Vintage Fashion Expo!!!!

Hey y'all!

This past Sunday, my friend Tracey and I attend the Vintage Fashion Expo in San Francisco! 

http://www.vintageexpo.com/

It was a large collection of vintage clothing vendors who turn the convention center into one giant thrift store.  There were all sorts of wonderful things to buy! 
Since I literally have NO ROOM for more clothes at this time, I took my camera along so I could snap pics for future project inspiration.
 

The Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco

 

various booths at the exhibition......



Bling Bling!!



Do-dads and Bakelite bracelets , as far as the eye can see!


Since I am more than a little obsessed with construction & detail, it was a treat to see & touch the REALLY OLD stuff up close.  (Victorian/Edwardian, ect...)
One vendor had a couple of lovely velvet jackets from the 1880's that we got to study.  Tracey and I ooed and ahhed over the details.  And the vendor had NO PROBLEM with us talking pics for our research and inspiration:

a "Real" late Victorian Jacket...probably 1880's, in a yummy black velvet.  The fabric quality is amazing and lush for being 120 years old!  And yes, those are hand-bound buttonholes!

A quick snap of the inside view:  Note all velvet pieces are flatlined in a tightly woven tan cotton.  Casings for boning have pinked edges, and are cat-stitched to unfinished (raw) seams that are clipped & pressed open.  The cat stitching is set over the 1/4" boning, which I'm pretty sure is whalebone, but there were no open casings to verify.

Well, that's it for now!  It was a fun day, and I look forward to going again when the Expo comes around next year (hopefully!)

-Kathleen in Oakland