Sorry, the 90s are officially vintage now

Anyone who has gone vintage shopping knows the feeling of entering a store looking for nothing in particular and suddenly finding yourself negotiating emotionally with a suede jacket, a silk scarf, or a pair of jeans that may or may not have lived a more interesting life than you have.

Part of the appeal is the hunt itself. A rack of vintage clothing does not behave like a shelf at a department store. There may be only one size, one color, one bag, one jacket — and one chance. 

“It really feels like treasure hunting,” says Columbia Business School's Silvia Bellezza, David W. Zalaznick Associate Professor of Business. “And once you find your treasure, there’s just one of them.”

But what is it that makes something vintage in the first place?

The word is everywhere — on resale platforms, in thrift stores, in fashion campaigns — and on products that are brand new but made to look old. Bellezza says that vintage “sounds more appealing to consumers than secondhand or retro,” which has created confusion in the marketplace.

In a new paper, Bellezza and Maren Hoff (PhD ‘25), an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, bring clarity to a term that consumers and marketers use constantly but rarely define precisely.

The three ingredients of vintage

Across interviews, surveys, and field research involving more than 2,000 products across 16 categories, Bellezza and Hoff find that vintage is defined by three core dimensions: moderate age, iconicity, and scarcity.

Moderate age means that a product comes from the past but is not simply outdated. In fashion, Bellezza says, this often means “older than 20 years but younger than a hundred years,” though the exact window can vary by category. A video game console may become vintage faster than a dining table because technology cycles move more quickly than furniture cycles.

Iconicity means that the product evokes a recognizable era. A 1960s Ford Mustang, a midcentury coffee table, or a 1990s Armani suit with strong shoulders points to a moment in culture. Bellezza describes this as the ability to place the product in history.

Scarcity is the third piece. Vintage products often feel desirable because they are difficult to duplicate. Unlike a new product that can be reordered in another size or color, vintage is frequently one of a kind. That scarcity gives the item its “treasure” quality and helps explain why vintage can feel more personal than simply buying something new.

Just as important, the researchers find that vintage is not the same as secondhand, retro, or antique. A shirt from last year can be secondhand without being vintage. A new jacket can be retro-inspired without being vintage. And an antique may be older than vintage, but not necessarily iconic or relevant to contemporary style.

Why buying vintage is more than just a way to feel cool

Bellezza and Hoff find that vintage products offer consumers personal, social, and sustainability benefits.

Hoff notes that when consumers use a product that feels authentic, “it rubs off onto the consumer.” Because vintage items are scarce and distinctive, they can also help people feel less like they are copying everyone else and more like they are expressing themselves.

Vintage can also make consumers feel cool. That does not mean dressing like a museum exhibit. Instead, Bellezza says coolness often comes from “deviating from the norm in a way that’s appropriate.” 

That balance helps explain why vintage has become especially powerful in a marketplace flooded with newness. When trends move quickly and mass-produced styles are instantly available, old products can become a fresh way to stand out. For some consumers, vintage also carries an environmental benefit: Buying from the past can feel like participating in the circular economy rather than adding another new item to it.

Calling something vintage is not just a branding flourish, according to Bellezza and Hoff. They find that messages emphasizing age, iconicity, and scarcity are especially effective when they match the product itself. For sellers, that means the best vintage marketing may be about helping consumers understand why that object’s past still matters.