| It is always fun to enjoy the latest new and trendy | | | | - it takes time for a rejected style, a rare one out of |
| things, no matter how temporary or ephemeral. But | | | | many that fell from favor, to mature into a classic. |
| the real richness of life lies in the authentic, the | | | | The great physicist, Neils Bohr, said "It is always hard |
| enduring, the fads and fashions that evolve into | | | | to make predictions, especially about the future." |
| "classics." | | | | An economist would define a classic to be something |
| A "classic" is hard to define, but we know it when | | | | whose marketplace value is no longer depreciating, |
| we see it. Instinctively, we think of a "classic" as | | | | but is stable or increasing. Most antique furniture |
| something of lasting, proven value that doesn't go | | | | preserved for posterity has become classic. The best |
| out of style, something timeless and not to be | | | | designs are prized - as the years go by, the |
| discarded tomorrow. | | | | furniture's value and desirability actually climbs. |
| We recognize classic architecture, whether Georgian | | | | The supply of vintage furniture is fixed, every |
| or Art Deco, as pleasing. Great art refers to the | | | | passing year a few more pieces are lost or locked up |
| works of artists who have stood the test of time. | | | | in someone else's collection. Like land, "They ain't |
| "Literature is news that stays news," said Ezra Pound. | | | | makin' any more of it." New manufactured furniture |
| We still listen to Beethoven and the Beatles. A classic | | | | has to include today's expensive labor, materials, and |
| Mercedes or Corvette in beautiful condition never | | | | shipping costs, giving comparable antique and vintage |
| fails to elicit admiring smiles. "Casablanca," "Gone with | | | | furniture a price advantage. |
| the Wind," and "The Godfather" still draw an | | | | Our brand new possessions from furniture or |
| audience. Traditional styles of furniture from many | | | | department stores can slip out of date the very next |
| periods are frequently copied by contemporary | | | | season. The work of cutting-edge artists celebrated |
| makers for placement in brand new settings. | | | | in New York often loses its luster in a few years. |
| What do we mean when we say someone has | | | | "Out of fashion" really means having lost its |
| "good taste?" We really are talking about having a | | | | desirability. After a month in our homes, |
| good "eye" or a sense for classic style. | | | | mass-produced furniture, pictures, lamps, china and |
| Most modern things - movies, books, cars, art, or | | | | crystal all drop in value to a tiny fraction of what was |
| bedroom sets - are introduced with as much hype | | | | paid for them. New furniture, even from famous |
| and publicity as can be mustered. After the initial | | | | makers, takes a sharp fall in value when it arrives at |
| excitement, most of these novelties slip quietly from | | | | your door. A year may pass, and a dining set or |
| our consciousness. The height of fashion will mostly | | | | sofa, still like new, might sell for pennies on a dollar at |
| be rejected in a few months. Most modern things fail | | | | a moving sale or auction. Automobiles depreciate |
| to engage the public or arouse lasting interest. As | | | | thousands of dollars on the drive home from the |
| Oscar Wilde noted, "Nothing is so dangerous as being | | | | showroom. |
| too modern. One is apt to grow old-fashioned quite | | | | Let someone else take that big depreciation loss. For |
| suddenly." | | | | your own home or office, consider survivors from |
| Contemporary fashions almost never slip directly into | | | | the test of time - classic vintage or antique furniture. |
| "classic" status, they first endure a dark period of | | | | Durable and well made, antique pieces will appeal to |
| neglect, suffering from dated styling or obsolescence. | | | | your emotions, and outlast most of their new |
| After hibernating out of the spotlight, the best of | | | | competition. Their style, patina and traditional |
| neglected slumbering styles will be rediscovered, | | | | workmanship will warm your home or workspace, |
| reborn as a classic. Nostalgia doesn't happen overnight | | | | and they will save you a bundle. |