While the second-hand market is booming and we see more and more young people fishing for rare fashion and interior design items, the words like vintage and pre-loved are getting used in a very random way, often without proper differentiation.
The biggest difference between vintage and pre-loved is an age of an item. In order to call an item vintage it has to be at least 20 years old. By mistake, many people think that the word “vintage” stands for the second-hand item, but in reality, vintage does not need to be previously used by someone, for example, a jacket from Dior that still has a tag on, is still considered vintage if it was made in the 2000s and yes... 2000s were so long time ago, that Britney's vinyl discs are vintage too. Feel old yet?
Does it mean that everything that existed more than 20 years is vintage? The answer is no. Once an item is more than 100 years old, it becomes “Antique”. Antique things are often collector pieces, that show level of craftsmanship or reflect on history. The big difference between vintage and antique items is not only their age, but also their price. In the case of vintage items, pricing is much easier, they usually cost less than the primary price. With antique items, the price only goes up, depending on rarity, condition, historic value, and emotional connection. Imagine Paul Poiret's dress price, it is worth 40k and even more.
Fancy cocktail dress designed by Paul Poiret 1911 Paris, France
Nowadays most common objects on the market, are pre-loved or in other words second-hand. pre-loved is simply an item that has been used before. For example a Gucci bag from 2020 SS collection that you wore for two years, is a pre-love. However, pre-loved does not necessarily mean cheaper, some items can be collector pieces of a limited edition, like the Supreme x Louis Vuitton collection and even if they have been used, the reselling price can be higher than the original.
Louis Vuitton/Supreme Malle Courrier 90 Trunk. Supreme team by Terry Richardson, NYC, 2017
At Gizeye, we carefully hand pick rare pre-loved and vintage items, that would be an investment to your sustainable lifestyle, while offering the lower market price. By doing so we want to educate modern consumers about the beauty of curated fashion and interior design.