Know Your Vintage Periods: A Crash Course in Eras

Do you hear people bandy-about terms like ‘Georgian’, ‘Regency’, ‘Victorian’, ‘Edwardian’ etc and think ‘Am I going to look like a Grade-A boofhead if I admit that I have no fecking clue what you’re on about?’

Then this is the guide for you!

You’ll note that in the below timeline the later periods are much more specific than the early ones – and I haven’t bothered going into ancient and medieval times because, let’s face it, your chances of having to distinguish whether the item you’ve scored at SVDP is something that came out of a French monastery in 1200 or something fashioned by a plague-ridden English fellow two hundred years earlier are slim at best.

It’s also very anglo-centric in its arrangements, but that’s because this is the easiest way to get one’s head around it without throwing contrasting Continental/Asian/American periods into the mix.

Thusly:

1485 – 1603 This is known as the Tudor period (as all English monarchs in this era came from the Tudor house). It began with the reign of Henry VII (who carked it in 1509), but its most famous monarchs are the notorious Henry VIII (the obesity crisis with many wives, died 1547), and Elizabeth I (who ruled from 1558 to 1603). The Elizabethan era is often classified as a distinct period (Shakespeare, pantaloons, bawdy humour, saucy milkmaids, Oh Lordy Lookee What I Got From the New World etc) but as she’s a Tudor her long reign also falls under this period (if you, like, wanna get technical about it).

1603 – 1714 – The Stuart period. So-called because English monarchs came from the House of Stuart at the time. This was what a historian would call a turbulent period of British history, what with the Civil War and the Glorious Revolution an’ all that.

1714 – 1830 – Georgian period. During this period, there were four kings in a row named George in Britain, and thusly it’s known as the ‘Georgian era’ when assessing furniture etc. In terms of artistic periods - Baroque stylings were fashionable through the 1600s right up to the mid-1700s when Rococo was at its height. Neoclassicism was popular from around 1765 onwards as a reaction to these more florid styles.

1795 - 1836 – Known as the ‘Regency’ period. Technically the ‘regency’ bit was only 1811 – 1820, when King George III was deemed too nuts to rule and thus his son, (the Prince Regent, later George IV) took over as proxy.

1837 – 1901 – The Victorian era. Queen Victoria’s reign lasted a good long time, and for this reason the era itself is broken down into distinct periods: Early Victorian usually describes the period before the Great Exhibition of 1851; High Victorian is from the 1850s through to the 1880s (and ‘gothic’ in the sense we think of it, with vampires and haunted houses etc usually comes from this time); Late Victorian is through the late 1880s and 1890s and culminates with QV’s death in 1901.

1901 – 1919: The Edwardian era, so named because Edward VII (the first son of Queen Victoria) was on the throne. Lots of lace, linen, draping blouses etc. Think of driving gloves and Isadora Duncan and you’re on the right track.

1920 – 1938: Known as ‘Between the Wars’ or the ‘Interwar’ period (ie the years between WWI and WWII), and 29-38 will also be referred to ‘Depression era’ due to the Great Depression, which you Should Have Learned About at School but can find out more about here. This is when Art Deco was big as well.

1939 – 1945: World War II. When people just use the term ‘wartime’, without being more specific, they’re generally talking about this period.

1946 – 1959: Generally referred to as the ‘postwar’ period. A time of optimism and relative economic prosperity. If something is described as ‘swing’, ‘rockabilly’, ‘beatnik’ or ‘New Look’, it generally comes from the 50s or very late 1940s.

1960 – 1969 – From here on in the 20th century is pretty easy to navigate, as decades are generally used as a way of describing periods . However, things labelled ‘mod’ (think of Vince Noir and the Mod Wolves in The Mighty Boosh…), ‘hippie’ and ‘psychadelic/psychadelia’ are generally from this decade. Also, the 50s and 60s are known as the Cold War period, though this term is used more in history than as something you’ll stroll past at a vintage clothing shop. Go read up about the Cuban Missile Crisis and other fun stuff here. Or just go watch Good Night and Good Luck.

1970 – 1979 – Again, this stuff will be called ‘70s’ more than anything else, but other key terms to look out for are ‘disco’, ‘punk’ (from 1977 onwards) ‘flares/bellbottoms’, ‘platforms’, ‘the peasant look’ or any semi-serious refernce to either the Bradys or the Partridge Family.

1980 – 1989 – Yeah, it’s just called the 80s, but terms like ‘New Wave’, ‘New Romantic’, and ‘Electro’ are often referring to this decade. ‘Goth’ as a discrete genre starts to emerge in the early 80s too.

After this, stuff is generally called ‘contemporary’, but I can’t wait to see what terms are coined for the nineties and the current decade (careful…I almost wrote ‘the naughties’).

Any other info you can add to this list? Suggestions always welcome!