Vintage Fashion Fair

This weekend if you are in Sunny Sydney why don't you drop into Canterbury racecourse for possibly one of the best vintage clothing fairs on the Sydney calendar.

The Vintage clothing and Textiles Show starts this Friday and runs through until Sunday. It really is one of the biggest market style fairs around with an amazing selection of beautiful antique and vintage jewellery, vintage hats, bags & shoes. As well as loads of vintage clothing, linen, lace, textiles to small collectables.

There are Over 60 Dealers from all over Australia attending. It only comes to Sydney twice a year and each time I go I find some of the most spectacular vintage treasures. There is also a heap of entertainment including Best Dressed in Vintage Competition, Demonstration of Vintage Makeup Techniques & Hairstyles2 hr workshop by Lindy Charm School for Girls, Swing Dance Demo's, Vintage Fashion Presentations by Guest Speakers and plenty more.

This is one of my favourite shows of the year and completely worth the $12.00 entry fee!

Where:

Canterbury Racecourse Function Centre,

King Street Canterbury, Sydney

When:

Friday 17th October 2008 5.30pm - 9.00pm

Saturday 18th October 2008 9.30am - 4.30pm

Sunday 19th October 2008 9.30am - 4.30pm

Check out the Love Vintage website for more details HERE

Need a Bag?

Probably the coolest eco friendly bags around. The fabulous people at Bag Ladies are at it again with a new oversized chunky cvotton canvas tote (above) . At $24.95 they are a great gift. I bought a few of this one below for girlfriends as presents at christmas time and they were a definite hit!

Log onto BagLadies website HERE

A Vintage Fashion Spectacle...If your in Melbourne!

My trusty Vogue magazine tells me there is a reason to visit Melbourne this summer (apart from all those glorious vintage fashion boutiques). Melbourne's National Gallery is home to a fabulous show all about how fashion works behind the seams and how "once hidden elements" of fashion designing have been "creeping into the open in recent years". The show features vintage frocks and designers from the 1950's right through the decades to our current masterminds.

Remaking Fashion runs from late September until April next year so you have plenty of time to take it in. I'm booking my flight online right now

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30 days of fabulous fashion

30 Days of Fashion & Beauty has launched for the month of September with the beautiful Eva Mendes opening the event at Melbourne's Regent theatre last weekend.

I love Eva. She has a such a fantastic face...and bod. She could actually wear a sack and still look amazing. She also rocks a vintage look beautifully! The stunning yellow frock she donned by Australian designer, Willow would be a difficult choice for most of us...

30 Days of Fashion and Beauty is now in its second year, is the initiative of ACP Magazines Women's lifestyle division which includes titles such as Harper's BAZAAR, Madison, Shop, NW, Cosmopolitan, The Australian Women's Weekly, Take 5, TV Week, Woman's Day, Dolly, Cleo, and Good Health & Medicine. The concept is a month-long multi-title, multimedia and interactive consumer event designed to help customers style themselves for Spring/Summer.

So basically, choc full of runways shows, celebrity endorsments and beauty and style workshops...

You can check out the event calendar HERE or go their website at; http://www.30daysoffashionandbeauty.com.au/30-days-of-fashion-and-beauty.htm

Peppermint Magazine Launch

If you love fair trade, organic, vintage, sustainable, locally produced, recycled, responsibly-made or environmentally-friendly fashion then you need to get your hands on a copy of Peppermint Magazine!

The gorgeous Kelley Sheenan, editor of Peppermint Magazine and a Bowerbird supporter from way back has sorted out the best of green style from Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of the world. The mag features fashion, footwear, jewellery, craft, beauty, art and design ­all of which will either be organic, vintage, locally-produced, recycled,fair trade, responsibly-made or sustainable. Peppermint will be cutting-edge and old-fashioned, new and old, high-end and hand-crafted.

This is an evolutionary magazine - don¹t miss it in all it's 100% recycled paper glory...

If you live in QLD you can go along to the launch at the Paddington Green Precinct for their debut - go along and get your free copy, and help to celebrate the first magazine of it's kind and all the wonderful people that helped make it happen. They we will be alongside 11 Paddington businesses that have bandedtogether to create Australia¹s first green living precinct, promoting organic and sustainable lifestyle choices from clothing to wine, food,transport, homewares, skin care and yoga. Organic wine tasting, authenticsourdough organic bread to nibble, live music, giveaways, product testing,organic nibbles, community, green living advice... and us!

Their distribution points are also now listed on their website, and if you are not able to get along to one of them, then you can buy a copy online for just $3.50 plus postage.

Visit: http://www.peppermintmag.com/

Fashionable Things To Do in Sydney

Again, I complain about time! I've just started back at university this semester to complete a masters and what little time I had before is slowly evaporating...Never mind - I'd complain more of boredom!

If you do have a few hours to spare over the coming weeks here are a few (vintage inspired) things to do:

The Fifties Fair is on again at Rose Seidler house (that most impressive piece of 1950's architecture) in Waroongha on the 24th of August. If you never been and LOVE vintage clothing, art and collectables it is probably the best vintage fair around. It grows every year and there is everything from Jazz and rockabilly bands, 50s DJ, dance demos, vehicle displays, street theatre and a Fifties Fair fashion parade and awards. For more details go to the Historic Houses Trust website.

From next Thursday, the Young Blood Design Market at the Powerhouse Museum is on again. My favourite design markets choc full of amazing local talent displaying and selling their wares. Everything from jewellery, home wares and fashion to art and craft.

Details:
Young Blood: Designers MarketPowerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo
Thursday 14 August, 6.00 – 9.00pm
Friday 15 August, 10.00am – 6.00pm
Saturday 16 August, 10.00am – 6.00pm
Sunday 17 August, 10.00am – 6.00pm
Check out Power House Museum for more info



Also worth seeing before it ends is the Rockbillly - Living in the 50's exhibition at the Museum of Sydney (thanks Nicole from Circa for pointing this one out on her blog too - I would have missed it otherwise!) Fantastic exhibition - Photographer Steven Siewert is amazing! He's beautifully documented Sydney's rockabilly subculture "who live and breathe an era that predates their earliest birthdays. The boys dress for cool with stovepipe jeans and slick quiffs, while the women wear dazzling cocktail frocks by night and colourful vintage dresses by day".

Definitely worth a visit if your in the city this week !
Museum of Sydney
Cnr Bridge & Phillip Streets Circular Quay

Dita Does Wheels & Doll Baby!

Can you think of a better muse for Wheels & Doll Baby than Miss Von Teese? No, me either. The ultimate modern day, vintage inspired sex kitten is now the face of the iconic Aussie label - a favourite of celebrities the world over.

Mel Greensmith, creator of the label is a master of marketing and promotion. Her strategy from the labels inception was to get it on as many famous people as possible. Of course it helped that she already lived a rock n' roll lifestyle with her boyfriend - rock guitarist from the Divinyls Mark McEntree. Counting the likes of the Rolling Stones and Debbie Harry (one of the label's ambassadors & occasional model) among her friends meant that she's had plenty of contacts to get her clothes out there and talked about.

Oh, how I'd love to the chance to sit down and have a chat with her about designing a successful fashion label and building up an iconic brand. I think she's a genius in both regards.

I love her vintage inspired aesthetic and the classic feminine designs of her dresses. In fact, you really must check out her latest range "La Clementine" clothes to snare a millionaire - an ode to French screen goddesses of the 1950's ... Sexy, fun & totally adorable. I can't decide what to buy - I want them all!

Reworking Vintage in the Design Forum

Where do the weeks go? Another 7 days have past since I last blogged and I feel like it
was only yesterday! to be truthful, it's been a hectic week with university enrollments (another story entirely) and getting the new size ranges for the Rescued by Bowerbird label ready for production

...and I finally got "The Stevie" (as it's been christened) finished for the design forum. By all accounts the forum was a great success. It was the first dress that I deconstructed with the help of Bowerbird visitors (and customers) and it was loads of fun. Lots of great advice turned a pretty awful 1970's maxi into something edgy and fun. Of course, we weren't without our hiccups - like the hemline issue...and a couple of people aren't quite sold on the vintage lace collar but general consensus is that it's looking mighty fine...

We didn't go too nuts with reworking this one as as it had a great deal of potential anyway with all that lovely floaty fabric. Shorter with a lot more attitude and a bit of ladylike accessorizing was all that was needed.

We went from this: to the finished product;