A Fun Outing: The L.A. Vintage Fashion Expo

Last weekend I spent one fabulous day at the LA Vintage Fashion Expo. This is a show they have here in L.A. about three times a year (they also have it up in San Francisco) and I go pretty much every time!
It's held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The entire place is packed with wall-to-wall vintage of every type. There are vendors who specialize (Edwardian/Victorian, high-end designer, rockabilly) and those who sell a little bit of everything. It's a vintage lover's dream! It costs 8 bucks to get in, but sometimes you can get a 2$ off coupon at their website:
 http://www.vintageexpo.com/
A lot of the same vendors show up every time (with new stuff), but there are also a scattering of new ones to keep it interesting.

Some of the vendors are really snooty!  I've learned to avoid those and go right to the nice people...it's so much nicer to shop when the seller is nice too, don't you think?
The owner of this booth was super-friendly...he's from a suburb of Dallas and had a ton of amazing dresses. His prices were reasonable (unlike some of the vendors) and best of all his tags list the measurements of the garments which is so helpful! This show does have dressing rooms, but it's really a time-saver if you know your measurements. That way you know if you're even in the ballpark :-)
I really liked this 50's green sundress...alas, too small for me.

The next-door booth belonged to his mom, who had this ah-maze-ing circle skirt with an image of the Grand Canyon on it..LOVE!

She pointed out a great tip: if the waist on a skirt like this is too small for you, a tailor can easily take the waistband off, extend it, drop it down, and voila! Larger waist!

I usually don't have much money to spend, but I always find a couple of things. Here's what I bought this time:
I love novelty bags and this one is so unique..I've never seen one just like it. With the butterfly and flowers against the crisp white, it's too cute...I can't wait to use it when the weather warms up a bit!

Another thing I love is Aloha wear, and I scored this cutie:
This type of sleeveless women's shirt, with it's Mandarin collar, close fit through the torso, and side slits at the hem is called a Tea Timer. They frequently were sold with matching cropped pants. They are a bit hard to find, and the earlier ones from the 40's can be very pricey.

I'll be going to the Vintage Fashion Expo again, later in the year, so I'll do another post later with more pix and tips!