Courtesy of Twin Cities True Vintage
Brooke Nault, director and founder of the Twin Cities True Vintage Show (TCTV), has long been drawn to the inherent allure of old objects. And not just a few years old—but decades. A jewelry box that has been passed down across four generations; a dress that still bears the hushed defiance of the Roaring Twenties; a simple square handkerchief with stories stitched into every seam.
Nault likes to call it “true vintage,” the kind of dated collector items that inspired her to kickstart a community-wide fashion showcase with one distinctive, uncompromising rule—every item must be from the 1970s or older.
“Connecting people to the past is really important to me,” says Nault. “When people touch, see, and feel pieces from as far back as the 1800s, they realize how totally different the fabrics were. It really dispels the myth of old antique clothing is gross or out of date.”
For TCTV’s sixth iteration on April 18, Nault plans to take this “touch and feel” experience a step further, for the first time assembling an immersive live mannequin program. In partnership with local vintage vendors and stylists, Nault has selected a group of community members to act as living fashion history exhibits, styled in a range of authentic vintage pieces from the 1800s through the 1970s. Unlike a traditional runway, the living exhibit creates space for hands-on interaction and education, allowing guests to experience the history, craftsmanship, and detail of each garment up close.
“Having live mannequins helps people to see, ‘Wow, I can actually wear this,’” says Nault. “You can mix and match pieces from different eras and make a modern outfit. Victorian cotton petticoats, for example, would’ve been worn underneath a dress, but now people are wearing them as summer skirts with a tank top or camisole.”
In addition to the live mannequin program, guests can expect a full vintage marketplace with 50-plus curated vendors—including 25 from Minnesota—offering clothing, textiles, accessories, and jewelry from the 19th and 20th centuries. The “true vintage” focus affords collectors a rare opportunity to pull out the older, more delicate pieces they often keep out of circulation, buoyed by an environment that is both open-minded and deeply respectful of their care.
Nault, who maintains a vintage brand of her own, views the experience as something more akin to an educational workshop than a traditional, sit-and-observe runway show—where guests see the subject material not only as inspiring, but comprehensible, accessible, and uniquely theirs.
“When clothes are really old, people will be scared to try them on, but I like seeing these pieces be worn. If they’ve been in a closet and no one’s ever going to see them, it seems wrong. We shouldn’t keep them hidden away.”
Twin Cities True Vintage will be held Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. inside the North End Event Center at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds—1660 Murphy Ave., Falcon Heights. General admission opens at 10 a.m., with $5 tickets at door, and early bird admission opens at 9 a.m., with $20 tickets online and at the door ($5 discount if dressed in vintage).