How to live a vintage lifestyle in a modern world?

[Mr_D.]

How do you do it? you want to keep the vintage look and style, but you need modern life to function, like cell phones, palm pilots, ect. And if your reading this, you must have a computer. And what about your car, home, ect?


What are some things you do to "vintage-ise" your modern world?

 

[Mr Zablosky]

After a period of near-burn out I made some efforts to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n. I started using a straight blade. It forced me to hone, strop, lather, shave, shave again. I think of it as a speed bump. It reminds me to pace myself and provides instant feedback when needed. (yeow!) Other things, such as polishing my shoes, gives a time to slow and take some pride in doing things myself. I'm surprised how few folks polish their shoes.

For me the vintage lifestyle is not just props but mostly attitude. Appreciation for being able to do loads of stuff for myself vs being a passive consumer.

 

[Paisley]

You might search for "lifestyle" or "technology" in the observation bar using the search function. I'm pretty sure we've had threads on this.

 

[Cigarband]

Try this thread.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=41641

 

[Shangas]

What are some things you do to "vintage-ise" your modern world?

If I was to speak honestly - Not much. But what I do do, I do it happily.

- I wear a mechanical watch. None of that quartz stuff for me.
- I wear a mechanical pocket-watch.
- I wear a VINTAGE mechanical pocket-watch (that going hardcore enough for you?)

- I have fountain pens, inkwells, dip-pens, rocker-blotters and blotting-paper on my desk. I'm only 22 and I use all of them. And yes I do know how they work (which is rather a rare thing, for someone my age). I'd be totally lost without my trusty red rocker-blotter! I do more writing by hand than I do with a computer-keyboard.

Not sure what else I do. I play oldies & jazz piano, if that counts.

 

[December]

This is an interesting point.

I find some technology very helpful and I wouldn't want to be parted with it. My three vital pieces are my mobile, ipod and laptop. The mobile and ipod live in my handbag when not in use, so they're hidden. As for my laptop, it currently lives beside the bed when not in use but once I've moved, it will have a designated cupboard or drawer to sleep in.

For TV, I have a long term plan. I'd be perfectly happy with a vintage set but my fiance is a thoroughly modern man, obsessed with gadgets and technology (all his computers are going in one room which I will never enter!). So to compromise, we will get a big fancy TV and put it in a cupboard that can close when not in use.

Then right beside that would be a vintage set, so when the modern TV is hidden, it looks like we use the vintage one.

 

[Foofoogal]

I detest the look of new tvs. Flat screen, huge screens. They need to be hidden. fftopic:

 

[December]

I detest the look of new tvs. Flat screen, huge screens. They need to be hidden. fftopic:

Oh I can't agree enough!

 

[Feraud]

I detest the look of new tvs. Flat screen, huge screens. They need to be hidden. fftopic:

Don't tell me you prefer a 12" screen in a six foot wooden cabinet?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Don't tell me you prefer a 12" screen in a six foot wooden cabinet?

A 17 inch screen in a metal cabinet is much better.

 

[Feraud]

That is not bad!

 

[Amy Jeanne]

For me the vintage lifestyle is not just props but mostly attitude. Appreciation for being able to do loads of stuff for myself vs being a passive consumer.

I like this. I call this "vintage effort." I like to MANUALLY do my hair in pincurls every night instead of attacking it with a curling iron in the morning. Pincurls come out much nicer and hold longer.

I like making my own dresses. I like the "vintage effort" it takes for me to have to iron them after I hand wash them. I also like the effort it takes to put the garment on!

But I realise it's 2009 and technology helps me keep in touch with the vintage world I love so much. Mp3s and my iPod keep me up to speed on the latest crooners and bands. All day at work I listen. Just about every vintage or vintage-related item I own came from the Internet in some way -- via ebay, Google Shopping, Amazon, Archive.org, etc. DVDs and cable TV let me see movies I otherwise never would.

Just about all the technology I have I utilize wisely to get more vintage-ness out of my everyday life.

Oh, and *this* is a dream TV set....

 

[December]

But I realise it's 2009 and technology helps me keep in touch with the vintage world I love so much. Mp3s and my iPod keep me up to speed on the latest crooners and bands. All day at work I listen. Just about every vintage or vintage-related item I own came from the Internet in some way -- via ebay, Google Shopping, Amazon, Archive.org, etc. DVDs and cable TV let me see movies I otherwise never would.

Just about all the technology I have I utilize wisely to get more vintage-ness out of my everyday life.

This is such a great attitude!

 

[Shangas]

I don't think I USE that much modern technology.

I use a PC, the internet, cellphone...but that's it. And even my cellphone I don't use much.

What I don't go in for, are all those newfangled gadgets. iPods, iPhones, discmans, etc, etc, etc, etc...*yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn*

Those things get outdated SO quickly, they're expensive, and frankly, I never really use them, so I don't bother buying them.

 

[inge77]

no driving

One thing I do to make my world more vintage is that I don't drive. I don't know how, and probably will never learn. I walk and take public transit everywhere I go, and I go to and from the grocery store with an old-fashioned grocery cart. I save a lot of money this way, too. And this isn't just because I live in a city. I studied for 5 years in rural northwestern New England and I lived just the same. So if I walked half an hour to the grocery store, that's how it was.

 

[Grant Fan]

well modern things like TVs that are for starters ugly and not to mention huge I try to hide. I love the 40's so luckily the furniture isn't too hard to find or too expensive around these parts. And because it is quite functional I have quite a bit of it. As for things like cell phones and modern make-up, well the way I see it I have been lucky enough to be alive when I have such things I might as well take advantage. Oh and now a days they have modern phones both with and without cords that look like vintage ones. They help at home too. Oh and because I am and artist and paint and draw, my spare room is my studio, I don't have much in the way of a TV only one and it isn't huge. I also pin curl my hair though I do use modern styling products. And I wear vintage style clothes that I almost always find on-line, I am too tall for real vintage most times. And I happen to think vintage in a personality too. I have a very vintage or old fashioned (however you want to call it) personality. Like many "Rosie the Riveters" I am here while the man I love serves over seas. I stay here and carry on like I have traditional values in many respects but and still a feminist in that I can take care of myself and know I can do anything but still remain a lady, like Rosie.

 

[Spiffy]

A 17 inch screen in a metal cabinet is much better.

You could just set up a cheap digital projector to screen on an empty wall, then cover the projector itself with a vintage breadbox or tea-tin.
Is that putting too much thought into it?

 

[BinkieBaumont]

It was made 73 years ago - and unlike modern gadgets it was built to last.

A television that was around for King George VI's 1937 Coronation and survived the Blitz has today been unveiled as Britain's oldest working set.

The black-and-white Marconiphone 702 dates back to 1936 and is still in its original condition.

has a 12-inch screen and is estimated to have been manufactured around November 1936, the same month as the BBC television service from Alexandra Palace was first broadcast.

The set is likely to have screened landmark occasions including George VI's Coronation Procession, the 1948 London Olympic Games and the Queen's Coronation in 1953. When new, it cost 60 Guineas - the equivalent of around £11,000 today.

The only addition is a conspicuous set-top box which has converted the set from analogue to digital, bringing the device firmly into the 21st century.

 

[Shangas]

That TV is officially awesome :eusa_clap

 

[Edward]

You could just set up a cheap digital projector to screen on an empty wall, then cover the projector itself with a vintage breadbox or tea-tin.
Is that putting too much thought into it?

I've given a lot of thought to gonig that route myself.... but currently, it's still too expensive. It is possible to buy the projector, TV tuner, and all the bits for a reasonable outlay, equivalent to a fair sized plasma set, but the killer is the ongoing cost. The bulb in a data projector is of a limited life-span (100 hours, I think, is the inustry standard), and this would run down pretty quickly if you use it as a regular TV option. The'yre currently about GBP250 to replace. Bit for this, that's the route I'd have gone, with a projector mounted on the ceiling up out of the way. As it is, my next option will probably be a flatscreen set inside a cabinet. I do love the flip-up vintage options above, and woner whether it might be possible to mount a modern flatscreen inside something like that....