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 this concept was—a concept now so widespread, so deeply ingrained in our everyday language. 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 Carrer dels 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, linens, etc. Recently, since Carmina's two daughters have taken over the business, L'Arca Barcelona has been a better fit, especially for marketing and promotional 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, they gradually specialized in the latter category, eventually becoming a leader in bespoke wedding gowns made from vintage or vintage-inspired fabrics. Adlib fashion, the traditional clothing of Ibiza, has also been a part of their business. Over the years, they have expanded into the fascinating world of clothing. vintageAlways high-quality, well-made, with good fabrics, vintage even if not designer brands topWho supplies all this? Well, private homes that sell dresses and clothes from grandmothers or mothers, and these women are the ones who give them a new life. Either by selling the pieces as is, or by using them to create their own designs.

Wardrobe for films like 'Titanic'

The clientele? Quite varied. On the one hand, brides who want a special dress. Based on the ideas they share, the owners—and their private tailoring workshop—take charge. They also have clients who want a 1920s dress for a themed party. Tourists, too. And expats as well, who are used to these kinds of shops in their home countries. And film and television productions that need costumes. For example, popular films like 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 they had been used 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 came from El Arca. Designers as renowned as John Galliano and Jean-Paul Gaultier have visited, seeking 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 sewing, embroidery, and tailoring techniques that are no longer common, and a way of highlighting 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.