Vintage Clothing, Jewellery and Textiles Show 2006

In January last year I was alerted by a good friend and fellow costume collector that there was to be an inaugural Vintage Clothing Show in Sydney in April. He urged me to attend and exhibit. It appealed to my sense of showmanship I guess and so I put together a display of my real vintage underwear and accessories together with my historical reproduction clothing. In the photos below you can see the view looking into my little stand, then the theatrical costumes on the mannequins and dress stands in front of the real vintage undies on the wall. I also made posters about "what lies beneath" featuring corsets, crinoline and bustles, petticoats and bloomers. Corsets were the most asked about items on the stand. If I had made some ready-to-wear I probably could have sold several on the spot. My stand was strictly a display, although one insistent lady wanted to buy the 1890's lace chemisette on the wall above the table to CUT UP to make a collar!! If she hadn't mentioned her intentions I might have taken a fair price for it, but NOT to cut it up!! My costumes included an embroidered silk Regency evening dress, 1830's cotton day dress, 1887 2 piece bustle outfit, 1875 corset, and 1920's beaded wedding gown with long narrow veil. On the walls were camisoles, divided drawers or "free traders", edwardian petticoat and the chemisette mentioned before. I will be exhibiting some of these again this weekend at an historic house where I volunteer at their bi-monthly Open House .