How lucky are we in Melbourne…two vintage fairs in as many weeks!

On Sunday, the Strictly Vintage market was held at one of my favourite venues…the Northcote Town Hall.

Take 2 Markets Sign

What an absolutely perfect venue for all things vintage…the art deco style of hall just adds to the whole atmosphere!

Northcote hall

Plus all the beautifully dressed ladies we saw….how I envy your style!

Due to the fact we were exploring Rod Laver Arena in the morning, sadly I had to dress more for comfort and warmth, rather then one of my vintage styled outfits.

Sarah

However, I thoroughly enjoyed leaving modern life at the door, and being surrounded by fabulous things from all eras…

Hats and dresses

Bags

Coats

Including some amazing hats….look at those colours…

Hats

I was a bit in a green mood for some reason, as I first found a great cropped cardigan at Victor and Louise…it’s missing a button so will have to find a replacement, but it is lovely and warm!

Then I found a lovely green cropped jacket amougst the racks of Minette’s Vintage, one of my favourite vintage shops…Amy is so friendly and helpful, and I always find something special at her gorgeous store!

Minettes

We also caught up with the girls from Dames of Distinction….can hardly wait to make an appointment for them to weave their vintage magic on me!

Dames of Distinction

We arrived at the fair in time to go to the talk on 1920s ladies fashion by fashion expert and author, Nicole Jenkins of Circa Vintage.

We have not met Nicole before, but she is so knowledgeable, and has so many stories to tell that even my husband found the talk interesting.

As I have recently discovered and fallen in love with the TV series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, I was fascinated to hear about the 1920s inspired wardrobe that the main character, Miss Phryne Fisher, wears.

Nicole showed us some dresses actually from the 1920s….this is a wedding dress..

1920s wedding dress

Look at the lace sleeves…Nicole is wearing gloves to protect the delicate vintage textiles…

lace sleeves

This 1920s dress is an example of “burning out” the velvet to create the pattern…

1920s dress

I loved this silver beaded dress…

Silver dress

We learned that you never wash the vintage items….damage can be irreversible…like the lining of this 1920s coat…..

1920s Coat

Also learned about gelatin sequins…I don’t need to tell you what can happen if they are washed or put near heat!

I also have realised that with my perfect hourglass figure, the 1920s isn’t the era for me…

I am hoping we can get to the next Strictly Vintage market which will be on the 30th November so we can go to Nicole’s talk on 1930s fashion.

We had a lovely time at Strictly Vintage…and I now have two more items to add to my slowly growing vintage wardrobe!