Appeal Of The Vintage T-Shirt

Fashion design, throughout history, has turned to previous eras for inspiration. Vintage t-shirts retain and increase in value due to the fact that it is genuinely from a past era. In the past, the t-shirt has been used as a vehicle for publicising social and political unrest, as a new method of advertising, band promotion and the more recent phenomena of the celebrity slogan t-shirt, such as;

• no photos please! – Millie Mackintosh
• Naomi hit me – Naomi Campbell
• I’m the American Dream – Britney

You only have to look around to understand that vintage has become incredibly popular in the past decade or so. It’s now become a part of mainstream fashion once again.

Why Does Vintage Remain Popular?

There are lots of reasons that vintage remains popular. Firstly, consumers believe that mainstream fashion has become less unique and high street fashion is too generic. There is a quality to vintage that makes it transcend items that are chosen for their fit, quality, and design value. Chances of finding someone wearing the same type of clothes as you are close to none. That is why they are preferred by celebrities and people in positions of influence to enable them to stand out from the crowd.

Another important reason why vintage is still popular is The quality of vintage clothing. It is simply unmatched by that of contemporary clothing (with the exception only of today’s highest-end luxury designers). Manufacturers in the 70s and before believed in producing quality over quantity. This is not the case anymore. Clothes are being mass-produced and this has a huge bearing on the quality.

Vintage and Retro, Is There a Difference?

Both vintage and retro clothing styles evoke nostalgia. While a lot of people love modern and contemporary clothing styles, others still fall in love with vintage and retro clothing styles. Some people mix vintage and retro clothing styles with contemporary ones.

The two terms ‘vintage’ and ‘retro’ are often intertwined and have similar concepts, but there’s a line between them – a thin one. ‘Vintage’ clothing refers to the style of clothing that was actually made during the 1920s to 1990s (or 20 to 100 years ago). Any piece of clothing made during a specific period is considered as ‘vintage’ as it is a representative of the style of that era. Usually vintage clothing is original, authentic, long-lasting and of high quality.

On the other hand, Retro is short for ‘retrospective’ or ‘retrospection’. Retro refers to the style or design which describes the fashion trends of the past, especially the vintage style. Retro is also known as  ‘vintage look’ or ‘vintage-inspired’. In other words, it’s a more recently produced clothing which throws back to the designs of the past.

Final Words

Let’s be honest and admit that every vintage t-shirt and piece of clothing has a soul to it. There’s much more to vintage clothing than just being an old piece of fashion. There is a history and art to them, and they are filled with the stories and memories of the people that came before us and wore them. Owning and wearing a piece of vintage keeps those people and their history and artistry alive.

“Fashion fads and trends come and go, but vintage is forever – it’s everywhere.”