Did you know that in the late 1600s and extending through the days of the U.S. Civil War nostalgia was considered a mental disorder? The term nostalgia is derived from the Greek nostos, or homecoming, and algos, or pain, or in other words, “a longing to return home.” Soldiers suffering from nostalgia were considered a risk to their regiment, brigade, or other unit and could have been discharged from service.
Fast forward nearly 150 years and nostalgia today earns companies billions making what was old new again. Insiders call it the nostalgia economy. In-person and virtual marketplaces for vintage, antique, second-hand, retro, and upcycled have thrived. ThredUP, a publicly traded online consignment and thrift store, claims that the global secondhand apparel market alone will topple $220 billion in the next five years, a figure it revised upwards dramatically over the last year. Check out the 2021 and 2022 reports.
Marketing mascots and slogans, tv show reboots, and collectibles all play into the nostalgia economy. Just think of all the children's toys – original Barbies, Nintendo and Atari gaming consoles, Hot Wheels cars, Pokémon cards, and so much more. Or iconic clothing. Even my 12-year-old tried out “mom” jeans as well as a preppy accordion-pleated skirt straight out of the 1995 movie Clueless (although she claims Pitch Perfect, 2012). And don't forget pop music as well as vinyl-devoted music fans. “Vinyl records” videos on TikTok have nearly 650 million views! And finally, my favorite retro category – machines. I’m looking at you typewriters, hand tools, and polaroid cameras.
Nostalgia-motivated buying has transformed collectibles auctions, too, by drawing younger than ever bidders. According to a February 2022 article in Antique Trader, Dallas-based auction house Heritage Auctions reported that 37% of first-time bidders in 2021 were millennials. What collectibles brought in the money? Nostalgic items like playing cards and video games along with a Harry Potter book. (I can’t believe the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, came out 25 years ago!)
Social media has accelerated micro trends and communities in all things nostalgia, offering a never-ending, scroll-happy stream of throwback goods (often for sale). People can "Discover” online, Covid-safe, communities of like-minded fans of whatever vintage item bubbles up next. But like fast-fashion, and fast furniture that we featured last week, people also talk fast-nostalgia. Is anyone else wondering when they will realize why that “it” thing fizzled to start with, maybe starting with wired headphones, as featured in a November 2021 article of Teen Vogue?
We have a special appreciation for nostalgia and its place in our lives here at Artifcts, uniting us through our shared histories and connecting us to the world we've grown up with and the cultures we've come from. Reminiscing can renew feelings of joy, and often temper the sorrows since we know that we tend to look on the past with rose-colored glasses, safely detached from daily life.
We hope that here at Artifcts we can all take concrete steps to harness that nostalgia for good and find meaning by linking the past, present, and future. Where will nostalgia take you next in your Artifcting journey?
Below are three nostalgia-strong Artifcts from our co-founders' personal collections. You can click an image to view the related Artifct. What nostalgic items are in your Artifcts collection?
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