Retro Day is celebrated on February 27! Whether you are old-fashioned or not, you must admit that retro is classic. A golden and vintage era that many have been lucky to have lived through. From fashion to cars to music and beyond, retro is a distinct style people love even now. The retro style has been defined as “a style that is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the historical past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes.”
History of Retro Day
Hermelinda Aguilar, Robert Duran, and Tina Duran are the three people who founded Retro Day in 2018. You’d expect it to have been earlier, but better late than never! They said they came up with this annual celebration to take a look back at how life was before smartphones, social media, and the Internet as a whole became a necessity in our daily lives. In pop culture, the ‘nostalgia cycle’ is typically for the two decades that are 20 to 30 years before the current one.
The term itself originated in 1972 to describe “new artifacts that self-consciously refer to particular techniques, modes, motifs, and materials of the past.” Many people use the term to describe styles from the past. The style refers to new things that display characteristics of the past. The word is derived from the Latin prefix ‘retro’ which means ‘backward’ or ‘in past times.’ Retro describes objects and attitudes from the recent past that never seem modern.
What more can be said about the history of retro? It’s like a synecdoche. How about the future of retro instead? Retrofuturism! It is a creative arts movement that shows the influence of depictions of the future produced in an earlier era. If futurism is the science of anticipating what will come, retrofuturism is the remembering of that anticipation. A blend of retro styles with futuristic technology, retrofuturism explores the tension between past and future, and also between the alienating and empowering effects of technology. It is reflected in artistic creations by manifesting the imagined artifacts of its parallel reality.
Retro Day timeline
The classic telephone is invented by Alexander Graham Bell.
Benz Patent-Motorwagen is regarded as one of the world’s first production automobiles.
Disco, a style, genre, and subculture emerges in the ’70s.
The world’s first arcade video game machine is ‘Retro Space.’
The first ‘retro shoes’ are the Air Jordans by Nike.
Retro Day FAQs
How do I celebrate Retro Day?
In addition to the suggestions above, one can also watch old movies, especially at a drive-in theater. Play music on a jukebox, tape recorder, Discman, radio, or even a gramophone!
How do I dress up for Retro Day?
As mentioned, along with flared jeans and shirts, don’t forget the classic Converse shoes. And a pair of funky glasses will do the trick!
Is there a National Nostalgia Day?
Not exactly, but we do have a Retro Day!
Retro Day Activities
Flaunt your bell bottoms
Dress retro with bell-bottom jeans, shiny shoes, polka shirts, and maybe even an afro if you’re feeling it! Most importantly, don’t forget to wear your retro attitude.
Listen to funky disco
That ’70s disco vibe! Take a trip down memory lane and have a listen to all the funky, synthy, jazzy, groovy disco tunes that remain classic to this day.
Put your phone away
It is perhaps the most important one on the list. Retro times were good times, for they were simpler times and perhaps the best of times.
5 Interesting Facts About All Things Retro
Coca Cola
The product was free, featured a cocoa bean-shaped bottle, and tried to replace coffee.
First barcode
The first product to get barcode scanned was a pack of Wrigley’s gum in 1974.
Weather Channel
The Weather Channel was launched on May 2 in 1982.
Burger King
Burger King was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King initially.
Pop culture
The first use of the term ‘Popular Culture’ in print was back in 1818.
Why We Love Retro Day
Remember the good times
When you feel nostalgia, it is generally a fond memory and a warm feeling. Retro times were good times, for they were simpler.
Celebrate class
Imagine if we all celebrate it religiously, from the get-up to the decor. Wouldn’t that be a sight we’d all love to see?
Buy or collect vintage
Many people are attracted to vintage things, and we can see why. Golden age thinkers or not, it’s said that a lot of music, among other things, was more soulful and just better quality than can be considered today.
Retro Day dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | February 27 | Thursday |
| 2026 | February 27 | Friday |
| 2027 | February 27 | Saturday |
| 2028 | February 27 | Sunday |
| 2029 | February 27 | Tuesday |
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