Hold on to your hats fashionistas, I’ve got exciting news! Sunday, October 25 is the big day for some yesteryear thrills at the Vintage Clothing & Style Festival. This all day event happening at the Alameda Elks Lodge is not just about vintage fashion but also about living a vintage lifestyle.
Two years ago vintage enthusiasts Kimberly Manning and her business partners Roberto and Jula Isola decided they wanted to broaden the scope of a typical vintage show. Their desire is to offer not just retail but also an opportunity to socialize, interact and discuss all things vintage. “We want this Festival to celebrate vintage in a way that all ages, sizes, races and sexes feel they too can wear vintage,” explains Ms. Manning, looking tres chic in a 1940s pale pink knit dress embellished with red dragonflies at the shoulder. “Vintage can be for everyone.”
An interior designer, Ms. Manning claims fashion is her hobby. She wears vintage and vintage inspired clothing full time and gives lectures and demonstrations on how to carry it off successfully. Her love for past eras started with Edwardian frocks she found while antiquing as a child with her mother in Connecticut. “Nineteen forties is my preferred style, but my husband wears 50s,” says Ms. Manning who sports a fetching Lauren Bacall hairdo. Her partners Roberto and Jula Isola have been dealing in vintage for years and do big business providing Hollywood movie studios with costumes. Most recently they worked on the film Public Enemy starring Johnny Depp.
The partners hope that the Festival will help educate people on how to make vintage work for them as well as create a comfortable place to learn. “If you’re new to vintage and want out of the box,” says Ms. Manning, “we are providing a safe environment to be experimental.” Attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite vintage - all eras and styles welcome.
Included at the Festival will be:
• Fifty vendors selling men’s and women’s clothing, textiles, and furnishings.
• Music by Sara Klotz de Aguilar, Ricky Quizol, Raul Castro and singer Ann Gibson.
• Men and women touring models, allowing for attendees to see prime vintage pieces up close.
• Tailors and seamstresses available to discuss custom made pieces.
• Demonstrations of hair and makeup techniques.
• Two no-host bars.
• Reasonably priced lunches.
• Dancing.
Additionally a website has been set up with the intention of continuing the discussion and creating a one-stop spot for information, tips, and referrals:
http://www.vintageclothingstylefestival.com/index.html
The Vintage Clothing & Style Festival, Sunday, October 25, 11AM-6PM, Elks Lodge 2255 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. Cost is a mere $5 and there will be plenty of free parking.
No excuses, folks. Be there or be square!
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Posted by: palm springs hotels | October 29, 2009 at 07:30 AM
Such a lovely gown she's wearing. thanks for the post.
-mikee
Posted by: wholesale clothing | December 06, 2009 at 06:18 PM