Liu Ke the founder of two Mega Vintage shops in Beijing, one on the fifth floor of a building in the fashionable Sanlitun area and the other in Gulou district. [Photo Provided to China Daily]

For many of us the newer something is, the better it is and the more sophisticated we think it makes us look. But there is another approach to clothing and personal appearance.

They are the people for whom the word old means quaint rather than decrepit, and for whom dated stuff is not just desirable, but cool as well. Hence the Chinese version of a sign saying "Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe" painted on an otherwise unremarkable door hidden at the end of a dark alley will have them making a beeline to see what's inside.

These are the aficionados in China of vintage clothing, part of a wider culture that celebrates the trappings of the past.

In the world of vintage fashion it seems to be generally accepted that this past can be as recent as 35 years ago and as far back as a century ago. Furthermore, vintage clothing consists of garments whose attraction has endured, particularly clothes made between 1920 and 1980. They reflect the culture of the Western world - Europe and the United States in particular.

They will have been all the rage at a particular time, and even if they once disappeared, that was simply a hiatus, their having made a comeback on a wave of nostalgia.

Vintage culture has had a steady presence in China, and although it has never completely taken hold among a wide audience, it holds a certain charm for many.