Millennials love vintage trends

Well… not exactly. Using the word “vintage” alongside “trend” is an oxymoron. Trends come to life in the first person, present state. Things that are vintage speak to the past, like vintage furniture, vintage automobiles, vintage jewelry. It’s true… as a society, we re-invent things and resurface ideas which can be labeled as trends, however, those are merely fads. Vintage is a piece with age, a reflection in time, a preservation of something no longer produced. You will notice vintage being used in modern twists though, such as vintage-inspired floral designs.

So why vintage?

People will endlessly look to the past in order to create meaning in the present. It’s how people navigate through life with almost everything they do, from relationships to personal effects. Nostalgia can sweep us back into the past, but it also propels us forward, causing powerful memories and associations that we build our own personal identities around.

With that being said, one “trend” if you will, is the realization that millennials have a fascination with styles of the past whether that be in their clothing style, the beards or hairstyles, their engagement rings and so on.

Here are a few explanations

Vintage culture provides an escape from contemporary digital culture

Modern, digital culture has no vintage. The appeal of vintage things isn’t just about being old-fashioned. It’s more about the fact that styles from the past have had a chance to mature – evolving their place inside of society’s eye. Today culture of being fast-paced and on-demand has driven a world instant gratification, unrealistic expectations and data overload. Looking to vintage styles in past time helps keep us grounded.

Today, total sales for campers and RVs (for example) are at a historic high. The research shows that their target customers are no longer the baby-boomer that is hitting the road – it’s Millenials. They’re looking for something that is easier and takes them to a simpler time. You don’t have to think about it or be inundated with pressure. You just get on the road and head. At modern weddings, you now find photographers offering a resurgence of Polaroid images as a secondary camera. People go crazy for them as the sink into memories and the good old times. For those of us that were born after the Polaroid died, the trivial nature of being handed a “vintage” photo immediately after the button has been clicked is a brave new world. And a pleasurable one.

Millennials live for the back-story

Think about it. The modern, digital age allows for rapid research and instant results about products, services, history and the businesses and people that serve them. Millennials expect there to be a comprehensible story about the things we buy. Vintage things are easy to contextualize because their time has come and gone. Their backstory and context within history are easily attained and comprehensible. Their story has already been told and for today’s younger generations, that is something special. Vintage jewelry offers not only style but also settled historical context and built-in narrative. For context-hungry millennials, this is an irresistible package.

The Internet has created expectations

When you think back in time about “vintage” time periods, some nostalgic things come to mind. Perhaps your grandparent was in World War II and traveled across Europe for 4 years, only to write letters to his family once in the while in hopes of receiving one back where ever he is. His other half had to live with the fact, they may never talk to them again. Or maybe you remember the days when a group of friends was tiring to remember the actors in a movie. The only way to do that was for someone to have an epiphany and yell it out. And when we called our girlfriend or boyfriend as a child, we used the home phone during approved hours and waited to see if they’d reply. That rotary phone, that time period, and that way of finding information as vintage as it gets.

Today, not only can we access the data we want, right now, we are also trained to become upset or feel uneasy if we can’t find someone or something instantly. The vintage world had some real pros over the modern, digital world and Millenials, though having not lived in it, are seeing the benefits to backstory and simpler ideas with the items they search for.

And that search for unique and curious items has made companies like Etsy, Ebay, and Pinterest so wildly successful. Niche is the new norm in some ways, and generations that come of age online simply have easier access to the products and styles of past eras which is where digital technology has really helped us. And being used to shopping across not only decades but often centuries, millennials expect choices that aren’t simply run-of-the-mill manufactured trends.

Local Jewelers can deliver on vintage jewelry trends

While the online shopping habits of Millennials may cause understandable anxiety for brick and mortar retailers, Independent jewelers have as much to gain as their Millennial customers. The jewelry business has a tremendous built-in appeal that can and should attract vintage-inspired customers. Here are some reasons why:

DIY (do-it-yourself) culture is strong with Millennials.

Handcrafting is in vogue. Everywhere we look something is hand-crafted, small batch, single barrel, small lot, micro-brew limited run, exclusive print… you get the idea. This is because our society has diluted our ideas and marketing pools to the point of exhaustive options. How do we stand out? We bring things back to the standards. We put on Frank Sinatra. We seek out original makers.

The jewelry business, of course, is already full of makers. In fact, the jewelry shop has been one of the most resilient bastions of skilled retail handicraft. There aren’t too many cobblers, blacksmiths, bakers, and candlestick makers walking around these days. In other words, the bench jeweler remains—one of the last bastions of traditional tradesmanship left in Main Street retail.

Now if you’re a Millennial you may not know what a bench jeweler does. But if you meet one, you’ll likely be a customer for life, as the stories of ages-old craftmanship and real life, physical end products in your hand will change your mindset on purchasing goods.

Millennial nostalgia and the golden ages

Those eras of the prodigious beard are also the eras of fantastic and historic jewelry. The satirical TV show Portlandia really got this right with the sketch, “The dream of the 90s,” in which Portland hipsters sing about how “the dream of the 90s is alive in Portland.” The joke is that “the 90s” they’re singing about aren’t even the 1990s, but the 1890s. This is good for big beards, but it’s also good for big, beautiful jewelry. The Victorians were obsessed with jewelry. Millennials are obsessed with Victorian-era sensibilities. It’s a win-win.

Millenials expect a level of creative control

It’s interesting that we’ve gone from a world of malls and outlets offering big branded logos and gaudy print in the non-digital generations to a newer, younger generation of Millenials who strive to be original and different – looking to be involved in the process.

Self-branded in fact. Most of our world will depend on how we brand ourselves personally and your jewelry is no different. By their nature, professional jewelers deal in precious, well-made, beautiful objects meant to stand the test of time. Part of the appeal of vintage goods is simply a belief (or realization) that things were made better in the old days. Independent jewelers have retained both a respect for the quality of handcrafted goods as well as an awareness of the importance of customization and personalization. Jewelers are well-equipped to create millennial vintage jewelry that cures the cravings for personal and individual goods.

Millennials also increasingly have adequate incomes. As they seek those lifelong engagement rings, they are looking for jewelers who can anticipate their needs and reach out and educate them about the world of jewelry.

Are you a Millennial who’s getting married?

With the growth in vintage jewelry and vintage-inspired designs, your local diamond jeweler should be well-equipped to offer customization and education. Really for anyone who wants to be involved in the process starting with your own drawing, to a CAD render, to a final product, then having a custom engagement ring made is a no-brainer.

Whether you’re seeking a halo ring, classic styles, Victorian styles, gimmal rings, two-stone rings or something entirely different – Gittelson Jewelers can help from vision to proposal.