Text and photos by Ronit Silberman
We all know the word vintage, we use it from time from time to describe old things, but do you know where it all started?
Vintage is a word from the wine world that dates back to the 15th century, and means gathering the grapes for the production of wine.
Since then, the word changed its meaning and was used to refer to "antique" items ‒ items that are very old and no longer made.
A couple of centuries later the fashion industry took this word into use, referring to old clothing dating back to the 1950s.
Today, we use this word just to describe old things. Telling my Mom she's "vintage" is actually very funny and sounds nicer than "old".
In the secondhand industry today, vintage is used to refer to any items from the year 1999 and before.
Dresses that belonged to grandma, Levi's that you wore to school in the 80s, the pouch bag that your mom took to the theater in the 60s, a Bezeq dial phone from the 80s, a neon Madonna net vest from the 90s ‒ all these are vintage items and have a valuable price tag as well. The more vintage the item, the higher the price will be. Items from the 40s and 50s will sell for very high prices at auctions, because they are unique and hard to find.
Youngsters today love vintage. If you look closely at 16-19 year olds who are into fashion and secondhand, you'll see they are dressed like the 90s ‒ that's what's in fashion right now. High raised jeans, baggy pants, big hoodies, all stars, Vans, Levi's, and if you look at photos from the 90s ‒ you'll see the resemblance between what they wore then to what the youngsters wear today.
Because the word "vintage" is very fashionable today, all the big brands use this word to describe their clothes, but it's not real vintage, as the clothes don't date from back then but are updated fashionable clothes using the word vintage.
In our two amazing ESRA shops in Raanana and Kfar Saba you'll find real vintage items, like clothing, furniture, teapots, scarves, bags and even shoes that date back to the 90s, 80s and even the 60s, all at very affordable prices. Now that you know the difference between real vintage and updated vintage, I'm sure you'll never see the word vintage the same way again.
Ronit Silberman is the ESRA Secondhand Shops Manager
