Looking forward to 2014...

I can't believe that there are only a few days left of 2013!  This has been the best year for me and I am certainly looking forward to 2014.  2013 brought some exciting developments and this blog is one of them.  I have enjoyed doing outfit posts and also being able to comment on all the blogs I love to read - you vintage girls are the best!  You have the best style and are a great source of inspiration for me.  I also wanted to take the opportunity in this post to say a big THANK YOU to those of you who read my blog and for your lovely comments - I really appreciate them! 

OK, on to my outfit...

I have tried to incorporate more separates into my vintage wardrobe.  Buying vintage skirts in a small size is pretty easy but one thing I have found is that buying vintage tops in a small size is definitely not easy!  Even buying reproduction or vintage inspired tops is really difficult - this is one thing I think that the repro brands out there really need to get on top of - especially when it comes to sweaters!  Does anyone else have this problem?  Do you have any suggestions for where I can get nice vintage or vintage inspired sweaters from (in a small size!)?

This is one of my favourite cardigans and has a rabbit fur collar (I like to call it my 'Thumper Jumper'...)  I bought this on eBay about four years ago and it was the bargain price of £9!  These days, these type of fur collar cardigans seem to be more around the £50 price, so I was quite lucky to buy this one at this price.  I am also wearing the cashmere sweater and ? Bakelite hoop earrings, both purchased from Rhythm Riot this year.  I don't own many Bakelite items so I am not sure (and to be honest, not entirely bothered) if they are indeed genuine Bakelite.  I didn't pay very much for them and I bought them because I just love the colour and style!

Hope y'all have a great New Years!  See you in 2014!

Skirt: Vintage from Etsy
Thumper Jumper: Vintage from eBay
Sweater: Vintage from Dress Circle Vintage at Rhythm Riot
Earrings: Vintage from Dress Circle Vintage at Rhythm Riot
Shoes: Marks and Spencer
Bag: Vintage from Vintage to Vogue, Bath

Rhythm Riot 2013 Part 2

So this is the outfit that I wore on Sunday at Rhythm Riot...

 

I expected the weather to be super cold so thought that it would be a good opportunity to wear this wool dress.  I bought this on Etsy back in the summer and I only paid £25 for it!  I rarely get to buy such bargains on Etsy.  It's an Anne Fogarty and in great condition too (something I always worry about when purchasing wool dresses online.) 

 

 

 

 

I am surprised that these photos turned out OK as they were taken after only a few hours sleep.  After staying out late to see The Royal Rhythmaires on Saturday night, I got up to go the Boot Sale at 10am (couldn't manage getting there for 9am!)  The Boot sale itself was a bit disappointing because the prices were quite high for a lot of the items.  I did buy a few things (including the hat you can see in these photos.)

 

Although the Sunday Boot Sale was disappointing, the shopping in general at the Riot certainly was not!  Living in Southampton, where there are no vintage shops and the local fairs don't have a lot of pre-1960s, I felt somewhat overwhelmed at the amount of wonderful 1940s and 1950s vintage on offer.  Everything was just amazing and so as a result, I found it hard to distinguish what I liked from what I really liked!  I didn't have a huge budget either so I didn't go crazy but I did pick up some nice items including a 1940s rayon Carol Craig dress, a 1950s brown cashmere sweater, red ?Bakelite hoop earrings and a 1950s Anne Fogarty dress (which seemed as though it was destined to be mine as I was wearing the above AF dress at the time!)  My guy also found some nice items too which he was pleased about because men's vintage is harder to find, at least where we live.

 

 

 

 

Of course, everyone there looked fantastic as well!  It was really great being at an event where people appreciated the 1940s and 1950s lifestyle - from the clothes to the music to the cars.  When I go to local vintage fairs, often, I am the only one in vintage clothes, so it was nice to see everyone in lovely outfits.  I also got to meet some lovely people as well.  I thoroughly enjoyed my first Rhythm Riot and I would definitely go back!

 

Dress: Vintage from Etsy

Shoes: Office

Gloves: Vintage from Lou Lou's Vintage Fair

Bag: Vintage from Etsy

Hat: Vintage from a trader at Rhythm Riot boot sale

Brooch: Vintage from Tamara Watts at the Clerkenwell Vintage Fair

 

Rhythm Riot 2013 Part 1

So a few weekends ago my boyfriend and I attended our first ever R'n'R weekender... Rhythm Riot!  We only learnt to jive quite recently and so I was a bit nervous about going to an event where there would be a lot of people but we had a really good time! 

Some of the outfits that I chose to wear have been featured on this blog previously so I won't bother showing you them again.  And my iPhone did not take very good quality photos of any of my evening outfits so I won't be showing you them either (and I did wear a rather lovely late 1940s dress on the Saturday!  Although I am sure I will wear it again at some point in the future.) 

First up is the outfit I wore on Saturday during the day.... 

As Rhythm Riot is a Rhythm and Blues and Rock 'N' Roll event, most people dress in either 1940s or 1950s vintage wear and so I thought it would be a good opportunity to wear this 1940s rayon dress.  It has quite a great print on it and I hope you'll be able to pick up on it in the photos.

As well as the yellow flowers on it, there is also a conductor and musical notation!  Also, the yellow flower by my shoulder actually has white beads around it too! 

I bought these vintage shoes from a random vintage shop in Chichester and they were pretty cheap.  When I bought them, I thought they were a 1960s/1970s does 1940s shoe but on further inspection when I got home (and some Internet research later on the brand name) I discovered they were genuine 1940s shoes (unworn as well!)  So I was pretty pleased with my bargain.

I don't want to bore you with all the photos of the cars I took (and there were lots of pretty cars) so here are two of my favourite 1950s cars.

As well as the awesome cars, there were also awesome bands too!  I really enjoyed seeing The Inteli-gents, Los Mambo Jambo, The Teenagers and The Royal Rhythmaires...

I think that's probably enough to fill this blog post so I will talk about the amaaaazing vintage traders and well-dressed Rioters in the next post :)

Dress: Vintage from Etsy
Shoes: Vintage from a Vintage shop in Chichester
Bag: Vintage from eBay
Necklace: Vintage from a Vintage Fair
Hat: Vintage from Lou Lou's Vintage Fair
Gloves: Vintage from Lace and Tweed Vintage Fair
Coat: Vintage from Vintage to Vogue, Bath
Fox stole: Vintage from a flea market in New York

Sunday Roast

At the beginning of November, I celebrated my Dad's Birthday with a Sunday Roast Dinner at a restaurant in Romsey.

I have been keen to wear this cute yellow sweater ever since I purchased it at the Bows and Braces Vintage Fair back in August but wanted to wait until the weather was cold enough to wear a sweater and it certainly is now!  I don't know if the details will show up well on my photos but it is a 1930s piece and has beading all over it!  It has been really difficult finding small sized vintage sweaters so I was really happy to see this was in my size!  I also couldn't resist adding another recent acquisition - the Bakelite Scottie brooch which I bought from Tamara Watts at the Clerkenwell Fair (she had some AMAZING items!)

You can also see the hat I purchased from Lou Lou's Vintage Fair back in October.  When I tried this hat on at the fair, I wasn't immediately sold on it but my friend convinced me to buy it and I am so glad she did because I now love it! The colour, the style, it fits perfectly!  I find it quite difficult to buy vintage hats because a lot of them look better on girls with longer hair, so whenever I see a hat that suits me, I tend to snap it up!

I am also wearing my new 1940s coat which I bought in Bath when I went to visit the Gangsters and Gunslingers exhibition.  It has such a lovely shape and also works really well with my fox fur stole (as I am sure you will see in some future posts!)



Please excuse my silly face!



Coat: Vintage from Vintage to Vogue, Bath

Skirt: Vintage from Classic Vault Vintage

Sweater: Vintage from Pret-a-Vintage

Hat: Vintage from a trader at Lou Lou's Vintage Fair Southampton

Bag: Vintage from Etsy

Gloves: Vintage from a trader at the Lace and Tweed Vintage Fair

Belt: Vintage celluloid buckle from Etsy

Brooch: Vintage from the Clerkenwell Vintage Fair

Shoes: Office

Lace and Tweed

A few weekends ago I went to the Lace and Tweed Vintage Fair which is hosted twice a year in Guildford. 

Here is the outfit that I wore on the day...

 

The dress is a recent acquisition from Fab Gabs on Etsy and I am pretty much in love with everything in that shop!  If only it were all my size *sigh*... luckily for me this dress was my size! 

Although I am not a fan of the colder months, there is one good thing about winter approaching - I get to wear fur!  This fox fur stole is particularly practical as I can wear it with a lot of my jackets and coats. 

 

 

 

I hadn't been to this particular fair before but was told that there was some great vintage for sale so I decided to make the train trip to check it out.  I don't always travel so far to go to vintage fairs as they are not always worth the money or effort travelling.  There was some really great vintage on offer but I didn't buy much (a 1950s jacket for my guy, a pair of 1940s gloves and some 1950s cat eye sunglasses.)

 

There were also some very well dressed people in attendance (something I don't always see at local fairs) and I just had to snap a photo of this vintage lady in her autumnal dress - doesn't she look great?

Dress: Vintage from Fab Gabs on Etsy
Shoes: Vintage from Clerkenwell Vintage Fair
Bag: Vintage from eBay
Gloves: Vintage, gift
Hat: Vintage from Etsy
Fox fur: Vintage from a New York Flea Market
Jacket: Vintage from Ballyhoo Vintage

Toffee and Liquorice

Another vintage fair, another vintage outfit... This is the outfit I wore when Lou Lou's Vintage Fair came to town at the beginning of October.

I bought this dress and matching jacket from Dethrose Vintage on Etsy and I just love the toffee and liquorice check print.  I had been looking for a matching set for such a long time!  It is becoming increasingly difficult finding dresses in my size and then to have the jacket be my measurements as well has been a challenge!  So I was overjoyed to find this set in my size and at a reasonable price.  It is quite a lightweight cotton so I'm glad I got to wear it out without needing an overcoat before the weather got too cold. 

I also wanted to show you a better photo of my hat... it is very autumnal!

Dress and jacket: Vintage from Dethrose Vintage on Etsy
Hat: Vintage from Etsy
Shoes: Vintage from Beyond Retro
Bag: Vintage from Vintage to Vogue, Bath
Gloves: Vintage from Etsy
Necklace/ brooch: Vintage from various fairs

Steak snob

As you are probably aware from my outfit posts, I don't go out a lot in the evenings, mostly because there is not a lot to do in Southampton (or the surrounding area!)  Most of my clothes are therefore day wear.  However, I do enjoy going out in the evening (especially when good food is involved) so I thought I would share with you some photos taken back in September when I went out for a colleague's birthday at a local Steakhouse.

You might remember that I blogged about this dress back here when I purchased it from Sweet Bee Finds on Etsy.  The colour, the dreamy chiffon and the cute peter pan collar made me buy it immediately!  I also decided to team it with my not-totally-comfortable Ferragamos.

I also 'apologise' for the odd poses in these photos and the fact that I appear to be at an angle, I asked my Grandma to take them before I left for the Steakhouse and she is not used to using a smartphone camera!

And now onto the steak in question.... Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE my food.  And steak is one of my favourite meals but I will only eat it from proper steakhouses and wouldn't dare try to cook it at home... best to leave it to the professionals!  Vegetarians might want to look away now...

I always have the fillet and I always have the 11oz size but each time I always feel that I could have gone bigger!  I am starting to get hungry just looking at the photo...

Dress: Vintage from Sweet Bee Finds on Etsy

Bag: Vintage from Etsy

Shoes: Vintage Ferragamos from Etsy

Holiday Outfit Post # 6: A new favourite?

OK so this is the last of my holiday outfit posts... and I like to think I saved the best 'til last!

These photos were taken in Narbonne and I think the canal makes for a great backdrop for these photos.  Out of all the places I visited on my short holiday in the South of France, I think Narbonne was my favourite - it was just a really lovely town and I would definitely like to go back there.

Now to my outfit... I bought this dress from the lovely Vicki of 'This is Vintage' in Boscombe.  I had seen this dress on a previous visit to her store but for some reason did not like it because I thought the colours made me feel dizzy!  However, I went back to her store a few days before my holiday and decided to give the dress a try - and I loved it!  

It does have a really good fit... perhaps too good because it is a little tight around the ribcage!  Usually if dresses are going to be tight, they are tight around the waist but this has an almost corseted feel to it and it is hard to take deep breaths in it... but with vintage clothing sometimes it is a case of "no pain, no gain."




These are probably one of my favourite pairs of shoes and although they are not vintage, they are a good few years old.  They have been re-soled once and have seen the likes of Paris, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Grand Canyon and Monument Valley... and they are still going strong.

Dress: Vintage from This is Vintage in Boscombe (Vicki also has an etsy shop too This is Vintage Dorset)

Bag: Vintage from the Retro and Jukebox Fair in Brighton

Shoes: Topshop

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Wayfarers

Holiday Outfit Post # 5: The Carcassonne outfit

So back to the holiday outfits!  It's odd looking back to summer outfits when the weather in the UK has taken a turn for the worse...

This is the outfit that I wore when we spent the day in Carcassonne.  As you can see from the following photos, Carcassonne is straight out of a fairy tale!  Founded in the 5th century, it is an amazing fortified town and has been featured in many movies and TV shows. 

I am not sure if I should have worn the headscarf on this occasion... Do you ever look back at blog photos and regret wearing a certain item?  It's too late because I wanted to show you this 1950s two piece!

As soon as I saw this crop top and skirt combo on Crush Vintage I knew it had to be mine!  I love the cute buttons on the back of the crop top (even if it is a total pain to get done up by yourself *Thank you Alan*) and the bright blue colour.  The crop top is quite low cut so I had to wear a lace top inside (I don't really like low-cut tops or dresses.)

 

 

And here are some better photos of Carcassonne...

 

 

 

Crop top and Skirt: Vintage from Crush Vintage

Shoes: Topshop

Bag: Vintage from a trader at the Jukebox and Retro Fair in Brighton 2013

Headscarf: Vintage, was a free gift with a purchase from Etsy

Necklace: Vintage from Dear Golden Vintage

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Clubmasters