With a large wide brimmed hat decorated with a purple ribbon and bright blue feathers, she stands out. But it doesn’t stop there. She is also wearing a long turquoise sweater, bright purple gloves, rhinestone earrings and a long vintage beaded necklace. Adrian who is a regular at the Kerrisdale Antiques Fair in Vancouver, always arrives exquisitely dressed with vintage flair and the most wonderful hats. Her style and elegance seems to be quite fitting for an antique show; taking us back to a time when going out in public was an anticipated event and men and women would always wear their finest.

In Vancouver, this penchant for “dressing up to the nines” appears to be coming back into fashion, especially at the shows. Not only are shoppers more formally dressed, but they are often fully clad in vintage and retro clothing. There is a local couple who consistently show up in 40s gear. Her hair is usually pinned up with large rolled bangs and she wears “popover” wrap dresses and platform shoes while he sports a smart blue fedora and wears cap toe dress shoes. And then there are the pin-ups. Women who have found a way to modernize the vintage pin-up look, making it work with both style and function.

Others like Adrian are a bit more classic in their approach. They attend the Kerrisdale Show looking for very specific items. “I come to the shows to find vintage jewellery, accessories and clothing,” says Adrian, who is a show regular. “As a designer and a pianist, I enjoy being able to wear vintage, and vintage inspired, clothing and jewellery.”

The Kerrisdale show is a perfect venue for these shoppers who are drawn to using the past to inspire their current sense of style. Whether it is about a fashion aesthetic or creating a vintage/retro feel to their home, vendors at this show carry a wide selection of items to satiate their stylish needs.

Catherine Cafferata from Highend Resale, a consignment shop in Vancouver, has been selling at the Kerrisdale show for the past two years and has found it to be a great market for her vintage designer handbags and antique jewellery. In terms of the jewellery, she specializes in designer brands such as Chanel, Tiffany and Gucci (sold an 18 carat gold Gucci ring at the last show). She also carries vintage and discontinued modern designer handbags such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and Hermès. Her bags range in price from $95 to $295 dollars and are always in mint condition.

Cafferata has recently noticed that “the most popular items right now are vintage alligator, lizard, and ostrich handbags.” She sold a few of these bags at the show and mentions that they are in incredibly high demand in Europe and Asia.  “Charlie Watts, the drummer from the Rolling Stones, recently came into my shop at the Pan Pacific and bought every single alligator, lizard and ostrich bag that I had in stock,” says Cafferata. “These bags are considered quite collectible and desirable because of their unique designs but they were also incredibly well made.”  She goes on to say that, “Because these types of bags are so expensive to reproduce, to buy them new would cost from $4000 dollars and up.”

Susan  from Suzie’s Collectibles in Burnaby carries a terrific selection of retro housewares and vintage collectibles from the 50s and 60s. She also took the time to dress up with some 50s flair at the recent Kerrisdale show. “Why not” she said “and isn’t it great that Adrian looks so amazing.” Together they stand out, especially since Susan is also wearing dark gloves and a fuchsia coloured hat with the mesh covering her face and a matching fushia sweater. Even her booth feels like stepping back in time, with cute salt and pepper shakers, several matching sets of swanky glassware, and vintage linen.

Perhaps we can all learn from Susan and Adrian and take some time out to explore local shows like the Kerrisdale Antiques Fair for vintage and retro finds. Like them we can create our own time machine, taking ourselves back to different moments in time – even if only briefly. The next Kerrisdale Show is set for September 3 – 4, 2011.