Fashion Scene
It’s great fun visiting a Vintage Fashion Expo and seeing so many shoppers dressing up in Victorian to retro fashions and searching for that alligator purse, specifically designed jewelry, the vintage shoes, or leisure suit from the 70s. There is something for every budget, every style and every period. Seen at the Oct. 20-21 show in Santa Monica:
The next Vintage Fashion Expo will be held May 10th - 11th, 2008 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, in Santa Monica, Calif. For information call 707-793-0773 or go to www.vintageexpo.com.
Ardis Taylor was there with an array of shoes, suits and coats from the 1930s-1960s.
Lauren Orr trying on a 1970s knit dress and friend Lori Hart looking for a fur coat.
Thoroughly enjoying themselves were Sophie D’Arcy 13, Kit Steinkellner 21, Isabelle D’Arcy 15 and Emma Steinkellner 13. Behind them are moms Sharon D’Arcy and Cherie Steinkellner. Asked why they enjoy vintage clothing and dressing up, Sophie said “It’s rich history and I love it!” Isabelle mentioned that “the clothes are made just right!”
Co-producer Lis Normoyle’s collection of vintage bathing suits included a mint gold lame 1960s suit.
Unforgettable in San Francisco had a 1940s I Magnins tilt felt hat which needed a “dry martini and a woman with evil intentions” stated the dealer.
As seen in Today’s Vintage Magazine
and online at www.todaysvintage.com.
It was Twenty Years Ago Today…
The Vintage Fashion Expo celebrates its 20-year love affair with fashions of the past; Anniversary show comes to San Francisco's Nob Hill Masonic Center March 15-16, 2008.
Hello Fashion Diggers,
Like a beloved coat or a treasured handbag, it seems the Vintage Fashion Expo has been around forever. But the first Expo took place in 1988, twenty years ago. Our regular buyers now include fashion designers, film costumers, stylists, the fashion press and San Francisco's most knowledgeable fashionistas.
What was playing at the movies in 1988? "The Last Emperor" won the Oscar for best Movie; Cher - wearing Bob Mackie - won as Best Actress for "Moonstruck." Paul Simon won the Grammy for "Graceland." The Beatles, Bob Dylan and The Supremes were inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, and CDs outsold vinyl records for the first time.
And what was in our closets? Fresh from the store, brand new pre-ripped acid-washed jeans, Hawaiian shirts, denim jackets, leather motorcycle jackets, aviator sunglasses and unlaced sneakers. The pouf, born in 1987, died in 1988 (pouf originator Christian Lacroix "could barely mask an expression of glazed disbelief as he regarded multitudes of women, most, to put it politely, of a certain age, turning the pouf into a parody of style": The New York Times.
That year, some designers were already looking to the past for what the Times called "simplicity in the shapes, luxury in the details": Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, Armani, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan ("full of Chanelisms": The New York Times). The Times also advised 1988 fashion fans to "watch Isaac Mizrahi and Marc Jacobs, both in their mid-20's and enormously gifted."
Visitors to the 2008 Vintage Fashion Expo will revisit not only 1988, but styles spanning the late 19th through the 20th centuries. As always, there is something from every era and for every price range.
The Santa Monica Vintage Fashion Expo is scheduled for May 10-11.
Regular hours: Saturday 10:30 AM - 6 PM, Sunday 11AM-5 PM, tickets $10. Early buying takes place Saturday from 9 - 10:30 AM, tickets $20. Students with I.D. are admitted free on Sunday.
There will be celebratory events and stylish surprises in store for visitors throughout the Expo's anniversary year.
For more information about the Vintage Expo call 707-793-0773
... or access www.vintageexpo.com
As seen on the Fashion Dig website March 2008
