Exploring Vintage Treasures
Unearthing the appeal of old and unwanted belongings
Welcome to my newsletter Room with a Door. I wrote this article sitting at an vintage Oak dining table which I purchased some years ago from a consignment store. The topic of this newsletter is all things vintage. If this is of interest to you, I welcome you to subscribe, share, like and comment on this post.
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Definition
Interestingly enough, the term vintage itself isn’t clearly defined. There are multiple interpretations relating to how old something is before it earns the label ‘vintage’ which makes things difficult to label accurately.
Before I delved into the semantics of the word, I considered what vintage means to me:
Vintage is a used or previously owned item that is usually older than one generation (20 years) but typically at least 40 years old.
Since I’m inmy 50s I have in my possession many vintage items.
1970s
The word vintage conjures an image in my head reminiscent of all things 1970s - the brown, yellow and orange hues, that odd green colour people had everywhere in their home from carpets to appliances to clothing to drapes, the platform shoes, the long, stringy hair, the marijuana smoking hippies, the peace sign made by one’s hand…
I was in the middle of my formative years during that decade and remember the fashion which I disliked so very much; the browns and oranges, the long stringy hair, the bell-bottom jeans… As a girl growing up in Switzerland I liked casual dresses in bright colours and cute pig-tails, not button-down paisley shirts or heavily bearded youths smoking smelling joints.
By the time I moved to Canada in 1980, I became aware of the 70s style mostly through watching reruns of The Brady Bunch. The kitchen, the decor, the hairstyles, the clothes…
I was compelled but still not enamoured. Not my style.
Platforms
Another image that pops into my head when I think of the term vintage is disco-dancing, bell-bottomed, platform-shoed skinny people with flailing limbs bouncing to loud music.
In fact, my teen girl and her gal pals are quite enamored by all things 1970s - the flares at the bottom of their jeans, the boho vibe, the hippie fashion… I see evidence in the type of shoes the girls like to wear, which include at least some form of platform. That’s about as 70s as you can get, at least in my view.
Edited to add:
It appears the pink platform boots are not of the previously thought of 70s style, but rather the 90s. My daughter saw a photo of her boots in my phone and demanded to know why I took the picture.
“I'm writing about vintage and the 1970s,” I educated the girl child. She in turn educated me that I'm wrong (surprise!) and the boots are 90s style, not 70s.
“Spice Girls,” she said imploringly, searching my face for signs of recognition. (I know who the Spice Girls are thank you very much. I even like some of their songs!)
Either way, my point isn't so much the colour of shoes, but rather the platform part.
Etymology, definition and meaning
The primary definition of the word vintage - the first mention in many online dictionaries - refers to wine.
Vintage: used to describe a wine usually of high quality that was produced in a particular year which is identified on the bottle (source: Britannica)
The etymology of vintage therefore comes from wine harvest and was first used in the early 15th century. According to Wikipedia, the word vintage was adapted from the old French vendange (meaning wine harvest) which was derived fro the Latin vindemia (meaning grape gathering).
The secondary definition of the word vintage has to do with its age.
Vintage: used to describe something that is not new (used, preowned) but still valued because it is in good condition or attractive in design. This meaning is often attributed to a collection of vintage cars or clothing/fashion.
There is a third definition which may not be as well known.
Vintage: used to describe the characteristics or qualities of something made by a particular person or organization. (vintage Elvis Presley songs, vintage Van Gogh paintings)
Urban dictionary
Out of curiosity, I typed vintage into the Urban Dictionary to see what it came up with.
An item of age, usually from around the 1920s to around 20 years ago. The items could be anything from furniture, children's toys, to clothing and household items. (paraphrased)
So, I think it’s safe to say that most of the time, the term vintage means something is old but still useful and attractive, and desired for these qualities.
Vintage vs Antique
The general gist between the two terms is that vintage isn’t as old as antique.
Antique items are declared as minimum 100 years old, which makes the Oak dining table I am currently sitting at typing these words an (almost) antique. I purchased it from a west Toronto consignment store some years after our bungalow received a major overhaul renovation; we removed some walls in order to fit such a table into the space we now call our dining area in the open concept part of the main floor.
The table is absolutely stunning and I consider it my prized possession. I wondered about its origins and contacted the consignment shop owner and asked her if she was aware of its history.
The shop owner, known as the Singing Lady (now retired), surprised me with an eloquent history into the insights of this lovely Oak wood piece of workmanship. The table was discovered by the previous owner somewhere in northern Saskatchewan where she saw it through a shop window. The shop was closed and apparently it took her quite some time to find the owner. She purchased it from him in 1981 and subsequently had the table analyzed by an antique furniture expert:
Given the cross-grain cut of the wood and solid oak pedestal, the table is suggested to have been crafted in the 1930s or 40s. Apparently it was used either in a library or in a school. (source: personal email conversation)
The original owner of the table accepted this story immediately because upon purchase she discovered some dried wads of gum underneath its surface, which led her to believe it was well-use by school aged children.
While in her possession, she moved the table to Winnipeg and later Toronto. It served as her formal dining table for over 20 years and credited many joyous family and friend activities taking place at that table, from sewing to craft projects, homework assignments and even served as a castle once for a set of very young children.
The lady then requested the consignment shop owner pass this message on to me, the table’s new owner:
Please let the new owners know that I wish them years of happiness and that the solid Oak represents a foundation for friendship and celebration.
I think the term antique and vintage in my table’s case can be used interchangeably, given its estimated age (which would make it close to 100 years old at the time of this writing).
Vintage show
Some months ago I came across a social media ad which advertised a Vintage Show here in Toronto. Intrigued, I looked into it and consulted with my teen girl if this was something she might enjoy attending with me.
She said yes. We went and I collected new inspirations for my vintage jewelry crafting business.
Creative inspiration
As a GenX I have come across many scenarios where empty-nesters - friends or relations of my mom’s - downsize their homes and donate their belongings to consignment shops, second-hand stores or, in the case of jewelry, to me. They have heard I craft with vintage jewelry and sell my upcycled items in my online gift shop.
I always say yes when someone offers me a bag of treasures, thinking I could craft with some of the charms or interesting-looking beads.
I have names for these pieces of tangled accessories: used, preowned, old, cast-off, junk, retro and yes, vintage.
There aren’t enough hours in the day to craft with all my donated pieces, but there is a nice selection of upcycled jewelry available in my shop now.
Designing with vintage donated jewelry has evolved into a lateral passion for me; whenever I feel writer’s blocked, I turn to my jewelry supplies and allow my hands to create unique, handmade gift ideas.
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