What draws you to the vintage eras?

[HadleyH]

:love:Almost everything .... from A to Z...


"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."


Scott Fitzgerald knew the feeling well.

 

[angeljenny]

Fascinating stuff!

I like the appeal of the old fashioned manners - just courtesy and community!

Plus I love the 50s clothes, makeup, films and music. It just seemed like people made an effort then, both with their appearance and with other people.

Also it seems like it was a smaller world then and that things were less instant. No emails but there were letters and the idea that you save up for things, they are well made and that they last for years.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Also it seems like it was a smaller world then and that things were less instant. No emails but there were letters and the idea that you save up for things, they are well made and that they last for years.

Good point. When gratification is instantaneous, where's the pleasure of anticipation?

 

[RodeoRose]

Yes, like so many of you, I am in awe of the aesthetics, the music, the films, the fashion, etc. of the early to mid 20th Century. I'm not sure it's all that superior to modern culture objectively, but for some reason I just never really liked what the 21st Century had to offer. I'm a somewhat reserved girl, greatly valuing individuality and quite turned off by consumerism, so I don't think I fit contemporary societal ideals very well. Ah well, my loss.

While I wouldn't consider myself a romantic, the very fact that it's in the past, a fascinating time now gone forever, adds to its allure for me. I really love things steeped in history: clothes that have lived previous lives, homes that have seen generations pass through. Even if I was alive in my beloved '30s or '40s, there's a strong chance I'd have been the town nutcase wearing head-to-toe Victorian garb!

 

[MissMittens]

The idea that the masses have that life was "simpler" back then is beyond belief to me. I just find the past era far more stylish, and more human, than our own. Human as in, there were still communities and a sense of camaraderie that is lacking today. The modern era clothing sucks too

 

[scottyrocks]

The idea that the masses have that life was "simpler" back then is beyond belief to me. I just find the past era far more stylish, and more human, than our own. Human as in, there were still communities and a sense of camaraderie that is lacking today. The modern era clothing sucks too

I agree. I don't feel like there are 'neighborhoods' anymore. But that could just be a function of where I live. The more citified an area is, the more it feels like a genuine neighborhood to me. Houses are closer together. People hang out on the stoop, that sort of thing.

 

[magnolia76]

It was a time where few felt privileged, people didn't take themselves so seriously, and most had the fear of God in them. Scandal then was incredibly hidden, and imaginations flourished!

 

[MissMittens]

It was a time where few felt privileged, people didn't take themselves so seriously, and most had the fear of God in them. Scandal then was incredibly hidden, and imaginations flourished!

I'm not so sure about "fear of God", I think that was subsided back then also, but everyone still paid lip service anyway.

20's and 30's were the haydays for occultists in the US and UK, gay, lesbian, menage a trois movies.....pre-code.

 

[shopgirl61]

This is easy to answer, I was born into it,, a late baby boomer who has fond recollections of the way things (insert word SHOULD) used to be.
When the things nowadays that are "politically correct" to say were kept under wraps back in the day, the way they should be!
(hint, I live in CA and next year the schools have to teach what )

 

[magnolia76]

I'm not so sure about "fear of God", I think that was subsided back then also, but everyone still paid lip service anyway.

20's and 30's were the haydays for occultists in the US and UK, gay, lesbian, menage a trois movies.....pre-code.

Very true. People were who they were. If it wasn't socially acceptable, I suppose they just had enough sense to keep their private lives private. So unlike today where people will do anything to get on TV and shock you even more than the last 15 minute fame seeker.

 

[Yeps]

I look good in old fashioned clothes (more importantly, I look kinda silly in modern fashionable clothes). Well, and I just like old things.

 

[Tenuki]

First and foremost, it's the fashion. I think fashion has been uninspired, drab and shapeless since the mid-60s. Secondly, I'd agree with the previous comments - it's the music, movie, culture, etc. Lastly, though, I would add one thing that really sets the early 20th Century from the latter 20th Century: a sense of optimism.

 

[Stanley Doble]

There used to be a thing called Progress. We believed it was possible to make life better. To keep what was best and improve what wasn't. That was a long time ago. Maybe if we try really hard we can go back and start over and get it right this time.

 

[Tenuki]

It surely does not seem like there has been much progress lately. I think you're onto something, Stanley D.

 

[ThePowderKeg]

Like others, I appreciate the quality inherent in handmade goods, as well as products with more of a human presence involved in the manufacturing process. I'd rather have a table that was built to last for decades than something designed to fall apart in a few years so I'll have to replace it. I prefer outstanding character in my furniture, fashion, and most of all, friends.

I tend to judge on a case-by-case basis. Do I love every style/car/movie/book from the '40s and '50s? No. But the percentage I do like sets me firmly in vintage enthusiast territory. The Louise Brooks bob looks best on me, so I have 1920s hair, 1940s makeup and a wardrobe of mostly 1945-1955 inspired clothes because those look and feel most flattering. My furniture and jewelry come from all different eras, because I buy what I like and it somehow all works together.

I find everyone has things (or people) they look at and feel instantly attracted, without always being able to explain why. For me, those things just happen to usually be vintage, whether I've identified them as such or not.

 

[LizzieMaine]

There used to be a thing called Progress. We believed it was possible to make life better. To keep what was best and improve what wasn't. That was a long time ago. Maybe if we try really hard we can go back and start over and get it right this time.

The problem is that modern culture isn't looking for ways to make life better -- it's looking for ways to make as much money as possible while giving as little as possible in return. Hence the domination of the market by cheap shoddy foreign goods that do nothing but enrich the corporate bottom line and leave the rest of us holding the bag. We no longer have the choice of buying quality goods or poor goods -- the only choice we have is to spend our money on poor goods or none at all. I choose none at all -- and stick instead to things that were made by a culture that had integrity.

 

[Swing Motorman]

What do I like about the mid-20th century/Golden Era/Age of Swing? Great question, and I've enjoyed trying to put it to words. This is a swell thread!

Society- General politeness and courtesy, anti-throwaway sentiment ("Use it up, wear it out; Make it do or do without!"), closeness of community, two-way loyalty and trust between businesses and customers/employees, understanding of the divide between public and private life, and the mix of subtle societal norms that made individuals more responsible for themselves and less lawsuit-happy.

Things- Quality goods worth repairing or mending over and over, food that was not artificial/unhealthy/grown only for appearance and shelf life, and truly viable transportation (both local and intercity) other than the automobile. I feel slaved to my car, and I dream of living without an auto someday. Let me ride the train, the bus, or the streetcar, and I'm happy.

Arts/Culture- Architecture, fashions that brought out the best in both men and women, music that showed diverse talents brought together in many forms of varying harmony (big bands, small bands, jazz, blues, and so on), and beneficial social customs tied into art (examples I can think of include social dancing, going to the movies as a fun night out instead of a waste of money on cheap food, and so on).


It's so easy to romanticize the past. But really, I think that's not so much imagination as exaggeration. The things above and many more really were better years ago (though that is a matter of opinion in most cases), and it's all too easy to assume everything was. Still, I give thanks for modern energy-efficiency, long-distance communication, and medical technologies, and the thorough road network's usefulness to emergency crews. So, I try to keep the good of modern times, politely reject the bad, and build up as much vintage goodness as my modest budget and time allow. That quest alone adds much enjoyment to life!


-Steven

 

[Miss Stella]

I wholeheartedly agree with you, Steven.
I prefer the days of the 20's-40's for they speak to me of promise, hope, progress as stated above and for lack of a better phrase, the guidelines of those days: women wore hats, gloves, stockings...men a tie, a hat, held the door open for a lady. (as The Mister does for me!)
I ventured to the "mall" for the first time in years yesterday...I am no fan of them, but I needed some towels and Macys has my favorite. I took time to stroll the whole of it and found that 99% of the clothing in each store was the same as the next-whatever someone in the "fashion world" deems "in" is what they carry. Nothing of quality, certainly not of style...and the Macy's here has gone so downhill...where was the piano to serenade the holiday shoppers? The clerk willing to be helpful?
I truly believe there was a day when respect, consideration, not wanting to air your dirty laundry in public, were codes we lived by. I do try my best everyday to do this but I confess I do love to stay in my country house, content in my vintage world. Oh yes, I do enjoy the Internet but I use it for adding enjoyment to my life not making it my life. I enjoy visitors here but given the choice to stay home or 'brave' this world, I prefer home and my vintage world best

 

[sheeplady]

I think the lack of progress is particularly disturbing. When I think about things like the Bell telephone system in the US and it's lofty goals of connecting everyone to a telephone that represents progress to me- a country trying to better itself and look towards the future. There was a sense that providing everyone (or near everyone) with telephone access enhanced democracy and made us more competitive. It wasn't always perfect, it didn't always work, but it was trying to move us forward.

We don't have similar goals in the US anymore. A few people are working to connect everyone to the internet in the US. Those that are seem to find more support for their projects if they present them as beneficial to developing nations or for use in emergency response situations. Nevermind the people in rural and inner city areas in the US.

The point of much of the reforms I admire in the early half of the 20th century focused on providing opportunities for people to lift themselves out of poverty or to keep from falling into it: free primary and secondary education, social security, etc. Again, it wasn't perfect and these things were not universally liked, but there was a sense that we were all in this together, and we'd sink or swim as a country. (I am only talking about the US, because I'm from the US. I don't know if this is true in other countries.)

 

[binglish prof.]

On the one hand, the golden era was NOT very golden when it came to race relations and that bothers me. But on the other, l like the music, the movies, the clothing,the architecture and interior design, and the higher expectations for behavior in public and private. People just looked and behaved like adults who worked hard and had fun.