Fashionistas often are mystified by vintage apparel. They don't understand why anyone would buy used clothing instead of new items created by the hot designer of the minute. But vintage fashion represents iconic legends such as Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli and Madeleine Vionnet, who remain the inspiration for what appears on runways today. Their well-made clothing and accessories from decades past can often can be found at the Vintage Fashion Expo, where approximately 55 vendors from all over the country gather to sell treasures from the Edwardian era to the 1980s. Here's something else that the fashion-forward don't necessarily know: Vintage fashion tells a story. A bejeweled Enid Collins handbag represents the labors of a Texas gal who began making ornamental purses on her kitchen table in the 1950s. Bakelite jewelry got the public's attention in 1909 due to a plastic made by Leo Baekeland to substitute for the dwindling supply of shellac to insulate electrical cables. History aside, vintage finds may have belonged to fashionistas who no longer roam the earth. So take a memento of the past into the world with you. Los Angeles Convention Center, West Hall B, 1201 S. Figueroa St., dwntwn.; Sat., May 17, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (early buy 9-10 a.m.) and Sun., May 18, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; $25 early buy, $15 at the door, $5 Sunday admission with student ID. vintageexpo.com.

Sat., May 17; Sun., May 18, 2014
(Expired: 05/18/14)

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