things: the rejection of status quo, environmental causes, love of wunderkammer style or kitsch playfulness.
Four years ago when I started my job as a writer I never thought I'd leave it behind to embrace life as a vintage seller. The flexibility and creativity offered by vintage keeps me excited and engaged in this career. I don't see myself leaving it behind anytime soon! I get more inspired and driven to work in this field daily. Feel free to share this post with your vintage non-believer friends and family. Maybe you'll convert them ;)
Why do you buy, use, collect, or sell vintage? It ain't easy, but it's rewarding!
You old?? Get real!! And you are so right about vintage quality! No comparison to today's junk! I have a bookcase from my great-aunt that must be over 100 years old. Think a bookcase made today will be around in 100 years?
ReplyDeleteA bookshelf from today will be DUST in 100 years :) Will stuff go down in quality until it's made of straight cardboard? Hm...
DeleteI love buying stuff from thrift stores,yard sales, flea markets,etc.It's not like going to Target and picking up something;it's an treasure hunt to find something secondhand.It's like I'm the Indiana Jones of thrift-who wouldn't want to be like that?
ReplyDeleteYes indeed :)
DeleteYes indeed! I think a lot of our obsessed with mid century modern items is not just the quality but the design, equal parts elegant and practical for daily use.
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ReplyDeleteSo pretty! Thanks for sharing :$)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree with all of your points and would like to add one more: Teach your kids to appreciate vintage items too so that it becomes natural for the next generation to think reuse. My kids are used to cool hand-me-downs, and when they grow out of their clothes and toys, they automatically want to pass them on to others - and not in a "charity way". It is just natural for them (and they still think going to Target is strange since there "are so many of the same clothes there", lol).
ReplyDeleteMy nieces and nephews grasped the concept of being thrifty and reusing really quickly. It's awesome! Great point :) After hanging with me and my mom they don't even want to spend their Monopoly money, ha!
DeleteYa know I made an observation to a professional ephemera collector/vendor the other day. I think that part of the reason I love collecting vintage photos is because I doubt that tangible photographs will exist in another 50 years. While I love the convenience of the digital age, I'll miss the tangibility. So naturally I had to buy some lovely photos while I still can!
ReplyDeletehttp://letsgothrifting.blogspot.com/2013/02/all-is-fair-in-books-and-ephemera.html
<3 Jackie @ Let's Go Thrifting!
That's another good reason to collect vintage, times are changing quickly in this increasingly digital era. I love vintage ephemera!
Deletei agree vintage is better then today items.
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I live vintage--everything to me has a value somewhere somehow it can be used again
ReplyDeleteHere here! I believe the same :)
DeleteAlthough I sell all kinds of items, old and new, I have to say that older items have a special place in my heart because of the quality. I am often disappointed with the chintzy, cheap quality of a lot of items we get new at retail, esp when it comes to jewelry and clothes. My mom was a seamstress for many years, and she would always bemoan the fact that modern clothing was so poorly made. It's even worse now than when I was younger. It seems as if standards of quality have diminished so greatly that many won't even bat an eyelash at purchasing poor quality just because it's "affordable." I'd much rather buy a few quality items than a lot of poorly made pieces.
ReplyDeleteSo true Serena, I'm always impressed by the amazing quality that went into clothing from the past! I've had new clothes unravel or become destroyed after first wash. Wrapping paper clothes, I call 'em, only meant to be worn once!
DeleteI've been a vintage fanatic since the '80s. I've just always been drawn to history, to anything old with a story. I studied History in college and I'm kind of obsessed with anything historical. Growing up in Sri Lanka there were always beautiful antiques around in my grandparents' homes. I grew up in my mother's parents' home which was decorated (as all SL homes were, back then) in a Midcentury style. So ever since then I've loved all things Midcentury ... and that's why I thrift! Genuine vintage items are much more fascinating, because I always wonder where they were before I bought them. :o)
ReplyDeleteThe history and story behind them are excellent reasons I forgot to list. It's wonderful to adorn our homes with special pieces that have history.
DeleteI but for the thrill of the hunt and because thrifted pieces seem more unique then the latest fads in the store. Annndddd the prices. :)
ReplyDeleteThe prices from the thrift are a NICE perk. :D
DeleteI second this!
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