Canadian avant-retro?: 'Every zipper finds a new home'

The Globe and Mail surveys the Canadian side of a trend: avant-garde vintage: "Now that we've all experienced vintage shopping (and now that first-run labels have caught the old-is-chic bug, and are making fake vintage), it is time to raise the style stakes, [a boutique owner] says. "When I can't tell when a shirt is vintage, it's getting confusing out there. We want to take each piece to the next level." When the retro-nostalgia trend first hit in the 1990s, many a fashion lover was happy to discover flea market-y shops for worn-in 501s and decrepit AC/DC concert tees. Then we were initiated into the fine label market by shops such as the Los Angeles/Toronto-based Paperbag Princess and Holt Renfrew's Vintage Couture department; along with movie stars, we wore picture-perfect Ungaro and Pucci to parties. Now, "We use every bit of everything," says Sullivan, 30, who is a former social worker and event planner. "Nothing gets wasted, every zipper finds a new home."