Vintage, retro, preloved, deadstock: what the words mean
Vintage and retro aren't the same thing, and preloved can mean last year. A plain guide to the words you'll see on labels and listings.
2 min read
Shopping second-hand comes with its own language, and the words get mixed up all the time, on listings, on labels and in shops. Here's what they usually mean, so you know what you're looking at.
Vintage
Clothing that was made in the past and is old enough to belong to another era. There's no legal definition, but most people in the trade mean at least twenty years old. "True vintage" usually means older still, often before the 1980s.
Retro
Strictly speaking, retro means something new made to look like it came from another decade: a modern dress in a 70s style, say. It's often used to mean vintage, which is where the confusion comes from. If the label is a current high street brand, it's retro, not vintage.
Preloved and second-hand
Anything that's been owned before. A preloved jumper could be from 1985 or from last spring. All vintage is preloved, but not all preloved is vintage.
Deadstock
Old stock that was made years ago but never sold or worn, sometimes still with its original tags. It's vintage in age but new in condition, which makes it a lovely find.
Reworked or upcycled
Old clothes or fabric that have been cut up and made into something new: a skirt made from an old shirt, a bag made from a curtain. The materials are vintage; the piece itself is new.
Y2K
The look of the late 1990s and early 2000s: low-rise jeans, baby tees, tiny bags. Pieces from that time are now old enough to count as vintage for many shoppers.
Condition words
On labels and listings you'll often see a condition grade. "Excellent" means it shows very little sign of wear. "Good" means some light wear. "Wear consistent with age" means small marks or signs of use that you'd expect on something that old. If a listing doesn't say, ask.
Kilo sale
A sale where you pay by weight rather than by item. They're popular in student cities, and great for rummaging, though the pieces won't usually have been sorted as carefully as a shop's rails.
Whatever you call it, the joy is the same: finding the one piece nobody else has. Our women's, men's and unisex clothing and accessories are all one of a kind, and new pieces go out every week.
