Millennial Monday – Vintage is the new black

Have you noticed the growing trend? If it’s vintage, no longer in production or just plain old, chances are a Millennial has got to get their hands on it.

Of course, as with everything I write, this doesn’t sum up all Millennials ever. However, the trend of buying second hand or something that looks second hand is quite popular.

Furniture, clothing, cars, even old homes, you name it and we want to take it and try and restore whatever it is to its former beauty. Some just prefer to embrace the age of their vintage items and leave it as is.

While I have only slightly participated in this trend, I find it fun, and it does make me happy to see a generation recycle styles and trends from the past.

This doesn’t just go for clothing, cars, living spaces, etc. This also goes for music and movies (I’m full of alliterations today).

Take the resurrection of the Star Wars movies, for example. Let me clarify, I am not criticizing because I am indeed a Millennial Star Wars fan. I remember vaguely watching these movies with my brother as a child. He is 12 years older than I am and very much a part of the first generation of Star Wars fanatics.

While the movies are still being produced, the first movie came out in 1977, nearly 40 years ago! Ask any Star Wars fan today, and they’ll tell you they’ve been a fan since the beginning. If they say that and they are a Millennial, that means the first movie would have been released around 15 years before said Millennial was born.

The same goes for music. I believe it’s true; they just don’t make music like they used to these days. That is why we cling to the artists and music of the past and feel cool doing it. It’s another “vintage” thing Millennials love.

I believe a big reason that this is a growing trend is because our generation likes to feel unique. We like to be the first to discover things and go against the flow of things for the most part.

So while the rest of the world is listening to Billboard’s Top 40, we have our Billie Holiday Spotify station on while we wear our thrift store “grandpa sweater” as we sip organic, locally-sourced coffee from a vintage mug. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Clothing is another area that vintage is so “in.” Often, I’ll find myself shopping, perusing a magazine or watching television with my Mom, and she’ll make a remark about how the outfits she sees are straight from the 70’s or 80’s.

This is one trend that I enjoy until some fashion styles that should have never begun in the first place find their way back on a clothing rack near us.

I enjoy the classic red lip, collared shirt and even more recently, shirt tied around the waist. But I could go without the high-waisted shorts that leave little to the imagination.

I say all of this to say thank you to past generations for being so great that us Millennials can now copy you. I’m sorry if some of us claim the ideas and trends as our own. Someday we’ll understand that we didn’t invent/come up with every trend, ever. I promise, take it as a compliment!