While some debate exists over what qualifies as vintage or antique, items are typically considered antique when they reach at least one-hundred years of age. That mean that, as of 2022, antique items must have been made in 1922 or prior. Vintage, on the other hand, describes items created anywhere from twenty to ninety-nine years ago, although some people say that vintage items must be forty or fifty years old. Going off of the broader age range—twenty to ninety-nine years old—items from the late-nineties have recently become vintage. Some people believe that antique only refers to furniture and vintage to clothing, however furniture can be vintage and clothing can qualify as antique.

Other words that you may be familiar with are: collectible, estate, and retro. Collectibles are items that have high value and, with time, become worth more than they originally sold for, like vinyl records and classic cars. An estate consists of items previously owned by someone else, often given away after death. The term typically describes jewelry, but can include clothing, furniture, fine china, and more. Retro is a word used frequently, and it simply means something that imitates a style of the past. Retro items are not really from the past—if they were, they would qualify as vintage or antique—but their design makes them appear as if they come from a previous era. 

I additionally want to discuss the different places a person can purchase vintage and antique items, because the location you get an object from may affect what you do with and how you view them. A popular place to look for vintage and antique pieces are thrift stores. Thrift stores are shops that sell secondhand objects, particularly clothing, and often run for charitable purposes. Anything you buy at a thrift store can typically be purchased for cheaper than the item was originally worth, as they’ve been used. Thrift stores do not specifically sell vintage and antique items, so you will have to do some careful browsing in order to find old pieces.

Vintage stores also exist, which sell only vintage items. The items sold at these stores are unique and likely of higher quality than what you would find at a thrift shop, as the items are carefully curated before they get placed on the rack. Similarly, antique stores offer a curated selection of antique items, usually of high value and in good condition.

Other places you can purchase vintage items from are: yard sales, estate sales, flea markets, and consignment shops, which sell used products for people and allow them receive some of the profits. Like thrift stores, these secondhand locations do not explicitly sell vintage and antique items, but if you want old objects to restore or alter, take a look in these places.