Popularity of Vintage
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- CanHasQBN0
of
- Miguex0
- Hipster: "Hey man, is that a vintage coat?"
- Charles Bronson: "No, it's not, it's a right now coat"
- HijoDMaite0
"I also feel that the inclusion of every culture into America has diluted every single one of them into an overall state of ________. "
Torpidity?
- abettertomorrow0
What do you mean America has no culture? The rest of the world is saturated with American culture.
- It's pop-culture, not historical or traditional culture.CanHasQBN
- things like justin beiber, tv shows, American fast food places opening up all over the world.CanHasQBN
- What's the difference?abettertomorrow
- the difference is, all of that stuff is not old enough to feel historically important... yet.CanHasQBN
- It's all about creating jobs and shoring up the economy.CanHasQBN
- 10100010110101101010...CanHasQBN
- haha Sarah Palin?abettertomorrow
- :)CanHasQBN
- abettertomorrow0
- WE FUCKING LOVE COFFEE!CanHasQBN
- AND MOM PANTS!HijoDMaite
- abettertomorrow0
Probably just human nature. "the good old days"
- inteliboy0
^ this.
especially with this last decade with the internet and a HEAP of our time being in front of computers and around tech, not just for work, but for communicating & play --- people then crave hand made, vintage, wood grain, mechanical, nostalgia etc.
Just like when you spend time out in the country, and miss the city, or when in the city, and miss the country.
- HijoDMaite0
in terms of analog technology seems like a rebellion against the digital age? I wonder if this happened when electricity became popular?
- abettertomorrow0
- damn, I'd heard the definition but couldn't think of the word. thanks!HijoDMaite
- pressplay0
I see it from a I very practical angle. I recently bought a vintage hifi-amplifier, I found it attractive because of the followig qualities:
- durability: if an item stood the test of time for the last twenty or thirty years, it is very likely to keep going at least another ten years
- value for money
- design: this amplifier for example was build by engineers and not designers, it has no fancy stuff, no useless blends, no shiny buttons for features nobody needs. It does not look like someone wanted it to look like it came of starship enterprise or shit, it was build to work and function, it looks like something that it supposed to make music loud and that is what it does
- uniqueness: if you buy a vintage bookshelf for example, you are likely the only one who owns it, opposed to 80% of people who just got billy from ikea (mind you: nothing wrong with billy)
- patina/character: the use over time leaves it’s marks and adds a certain quality/warmth/liveliness that a brandnew product cannot provide
- randommail0
Might be interesting to see if the popularity of vintage occurs in different countries.
I've always thought America's fetishizing of 'vintage' had something to do with its lack of a long heritage coupled with its extremely fast growth.
- HijoDMaite0
A lot of good input here, thanks all. I think the economy has had a big impact, and I also feel it is an American phenom which of course spreads to the rest of the world quickly.
I also agree that it is a rebellion of everything Ikea stands for. We have all experienced the dresser drawer purchase in 2000 from Ikea only to find out in 2001 that it was a piece of shit, then told ourselves, "never again will I buy furniture from there" so when we try and buy some nice solid wood furniture we see the price and are left with Craigslist, and maybe some fixing up. The difference in taste then comes in weather a person prefers the piece of furniture to look old or look new. That brings in a Generational and Demographic aspect. My aunt who lives in D.C. (white/50's) has an entire guest room done up in Shabby Chic where she actually spent time and money distressing, bleaching and painting furniture and accessories in the room to give it that look. On the other hand my friend and his wife (30's/white) who live in a condo in S.F. would
be caught dead with that shit in their pad.As for the clothing it is more of a fad in my opinion. Which will continue it will just switch eras as fashion always does. Cyclical.
For technology and tangible things you are right, things were made different back in the day. It seems we have gotten away from the old rule that, form follows function.
Also the last half of century has given us a lot more free time which allows for hobbies and weekends. A garage can only be used to fix a car so long as a car needs fixing. Cars are getting smarter and better so the private space of a garage has needed to be used for something. There is something here also I believe...
- HijoDMaite0
@ random - I have noticed that first generation immigrants abhor old, worn or distressed styles. would make sense.
- bobkat0
Nostalgia. Life was better. And more bespoke back then.
- lukus_W20
It's a response to the values of today - a lot of what's produced is designed to be replaceable, and as a result is ultimately disposable. It's also helped by a modern desire for 'authenticity' which is becoming increasingly illusive as time goes by. The desire to be seen as 'original' also features.
- agree about replaceable and disposable and the 'authentic'HijoDMaite
- randommail0
It's a rare but welcomed day when someone actually starts a thought-provoking and interesting thread.
Kudos to Hijo.
- inteliboy0
Was thinking this, fascinates me countries that have thousands of years of 'civilised' history -- say Japan, and how they relish in technology, but you can see their deeply rooted culture in almost everything -- all tangled up together.
- < I was just thinking exactly the same thing.randommail
- I had a japanese roommate in college, he said people throw out appliances rather than fix them...vaxorcist
- MrT0
- dMullins0
It's easy to fawn over vintage when nowadays every piece of shit made breaks in a year or so. I was floored last week to find out that our garbage disposal only came with a 1-year warranty.