Difference Between Retro and Vintage (2024)

FAQs

Difference Between Retro and Vintage? ›

Retro items don't have to be old, they can be brand new, but would have to be made in the style of the time or item they are trying to replicate. So, perhaps the best way to think about the difference between retro and vintage is that vintage refers to the acutal construction, whilst retro refers to the appearance.

Vintage differs from retro because of age, or the lack thereof. Vintage items are at least 20 years old and bring back a feeling of nostalgia, highlighting good times of the past. Retro items are newer items that evoke styles of times past but do not actually come from a different time era.

While there's no official expert consensus for an item to be considered vintage, many agree an item should be between twenty to ninety-nine years old. An item regarded as retro is made recently but designed or in the style of items from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and very early 2000s.

Vintage just means “of age,” so any item between 20 and 99 years old could be considered vintage. If the item is highly sought after and considered “culturally significant,” it could even be valuable.

Typically, the term retro is given to items which are at least 20 years old (but not yet 40 years old). Again using today's posting date, retro items would be those made between 1979 and 1998. Also found in antique malls like Fargo's F.A.R.M. are items which are not necessarily old at all, but still collectible.

Wikipedia describes Retro style as “a style that is consciously derivative or imitative of trends, modes, fashions, or attitudes of the recent past. It generally implies a vintage of at least fifteen or twenty years. For example, clothing from the 1980s or 1990s could be retro.

"Vintage" has a slightly longer lifespan than "retro." Retro pieces typically don't date back before 1950, whereas vintage items can be 100 years old. Indeed, while vintage belongings refer to being from "an older time," retro items refer to the second half of the twentieth century.

Retro: Recent Nostalgia From The 1960s-90s

Any item at least 15 years old can count as retro. However, you can also call something retro if it's new but still evokes vibrant styles like Mod or Maximalism. The 1960s was also a revolutionary time for fashion.

So, to answer the question, “What is a retro game?” our experts will stick to a definition that currently applies to the age group of most active gamers today. Titles with an original release date over 15 years ago qualify as retro.

Generally, retro items are less than 50 years old and have their own distinct vibe, as Leah Ashley, interior stylist and vintage expert explains. “When I think of retro, I think of midcentury modern pieces or things that give off a bright, funky, or psychedelic vibe,” Ashley says.

Is 50 years old considered old? ›

Middle age, or middle adulthood, is the age range of the years halfway between childhood and old age. The exact range is subject to academic debate, but the term is commonly used to denote the age range from around 45 to around 65 years.

Technically, anything made from January 1, 2000 until April 28, 2000 is officially vintage.

Retro design derives from trends and art forms of the past, including graphic design, music, and fashion. More specifically, it usually refers to design styles of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Retro design may be an updated version of an old design style or only inspired by its features.

Retro clothing refers to new or modern items of clothing that are consciously manufactured with reference to past styles, materials or motifs. Unlike vintage clothing it doesn't refer to any particular time period in the past but is a note of style in which the clothing is made.

Retro colors are color palettes derived from/influenced by color trends from the 1920s through the 1980s; that's a really long time! Generally, we think of colors that tend to be warmer, less bright, and overall somewhat muted.

The 'vintage' tag cannot be appended to an item that isn't up to 20 years old. So what does this mean? This means that things that trended in the 90s- grunge, neon colors, logomania, chokers are VINTAGE! The '90s clothing and accessories are now officially deemed vintage because we are already two decades on.