How to Build A Vintage Clothing Display for Craft and Trunk Shows

vintage garment rack - top view

With the upcoming craft show season, I needed a clothing display to showcase my new line of Indian-cotton summer wrap skirts. Just any garment rack wouldn't do for this gal. I had criteria: the display needed to be classy, compact, and easy to carry up and down the steps to my second floor apartment.

full length view view of lamp/rack

Disappointed by conventional garment racks (bulky chrome monstrosities), I decided to rummage through my apartment's basement. That's when I saw the antique lamp. It had wires sticking out and was covered in dust and splattered paint, but its solid metal and elegant constitution appeared strong enough not to blow over (a necessary attribute for any outdoor display). I wasn't sure how to make it work. But I know potential. When I asked my landlord, he told me his father used it as a stand to hold a clamp light when he painted. He gave it to me.

before photo of lamp

Upstairs in my apartment, I showed the lamp to a Very Cute Jewish Carpenter (VCJC). He unscrewed some parts and we discovered it  had holes on the arms that, with some drilling, a rod could be inserted through.  VCJC got his drill and got to work.

After a broken drill bit - and a few unforeseen but minor difficulties - the holes were enlarged to hold a 5/16" dowel rod. The addition of vintage door knobs drilled out and secured with epoxy added a finishing touch to the ends.

vintage wooden door knob attached to dowel

VCJC scrubbing with steel wool

With the help of VCJC - and baking soda and vinegar - we scrubbed the metal with steel wool, removing spatters of old paint and ages of crud. Slowly, slowly, our elbow grease cut through the layers to reveal a brilliant mottled brass.

intricate center piece of stand

A few days later when I set up at the craft fair, I sat back and watched with a feeling of satisfaction as people's eyes were drawn to the skirts displayed on the most awesome vintage clothing rack!

They cooed.
Touched them.
Commented.
Asked questions.
Tried them on.
 
One guy insisted on purchasing my clothing display - twice.

Here are a few things you'll need to build your own vintage clothing rack:

the petaled feet gleaming after the scrub-down

• Vintage lamp stand (metal)
• Dowel rod (5/16" minimum)
• Cobalt or Titanium drill bit
• Epoxy 
• Steel wool
• Baking Soda and Vinegar
• Very Cute Jewish Carpenter

Okay, so he doesn't need to be Jewish... but he should have a drill and know how to use it :)

Mr. Wonderful and a Roberto Cavalli Dress

I was dancing in a Center City lounge when a handsome stranger seized my wrists with his thick, strong hands.  Instinctively, I growled at him. He grinned and furthered his caveman maneuver, pulling me onto his lap.

In one-hot-second I realized that I was seated on a rare genus of man - Mr. Wonderful.  The growling ceased. A date was planned.

Like many women do for a hot date, I went shopping for a jaw-dropping, make-him-want-me outfit.  I wandered into Second Time Around, a resale shop on Chestnut Street. There, among the frilly and the silky, the vintage and the designer, I found the ultimate thrift store find - a Roberto Cavalli dress. It was long, made of jersey fabric, and featured an animal print on the upper bodice. Flowers blossomed around the hips and hem. I made an excitable sound as my fingers touched that lovely, wild thing.

When I tried it on - to my dismay - I discovered that the dress from the knees down gave little ease when I stepped.  It had no flare. And it was a few inches too short. Then I had a vision.  The Roberto Cavalli dress needed some Ooh La Jena loving. I paid for the dress and carried it home.

Gently spreading it on the floor, I daringly cut four slits from the hem to the knees. Into each slit I sewed a tall triangle of black knit fabric that was the same weight as the dress fabric. The triangles created a mermaid flare. To lengthen the dress I added a 2-inch pleated hem.

On date night, Mr. Wonderful took me to an Italian restaurant.  His eyes followed my movements as I walked to our table. During dinner, he watched me eat. Later, at a jazz club, I tested the full effect of the re-design by sauntering slowly, in a hip swaying glide across the room. Oh-freakin'-yeah.  I captured his complete, stunned and smiling attention.

What more could a woman wearing an improved Roberto Cavalli dress want from a date with Mr. Wonderful?

A second date. At my place. Wearing ... less.