What does vintage mean?

I openly admit that college has made me an online shopaholic. Luckily for me and my bank account most of that is window shopping and whenever I like to open a new window with a particular item in mind, I head straight to my fave sites including eBay. I stumbled upon another vintage store on Wednesday that I am now absolutely enamored with. I'm new to vintage and I used to typically think of vintage as tacky old garments that are being glorified as worthy of being worn again by whoever is bold enough to do so. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Although I love Kingston Avenue Vintage some of the stuff for auction is just a hot and holy mess. But that's okay. On the other hand, Tin Roof Vintage has far less mess. On the downside the prices are quite a bit higher. The average garment at KAV probably sells for around $12 bucks whereas the prices at TRV are closer to $40. But as always, I think it's necessary to look at the quality of the garment, the chic factor and PPW (price per wear) not to mention how much your beautiful, beating heart thinks it's worth. I'm bidding on the blue and white dress pictured. Don't be afraid to spend a little more on a one-of-a-kind piece that couldn't dare be duplicated at a party or that people will fawn over and ask where you got it; to which you can coolly reply, "Oh, it's viiinnnntage."