The world of vintage bloggers

By Stevie Michelle Greenleaf

Abstract: The vintage scene has exploded in recent decades, riding a wave of fascination with many desirable aspects of the past. Some of the most dedicated followers of this trend are vintage bloggers, who devote their time and resources to creating an accurate revival of the previous decades. In this paper, I question where this motivation for living a ‘vintage-lifestyle’ comes from, and whether it arises as a response to disappointment with aspects of modern life. Through in-depth interviews with a selection of such bloggers, and an analysis of their online posts, I seek to identify the extent to which the emerging vintage scene is fuelled by a sense of ‘loss’ for a time gone by, exploring: the appeal of vintage; sentiments of nostalgia; the search for authenticity; resistance to mass consumerism; and technological anachronisms within the subculture.