This Saturday, Ambs and I scooted our booties to Santa Monica for their annual vintage expo. Neither of us had ever been, and it was a fun little adventure.
First, there was a line to get in. Like a freakin Radiohead concert or the Apple store the day it’s debuting a new phone. There were reporters and news channels there. Shoppers came both alone and in big groups, some in large tour buses. There were newlyweds and entire families. Most people were dressed to the nines in their best vintage, including guys. And, of course, there were some serious collectors there. Creepily serious. I heard one man arguing with a seller over whether a pair of shoes was from 1954 or 1955. He was getting pretty upset. And then there was a woman who literally began begging a man she didn’t know to give her this dress that he had just purchased for his wife.
Some of the vendors made me laugh. While most of them were warm and friendly, a lot of others were snobbalicious and acted as though minding a booth full of vintage clothes is an important government job with lots of responsibility. I get it: shoppers touch your items and can ruin them. But having a coronary because people want to snap a quick photo of something? Come on.
But it was fun. We found some amazing, beautiful things that I’m really excited about. I loved seeing people in vintage from all decades, too. There were a few particularly cute couples who dressed up together. Plus, Amber and I felt like kids in a gorgeous candy shop. It was Amber’s first time seeing some designer pieces in the flesh. We saw an Emilio Pucci, a beautiful Givenchy, and a Mary Quant (all pictured below).
If you’re a vintage lover that will be in California next time, I would recommend that you visit the next expo. Just be prepared to be overwhelmed by 488309237264883592003 pieces of vintage, and be sure to bring your bargaining pants. These pieces are expensive, but most vendors will let you haggle. And if you see something you like, grab it first and then decide if you’ll actually purchase it or not. Otherwise, someone else may snatch it—these expo goers meant business! I thought a few were going to bite off my fingers.
This post was written by Tori.
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