What is Vintage

What is "Vintage"?

The word vintage derives from the Latin word for wine, and refers to the time and location when a particular wine was produced.  But when we say something is "vintage", what we really mean is that it's classic, that it is from another time.

Here at Reconstructing History, we deal exclusively with things that are from another time.  And yet we rarely use the word "vintage".

Perhaps "vintage" only refers to original pieces from another time period.  However, when we refer to Elizabethan originals, we use the word "extant", not vintage.

When we say something is "vintage", we usually mean that it's old, but not so old that our parents don't remember when it was in fashion.

Generally, however, vintage has come to meant clothing and accessories that date to the 1920s through 1960s -- clothing that doesn't look so strange that we would be mistaken for guests at a costume party, items that aren't so rare and precious that they belong in a museum and not on our backs.

As you've probably noticed, Reconstructing History is moving in the Vintage direction.  We're not only carrying patterns based on vintage clothing styles and books to help you look vintage, but clothing that span the range from true vintage pieces to "vintage look" items that you can wear without worry of ruining them.

Stay close and see what we're up to next!