Thursday, April 26, 2012

Vintage Clothing Explosion

Last weekend I snuck away for a few hours to attend Chicago's Vintage Clothing Expo.  Basically, it was a vintage-lover's paradise--over 200 booths of vintage hats, shoes, purses, jewelry, knick-knacks, and of course, clothes.




Granted, I don't wear this stuff. There was a time when I did, but nowadays I just keep it a little more simple.  Still, I appreciate the beauty, the gaudiness, the sparkles, the design of some of the pieces.  


I know gaggles of gals who would have absolutely melted into puddles of pure bliss just by being here.  I wish they all would have been with me.  As it goes, I went alone.  Just a girl and her trusty Canon.


I did find a feathered friend while there.  



Honestly, there was just so much stuff there that it was kind of overwhelming.  I walked around the same area three times just to make sure I didn't miss anything.  Luckily, I got there very close to opening, so it wasn't very crowded at all.  



I have a thing for sparkles and sparkly materials.  I owned a shirt once that was woven from this metallic like fabric.  I loved that shirt.  I kept going back to this dress. It was so shiny.  SO SHINY.  It had me in its trance.  It didn't help that the skirt was shiny too, like fish scales.  I didn't get it.  That would have involved trying it on and that was just too much work.  And polyester makes your pits stink.  Or maybe just mine.


Looking at all these baby shoes makes me wonder about their prior owners.  Who were they?  Where are they know?  I think about all the chubby baby ankles that once filled these shoes out, the first steps that were taken in them, the skinned knees.

After an hour and a half, I was vintaged out.  
I took my feathered friend and the headache I'd gotten from that "old stuff" smell and went to the store.  

There I saw a girl in her pajamas and slippers running errands like it was no big thang.  

And I thought again of all those dresses, purses, gloves and hats that ladies used to wear.  

What happened?

10 comments:

  1. This looks like so much fun! And I have to agree with the "evolution" of women. Does no one appreciate the feminist movement anymore? I saw something on Pinterest that had Audrey Hepburn and Snookie side by side with the caption, "What happened?".

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    1. I think it should be "The Feminine Movement" instead of the feminist movement. :)

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  2. How incredibly cool! I am so "intimidated" by vintage stuff and thrifting...but it's one of my 30 before 30 goals to give them both anther chance!

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    1. I just can't get used to the idea of wearing vintage stuff...to me it's like wearing a costume out in public.

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  3. Ahhh, I wish I could have gone with you! And for the record, I am okay with some yoga pants or work-out pants in public, but the whole pajamas-and-slippers-I-couldn't-bother-to-even-get-dressed look.....such a sad reflection of our society. Get dressed, people!
    xo, Hincks

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    1. I wish you could have too..and I think you'll remember my metallic shirt since you stole it..ugh..borrowed it from me when we were youngsters! Ha ha!

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  4. i think for the most part women do still take the time to "dress" but there isn't time like there was before. in those times most women did not work and really took the time to put themselves together to go have tea or what not.

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    1. I don't think women in the 50s and 60s went to the store in their pjs though. And it takes just as much effort to put on a dress as a pair of pj bottoms and a sweatshirt.

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  5. First I love your header pic. So awesome. Second I would have been one of those girls in a puddle because I love me some Vintage. And finally, your thought and inner dialogue of the shoes, really goes without saying, but I'll say it anyways... so poetic. Oh btw Hi, I'm new here. Found you through the May follow link and I am so happy that I did. I'm your newest follower.

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    1. Hi! Thanks for popping in and commenting!

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