Comments on: What’s… retro… vintage… antique? Stephan illuminates

By: Kitschen Pink

Kitschen Pink — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:21:40 +0000

Oh this is fun. I have always been taught that something is not antique until is has attained 100 years – hence at 50 we sent my parents ‘half an antique’ birthday cards…. Retro can be repro whereas I would expect ‘vintage’ to be the genuine article. Also I think what qualifies as ‘vintage’ in the colloquial use depends on your age. I have a neice who finds all things 80’s positively historical… but then she was born in 1993….. It’s a relative thing. But if she asks to borrow any shoes from my wardrobe for her history class she’s dust! t.x

By: pam kueber

pam kueber — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:17:08 +0000

Hi Betty — all buying and selling takes place on our Forum. Add your listing and photos there… Go to Other Stuff / Kitchens: http://retrorenovation.com/forum

New readers – please no buying and selling on the main site… go straight to the Forum. Thank you!

By: Betty Eigen

Betty Eigen — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:11:59 +0000

I have an early 1960’s pink double wall Modern Maid oven that still works (plus the manuals that came with it) that I am no longer using. If you are interested I will e mail pictures.

By: Pat

Pat — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:26:06 +0000

I agree with Ronn. That’s why it drives me crazy on eBay when someone advertises something as retro, and it’s actually an old item. Retro is a new item made to look like old items. And I agree that vintage is used way too much, how can the 1990’s stuff be vintage!!!!

By: sharkeysday

sharkeysday — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:08:49 +0000

Very informative and a fun thing to research!

By: Ronn

Ronn — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:30:59 +0000

“It’s not that complicated. “Retro” means new products
designed to look like or copy old products. They are items
designed to cash in on nostalgia. “Vintage” means 25 years old
but not 100 years old. “Antique” (in this country) means 100+
years old, except for autos, which must be 25+ years old.
(“Antique” in China means 500+ years old.)

That’s it.

Ronn Ives of FUTURES Antiques”

By: 50sPam

50sPam — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:07:50 +0000

Thank you for the question to begin with, Sumac Sue! This was really a fun one. I learned a lot, as well.

By: Sumac Sue

Sumac Sue — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 17:32:11 +0000

Thanks, Pam and Stephan, for this informative and entertaining post.

We really feel enlightened now on retro, vintage, and other terms. We hadn’t thought of words like retro-rockets and retrospectif, but Stephan’s findings makes us say, bien sur! Or, duh! Why didn’t we think of that?

The photos really bring it home, in a complex way. There are Wernher von Braun and Brigette Bardot, part of what we now view as a retro era. Yet, at that time, they were on the forefront of change in their fields. But, those forward-moving fields were defining themselves with words containing retro! Retro is complicated.

I understand Stephan’s feelings about the misuse of the word vintage. It bugs me that just about anything gets called vintage if the paint is chipped. I admit I find myself tossing the word around when I’m not sure of a better description. I think this post will help me a lot in describing things from now on. Thanks to both of you.