Vintage Musings

Vive La MODE Vintage Clothes & Accessories Fair

Yes, a vintage and vintage inspired fair coming to the City Hotel on Sunday the 16th of May. I’m so excited I’m taking a stand. I don’t mean that by taking a stand that I’m in any way responsible for the fair. What I mean is I’m taking a stand! I’m selling at a table. Some old things, some made things, some lovely reproduction prints and some fabulous beautiful vintage inspired jewelry (pictured). I can’t wait. Something different.

I for one am fed up with our homogenius society, the same shops in every city, the same copied items in all of the shops and everyone looking the same, albeit depending on the outlet, some people pay more money to look more the same than others. Wandering through the town, (city?) last week I saw one particualar white teeshirt adorned with distinctive colourful butterflies. I thought it was quite nice as I have a thing about butterflies, that is unto I undertook a whirlwind ‘look-see’ tour of the City Centre (namely Foyleside and the Richmond centre) and saw numerous variations of the same t-shirt complete with similar/same butterfly design, in all of the usual outlets. The only disparging difference was the price.

My teeanage self…(yip she’s still in there somewhere beneath the so called years of wisdom and wrapped in layers of mature folds) would have despaired. As a teenager I dared to be different, I wouldn’t have comptemplated gracing the door of ‘Next’ or ‘Gap’ or any High St store apart from a few furores into “Topshop’. Not for me. In the main I made my own clothes. I trawled the vintage and charity shops, I spiked my hair and thought I was ‘hell’ so cool, so unique..so individual….well me.. along with thousands of other ‘alternative indie ‘ teenagers who flocked to the likes of  ‘Clubland’ ‘the Coach’ and ‘Kellys’ that is!

‘We’ liked ‘different’ music, music that we thought no-one else knew, we where the underground, the artists, the postmodernists and the true disciples of John Peel. Ah, homage to that great Guru of the airwaves, who formed all the musical tastes of many an impressionable ‘indie’ child, introducing us all to an alternative world regaled with cool bands, live music and angst ridden lyricists. Ok, so maybe we weren’t so original afterall, but at least we tried to veer away from the middle road, we caused the neighbours to talk, we got reactions.

When, I did once in the early 90’s veer of the indy path and in a much maligned moment of madness parted with a hard earned £50 note, for a hideous heavy knit distintively stripy cardigan from ‘Next’ I quickily learned my lesson. I still remember the horror of wearing it on its maiden voyage down ‘Eglantine Ave’ only to spy a mirror reflection walking towards me.  We couldn’t avoid each other, there was no where to run, no where to hide, instead we both reacted the only way we could,  with steely resolve, to walk by each other and sturdilessly avoid eye contact, pretending it was not happening. If we didn’t think it was happening, then maybe nobody would notice.  My ‘inner cool’ self, with hot cheeks,  pledged then and there never to buy anything distinctive from the High St, ever again, which is a great excuse to always wear black.

My ‘teenage self’ should in theory be really happy now, as the ‘actual’ city centre in Derry is practically completely comprised of charity shops, once a mecca for the likes of me in my misled youth, (ah, where is he now?). But somewhere along the line I’ve become too much of a snob to darken their doors. Actually that’s not really true. In reality, my youthful trawlings back in the heyday was carried out like a military operation in places that buzzed, such as a vibrant Stranmillis, a cultured Lisburn Road, the vintage markets in London and Paris and I also often frequented the more upmarket café societal suburbs of Dublin. Of course there was also the designated cool shops, who could forget American Madness or Liberty Blue when it was a vintage shop, now a gorgeous vintage inspired retreat, (the fact it belongs to my sister and brother in law is by no way bias).

Hence the quality of my past ‘finds’ the rich trove of textile treasures that were unearthed, were reflective of a more affluent society. Sadly, I fear now I will not uncover a little Chanel number generously given, a once cherished saville road shirt or a casually discarded Oscar de La Renta here in our own ‘wee’ charity shops. A sign of the times.

It’s now online shopping that has become the hunting ground for pre-loved bargainisters, once again we can find something different with the added luxury of shopping from the comfort of your own home…..gone is the humilation of squeezing into a cubicle 2 sizes two small for you…. Now, its the excitement of the last minute steal from ebay and the opportunity to sell it on after you’ve enjoyed its company for a few (and these days far between) outings. But sometimes the pictures don’t endear you to the object, don’t convey the quality or alas lack of it in the seams. Nothing beats, feeling, seeing and physically handing over dosh knowing you’ve picked up a gem. So that’s why I’m so excited about the Viva La Mode Vintage Clothes and Accessories Fair!

This event is scheduled to start at 12:00 on 16 May 2010 at City Hotel, Queens Quay, Derry.