Textiles and clothing fair

I spent yesterday at a 'Vintage Textiles & Fashion Fair,' held in the town hall in Hammersmith, a bus ride and 16 stops on the Picadilly line away. I went with my friend Angela, who is herself a textile designer, creating beautiful digital repeat prints (You can see her work here - http://angelaillustrator.blogspot.com/) She has more sophisticated, classic taste than me.

The fair was full of unique pieces of clothing from the 20th Century. It was inspiring to fondle such well made clothes and to see unusual fabrics and high-end garment construction close-up.

The stall holders were protective of their stock so I only took a couple of pictures. This is just a few kimonos from Fuji Kimono's stock. She sells small squares of Japanese fabric that you can buy for inspiration when designing your own, as well as full kimonos.

This is an ugly Vivienne Westwood swimming costume that Angela spotted:

It looks like Vivienne's team were inspired by the Sistine Chapel:

The next fair by the same people, P & A Antiques, is on December 4th in Kensington and I highly recommend going, to buy or simply to look.