The History of Zippers, The One Tip You Need to Rock Vintage Denim,andMore from the Talon Zipper Press Preview Party in DTLA

Tonight I headed over to the fashion district in downtown LA for the Press Preview of the Talon International Inc. Zipper exhibit which is opening to the public tomorrow. The exhibit featured vintage pieces from brands that Talon zippers has worked with over the years as well as ads and current collections. LA is a hub for denim designers and today it's very rare to make jeans without zippers so Talon is an important partner for many of the major denim companies based in Los Angeles. Californian's have always had an affinity for denim dating all the way back to the gold rush and Levi Strauss who popularized the western style denim we associate with California and western fashion. The exhibit also featured Talon's latest feat--the longest zipper in the world which they debuted at LAFW this season. The zipper is 3.1 miles in length and fully functioning which is quite a long way from the first zipper invented by Talon in 1893. Guests had a great time playing with it in the fun photo op at the entrance to the event.

"I came, I saw, I sparkled" #gold #blonde #lafashiondistrict #cool #fblogger #fun #sparkley #glitter #cerisesdumatin #you #can #never have too much #glitter

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The exhibit started with recent Talon creations seen on runways and in magazines such as a Yeezy jacket from NYFW last season and this leather dress embellished with zipper roses.
 
 As I continued through the fun display filled with zipper themed decorations I saw popular looks from the 90s and early 2000s like these Paige denim jeans and this dress with a bodice made entirely from zippers.

 

 
Then I got a blast from the past with the Ascot racing section featuring racing jackets from the 50s and 60s. I loved the vintage 50s ads for men's trousers as well as these fun newspaper and magazine ads for women's suits from the 40s and 50s.

 

Next, I circled around to the Levi's section where I got the chance to speak with Tracey Panek an official historian for Levi Strauss and Co. (this dream job really does exist for all the vintage denim lovers out there) who gave me some interesting history about the evolution of Levi's style as well as the use if zippers in denim. 

The exhibit included looks from the 1920s when according to Tracy Levi's started focusing on aviation style designs inspired by the invention of airplanes. There was even a full children's set complete with a jacket, goggles and cap still in it's original packaging ready for shipment.
 

This western style leather jacket featuring Talon zippers is from the 30s when Levi's started doing western and dude ranch style looks. According to Tracy guests visiting ranches and trying out popular sports of the day such as horse back riding needed high end western styles that they could wear on vacation and in the 40s Levi's introduced their first zipper fly jean hopping to appeal to east coast women who considered the traditional button fly worn by western women to be improper. 

Next she showed me these cool children's pedal pushers from the 50s when denim was still shrink to fit. Levi's even included extra patches on the knees in their kids line. 

In 1967 Levi's introduced their first skinny jean look which you can recognize by the orange tag on the pocket. According to Tracy Levi's is bringing back the signature orange tag to some of their skinny jean styles in 2017. The 505 jean became the go to style for Rock and Roll and lead singers in bands like the Rolling Stones and the Ramones as well as female rock icons like Suzi Quatros popularized the look wearing them on magazine covers and in concerts. In 1978 Levi's introduced the very first tags featuring a lowercase e which has become the signature identifier for vintage Levi's denim as tags before 1978 had all uppercase letters. So next time you want to impress your friends with your knowledge of vintage denim just look for the uppercase e and you'll be able to tell right away if they're truly vintage or not. 

In the 80s Levi's introduced jeans with zippers on the side for even tighter skinny jeans and today they are bringing back their 505 rocker jean with modern updates for the fashionable rock chick in all of us. 

I continued checking out the rest of the vintage ads which dated back to the 1800s and one even featured the very first zip up corset made by Talon a major luxury for women who didn't want to spend time lacing up their corset every day. Another fun vintage fact I learned was that Talon was the exclusive zipper for Louis Vuitton bags for many years and looking for the Talon label can help you identify authentic vintage LV handbags and accessories. 

I had a great time at this exhibit and learned so many interesting facts about all the little details that go into making a garment. And, I'll definitely be applying my new tricks next time I go vintage shopping! Don't forget to check out my post about the best boutiques for vintage finds in Palm Springs here for more ideas!