Vintage Fashion Show at AGM
March 12, 2025
Following the AGM, a Celebration of Style and Heritage
This year's AGM took place at New Westminster's Sanctuary on Sixth (the former Queens Avenue United Church). Heritage New West's event may be one of the last to take place in this 1958 example of mid-century modern architecture (see Theresa McManus' story in the New West Record).
Heritage New West’s Annual General Meeting, held on February 22, during Heritage BC’s Heritage Week, highlighted the society’s progress and future plans. Key moments included the official adoption of the society’s new name, Heritage New West; updates on the New Westminster Heritage Fund grants (three grants to homeowners awarded in December 2024; and an $8,000 grant from the City of New West to maintain the fund); and HNW’s five-year grant and bursary program to provide $500 each to Arts New West’s Emerging Local Artist program and NWSS' student bursary program; and a preview of the upcoming Heritage Homes Tour on Sunday, May 25.
From Rationing to Ravishing: The transformation of women’s clothing from WWII to the Postwar Era
With business concluded, members and guests turned their attention to a unique celebration of New Westminster’s past—From Rationing to Ravishing, a vintage fashion show that blended wartime and postwar style with engaging storytelling. Curated by noted fashion historian Ivan Sayers, the show complemented the theme of the 2025 Heritage Homes Tour -- On the Homefront -- commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII.
This year's tour will feature homes and stories of those who served, surprising wartime roles of local landmarks, and an intriguing line-up of heritage homes, many new to the tour or back after a long absence.
Fashion historian Ivan Sayers and model. Photo: Paul Fuoco
View Heritage New West photographer Paul Fuoco's complete photo gallery.
Ivan Sayers’ fashion show complemented the Heritage Homes Tour, exploring how wartime reshaped women’s lives—and wardrobes.
Through five live models, the audience was taken on a visual journey from wartime austerity to postwar affluence. Featured pieces included Boeing Vancouver overalls and a Switlik parachute factory coat—garments that embodied the resilience and resourcefulness of women on the home front. The postwar segment introduced rich fabrics, structured silhouettes, and designs inspired by Dior’s “New Look,” reflecting the era’s return to traditional femininity and economic optimism.