Where do I go if I have a vintage party and I don't know what to wear?

Arca Barcelona is a temple of good taste. For over 50 years, Carmina Viñas and her daughters, Nina and Carmina, have been working in the vintageLong before anyone here knew what that concept, so recurrent today, so deeply ingrained in our everyday language, was. vintage Applied to clothing, garments, and fashion accessories. All from approximately 1920 to 1980, a timeframe broad enough to satisfy the tastes of its loyal clientele, as well as those discovering the shop on Rue Banys Nous for the first time. Founded in the mid-1960s by Carmina as El Arca de la Abuela (Grandma's Ark), it was designed to merge the origins of the two branches of the family: on her father's side, textiles, the world of lace, mantillas, and needlepoint; and on her mother's side, the tradition of antique dealers. "El Arca is the connection between these two influences," explain founder Carmina and her daughter Nina.

Trips to Paris were a revelation, an epiphany for Carmina: "I discovered that antique textiles were highly valued and that there was a very interesting market." However, this wasn't the case here. This was the seed of the store, that market niche that, with pioneering intuition, led him to open the shop. One of the first, if not the very first, clothing stores. vintage in the country. "My father would ask me if I was crazy: 'Where are you going with those dirty, used clothes?!'" Luckily, the idea was good and the name a perfect fit: Grandma's Ark, referring to the ark where brides kept their trousseau, with the dress, sheets, and household linens. Recently, since Carmina's two daughters have taken over the business, L'Arca Barcelona has been a better fit, especially for marketing and distribution purposes. But for all those, and there are many, who love it, Grandma's Ark will remain in their memories.

Initially specializing in home textiles and lace for wedding dresses, the company gradually specialized in the latter category, eventually becoming a leader in custom-made wedding dresses using vintage or vintage-inspired fabrics. Fashion is also part of their repertoire. adlibIbiza-style clothing has been a key part of the business. Over the years, they have introduced the fascinating world of fashion. vintageAlways high-quality, well-made, with good fabrics, vintage even if not designer brands topWho supplies all this? Well, private homes that sell them dresses and clothes from grandmothers or mothers, and they're the ones who give them a new life, either by selling the garments as is or using them to make their own creations.

Wardrobe for films like 'Titanic'

Their clientele? Quite varied. On the one hand, there are brides who want a special dress. Based on the ideas they share, they—and their private tailoring workshop—take care of it. They also have clients who want a 1920s-style dress for a themed party. And quite a few tourists. expados Also, that in their home countries they are used to these types of stores. And audiovisual productions that need costumes. For example, films as popular as The artist either The Great Gatsby. AND Titanic,Of course, this is their most popular story. The American customer who bought some beautiful dresses from two elderly ladies who had sold them. A year later, she told them she had used them in James Cameron's famous film. Kate Winslet wears one in the dramatic scene of the desperate attempt to jump into the sea. Even today, at the entrance of the shop, they have one of the dresses on display—this one they kept—as a museum piece.

The clothes Penelope Cruz wears in Vicky Cristina Barcelona It also originated from El Arca. Designers as renowned as John Galliano and Jean-Paul Gaultier have visited the shop to find pieces for inspiration for their collections. Of Carmina's two daughters, Nina has specialized in fashion and design, while Carmina, primarily through her website Vestir Arte, focuses on the world of Manila shawls and 19th-century lace.

It's fascinating to see a wedding dress made from a 1910 curtain. The care and affection behind it are truly remarkable. Four people work in the workshop, sewing entirely by hand. It's a way of reviving traditional tailoring, embroidery, and sewing techniques that are no longer common. A way of giving value to ancient crafts. They also show us garments. vintage made according to the technique of rework either upcyclingThat is, the transformation of old clothes to create new garments. From a tablecloth, a shirt dress. From a bedspread, trousers. From a rug, a suit.