Monday, March 21, 2016

What is Vintage? Join In With Your Views!



What is vintage? 
This has been a question at the back of my mind for a few years. I have been fortunate that I have had the opportunity to use family heirlooms as part of my decor for years. Not all my heirlooms can be called "vintage or "antique" but quite a few of them can! For me, the attachments to these pieces are purely sentimental. They have very little to do with their current value. However, I have always been intrigued and fascinated with objects from a bygone era. What can I say, objects from my Grandparents' time and older fascinate me way more than ones from my parents' time :) My quest to know more about my heirlooms motivates me to do research on the Internet and read books about them. There are times that I have stumbled upon information that shows that some of the items I own have a ton of history and value.  Some, don't. This process is becoming a hobby and I love it :)

The same thirst for antiques and vintage finds has been my inspiration for the "Antique Store finds at The Shop At My Dream Canvas." I have inadvertently used  terms like vintage and antique in the past, but I try not to do so today unless I have evidence of the provenance. It has always been my endeavor to trace the history of each product that I list. I do my research online.  I also grill the antique store owner while purchasing the product!

Off late, I am dismayed by the use of the term "vintage " across the blogging world and on other social media platforms! The Indian brass products  sourced for "My Dream Canvas" are certainly not vintage or even old for that matter! They may draw inspiration from a different era but cannot be sold as a vintage item or as an antique. The style may bring out an old world charm but that is about it. Similarly, the silver toned items listed are not silver but a type of metal designed to give it a silver look. Please do yourself a favor and look carefully before you buy. The term vintage is being used frequently by businesses and online stores to give you the illusion that you are buying something old and valuable! So called "vintage textiles" and vintage products are everywhere and the term is being seriously misused! 

At my end, I shall persevere to find out the history and vintage of the products that I source from antique stores and flea markets. If you are a buyer, feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions! MDC wants to curate a beautiful collection for you.  A collection that you will cherish through out your life :)

During my research on the term vintage, I came across this article in Apartment Therapy which gives a pretty clear insight into this topic. I am sharing a few lines with you...........

"If antiques are things that are 100 years old or older, what are vintage pieces? The definition of vintage is trickier. According to Merriam Webster, the term vintage relates primarily to wine and is an altered form of the French word vendage, meaning "the grapes picked during a season." One of its secondary definitions is "a period of origin or manufacturee" (e.g. a vintage 1960s Mercedes) or "length of existence: age." Ruby Lane provides a much more helpful explanation, noting that "an item described as 'vintage' should speak of the era in which it was produced. Vintage can mean an item is of a certain period of time, as in "vintage 1950's" but it can also mean (and probably always should) that the item exhibits the best of a certain quality, or qualities, associated with or belonging to that specific era. In other words, for the term vintage to accurately apply to it, an item should be somewhat representational and recognizable as belonging to the era in which it was made." Ruby Lane also suggests that 'vintage' should not be used in reference to objects less than 20 years old"


What are your feelings on this topic? I would love to hear your views?

Image: My Dream Canvas

2 comments:

Gwen Simmons said...

Hi,
I have thought a lot about this subject also. Since I have an Etsy Shop through which I sell "vintage goods", and am a long time, hardcore Thrifter, I use the Ruby Lane suggestion of twenty years old as a guidepost for my stock. However, I have been more than just a bit overwhelmed by the over-use and misuse of the word Vintage these last several years. I have no idea what to do about it, or how to change it at all. I expect that the word, like so many others have been briefly, is in vogue, and will fall from constant use over time. In the past, the word Antique was similarly misused and is less often now. Sometimes you just have to ride out the tides of Popular language and ideas. Something always comes along to replace them.

My Dream Canvas said...

Gwen you are so right, it has become the new popular word and we all use it happily! I just wish that there were more people like you out there who did a wee bit of research to use the term as accurately as possible! Thanks for stopping by! Loved your insight into this topic.

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