Vintage is the New Old

Vintage is the New Old

Record players, vinyl, wax seals—I’ve seen these items stock the shelves of many contemporary stores. It wouldn’t take long to find a record player, a Polaroid camera, or a collection of vinyl from the 1900s at any Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie. I think it’s interesting how although these stores promote modern fashion and keep up with the latest trends, they can’t help but glorify the vintage items they sell. There always seems to be a buzz on their websites and social media accounts upon the release of a vintage item or some sort of recreation of it. For example, when Urban Outfitters announced that they were going to start selling vinyl and turntables, the public immediately splurged. As this Forbes article states, “vinyl sales have been soaring lately. In 2013, 6.1 million LPs were purchased in the US.” The contrast between these vintage items and other new and innovative items is also quite interesting. I recently visited Urban Outfitters where I found a cassette player (with an absurd $50 price tag) placed next to a Bluetooth speaker (retailing at a similar $60). Even though these stores take pride in “doing the next new thing,” stocking their stores with vintage items is standard. In this day and age where fast-paced creation and change is appreciated and even expected (imagine if Apple kept releasing the same iPhone with no new revolutionary feature to it), why are these stores so focused on bringing back the past? What is it about the past that is so enticing and attractive?

I don’t necessarily think it’s the product itself. Although there have been attempts to bring back some 90s, 80s, and even 70s trends, items, and brands, these stores will almost never fully recreate “old” products without infusing a sense of modernism in them. For example, although Urban Outfitters will probably never sell Walkmans or typewriters, they will sell modernized re-creations of them. I think the most popular example of this would be the Fujifilm Instax Mini that blew off the shelves at many retail stores. The camera attracts many consumers not only because it’s an “easier” way to produce a film photo (no need to develop the film or wait hours for the photo to develop because it appears instantly) but also elicits nostalgic feelings. In essence, it’s not the product consumers are necessarily seeking but the feelings it transmits. It’s how marketers successfully convince their consumers to buy their products; they emphasize on the pleasant and emotional experiences the product can bring. In relevance to the printing press, I believe that the same idea rings true. Furthermore, it makes sense that younger people are the ones who are more enticed by these vintage items. Whereas the older generation might be triggered by how laborious they once regarded the printing press, the younger generation is clearly enticed by this medium and is eager to vigorously live through these old times with the printing press.

Although I do believe that these vintage items are currently reviving, I don’t think they are fully coming back; they are placed in the market as amended items to suit the digital and innovative age we live in. For example, “instant” film cameras and “Bluetooth” record players all take into consideration the historic medium but are infused with a modern touch. These “overlaps and departures” are interesting to note because they shed light on our struggle between letting go of the past and digitizing/modernizing many old mediums. We like the look and emotional benefit of the printing press, yet value the efficiency and convenience of a word processing system.