Vintage is a generic term for new or second hand items originating from a previous era. The phrase is also used in connection with a retail outlet, e.g. "Vintage clothing store." It can as well be used as an adjective: "This item is vintage."

The word vintage is copied from its use in wine terminology, as a more elegant-seeming euphemism for "old" such as clothes, for example. Generally speaking, items, which were produced before the 1920s are referred to as antique items and items from the 1920s to 1980 are considered vintage. Retro, short for retrospective, normally refers to items that imitate the style of a previous era such as clothes. Namally, clothing produced more recently is usually called modern or contemporary fashion. Opinions vary on these definitions. Most vintage items have been previously used or worn, but a small percentage of pieces has not. For example, these are often old-warehouse, or more valuable than those that have been worn, especially if they have their original tags. Although there has always been some demand for old and/or second-hand items, the awareness, demand and acceptance of this have increased dramatically since the early 1990s.