‘A Vintage Affair’ puts on first weekend sale of spooky fashions from years past
A slinky, full-length dress hung on a mannequin in the front foyer; fancy, detailed hats suspended from coat racks and an abundance of colourful jewelry litter the room’s show tables — a vintage lover’s dream.
With the haunted holiday coming up, A Vintage Affair held their first annual Vintage Halloween Sale last weekend.
Co-organizer and founder of the Affair, Bonnie Barber, said this is not the first vintage sale the organization has put on.
Last fall they started off with a pop-up shop, a far cry from costumes, in Fashion Central during Vintage Style Week, which led to the Affair’s first vintage sale last winter.
“The positive feedback we received through those sales has inspired us to keep going with pop-up sales,” Barber says.
Fashionistas from across Calgary came to enjoy the unique array of costumes and attire from across the centuries.
Bailey Jelinski, 20, and Aimee Hoffman, 21, said this was their first experience at a vintage Halloween sale.
“I shop at vintage stores all the time but this offers something totally different,” Jelinski said.
“This was a great idea because if you did not have a costume plan in mind, this sale gave some great ideas of what you could be for Halloween,” Hoffman added.
Co-founders of A Vintage Affair, Bonnie Barber and Theresa Morgan, explain the detailing on a velvet flapper dress. Photo: Lucia TrischukBarber said the bulk of the garments they sold in the sale came from estate buys around the city.
“And a lot of the clothing ‘finds us’ through friends and others who are aware of our business,” Barber added.
Barber described the objective of vintage shopping as a totally unique experience.
“When you discover a piece, whether it be a coat, belt or even a piece of jewelry, the fact that it came from some place personal makes it so much more special,” she says.
She also added, “I am hoping that customers at the sale found some unique, high-quality items; something they would not find anywhere else.”
“I love vintage shopping,” said Jelinski, “because the clothing you buy tells a story of where it came from.”
Hoffman agreed, “The clothes have so much character to them; vintage clothing is the definition of one-of-a-kind.”
Most of the apparel at the sale was dated from the 1920s all the way through to the ’80s.
But the event was not limited to Halloween apparel — day-to-day wear was also on display.
The large display of colourful jewelry caught the eye of many customers at the Sale. Photo: Lucia Trischuk“We had clothing, jewelry, accessories as well as collectibles like vintage linens and home décor,” explained Barber. “The Halloween section was a fun add-on.”
“We decided to do this because of the time of year and the amount of costume-worthy vintage clothing we had,” she said.
Customers took full advantage of the fact that there were not just costumes for sale, Barber explained.
“I loved that I could go shopping for everyday looks, but at the same time hunt down good ideas and potentially a costume for Halloween,” Hoffman said.
“It was good to have both sides of the spectrum because some people might wear the Halloween stuff in their regular wardrobe and vice versa,” Jelinski added.
The Affair is hoping to put on the 2nd annual Vintage Halloween Sale next year.
“The event was a great success,” said Barber. “Everyone that came in had a great time sifting through the variety clothing from different eras that were featured in the store.”
But the Affair has bigger and better plans for the future.
Barber explained, “We are opening a new store location in Inglewood; this move will give us a bigger and more permanent work space.”
The new location is said to be open by Oct. 19, and is located at 1222 9th Ave. S.E.