Heritage New West 2025 AGM and Vintage Fashion Show

Saturday, February 22, 2-4 PM | The Sanctuary on Sixth — Queens Avenue and Sixth Street, New Westminster

Everyone is welcome—membership in Heritage New West is not required to attend.

1:30 PM Doors open — view our heritage art collection; buy/renew membership

2:00 PM A brief but informative Heritage New West 2025 AGM, immediately followed by a live vintage fashion show

From Rationing to Ravishing: The transformation of women’s clothing from WWII to the Postwar Era

Photo credit: Museum of Vancouver

Immediately following our AGM, Ivan Sayers, collector and curator of historical fashion, will explore how world events shape fashion and daily life, featuring rare examples of haute couture and Vancouver-made clothing and accessories that reflect how WWII changed society.

The show will trace the dramatic shift from wartime austerity to postwar affluence. During WWII, women adopted practical, even masculine, clothing for work. Ivan’s five models will don period pieces, including a
wartime wedding dress, a set of Boeing Vancouver overalls, and a Montreal Switlik parachute factory work coat.

In the Postwar Era, Ivan will show how traditional gender roles re-emerged and fashion transformed. The rigid utility of wartime attire gave way to the lavish fabrics and structured silhouettes of Dior’s “New Look”, alongside designs from celebrated European fashion houses that continue to influence style today.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025 (doors open at 1:30 PM)
Location: 6th Street entrance to Sanctuary on Sixth (207 6th St, New Westminster, BC V3M 1L2)
Free admission for guests aged 16 and older. Everyone is welcome—membership in Heritage New West is not required to attend. Seating is first come, first served. Tickets are not required.
Time: 2-4 PM (doors open at 1:30 PM)

Parking: While parking is available around the Sanctuary on Sixth, we recommend walking if possible. Ivan Sayers’ exhibitions are very popular, and we expect a larger-than-usual crowd.


About Ivan Sayers

Ivan Sayers is a renowned fashion historian specializing in styles from 1700 onward. A former curator at the Vancouver Museum, he now produces historical fashion shows and exhibitions and serves as honorary curator of the Society for the Museum of Original Costume.

Don’t miss this fascinating journey through history and fashion!




Tags: ,

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 30th, 2025 at 9:33 pm and is filed under Annual General Meeting, News and Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.