Vintage-inspired, modern gorgeousness.

I've got to hand it to the Darling Sisters - these ladies have got it GOIN' ON. Aside from being two of the most glamorous fashion-freaks I have ever met, they know what they like, they like what they know, and they know a lot about the history of fashion. The Darling Sisters own the go-to boutique for all things vintage repro, Darling Central in Gold Creek. If you haven't been out there yet (or if you're a city dweller that rarely ventures beyond the inner-north) then look no further than Hustle&Scout on 12 April in NewActon.

I am a huge fan of anything and everything vintage and vintage repro. I love it all - the classic cuts, the diversity in styles across decades, and the endless possibilities of pairing old with new, or just staying true to the era and going all-out-everything-vintage. My wedding last year was 50s-themed, which was fun, but recently I have grown more inspired by earlier decades of fashion from the 20s - 40s, and these two ladies are to thank for that.

Less than 2.5 weeks after Hustle&Scout, The Darling Sisters will showcase a new collection at Fashfest 2014 on opening night, Wednesday 30 April. Their collection will feature lots of gorgeous pieces inspired by fashion from the early 20th century.

Fashfest will again be held at the award-winning Canberra Airport, a beautifully designed space with a massive atrium, stunning architectural design elements and a modern industrial look. Don't miss out on grabbing your tickets before they sell out!



What is it about Hustle&Scout that made you want to re-apply to be a

stallholder?

We love Hustle&Scout! We came along originally because styles and trends are a-changing and we decided that it was time to share vintage-inspired modern gorgeousness with a new audience of fabulously creative and stylish people. Sure enough, Hustle&Scout was a never-ending stream of gorgeous, funky, on-trend, friendly folks sipping Prosecco and generally sprinkling Fabulousness around like fairy dust. Gosh…They seemed to enjoy our offerings, and we had a ball. After massive over-exposure to the idea that ‘vintage style = pinup’ I think we and the fabulous punters all enjoyed a bit of a difference. Plus, it was lovely to meet some of Canberra’s most creative designers.
(And the Prosecco was delish.)

What do you love about working with fashion? What keeps you

creatively motivated?

 

What’s not to love about working with fashion? We have always been obsessed with beautiful beautiful clothes and vintage styles. We know that we don’t look much like your usual fashionistas – these days we more or less resemble spaniel-breeders or Agatha Christie enthusiasts – but between the two of us, our obsessions with history and fashion have given us a pretty firm grounding in fashion history, especially of the 20th plus we have developed great relationships with a bunch of seriously good emerging designers.

Also, really amazing wardrobes. We’re just saying.

We stay creatively motivated by predicting – with some accuracy, if we do say so ourselves – the next vintage style fads. Fashion never stands still for long and we like to stay at the head of the parade.



What vintage styles are you loving right now? Why?

 

At the moment we are really loving the fluid, gently dignified yet still feminine looks of the early 20th century – 20s and 30s especially. Separates. Quality fabrics. Tailored trousers. Simple knit dresses. A hint of feminist mischief. Caaaaaaaardigans …

The 60s thing (‘Madmen’) and the 50s thing (‘Pinup’) were fun but we are transitioning into a period where we want to concentrate on bringing styles from other bygone eras into the spotlight. Looks from the 20s and 30s are not as accessible in Canberra as repro looks from the 50s/60s, so this year we want to branch out and show a different side of our collection. With all the love we will forever keep in our hearts for fun and flirty 50s fabulousness, the past is a big place full of glorious styles to be re-embraced and modernised and worn. We’re onto that.

Name your top three fashion staples.

 

1. Cardigans.

2. Accessories. Is that like saying your favourite part of the dish is the garnish? Possibly. But there it is. We love hats, knits, gloves, scarves, the whole shebang. We also love cleverly-carved radishes and drizzles of witty sauce, so that might explain things.

3. ‘Tude. It is true. No point having a wardrobe full of loveliness if you can’t get up the courage to wear it. Stop saying ‘Oh, I love it, but I have nowhere to wear it.’ Wear it to the cinema! Wear it shopping! Wear it to Grandma’s house for Sunday roast! A beautiful garment that sits forlornly in your wardrobe is the saddest thing. That’s why neither of us hesitates to be described as ‘eccentric’ dressers. You could follow the crowd and wear whatever everybody else is, or you could have fun and join us in Eccentric Land. It’s fun in here. We eat a lot of garnishes.

Tell us a little bit about your collection for Fashfest 2014.

 

So, we are offering two carefully-curated exclusive quality collections from a bit earlier in the twentieth century, mainly because this stuff is utterly gorgeous, wearable and a bit, you know, funky: and a little tiny bit in the hopes that we won’t have to resort to grabbing megaphones and standing on the top of Telstra Tower shrieking ‘YOU CAN STEP AWAY FROM THE PINCURLS NOW, PEOPLE.’

We’re not going to dob too much more about our collections because we want to preserve the mystery of The Cote D’Azur Affair. Seriously, you won’t believe the efforts we have gone to, to source and research and commission these beauties. What we can say is that some things that were old are about to become new again …

What can punters expect to find at the upcoming autumn market?

 

A little bit of new and a little bit of old, that way one does. We’re looking at mainly seasonal wear, plus a little bit extra. We are focusing on quality offerings from emerging, ethical designers: stuff that is intended to be very, very wearable, even if you are not a garnish-nibbling eccentric. The sort of pieces you can treasure and wear for years because they are not going out of style any time soon. And then, just because we can, we’ll chuck in a soupçon of ridiculously luscious vintage-styled gorgeousness for those occasions when you think ‘To heck with it: I’m fabulous!’