The last of the Anne Fogarty dresses (so far!)

In February I blogged about a wool Anne Fogarty dress and the original advert. I mentioned that there was another Anne Fogarty dress that I owned and this is it.

This was another good purchase from eBay and it fits very snugly!  I don't know if I will be lucky enough to find any more Anne Fogarty dresses at reasonable prices, many of the recent ones on Etsy have been over £100.  1950s wool dresses are great to have in winter to keep you warm and stylish.

What I particularly love about this dress is the detail on the back - look at those buttons!  I haven't seen many other dresses with this sort of detailing at the back.

And here are my Gloria by Miss L Fire boots, aren't they cute?  As I explained in a previous post, when the AW14 styles were released, I really wanted the Alpine boots but they sold out in my size in their pre-orders so I decided to buy these ones.  They are pretty comfy and keep my feet warm!

Dress: Vintage from eBay
Boots: Miss L Fire
Bag: Vintage from eBay
Stockings: What Katie Did
Brooch: Luxulite on Etsy
Earrings: Forbidden Charm on Etsy

Red Plaid in Bournemouth

It's been a little while since I did my last post but here is an outfit I wore on a day out to Bournemouth at the end of 2014.

 

I purchased this wiggle dress from a friend on the Ooh La La Facebook group (if you aren't part of that group, you should be!)  I love wiggle dresses but don't own many because I find it hard to get the fit just right.  It was a cold day in Bournemouth so I paired the dress with a black polo underneath and I quite like this look.

 

 



The black swing coat is also a recent purchase but I am not so sure if I suit this style of coat so I may end up selling it. 

You can also see my lovely fox brooch from Luxulite.  As soon as I saw this on Etsy, I HAD to have it.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I love foxes and have amassed a collection of fox themed items.

 

Dress: Vintage from OLL on Facebook

Polo: ASOS

Shoes: Office

Coat: Vintage from Hunky Dory Vintage, London

Bag: Vintage from eBay

Earrings: Vintage from trader at Rhythm Riot

Brooch: Luxulite on Etsy

 



The Christmas Dress

Happy New Year!  My first post of the year reflects on what I wore on Christmas Day...

 

This dress arrived a few weeks before Christmas and it just made sense to wear it on Christmas Day with some red and white accessories.  I love the ivy embroidery around the neckline and cuffs.  Unfortunately it was a bit too big for me so since wearing this dress, I have actually sold it to someone else.  I have been quite ruthless in the last few months with some of my vintage items, ones that I know I am unlikely to wear again for whatever reason, I will try to sell on.

 



I am also wearing two petticoats with this dress!  A very full reproduction one with my less full vintage one on top.  I normally only wear the vintage one so it was very strange wearing such a full petticoat, I felt like I was going to knock things over wherever I went.

I am also wearing my new poinsettia hair clip from Rosie Alia Designs on Etsy, she has some great hair accessories in her shop.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year :)

Dress: Vintage from Etsy
Shoes: Vintage (purchased so long ago)
Belt: Vintage from eBay
Hair clip: Rosie Alia Designs on Etsy
Bracelet: Vintage from Clobber Vintage, Bournemouth
Earrings: Vintage from Etsy

A festive outfit for work

First and foremost, I wish all my blog readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

This will be the last post of the year and I decided to make it a festive one.  I have wanted to do some work outfit posts for a while but it is difficult because I leave for work early in the morning and I'm too tired by the time I get home.  I'm not a vintage purist when it comes to work clothes either - comfort and practicality is important for me - so I mix vintage with repro and mostly wear separates.

 

Whilst I don't buy repro dresses, I am a fan of certain repro separates and I cannot get enough of this Collectif skirt.  In fact, I did a swap with my friend Vicki exchanging one of my vintage plaid skirts to get this one!  Swapping vintage for repro, crazy isn't it?!  Except the vintage one was a little too big for me and this one fits quite nicely so it was a good swap. 

 

 

I wish they did this skirt in other colours, I would definitely get more!  It has easily become my go-to work skirt this festive season.

 

 

I don't own many Christmas specific vintage items but I just love these holly leaf screw back earrings!

 





Do you wear purely vintage to work or do you like to mix vintage and reproduction clothing?

 

 

Top: Vintage sweater from I can't remember where!

Skirt: Collectif

Shoes: Clarks

Necklace: Vintage from trader at Bows and Braces Fair

Earrings: Vintage from Etsy

 

When in Bath...

... do as the Romans did and visit the Roman Baths!  And this is exactly what we did when we visited Bath back in October.  Bath is one of my favourite cities in the UK and I have blogged about it before. 

 

Here are some photos of my outfit before we set off.  I had gone for an early 1950s dress (which you can't really see as it is hidden) and jacket.  My favourite era is the mid 1950s - early 1960s but it was nice to go for an earlier look this time.  This dress was purchased on eBay for a bargain price, with the intention that I would wear it to work as it was so cheap.  But when it arrived, I really liked the pattern and decided it was "too nice" for my work.  This often is the case when I purchase vintage clothing for work.  As a result, I wear a mix of repro and vintage to work.

 



And here are some photos taken at the Roman Baths.  I have visited the Baths before but many years ago so it was nice to go again.  I always find it difficult to take outfit photos for this blog whilst I am out and about, as we often need to take a few with different poses and I do wonder what the other people around me must think!

Dress: Vintage from eBay
Jacket: Vintage from Blackout 2 in London
Bag: Vintage from eBay
Shoes: Office (but they have a great vintage style and are so comfortable!)
Earrings: Vintage from the Clerkenwell Fair

A taste of the good life

I am still trying to catch up with my outfits from the summer and this outfit was worn on a day spent in Bournemouth and Poole.

 

 

I purchased this Jonathan Logan dress on the Facebook group "Ooh La La."  Whilst I don't find a lot to purchase on this group, I do feel particularly pleased when I get a good bargain like this (£25!) from a UK seller.  Jonathan Logan is one of my favourite 1950s designers and there is a plethora of dresses on Etsy with this label.  I have a couple more Jonathan Logan dresses, which I aim to feature on this blog soon! 

 

 

This last photo was taken in Sandbanks -  the fourth most expensive place to live in the world!  It was lovely strolling around and taking a peek through the big gates of these mansions.

 

Dress: Vintage from OLL on Facebook

Shoes: Marks and Spencer

Bag: Vintage from eBay

Necklace: Vintage from Bows and Braces Vintage Fair

Earrings: Vintage from Clerkenwell Fair

Bracelet: Vintage from Rhythm Riot

Sunglasses: Vintage from Vera Mode (at the Midcentury Market)



The dress that almost made it to Goodwood

In my last post, I showed you the outfit that I wore to the Goodwood Revival but that was not the outfit that I had planned to wear all along, this dress was the one I had wanted to wear...

I had originally planned to wear this dress with my straw tilt hat but the weather report suggested there might be some rain.  I am definitely one for wearing weather appropriate clothing and a straw hat with the possibility of rain did not sound like a good idea, which is why I made the change to my navy dress and hat.

I did not get to wear it to Goodwood this year but I am glad I got to wear it this Summer.  It has the perfect fit and works well with my white accessories.  Although black and white gingham is quite a popular print, I love how the white embroidery makes the dress a bit different.

I am always very happy to promote vintage shops that I have had good service from and this dress came from one of those shops - Cut + Paste on Etsy.  I bought another Jonathan Logan from this shop a few months ago (which is yet to feature on this blog but it will do some day!) and this dress has been my second purchase.


Dress: Vintage from Cut + Paste on Etsy
Belt: Vintage from eBay
Shoes: Vintage from many years ago!
Bag: Vintage from eBay
Necklace: Vintage from trader at Bows and Braces Vintage Fair
Earrings: Vintage from Etsy
Sunglasses: Vintage from Vera Mode Vintage

Goodwood Revival 2014

Last Sunday, my boyfriend and I attended the Goodwood Revival.  You may remember I blogged about the 2012 Revival here. 

As the weather looked like it was going to be somewhat unsettled for the Sunday, I decided not to wear the outfit that I had originally planned and went with a different outfit which you have already seen on this blog here.  So this post is more about the event rather than my outfit (although I did choose some different accessories to go with the dress this time!)

This year's event was bigger and better than 2012!!  As I didn't attend the 2013 event, I do not know if the changes made were present last year or were new to this year.  For instance, the "Over the Road" area was much bigger and they made more of a feature of the Car Show.  There were just so many cars that we didn't get to see all of them!

Pretty much my favourite car colour!

There was also a dedicated 1950s area this year (which I don't recall there being in 2012) which had hot rods, airstream food vendors and a stage with Rock 'n' Roll bands playing.  Despite our intentions to do some jiving during the day, we were just too tired from all the walking/ standing that we didn't get to do any!

I also managed to meet up with my friends Vicki and Nicky who went for the day.  Vicki runs the awesome vintage shop This is Vintage in Bournemouth.

When I went in 2012, the planes were behind the fence in the airfield but this year you could get up close and touch them!  This was definitely one of the highlights of the day!  You often see classic cars at events but you don't normally get to see these types of planes, so it was good to get some photos!

Another minty dream machine!

And as with 2012, I managed to get to the Best Dressed Finals but did not win...

You can see fellow Vintage blogger Alex from The Forties Floozy in front of me during the parade!

Photo taken from the Goodwood Revival website

Photo taken by Men's File photographer Matt Hind (my serious face is also my moody face!)

All in all, it was a great day out!  My legs hurt so much by the end of the day (I changed in to ballet flats at lunch time but even that didn't really help) - there is just so much walking around and not many places to sit down and relax!  You may also be surprised to hear that I did not even look at any vintage clothes shops!  There were a lot of vendors but I really couldn't be bothered to sift through racks of vintage when there was so much more to see and do.  My boyfriend also enjoyed his first Revival so I think we will probably go next year.

I would love to know if you went to this year's event or have been to previous events!



Who wears short shorts?

Ooh man, dig that crazy chick!

First capri pants and now shorts, have I abandoned dresses and skirts forever?  Nope, but I do love these shorts!  I have wanted a pair of navy 1950s shorts for a long time... I couldn't find a vintage pair in the right size and the repro companies out there did not seem to make any navy ones so I was very happy to finally find these original 1950s shorts from Crush Vintage on Etsy.  I have bought a few things from them before and their items are always at good prices.  The shorts needed a little alteration as they were a little too big but they now fit great.  And I took them on their first outing to a picnic in the New Forest.

 



The summer weather isn't quite as hot as it was back in July so I haven't had many opportunities to wear this hat.

 

And these are my first Miss L Fire shoes!  I have wanted to purchase a pair for a while but could never make up my mind as to which pair I really wanted.  When I saw these cute sandals, I figured they would be great for my holiday next year and I snapped them up when they went on sale recently.  They are completely ridiculous, but how can you not love them?

 

 

Shorts: Vintage from Crush Vintage

Shirt: Vintage but I bought this so long ago, I cannot remember where I got it from!

Bag: Vintage from Etsy

Sandals: Miss L Fire Aruba sandals (currently on sale!)

Hat: Vintage from eBay

Earrings: Vintage from Etsy

Sunglasses: Vintage from Vera Mode

 



Capri pants!

I think it is safe to say that I definitely prefer dresses and skirts to trousers... having said that, I do love the 1950s capri pants that I see girls wearing and I've been dying to own a pair myself.  However, trousers/ pants are just so difficult to get right in the measurements!  Buying a full skirt or dress is so easy by comparison and it is for this reason that I have generally stayed away from buying vintage trousers online. 

Ballyhoo Vintage has a great range of 1950s and 1960s capri pants/ clam diggers/ pedal pushers and I really wanted a pair... so I bought these deadstock ones as they were not very expensive so I figured if they didn't fit right, it wouldn't be a huge waste of money.

 

They are super tight and there isn't much give in the fabric.  It is the right size (I actually had to get them taken in a little by the ankle) as any bigger and it wouldn't have the right look. 

 

 

I definitely feel more self-conscious wearing these than I do in any vintage dress I own but I do also like this outfit a lot (even if all I can see is hips/ thighs/ bum) so I would like to buy some more capri pants in the future.

 

 



 

We are currently in-between sofas in our flat so I used this opportunity to take some photos in the huge space we now have in our lounge.  This clock was the first mid-century item we bought for the flat.  It's great to be able to look at (and purchase!) furniture and homewares at vintage fairs, when before, I was only really interested in the clothing.

Yep, definitely super tight.

Capri pants: Vintage deadstock from Ballyhoo Vintage
Top: H&M
Necklace: Vintage from Etsy
Bracelet: Vintage from trader at Rhythm Riot
Bag: Vintage from Etsy
Earrings: Reproduction from Bow & Crossbones
Shoes: Topshop

Southsea Common

It was good to read your comments from my previous post about having too many floral print dresses and just to show you that I haven't completely gone off 1950s floral prints, here is an outfit I wore a few weeks ago...

 

 

These photos were taken on a lovely sunny day spent in Southsea (and you can see Southsea Common in the background.)

 

 

Following on from my last post, I know that I will still buy 1950s floral print dresses in the future but I like to find ones that are a little different.  I like the print of this one in particular because I don't own any other dresses that look similar.

 

 

For those of you who have been reading my blog posts for a little may remember this post which I did last year.  When I went to London last August, I went to Judy's Fair at Spitalfields where I met a girl promoting the fair.  I absolutely loved her dress and took a photo of her in it (which I included in the post.)  Then a couple months ago, I saw that the same girl was selling some of her clothes on OLL.  I did think if she was to ever sell this dress then I would need to buy it... and luckily for me, she was selling it and I bought it from her!  As she is a similar size to me, I knew it would fit (and it does) and I have since bought other things from her (I love finding someone in my size who is selling off their vintage wardrobe!)

 

  

Dress: Vintage from Ooh La La! Vintage Swap and Sell Shop (Facebook group)

Shoes: Rocket Originals

Bag: Vintage from Etsy

Sunglasses: Vintage from Vera Mode

Bracelet: Vintage from eBay

Parasol: Vintage from trader at the Crikey! It's Vintage Fair

Earrings: Vintage from Ooh La La! Vintage Swap and Sell Shop (Facebook group)



  

 

Not another floral print dress...

I wore this outfit when I went out for dinner for my Birthday a few months ago.  I have to admit, recently, I have really gone off 1950s floral print dresses... I do really like this one but I see so many floral prints on Etsy that they all start to look the same.  I try to look for more interesting or different prints in 1950s dresses (and I seem to have bought a lot of plaid dresses!)  As a result, there will be a couple of floral print dresses in my wardrobe that I plan on selling as I know I won't be wearing them anymore.

 

 



I think the reason I still like this dress is that I like the black and blue combination, it is great for accessorising.

 

 

I got to wear my new Atomic demi parure on this occasion.  The brooch is almost hidden on this dress!  I don't really like clip on earrings and I try to purchase screw back styles where possible but when the earring are this amazing, then I make an exception. 

 

 

Dress: Vintage Carol Craig from Etsy

Shoes: Vintage from trader at a Vintage Fair

Demi Parure: Vintage from Etsy

Bracelet: Vintage from trader at Rhythm Riot

Belt: Vintage from Etsy

Bag: Vintage from Etsy

 



Big Cat

I just wanted to start off this post by saying THANK YOU to all the kind comments on my last post.  I really do enjoy blogging and reading the comments to my posts and your words of encouragement certainly made me feel better as I go through a bit of a stressful time with moving to a new property.

So on to today's post... these outfit photos were taken back in March when it was somewhat colder!  I think I was trying to channel a bit of Audrey Hepburn in Charade with the red coat and the hat.

I tried on this hat at the Bows and Braces Vintage Fair in March and I immediately fell in love with it.  I never thought the pill box style would really suit me but this seemed to really work.  However, I did not want to spend too much at the fair so I decided not to purchase it.  But this just meant that I spent the following week thinking about it!  It is funny how the 'love of vintage' will drive you to lusting after such items.  By the end of the week (and having thought of various outfit combinations which necessitated the hat) I phoned up Gloria from The Little Vintage Shop in Lymington to tell her that I wanted needed it... only to find out that it had been reserved for someone else until the next day!  Gloria said she would phone me if the lady who had reserved it does not come back and to my luck, she did not return for it so the hat was mine!!  I was quite surprised because when I 'reserve' items in vintage shops, I always go back for them...

 

 

Despite all the desperate lusting after this hat, this is the only time I have worn it thus far but I hope when Autumn returns, it will be worn many more times! 

Dress: Vintage from This is Vintage in Bournemouth (also on Etsy here)
Hat: Vintage from The Little Vintage Shop in Lymington
Shoes: Marks and Spencer
Bag: Vintage from Vintage to Vogue, Bath
Coat: Vintage from a trader at Lou Lou's Vintage Fair
Gloves: Vintage from Etsy (surprisingly for me, the only internet purchase in this whole outfit!)