Vintage, vintage, vintage

Yesterday I went to Hycroft Mansion for the Fabulous Collectibles Sale. Ivan Sayers ( amazing historical fashion collector) was there as well. There were incredible items there, one highlight for me was a a little girl's dress from the 1920s being sold for a mere $25.00! If I had a child.... I was tempted to get it despite not having a child! Another interesting item was a velvet, three piece little boy's suit from the 1800's. I bought a cream pearl necklace from the 1960s with a little rhinestone clasp. It looks like a beatle it's adorable.

 I wanted to get a sewing pattern for a dress from the 1940's but it was a few sizes too big for me.. Afterwards my grandma gave  me a few of her vintage things such as the brooches below, and a scarf that belonged to my Nana as well as another scarf that one of my grandma's patients gave her back in the day when she was a nurse and the scarf is a pale green silk with embroidery and is at the very least 80 years old.

These are some crazy brooches! I have an obsession with vintage anything and I think it's great that my grandmother once wore these eccentric pieces (especially the massive pink brooch). P.S I haven't mentioned how fantastic the Ivan Sayers Titanic: A Gala to Remember on October 13th was but it was amazing! The food was delicious. Artichokes, smoked salmon, olives and feta cheese were the appetizers. It was a three course meal with apple fennel salad, and herbed chicken with rice and roast beef with potatoes. Italian pastries were served with coffee for dessert. People were dressed up and wore fantastic vintage clothes. My best friend Marja-Leena came with me and it was a lot of fun! Unfortunately I couldn't take any good pictures because the flash was off on my camera and I was afraid to turn it on while the fashion show was taking place. Here are some pictures from http://gaiapix.smugmug.com/Fashion-by-Ivan-Sayers/Hellenic-Center/Titanic-A-Gala-to-Remember/19590482_n3tJ2h  (None of these photo's are mine).

This is something that a third class woman would have worn on to the Titanic.

Both green dresses, especially the one above, were my favorites. I also loved the lilac evening gown with the brown mink trim.

Portobello West Market, Remnants of Memory Costume Exhibit and more

I have acheived, finally, what I have set out to acheive.. After a few panic attacks and countless doubtful thoughts, I finally made it to three (four for me) fashion events, I had conversations with interesting people and gathered lots of valuable information from each event. In particular at the Portobello West Market. I met a handful of up and coming amazing designers, and I had great conversations with three, Pilar Rodriguez and Kim Barr and Alex Smolen of the local and eco/social concious label Fair JAKE. The label has quirky,eclectic and beautiful accessories ranging from Lily Nicholls head bands with unique touches like vintage buttons (each one is one of a kind and handcrafted) , Beau Tie bow ties, which are created from remnant scraps and eco-friendly fabrics, and Ln handbags. They were very friendly and very helpful. They had graduated not too long ago from Ryerson in Toronto so they said they understood how networking and attending fashion events for the first time can be very nerve wracking. They told me that doubt is so normal when one is studying and working in fashion but that it is important to push past it and just get what I need to get done done. They told me to never sell myself short and be assertive but polite and that I should get out there on the scene and ask questions while I am a student because when I am working no one will want to help me because I will be competition. They were very friendly and I got a good picture of them.

I also talked to a headdress and accessories designer named Pilar Rodriguez of Pilar Rodriguez Designs. She was absolutely wonderful and she was very kind to me and gave me so much good advice that I would be writing for a very long time if I wrote it all down here ( have it in my notes). She gave me tons of advice but she told me to enjoy what I do because it's hard, time consuming work and that I should go to as many events as I can. She told me that while she enjoys working in North America, the fashion is quite a bit behind countries such as London and Milan. She told me to start reading European and UK fashion magazines to stay current( or ahead. Depends on how you look at it). She then showed me a couple of her head bands that she said were becoming very popular in London and she said that the trend most likely wouldn't reach Vancouver until around December. We talked about my trip to Paris a year and a half ago and she said travel is so useful when it comes to working in the fashion industry ( in order to know what's going on beyond the bubble of one's own country). She also works as an airplane stewardess so she has a lot of experience with travel. She mentioned a couple of times her love for London, New York and Milan ( because of italians precision and attention to detail with clothes).

The london trend she showed me.

Remnants of Memory: Costume Installation Exhibit

Not too much to say here. The designs were excellent and I met a girl a little older than me and we talked about school, I told her about the Ivan Sayers event and she rccommended to me a great vintage store.

I also found out that one of the dancers for Remnants of Memory is the daughter of my grandparents' friend so I got her phone number. Here's a few costumes..

"Imagine you are a grape and your lover is picking you from the vine". That is the kind of stuff that was playing on the podcast while you walked through the exhibit. A very artsy event.

Only few of the many costumes..

I'll do a seperate post about the Drift Harvest Festival because it was awesome too. I got quite a few photos at that one too. It was more music and art than fashion but if you looked hard enough there was fashion. Besides, fashion, music and art are all related anyway.

Ivan Sayers

I didn't end up making it to the the Kira Kira Tokyo Exhibit.Which is unfortunate. Believe you me I wanted to go but I had to go to a family function. Anyways. I did go to Ivan Sayer's show , and it was beyond incredible. Genuinely, it was a smorgasboard for anyone who loves fashion, history, or vintage clothing. The clothing was to die for. Seriously, I thought I loved fashion before tonight, I had no idea. And when I say the clothing was incredible, I am talking an original little black dress from 1928 by Coco Chanel herself, tea dresses from the 18th century, a hand beaded evening gown by Charles Frederick Worth ( known as the father of haute couture), a black feathered hot pants suit designed and autographed by Oscar de la Renta and much more. You name the era and there were clothes from that period. My highlight was, of course, the Chanel original little black dress. I am not stretching the truth when I say I wanted to cry when I saw it. It was gorgeous in it's simplicity. From a distant it looked like a simple long sleeved sheath dress. When I got closer all of the beautiful details came alive. It was beautiful and what was most amazing was the way that that dress could be worn today, as is and it would still look elegant and modern. Chanel's style was so timeless and so innovative when you think of the time period when she began working ( early twentieth century). It was incredible. Ivan Sayers was very charismatic and inspiring. The fact that it was so truly entertaining to listen to him speak without moving for roughly two hours speaks of how charismatic he is. And he found a great deal of his vintage clothing in places like the Salvation Army and Value Village! The man definitely has an incredible eye and I was just mesmerized the entire time. It was my first real fashion event and there was not a second of it that I did not love. It was definitely a rewarding experience and it just made me love fashion even more and the way that it has changed through out time and the way that it has brought people together throughout time.

The picture is not mine by the way. I found it on google.

Fashion events. Crazy,crazy,crazy!

Before I started studying fashion in University only a couple of short weeks ago, I had ZERO idea how much goes on fashion-wise in my beloved city of Vancouver. There are tons of events going on! Honestly, this town is hopping.Today I am going to see Ivan Sayer, a historical costume collector who is celebrating his 65th birthday tomorrow. He is also the host for "Titanic: A Gala to Remember" , a historial fashion show and gala, on October 15th. I am particularly pumped up for that one. Anyone who knows me knows I have an obsession with fashion and a fascination with the Titanic. After the Ivan Sayers event where he will talk about his collections and his career up until now, I am going to the Kira Kira Tokyo Fashion exhibit at Beaumont Studio. Lots of new and underground clothing and jewellery designers showcasing their stuff, not to mention other artists and dancers and djs. There is so much going on that I feel like a kid in a very cool candy store. Thank god there is so much going on though because I have a Fashion Events project due October 4th, as in a mere two weeks from Tuesday. Wish me luck! I'll report back after all my fun tonight.