Alternative to "old-fashioned", with a distinct and positive meaning?

Question

Is there an alternative way to say "old-fashioned" but with a distinct positive meaning?

It could be used as a compliment in the following scenario:
Woman: I want a man who can write sentences containing more than 3 words. It would be even better if he would use punctuation... I guess I am old-fashioned.
Man: You are not old-fashioned, you are [...]

The man can't say "You really are old-fashioned" to her and expect her to take it as a compliment. Most women would not take it as a compliment. I am looking for something a majority would take as a compliment. Best words I could come up with - decent/classy/traditional.

I am not a native English speaker, I can't come up with anything that conveys the meaning I want.

phenry · Accepted Answer

Old-school is often used as a descriptor with positive connotations. Some might consider it a colloquialism, but the OED has citations going back almost 200 years for even the figurative sense of the expression.

Erik Kowal · Answer

"You're not old-fashioned, you merely prefer the classic/standard literacy paradigm".

Alo · Answer

Given the example above, I would suggest

'You are not old-fashioned, you have standards'

I realise it doesn't quite fit with the sentence provided, but it's complimentary and you could change it to '..you have high standards' which, given the low threshold of expectation, might be slightly humorous also.

Alex · Answer

Retro or vintage perhaps? Retro seems to have a more neutral ring, whereas vintage seems to have a generally positive ring to it, but is not as close of a synonym.

Alternative to "old-fashioned", with a distinct and positive meaning?

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