Retro styleFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"Retro" redirects here. For other uses, seeRetro (disambiguation).This articleneeds additional citations forverification.Please helpimprove this articlebyadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(July 2009)

Retro styleis style that is consciously derivative or imitative of trends, modes, fashions, or attitudes of the recent past.The termretrohas been in use since the 1970s to describe[1]on the one hand new artefacts that self-consciously refer to particular modes, motifs, techniques, and materials of the past.[2]But on the other hand, some people (incorrectly) use the term to categorise styles that have been created in the past.[3]Retro style refers to new things that display characteristics of the past. It is mostly the recent past that retro seeks to recapitulate, focusing on the products, fashions and artistic styles produced since the Industrial Revolution, of Modernity.[4]The word "retro" derives from theLatinprefixretro, meaning "backwards, or in past times"In France, the wordrtro, an abbreviation forrtrospectif[5]gained cultural currency with reevaluations ofCharles de Gaulleand Frances role inWorld War II. The Frenchmode rtroof the 1970s reappraised in film and novels the conduct of French civilians during the Nazi occupation. The termrtrowas soon applied to nostalgic French fashions that recalled the same period.[6]Shortly thereafter it was introduced into English by the fashion and culture press, where it suggests a rather cynical revival of older but relatively recent fashions.[7]InSimulacra and Simulation, French theoristJean Baudrillarddescribes "retro" as a demythologization of the past, distancing the present from the big ideas that drove the modern age.[8]The concept ofnostalgiais linked to retro, but the bittersweet desire for things, persons and situations of the past has an ironic stance in retro style. Retro shows nostalgia with a dose of cynicism and detachment.[9]It is said that the desire to capture something from the past and evoke nostalgia is fuelled by dissatisfaction with the present.[10]Retro can be applied to several things andartefacts, for example forms of technological obsolescence (including, for instance, manual typewriters, cash registers, bulky hand-held cellphones, etc.) and also the resurrection of old computer games and the equipment on which they are played. But most commonly retro is used to describeobjectsand attitudes from the recent past that no longer seem modern. It suggests a fundamental shift in the way we relate to the past. Different from more traditional forms of revivalism, retro suggests a half ironic, half longing consideration of the recent past.; it has been called an unsentimental nostalgia,[11]recalling modern forms that are no longer current.Contents[hide] 1Specific types of retro 1.1Objects 1.2Interior design 1.3Graphic design, typography and packaging 1.4Fashion design 1.5Retro art 1.6Media 1.6.1Film, music and television 1.6.2Retrogaming 1.6.3Retro erotica (photography) 2See also 3References 4External linksSpecific types of retro[edit]This sectionmay requirecleanupto meet Wikipedia'squality standards.Nocleanup reasonhas been specified. Please helpimprove this sectionif you can.(July 2009)

Since the 1980s the implications of the word retro have been expanding[12]in the application to different media. Several fields have adopted the term retro from the design world. Thus next to design artefacts like objects, graphic design, fashion and interior design, retro can be used for: music, art, videogames, architecture, television and food. Sometimes, it can also suggest an entire outlook on life (describing especially forms of social conservatism like home schooling or the embrace of traditional gender roles).Objects[edit]Up until the 1960s, interiors were decorated withantiques. During the 1960s in London shops started selling pieces of second hand furniture. These shops were different from the previous antique shops because they sold daily life objects from the recent past. These objects used to be seen as junk: Victorian enamel signs, stuffed bears, old furniture painted with union jacks, bowler hats etc. A new way of producing and consuming the past emerged and a broader range of objects from the recent past was used for new designs.[13]Before the word retro came into use in the 1970s, the practise of adopting old styles for new designs was already common. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, designers borrowed from the past, for example classicistic style.[14]The difference is that since the 1960s people started to refer to the recent past.In the 1980s design history emerged as a discipline and several histories of design were published. The access to these overviews and the ability to experiment with computer design programs has caused an increase of retro designed objects in the last decades.[15]Interior design[edit]

IKEA produced aretro lamp, referring to the 70s.Interior designmagazines often show retro style as an interior decoration of mixed styles and objects from the past, second hand and new. For example seventies patterned wallpapers, combined with second-hand furniture from the 1960s and 1950s. The value of old artefact has increased because the object used to be considered old-fashioned and everyday.[16]In this case retro indicates a value and that is also partly why todays retailers produce new objects in an old style.Graphic design, typography and packaging[edit]Ingraphic designtoo, long before the use of the word retro, referencing to earlier graphic characteristics was done. William Morris can be seen as an example, for i.a. book design he adopted Medieval production and stylistic models in 1891.[17]Furthermore, in the beginning of the twentieth century, Gothic, Baroque and Rococo motifs were used for new products.[18]Intypographyclassicismhas always been an influence and throughout the 20th century, early woodcut printing too. The introduction of the technique of photocomposition to typesetting in the 1960s allowed typographers greater flexibility in the selection and arrangement of type styles and sizes. For example, psychedelic typefaces were developed gaining inspiration from Art Nouveau and other cultures.[19]Historicist styles are also used is in the promotion andpackagingof food and householdproducts, referring to childhood memories and domestic nostalgic ideals.[20]Fashion design[edit]

A 1940s retro-style dress with turban, designed in a modern electric blue, modeled byKarlie Klossat a 2011Anna Suishow.Retro fashion refers to fashion from 1940-1990. Retrofashionis aclothingstyle which consists in wearing clothes commonly used in the past. This way of clothing often includes garments and accessories that are characteristic of such times, and many people use them in an exaggerated way and in combination with current clothing. Examples areleatherhandbagsfrom the 1950s, "bell-bottomjeans",Poodle skirts, bigsunglasses,fedoras,funkyjackets(commonlyAdidasClassics) and shoes, smallneckties, chiffon scarves, sport equipment, skinny jeans[citation needed]etc. Makeup may also play a part in feminine retro fashions, with focal points being heavily-lined eyes and bright red lipstick; hairstyles such aspompadours, ponytails, andducktailsmay be adopted, as well as styles that model film stars of the 1940s and 1950s.A specific and clear example of this trend is the way in which the sport garments from the 1970s and 1980s are used nowadays. Soccer jackets, jerseys and T-shirts with former logos of the soccer associations are very popular; their designs commonly remember the old days by using lines in the sides and combinations of colors characteristic of those times. A specific case is the1970 FIFA World Cupheld in Mexico. Its logo and font type is used in a variety of retro sport garments. Brands such asAdidas,PumaandNikehave their own divisions specialized in retro products. Some soccer, baseball and basketball clubs also have re-edited their former garments to raise their sales.See also:Throwback uniformOther examples are that the 1970s brought about a 1950s revival withAmerican Graffiti,Grease, andHappy Days. This lasted into the 1980s with therockabillyrevival. The 1950sgreaserlook greatly influenced thepunk subculture. In the late 2000s there a was a revival of neon and pastel colors, stereotypically associated with 1980s fashion. Nowadays, 1990s fashion has made a comeback, many of the fabrics and patterns ubiquitous to the decade (such as crushed velvet and floral) are popular now in the 2010s.Dr. Martens, a shoe brand popular in the 1990s, has also made a strong comeback in the early 2010s. 2011 - 2012 was the British company's best selling season of all time.[21]Retro art[edit]

A 1950s-era poster in pop-art style, the style on which retro art is based.The style now called "retro art" is a genre ofpop artwhich was developed in the 1940s and 1950s in response to a need for bold, eye-catching graphics that were easy to reproduce on simplepressesavailable at the time in major centres.Retro advertising arthas experienced a resurgence in popularity since its style is distinctive from modern computer-generated styling. Contemporary artistAnne Taintoruses retro advertising art as the centerpiece for her ongoing commentary on the modern woman. Specific styling features include analog machine design, vintagetelevision programetc.[22]Perhaps the most famous example of a retro pop-art character is the more generalized form of theWard Cleaver-styledJ. R. "Bob" Dobbs-esque icon which has been widely played off, copied, and parodied.Media[edit]Film, music and television[edit]The 1980s moved on to a 1960s revival withpower popbeing influenced by sixties pop rock. Various artists covered 1960s pop and R&B hits. Most notable is "You Keep Me Hangin' On" being covered byKim Wildeand "Where Did Our Love Go?" being covered bySoft Cell. The 1990s brought a brief 1970s revival withThat '70s Showand a revival ofdisco musicand 1970s pop led byThe ABBA Generationby theA*Teens. A series known asI Love the '70salso debuted. The 2000s began the 1980s revival. This craze has brought about revivals ofThe Transformers,G.I. Joe,Speed Racer,The Smurfs, andVoltron. Thepost-punkrevival coincides with this, as the genre was originally popular (albeit underground) in the 1980s. (Speed Racer had, however, been first revived into the 1990s asSpeed Racer Xand Voltron asVoltron: The Third Dimension.) There was aThat '80s Show, but it was short-lived.I Love the '80s, a part of a series of decade retrospectives, became the most popular of the series and spawned two sequel series. The early 2010s have seen the beginning of a 1990s revival. TV channelNickelodeonhas established a block on itsTEENickstation featuring 1990s Nickelodeon programs. Several of Nick's 1990s game shows have been revived. There was also anI Love the '90sseries.Retrogaming[edit]Main article:RetrogamingRetrogaming is a pastime which is becoming increasingly popular where individuals playvideo gameson vintage computers or vintage gameconsoles; although what constitutes a vintage or retro machine is open to debate. Typically most retro gamers are interested inAtari 2600,Nintendo Entertainment System,Mega Drive,Dreamcast,Super Nintendo, and classicGame Boygames and consoles.Emulationoften plays a part in retrogaming if the original hardware is unavailable.Retro erotica (photography)[edit]Retroeroticais usuallyphotographyin the style ofpinupsorpornographytypically dating from the 1970s or earlier. It ranges from hardcore to non-nude pinup style photography, often featuringlingeriesuch asgirdles, bulletbrasandgarter beltsandhosierywith hairstyles, makeup and props fashioned after those periods. Some aficionados distinguish retro (modern photography in an older style) from vintage (actual period photos or film) while others conflate the two as either retro or vintage. There are a number of web sites dedicated to both types.See also[edit] Retro-futurism Retrotronics Retro-style automobile Jadeite (kitchenware) Kitsch MAME Old school Ralf Metzenmacher Rockabilly Popular culture studies Period piece Juli Lynne CharlotPoodle skirt creator Old school Vintage clothing Revivalism (architecture) NostalgiaReferences[edit]1. Jump up^Woodham 20042. Jump up^Dermody, Breathnach 2009, p. 73. Jump up^Baker 2012, p. 6224. Jump up^Guffey 2006, p. 255. Jump up^"French definition of ''rtro''". Cnrtl.fr. 1978-09-11. Retrieved2011-11-20.6. Jump up^Walker, John. (1992)"Retro".Glossary of Art, Architecture & Design since 1945, 3rd. ed.7. Jump up^Elizabeth E. Guffey,Retro: The Culture of Revival, pp.9228. Jump up^Baudrillard. p. 439. Jump up^Guffey 2006, p. 2010. Jump up^Dermody, Breathnach 2009, p. 1511. Jump up^E. Guffey 200612. Jump up^Guffey 2006, p. 1613. Jump up^Baker 2012, p. 62414. Jump up^Dermody, Breathnach 2009, p. 715. Jump up^Dermody and Breathnach 2009, p. 1116. Jump up^Baker 2012, p. 62217. Jump up^Dermody, Breathnach 2009, pp. 7-818. Jump up^Heller and Lasky, 199319. Jump up^Dermody, Breathnach 2009, pp. 8-1020. Jump up^Dermody, Breathnach 2009, p. 1621. Jump up^Lauren Cochrane."Dr Martens enjoy comeback with best-selling season ever | Fashion". The Guardian. Retrieved2014-01-05.22. Jump up^"Bookulating Suggest-O-Mometer". Retrieved2011-10-05. Baudrillard, Jean(1995).Simulacra and Simulation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.ISBN978-0-472-06521-9. Collins, James C(1989).Uncommon Cultures: Popular Culture and Post-Modernism. New York/London: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-90137-6. Eco, Umberto(1986).Travels in Hyperreality. New York: Harcourt.ISBN978-0-15-191079-3. Eco, Umberto(1988).The Structure of Bad Taste. Amsterdam: Bert Bakker. Guffey, Elizabeth E(2006).Retro: The Culture of Revival. London: Reaktion.ISBN978-1-86189-290-4. Robyns, Clem(1991). "Beyond the first dimension: recent tendencies in popular culture studies", in Joris Vlasselaers (Ed.) The Prince and the Frog, Leuven: ALW, 14-32. Ross, Andrew(1989).No Respect. Intellectuals and Popular Culture. New York/London: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-90037-9. Samuel, Raphael(1994).Theatres of Memory. London: Verso.ISBN978-0-86091-209-5. Retro-Trader, 2002: Web site listing and displaying many retro related items. Dermody, Brenda and Breathnach, Teresa (2009). New Retro: classic graphics, todays designs London: Thames & Hudson Baker, Sarah Elsie (2012). Retailing Retro. Class, cultural capital and the material practices of the (re)valuation of style in: European Journal of Cultural Studies, 15: 621, Heller, Steven and Lasky, Julie (1993). Borrowed Design: The Use and Abuse of Historical Form, New York: Wiley Woodham, Jonathan M. (2004). A Dictionary of Modern Design. Oxford: Oxford University PressExternal links[edit]Look upretroin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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