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Vintage fans over the moon for Crystal Garden expo

Annual event features plenty of ways to celebrate fashion through the decades
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The Millies, here in event-appropriate garb, perform at the Vintage Fair in Victoria this month at the Crsystal Garden. themillies.ca

With shopping, fashion shows, contests and more, vintage fans will be “Over the Moon” for this year’s Vintage Expo, coming to the Crystal Garden Sept. 21 and 22.

The sixth annual Vintage Expo welcomes guests from 4 to 10 p.m. on the Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday with the theme “Over the Moon.”

When people travelled to fairs and expos in the early 1900s, it was popular to have a photo taken “on the moon.” Victoria organizers are re-creating a vintage-style moon photo booth and sharing an exhibit of beautiful moon postcards from the era.

More than 80 exhibitors offer everything from vintage, retro and antique clothing, jewelry and accessories to collectibles, records, steam punk, shabby chic housewares, ephemera, vintage-inspired arts and crafts and more.

The Expo also supports the Women in Need Community Co-operative, which returns in a new, larger space with their huge Vintage Treasure Emporium.

Dazzling fashion shows are planned for both days. At 7 p.m. Sept. 21, pin-up models hit the runway in rhinestones, glitz and glitter from the early 1900s to 1990s for Lucky J’s Shimmer and Shine Through the Decades. At 1 p.m. Sept. 22, the Urban Dreams Fashion Show by local designers Bat-Fish Studio and Prim Stargazer shares upcycled and reclaimed fashion with street style and bohemian boldness! And at 3 p.m. that day, Heritage Productions returns with a History of Fashion show, with models wearing authentic garments from the 1860s to the present. Learn about fashion history and how pop culture and economics have influenced fashions over the last century.

Be inspired by the roaming Hussy Boutique fashion shows on both days, plus live music, dress-up contests (including a Vintage Kids Dress-up Contest Saturday with great prizes), vintage makeup and hair tips, cash bar Friday night, collectible gifts and more!

Tickets $10, available at the door and in advance on Eventbrite.ca (seniors/students $9; age 12 and younger free). Weekend passes available. Learn more at VintageFairVictoria.com and

facebook.com/vintagefairvictoria.