Vintage Is Now ‘Vintage’

By Amy W

Since the need to be ‘individual’ arose in the fashion world, thrift shopping has become very popular. Stylists and celebrities were all mixing designer brands with high street to create a unique look; however today this isn’t individual enough and the craze for vintage is now bigger than ever. WHY??

Personally I am not a fan of the latest ‘must have’ vintage obsession that seems to have swept the nation by storm. Everyone is either wearing a piece of vintage clothing, only wearing vintage or recreating the vintage look from the high street.
For the people who only wear vintage I think they look and smell as though they should be in an antique shop, some of them seem to look as though they are trying too hard, but who is to say what is fashionable anymore? Not many people are following the fashions of the designer brands, trends are coming and going rapidly now; thanks to Primark and other high street stores, more and more people can follow these trends; this in itself has caused the vintage craze.
All vintage lovers will tell you that they buy and wear vintage because it’s different and they can create their own individual style. However now I find that you can spot someone wearing vintage a mile off and it’s like walking into a land of clones when you enter the Northern Quarter.

Being a lover of ‘one off’ items, I understand the need to look and feel different but I just don’t get the vintage enthusiasm. My ‘one off’ items are created by unknown designers in places like Affleck’s Palace and what used to be The Corn Exchange in Leeds. I’d rather have a new item of clothing that no one has, rather than scrounging like a beggar in a charity store looking for a piece of clothing that might look good. The thought of wearing what a stranger has worn sends chills down my spine! I suppose if it has come from a family member it’s different, but I don’t get how people can just walk into a vintage store and pay over the odds for something that might as well be in a museum or worse still in a bin. Vintage is just a ‘posh’ word for second hand clothing and it seems now that all the charity shops have become “vintage sellers”. Oxfam has even created a new store ‘Oxfam Essentials’ where they specialise in vintage products – what the difference is I have no idea!! It seems that these ‘old’ clothes have morphed from ‘second hand’ to ‘vintage’ in the space of a few months. It amazes me how one word makes the whole population want to buy a product. Advice to all clothing stores - plaster ‘vintage’ across your store or in front of any item of clothing, and you will probably sell it quick and for double the price.

TopShop took this into account and dedicated a section in store to vintage fashions. The price tag is ridiculous and it’s not even vintage! This trend has proved itself and lasted a while but now it’s becoming too ‘old’ for its own good. As fuk.co.uk states, “The vintage trend is like a cat with nine lives. Just when you think it's going to expire, it seems to gain another lease of life. In London, vintage shops are popping up like magic mushrooms.”
Has this scourge of second hand, degenerate rags that masquerade as vintage fashion used up all its lives? You decide email us to comment. ryan@manchesterfashion.com

RIP Vintage Trend
0 – 2008
Used all its nine lives!
Will not be missed!