Aesthetics Exploration – The Vintage Aesthetic

Nostalgia is an intrinsic part of being a human. We are naturally sentimental of the past and long for what once was. Vintage and cultivating a vintage aesthetic is an effect of our yearning for a past period. It is a celebration of timeless design.

Vintage has been gaining increasing popularity in the past decades, but it has been around for much longer. As mentioned in an LA Vintage article, the term “vintage” was first used in 1920s to reference old-fashioned items, but it was not until the 1940s that people began to collect and desire historic pieces [2]. But the vintage aesthetic we know today was not cultivated until the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

It is almost impossible to talk about the vintage aesthetic without talking about thrifting. Thrifting can be traced back ages but it was not until the 19th century that organized thrift stores began to pop up [1]. Their original goal was to aid impoverished people with affordable, quality clothes. WWII enforced rations that lead to a shift in consumerism and turned people towards thrifting. It was not until the 60s and 70s that people began using thrifting as a way of cultivating a fashion statement and expressing individuality. This went along with the countercultural movements associated with these times (i.e. hippie styles). The 80s, 90s, and 2000s saw an increase in second hand fashion and have lead us to the age of thrifting we know today. There are millions of stores across the world for vintage shopping and now there are multiple online thrifting sites. Thrifting today allows people the ability to sustainably find unique clothes, art, or other pieces in order to cultivate their desired aesthetic.

The Vintage aesthetic is not a limited to one era. It is an umbrella term for a wide variety of aesthetics. A Victorian aesthetic references the Victorian era, as shown above. It can include intricate floral patters, elaborate architectural designs, and dark, rich colors. A Art Deco aesthetic refers the visual art style in the 1920s that includes bold geometric patterns. A 70s aesthetic references the 1970s and can include groovy patterns, bell bottoms, and warm-hued colors. There is a Vintage aesthetic associated with almost every era in the past centuries, but the most popular typically reference the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.

The Vintage aesthetic also refers to not only fashion but also architecture, home decor, colors, patterns, photography, movies, and so much more. Most often people take inspiration from a wide range of Vintage aesthetics and incorporate them together to create an individual aesthetic, which draws inspiration from vintage. There are also people who choose to stick with one era and cultivate pieces to create a whole aesthetic around it.

Vintage allows people to practice sustainability while also adding individuality to their aesthetics. It connects people today with past experiences or with eras they wished they had experienced. Everything we have today is because of what we had in our past. It is a beautiful thing that we can allow eras to live on through the Vintage Aesthetic.

 

Works Cited Articles

[1] “The History of Thrifting.” Shop Thrift World, Shop Thrift World, 24 Jan. 2024, thriftworld.com/blogs/article/the-history-of-thrifting?srsltid=AfmBOoqJ1f0ZRXL6UiDhqzTsVay-c1_s2_C-17EyJqL2pSiFxXE62QxN.

[2] “The History of Vintage Fashion.” LA Vintage Wholesale, lavintage.com/blogs/news/the-history-of-vintage-fashion. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.

 

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