The very vintage fashion christmas fair highlights

Once again St Andrews was graced by the presence of the famous Vintage Fashion Fair. However this time, things were different. Christmas jingles and the faint waft of mince pies drifted down North Street; Santa Claus had come to town. The usual multitude of vintage, retro and pre-loved clothes were on order as well as some of the finest christmas jumpers, ice skates and fur scarves known to man kind. One girl screamed past me as she noticed a teddy-bear printed jumper hanging from the rack and was almost in tears of happiness as low and behold… it was the perfect fit! Another girl had found a gorgeous pair of knee-high brown leather boots and asked her friend “do they look good?” to which the answer was “let’s see how they look on me first”.

But to put supportive friendships and teddy-bear obsessed second years aside, there was shopping to be done. Whilst girls oggled the fur coats and guys tried to recreate scenes from Grease in carefully chosen leather jackets I was left not knowing where to begin. The room was buzzing with people all raving about their new wayfarer glasses or Polaroid camera (some people have clearly been reading our Hipster Guide) as they tripped over each other to grab at that battered flannel shirt. Back were the popular brands such as Sister Vintage who appeared to have an endless supply of shirts, short, jumpers and the like and as soon as one item was sold, it was replaced immediately. Scaramanga satchels were offered with a large discount as well as their leather journals, which had all sold out by the time I reached them, purses and trunks.

Seasonal performances from a cappella favorites such as The Hummingbirds, Alley Cats and The Other Guys coupled with several glasses of mulled wine finished off what had been a truly heavenly shopping experience. Gone were the calorie concerns and in true christmas style I watched as groups moved from the hog-roast, to the cupcake stall, to the hot chocolate and finally to the bar, all several pounds lighter, but only in terms of money!

This vintage feast of food, clothes and music was the pick-me-up St Andrews needed for that final push towards christmas. Revision timetables have now been replaced with letters to Santa and I wait in anticipation for the next event, as judging by the standard set this semester so far it will be just as spectacular.

Video by Sean McDonald

Images © Kenna Bisset