Why old/vintage items are better than their modern equivalents! Plus the few cases that they aren’t
Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate and this post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase products mentioned.
Guys, I swear: We live in the age of plastic, fake stuff! And it gets worse every year! This is why I strongly feel that, in most cases, vintage items are better on so many levels!
It seems that every year it becomes harder and harder to find clothes at the store, for example, which aren’t made from polyester! The stuff is everywhere! And it just screams “fake” to me!
As I went through my twenties, I slowly realized that new stuff tends to be poorly constructed and made with cheap, synthetic materials. I started to prefer thrift stores for clothes-shopping and even other items!
And I further started looking for other vintage items, such as furniture, kitchen appliances, tools… you name it, I often prefer the vintage stuff to the new stuff!
So today I’m going to go through all the reasons why I think vintage items are better than their modern equivalents! Though there are a few cases that I have opted for the new stuff, and we’re going to explore that, too!
The quality of materials in vintage items is so much better!
After hearing me mention polyester above, you are probably fully aware that what my stuff is made from really matters to me!
After plastics were invented at the beginning of the 20th century, the quality of products slowly started to decline. One hundred years later, we’re in a day and age when we know items will only last for some years before they need to be replaced.
Plastic is a huge culprit of this, because broken plastic parts are often not fixable!
Back in the day, and depending on how far back you go, it was much more common for products to be made from durable materials such as wood, metal, stone, etc. While this is still true for some items, even the quality of these materials has degraded!
If you need proof, check out this video of an old vintage ax vs. a new one. The metal they use nowadays has obviously degraded significantly!
In particular, I am a huge fan of vintage sewing machines, because they have (in most cases) all-metal gears and parts, with minimal to no plastic! I currently sew mainly with my great-grandmother’s Singer Featherweight machine, and it still works as beautifully as it did eighty years ago!
Look at that beautiful vintage piece of machinery! Made in the USA, too!
Which brings us to the next point…
The workmanship of vintage items is SO good!
We already saw how vintage items tend to be made from much more durable materials, but they’re also just made better.
Think IKEA furniture compared to beautiful antiques. There’s simply no comparison!
IKEA furniture tends to be made from particle board (a bunch of wood chips glued together and pressed into a board shape with a veneer over it). Even solid wood stuff that’s made nowadays, like the bed frame we ordered off Wayfair, is crummy softwood that I can tell will not hold up for generations.
Quality vintage furniture is made from solid hardwood and has fancy joinery of wood pieces (think dovetails for drawers, like in the following photo!).
Our go-to when we need “new” furniture is to check out local used items off of Craigslist or eBay. Facebook marketplace is also great, but unfortunately I don’t have Facebook so I can’t use it!
We got this incredible Thomasville dining set on Craigslist for $200, from someone just 20 minutes away. It was made in the nineties, so it’s not technically vintage, but it’s all solid wood and impeccable craftsmanship, so I’m still happy!
And for $200, I can’t even think what we could have bought that was brand new!
So many people are looking to get rid of really quality stuff that they just don’t need, so take advantage and look around! You’ll likely make some amazing finds. Craigslist has been amazing for us!
Though I must say that our absolute best find so far as been this vintage all solid-mahogany desk that we saw at Goodwill. It was in incredibly good condition and only $50! I jumped on that so fast and we took it home the same day. So beautiful!
Vintage items were simpler and indestructible
We’ve all heard people talk about how new cars are just so hard to fix yourself because they have computers and are all digitalized, whereas older cars where just machines, plain and simple.
And older stuff definitely wasn’t necessarily simple, as the machinery was extremely complex and required a great deal of genius to invent. But these items were simple in the sense that they weren’t digitized. Plus, they often had fewer fancy features like we have today to make things complicated! Just think about the fancy devices out there today! Everything seems to have bluetooth capabilities! In my opinion, it’s just excessive and makes things more likely to break!
And so the simpler construction of older products often meant they lasted a long time. The materials they were made from also contributed to this, of course! Plastic is just so easy to break. Once it’s cracked, you’re done! But the simplicity of these things made them straightforward, solid pieces that stood the test of time.
I have two vintage kitchen appliances, a slow cooker I inherited from my grandma and a food processor which I bought for a pretty penny off eBay. They are simple, straight and to the point, and very well-made! And even though the food processor is mainly plastic, my research convinced me that it would last far longer than the modern day ones. Plus, I heard the plastic itself is a much higher grade than what is used in today’s equivalents.
Vintage items are SO much more wholesome
Is it just me who loves old things?
I feel like they have a story to tell! Who knows where they’ve been, what they’ve accomplished? The idea that items can be passed down from generation to generation, like my great-grandma’s sewing machine, is so inspiring to me! It puts life in perspective; you realize you aren’t the only person who has used this item and you likely won’t be the last!
Here’s an example: As a violinist, I can wholeheartedly attest that having an older instrument is an incredible feeling. My current violin is dated at 1891, and who knows who has played this thing since then! While I did meet its previous owner, the full story of this violin is a mystery to me. It has gone through time, been maintained over the generations… this is how I feel things are meant to be!
It’s true that not every item can last this long; certain things do inevitably wear with time, despite how we’ll they are made. But some things will last forever if properly cared for! Violins and sewing machines definitely fall into this category!
Using vintage items is so much less wasteful
One amazing thing about finding and using vintage or older items is that they are, by definition, used! This means you’re not contributing to the consumer world of constantly buying new things, and you’re saving that vintage item from becoming useless in a landfill!
I really believe that, if something is useful, it should not end up in the trash. It’s so sad that we’ve ended up in a world where it’s easier to buy a new item rather than fix or spruce up an old one!
Vintage and used clothing can be so much better and less expensive than new clothes!
Clothing in particular comes to mind when it comes to throwing out and buying new stuff, as fast-fashion is certainly a huge part of society today. This is why I am a huge advocate for thrifting and hand-me-downs!
If someone ever asks you if you’d like to look through their clothes, especially an older person, this is a fantastic opportunity to find incredible vintage pieces which weren’t made from synthetic materials, as synthetics weren’t as common in the old days.
I was lucky enough to know a wonderful older lady who gave me a ton of her clothes before she passed away. Cashmere, virgin wool, wool, alpaca, silks… I was in absolute heaven! And she was so happy to see someone appreciate and use the garments she had collected over the course of her life.
Additionally, thrift stores are an excellent place to find high quality clothing; you’ll often need to read the tags to see what fibers they are made from (look on the inside of the garment for a tag with a material composition break-down).
The benefits of looking for vintage used clothes are hard to beat: affordability, quality, durability… I can’t believe I used to shop at the mall as a teenager! The older and wiser me has certainly learned the lesson that often, older is better.
There are, however, a few exceptions…
The few cases that items in the modern day are actually better
Despite the clearly superior craftmanship and materials with which products were made in the old days, there are a few items that you’ll still be better off buying new.
And while it would be impossible to make an exhaustive list of all such products, we’ll go over a few examples so you guys can get an idea of how to navigate whether to buy new or vintage!
When not to buy vintage, example #1: Blenders
When I was looking for a really amazing blender (my Ninja had finally started to make a burning smell when I was running it…), I looked into vintage ones on eBay. There was definitely a benefit to these: They were still running after all this time! So they definitely win when it comes to durability. And the materials they were made from were much more solid – many even had glass blending pitchers!
However, I was looking for a high-speed super blender, and unfortunately only modern blenders fit that description. So I looked into brands such as Vitamix and BlendTec instead. (Side note: I ended up finding this immersion blender for $7 at Goodwill which actually suited my needs just fine, and I never ended up getting a blender after all!)
Personally, I think the vintage blender looks a lot cooler, and I kinda still want one now that I’m looking at it… lol! But it’s hard to argue that it’s better than today’s super blenders!
When not to buy vintage, example #2: Cars
This is kind of obvious. Even though today’s cars have a lot of complications due to their increased electronic and technological features (automatic windows are a great example), the older cars of the vintage days simply weren’t designed to run for hundreds of thousands of miles like modern ones are. So, you won’t find me seeking out a vintage car, lol!
Though I will say, you won’t find plastic bumpers on those old vintage vehicles! (Just look at those shiny metal ones on the vintage car above!) I bet you the materials overall were much more durable. Probably heavier, too, which might have contributed to bad fuel economy and the subsequent need to lighten the design of modern-day cars.
When not to buy vintage, example #3: Any items which are too expensive to buy vintage
Unfortunately, sometimes when you’re on the hunt for a vintage item, you’ll actually find that it’s more expensive to buy old than new!
Just look at how much my beloved Singer Featherweight sewing machine goes for on eBay!
Clearly, in some cases, people are definitely wising up to the fact that vintage items are better! So, for certain things, you’ll see inflated prices on eBay which can make it difficult to get a bargain. And for me, usually a good bargain is an important part of the joy of buying a vintage item!
It’s like it is with antiques. Often they’re much more expensive than new stuff. Violins definitely fit this stereotype! A brand new violin by a great maker will never run you hundreds of thousands of dollars like the old, sought-after antique violins can.
And remember, this doesn’t mean the vintage item isn’t better, it just might not be worth the added “collectible” price tag.
(When it comes to sewing machines specifically, do keep in mind that not all vintage machines are this expensive! Check out my post about searching for a vintage machine for my niece this Christmas if you’d like to learn how to hunt for a good, affordable vintage machine!)
When not to buy vintage, example #4: Anything that will wear with time
When it comes to products we use, there are ones that can literally last for centuries (if properly cared for) and others which are meant to wear out.
Cleaning cloths, for example, will always wear down with time. Clothing can be more durable, but it still doesn’t last forever. Fibers disintegrate over time! Though vintage clothes are usually still young enough to be in good condition, antique clothing, on the other hand, might give you more of an issue!
Basically, these materials can be made to last indefinitely if cared for: Wood, metal, and stone. But anything made with fibers will be more prone to deterioration over time. We’ve all seen this when opening a really old book! The pages become brittle and break super easily.
So, definitely keep in mind the nature of the product you’re buying if you’re considering a vintage purchase!
Hopefully these examples give you an idea of what to look for when considering vintage vs. modern products! I actually struggled to think of examples, which I think really shows how crappy our modern day stuff actually is!
In conclusion…
I really hope that this post has helped you guys think about why, in the majority of cases, vintage items are better than new ones!
I am so passionate about this topic. I’ve always been an old-fashioned girl, so I’m sure that doesn’t help my case, hah! And I understand that a lot of people out there love new things, but I think the more we appreciate older items, with their amazing materials, craftsmanship, and durability, it’s only common sense to want them!
Remember, there are some times when it is better to buy new, and ultimately only you will know when that is! It depends on your priorities for that specific purchase.
I would love to hear about your guys’ vintage purchases, or vintage items on your wish lists! Feel free to comment below and tell me all about it!
Or if you have any questions or comments on this post, definitely comment below and we’ll brainstorm together!
I’m wishing you guys all *amazing* vintage finds!
