When vintage is being bought up like short traders buying stocks in a market freefall, it’s hard to find the good stuff. And convenience aside, it can be frustrating to see it sold on eBay for big dollars. But word on the street is that there is still good vintage to be found. Where? The old city of churches, Adelaide.

The city is home to a bunch of vintage shops that carefully edit their collections to present only the best pieces from labels such as Chanel, Lanvin and Yves Saint Laurent. Then there are others that go the cheap and cheerful route with cute dresses and shirts. There are still others that update vintage pieces to bring them smack bang into 2008.

Azalia and Sequoia are two such Adelaide labels that dig deep through the city’s goldmine of vintage finds to get to cute dresses.

Azalia designer Azadeh Afdali has her store in one of Adelaide's loveliest neighbourhood - Croydon. There she remakes frocks for cute girls today, getting rid of nana hemlines, power shoulder pads and stiff linings. Azalia’s vintage-inspired jewellery and remodeled vintage garments will be at the BMW Adelaide Fashion Festival and says wearing vintage is all about the update.

“The challenge is in being able to visualise what you can do with what looks like a grandma dress,” she says. “With my vintage dresses, when I go out looking for them, I don’t want someone to look at it and think, why should I spend $45 on a dress from her when I can buy it for $4 myself from an op shop.”

Sequoia designers Kristjana Lleshi and Simone Day, who will also show at BMW Adelaide Fashion Festival, also remake vintage dresses and create their own designs of black lace and romantic tulle.

“We keep it simple with our silhouettes... we don’t design for other women, we design for what we want to wear and what we think is cool,” Kristjana says.

After selling their wares at the Gilles Street Markets and watching other states enjoy their own fashion weeks, all three designers are especially excited that a fashion festival has come to Adelaide town.

“I launched my label at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week, that was a big buzz for me,” Azadeh says. “But to be able to do something like that in your home town, that’s amazing, it’s a big buzz for me.”