Out & About--Fashion's Night Out at A CURRENT AFFAIR

Friday was Fashion's Night Out, a bi-coastal event spear-headed by Vogue's Anna Wintour to celebrate fashion and stimulate shopping at the start of New York's Fashion Week.

Los Angeles was not to be outdone and the party was truly city-wide.  Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the event with great fanfare and LA responded with participation--Downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Center, 3rd Street in West Hollywood, Robertson Boulevard, Abbot Kinney in Venice, Santa Monica and the new Santa Monica Place, Silverlake, the Valley, and more.  As the evening approached, a flurry of press releases announced more and more stores that were taking part.  Major designers flew into town to man their stores and party along with their public, and celebrities tweeted their whereabouts before and during the evening. 

However, as an afficionado of vintage, my own focus was solidly on the "A Current Affair" pop up store downtown.  Richard Wainwright and Joey Grana had gathered quality vintage vendors into one great location, and I was really excited to check out the clothes, see the historic space, and meet everyone.

The 1923 Milton G. Cooper Building--now the Cooper Design Center--in LA's Fashion District

The blank canvas of the spacious top floor showroom of the Cooper Design Center...

turned into a vast vintage marketplace for A Current Affair

Checking in with the girls and taking in my first view of the show

Vintage clothes, modern style:  1950s chartreuse floral cotton swing dress,
1960s black patent leather frame bag, J. Crew black patent leather belt,
Charles David black lizard pumps, jet and gold bead drop earrings, single skinny gold bangle

The fabulous vintage coat centerpiece from Golyester

Shopping truly turned into a party with great music from DJs and cocktails.  The evening's delicious custom concoction--the Urban Sunrise, which took on the look of LA smog (wink wink) when fully mixed.

Interviews for the event organizers and evening's hosts--

Scout's Joey Grana and vintage dealer extraordinaire Richard Wainwright

Admiring the carefully curated collection of vintage Fashion by Robert Black 

and thoroughly enjoying his company

Also thoroughly enjoyed this personal favorite of the evening--a fur-trimmed flamingo pink coat of my dreams from Robert.  INCREDIBLE.  Look at the cut of that coat!

Doreen Picerne showing me their handbags made with recycled vintage fabrics

A Current Affair was a virtual candy store and 

vintage lovers indulged in some seriously sweet shopping

One of my final stops for the evening included another favorite find at Billie Jackson's Sequels, whose collection focuses on amazing vintage gowns.  Recognize this one?  It's a version of the famous Marilyn Monroe dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes...from costume designer Travilla himself.   In case you're not familiar with the name, you'll know a few of his famous dresses.  How about Marilyn's white halter swing dress in The Seven Year Itch?  How about the hot pink gown Marilyn wears while she sings "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend"?  I nearly fainted when I saw his label inside this dress, and Billie had even more from Travilla including a perfect purple gown.  Yes please!

It was so wonderful to meet everyone associated with the show because they all had such passion for vintage clothing and great design.  I felt right at home.  GlamAmor would fit in really well, too, so I'm definitely looking at ways to join the next show.  It was an incredible start to Friday evening and can't wait to see everyone again!