The Antique Textile and Vintage Fashion Show and Sale again sold out the exhibit space at Sturbridge Host Hotel and Exhibit Center on Monday, September 5, marking the completion of the 21st year for this three-times a year event. Show manager Linda Zukas was thrilled with the continued popularity of this very unique antiques show, where all the exhibits have to follow a theme of fabrics, cloth or textiles of some type and function. Zukas created the show 21 years ago as a specialized alternative to the outdoor shows in Brimfield, with Monday of Brimfield week as her show day. This allows the exhibitors and shoppers to have no interference with Brimfield, and for many it increased their opportunities to exhibit or shop.
This September it was very apparent that the plan has been a big success. Zukas had a record number of paid attendees who were doing the right thing with the exhibitors, buying strong, in the one-day market. While the concept for this show never changes, the merchandise is always fresh and ready for the customers, an appreciative audience that comes from throughout the country and even Japan and Europe.
Pat Vaillancourt, Adamstown, Penn., was showing a collection of early clothing, but she also had one curiosity: a bunny rabbit in an egg, probably a window or showcase display for candy. While not textile related, it was a very novel piece.
Pat Frazer, an Easton, Conn., exhibitor was showing her collection of Chinese-made objects. According to Frazer, silk celebration hats were from the middle of the Twentieth Century or earlier, as after the Cultural Revolution they were banned. She also had several very decorative garments.
Two covers, both in mixed materials, including silk, wool and cotton from Europe, were offered by Maria Niforos, a dealer from Portobello Road in London. Made in outstanding colors, one was a table drape and the other a lady’s shawl.
Kim Kirker was showing a Nineteenth Century lady’s bonnet, which was made from a fabric similar to a quilt in the back of her exhibit. Kirker, from Leesport, Penn., is a regular at the show, with much of her inventory from estates near her home.
Right To The Moon managed by Alice Lindholm of Cooks Falls, N.Y., is one of several exhibitors offering retro-style clothes for designers who copy them, and also for shoppers who wear them. There is even a third group of customers from New York and Hollywood, those who buy these outfits for use as period costumes for Broadway shows, television and movies.
Steve Mohr, More and More Antiques, New York City, offered vintage fashions, textiles for fashions and heavy fabrics for upholstery. His booth also sported a showcase filled with small notions. His exhibit, always a double-sized space, is a very popular first stop for a great many shoppers.
Kay Charron rarely misses this show. She dresses in vintage fashions every day whether at home in Windham, N.H., or traveling. This year, she was modeling a jacket from Cindy St Clair’s collection, part of a 1950s outfit.
At Susan Simon Antique Textiles and Design, a clothing designer who goes by the name Tziporah was modeling an off-beat outfit, bringing many customers to the New York City dealer’s booth that was filled with silk Ikat pillows, Chinese textiles and, as she described it, “a rare Italian bobbin lace table cloth, circa 1900,” which was priced at $15,000.
Fine linens for the bedroom, bath and kitchen were the offerings from Marie Bradley, Bronx, N.Y. From her vantage point in the lobby, all the visitors see her as one of the first displays in the show.
Red Door Antiques is Tricia LeTempt’s business. She offers fine linens and early fashions, as well as a general line of antiques at some other shows and at her Eddyville, Ky., shop.
Wayne Murray was showing a collection of very special ladies’ outfits from his business’s collection, Time Slot Antiques of Oakville, Conn. There was a Paco Rabanne dress from midcentury; an Art Deco shawl; a pale beige wedding gown in rose point lace, circa 1900, and an evening gown from designer Philip Hulitar, circa 1950.
Nearby, Mary Troncale, Branford, Conn., was showing a first-quarter Twentieth Century wedding dress and several outfits that could have been for the guests at the same wedding.
For the somewhat earlier period, there was a late Victorian outfit offered by 1840 House of Yarmouth, Maine †an ensemble that includes a full-length, royal blue dress with white flower design and green velvet ribbon trim, lace collar, parasol, high button shoes and more.
Debra Pezzullo, Mahopac, N.Y., was selling well; she was offering outfits that were less formal than for weddings, but which also recalled times gone by. With a number of outfits for young girls, most were from the turn of the century through the Roaring Twenties.
Customers at this event are, in many cases, people who have not missed it for many years; it is their chance to find something very special for their wardrobe, collection or inventory, or something to create a pattern for new styles.
Three times each year Linda Zukas produces this fun show at the Sturbridge Host Hotel and Convention Center. It is always on the Monday of Brimfield Week, with May 7, as the next show.
For more information, www.vintagefashionandtextileshow.com or 207-363-1320.
