Image from http://styleinhk.comI have a question for you today. Why do we like vintage? This might seem a little strange coming from me because, if you are kind enough to be a regular visitor here, you'll know that I love (almost) all things vintage. But lately I have been thinking about why I love it. Is it purely aesthetic? I like the look of the clothes, the interiors therefore I like vintage? Yes, that's part of it. Do I think that there is perhaps something missing today, some social and cultural niceties that have fallen by the wayside over the years without being adequately replaced? Yes, that's part of it too. Is it because it appears to have been a slightly simpler life 'back in the day', one in which everyone knew what was expected of them, with fewer shades of grey? Yes, perhaps a little. Is it just straight-out nostalgia, given that, as an historian I have an in-built predilection for the past? Yes, certainly. But is there something else? And, more than that, what is the appeal of vintage to society at large?
Image from http://pzrservices.typepad.com There are some incredible old ads at this site.Because when you peel away the doilies, the pastel colours and the layers of tulle, the past - and by this I am referring in this instance to the 1950s - 1970s - was not always a very good place to be - especially for a woman. The prevailing media (and so, society) often portrayed you as, by turn, vain, stupid and interested only in (and interesting only for) your appearance. Knowing what was expected of you in fact gave you few options - many professions were not open to women and their ultimate goal was (whether they liked it or not) to marry and have children. My mum, who was a teenager in the 50s and began her professional life in 60s, has wondered why Madmen has been feted to the extent that it has, because, as she puts it, "I remember those times." And, by implication, what they were really like.
Image of Peggy Olsen from http://madmen.wikia.comIn Madmen, as they themselves put it, women are either 'a Marilyn or a Jackie' - that is, a mistress or a wife (or, if you will, a madonna or a whore). The writers of the series would no doubt suggest that they put this forward as evidence of attitudes in the past and yet we as viewers rejoice when Peggy Olsen sheds her serious, 'mousy' look for something more fashionable and so succeeds.
Image of Peggy Olsen from http://wikipedia.comJoan Holloway, as the red-headed 'Marilyn' character, is lauded for her 'womanly curves' and her sexualised image.
Image of Joan Holloway from http://hipcandy.com
Image of Joan Holloway from http://swingfashionista.comAnd we adore Betty Draper for her portrayal of an unhappy but nonetheless perfectly dressed suburban housewife.
Image of Don and Betty Draper from http://madmenmad.wordpress.com
Image of Betty Draper from http://whitebison.wordpress.comSo what is it that we - as viewers, as fans of vintage, as society - are hailing here? All of these women are praised - and not just within the confines of the show's plot - for their appearance, irrespective of the restriction and anguish that that appearance - both inwardly and outwardly - may cause. There is some symbolic suggestion of that in the show, when in one episode we see all three characters struggling into the corsets, stockings and almost bullet-proof-looking bras that allow them to present this 'face' everyday. So what, overall, are we praising when we praise vintage? Are we overlooking the considerable negativity of many aspects of it or are we still unaware that there is any negative there at all?
* For a clue on the title of this blog, take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2bLNkCqpuY
7 comments:
You know I have so many thoughts about this but not so much free mind & time writing - I myself think I like the 60ties/70ties because if the feeling that something new and great has started. More freedom, civil rights movements, hippies, sexual revolution, womens movement, new age - everything seemed to be possible in this time. Nowadays, many things are BETTER (for workers, women,alternative lifestyles etc), but we have lost the believe in the future. Paradox - I love the future of the past. It is a bit like longing to be young again, when everything seemed to be possible in future. It is a longing for power and strength but also for naivety.
Bodecea
Good question!! I'm totally agree with the first comment! I have an idyllic view of the past, like in the film: midnight in Paris. The truth is that it was a hard times, but I'm still loving it.
What I love about the "vintage" time is having more time: no fast food, no hurries...
@ Bodecea -
Absolutely! I love that - we have lost a belief in the future. That's absolutely spot on - I completely agree with you. Everything seemed possible - yes - there was still a sense that human existence was progressive perhaps? That is, about progress?
@ Neus -
Yes - the slowness of certain aspects of the past. Why do we hurry so much now? What are we hurrying towards?
Neus - but who makes us hurry? We do it by ourself. We don`t have to - at least not to this level. We could slow down - consume less - avoid fast food - use the Internet less - use clothes, furniture longer - live simpler - we could. But do we want to? Maybe we are a bit addictive to stress and hurry. To all this colourful fast stuff around.
Feronia - maybe we should try to imagine again a good future? (Imagine... John Lennon...)
At the moment, people (here) only think about catastrophes - but we are safer than ever. In the 60ties, it was possible to die by a nuclear war - it is no longer something we have to be afraid of. We have less crime, less poison in the environment (at least in Germany). no war, no disease. And we are frightened. Maybe someone wants us to be frightened. It is easier to control people who are frightend. MAke them buy, buy, buy.
@ Bodecea -
That is a really interesting point. I agree that we are encouraged to buy, buy, buy to keep real life at bay but who wants us to be frightened, do you think?
Those who wants us to buy - their pills for youth and against becoming fat and lonely, their insurances against this and that, their weapons, their safes, their new even safer cars, their sport stuff to stay healthy and fit, their special food, their additional lessons for our stupid children to make them smarter, their alcohol to forget our angst, and so on...
And of course those who want control us - who want our data to know a lot of us (to prevent crime and terror - of course!), who want to cut our freedom of choice, who want us to be well-behaved. Not to ask to many questions. Not to have doubts if we want to be controlled at all.
Bodecea
@ Bodecea -
So very beautifully put. But how do we avoid all these traps laid out for us? Living completely 'off grid' is hard to achieve while still making some contribution to society.
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