Returning to my neglected blog

Well, it’s been some time since I made any entries and I decided it was time for a long overdue catch up and to make a commitment to start writing my blog again. So, what have I been up to in my absence? The answer is a lot!

I lost my job back in April which was terrifying as finding another proved a little on the tricky side. In a fit of boredom I somehow got to looking into the possibility of going back to university and it turned out it was an option. So nervously and excitedly I made my application and crossed my fingers. To my delight I was asked to an interview and got offered a place on the spot! So in a few days I shall be enrolling and embarking upon freshers week at Central School of Speech and Drama where I shall be studying for my BA (Hons) Theatre Practice: Costume Construction. I am beyond thrilled, the prospect that in 3 years I could finally be working in theatre after a few stumbling blocks over the last few years is incredibly exciting. So exciting I’m not even bothered that I’m the only one over 21 on my course!

I have also been up to a few other exciting things, doing my best to keep myself occupied whilst being an unemployed bum.

I broke my rock ‘n’ roll weekender cherry by going to Hemsby in May and had an absolute blast, it was amazing to spend the whole weekend surrounded by people all into the same thing, do some dancing, see some bands and do an awful lot of drinking! It will not be my last weekender that’s for sure.

 

Myself and Bettina Scarlett

I also went to see Garbage on their come back tour. It was like stepping back to my teens, Shirley Manson is as hot and brilliant as I always remembered her.

I dyed my hair, getting rid of the bleached blonde entirely, it’s now a deep purple/pink colour which gets me a lot of compliments and we can never be too short on those. I popped my tattoo cherry at last, I hope it doesn’t take me another 30 years to get more, I have at least 2 or 3 in the planning. Apparently I was very good for a first time sitter!

 

 

 

 

I attended another It’s A Wonderful event, this time a Jubilee celebration which ran all day in two events, both were a hit with fun had by all who attended.

 

 

 

 

Hmm, what else? Oh yes! I went to a Very bloggers event with Diana Vickers, who is lovely but quite fashion referencing illiterate. Lovely singer live too actually.

My most recent escapade has been to see Lady Gaga in concert and all I have to say is wow, she sure knows how to put on a show!

Hair and make-up for Lady Gaga

Finally, I have added a new member to my little furry family. I have adopted a 16 week old semi-feral kitten who I have named Betty Raspberry. She has been with us for a week and is doing brilliantly. She’s still not happy being touched but otherwise is bouncing about like any other kitten would and is hopelessly besotted with my boy cat, Dave. I in turn am totally besotted with her. We have our first trip to the vet on Monday for first round of vaccinations and to see when we can get her in for neutering.

Phew! I think that’s about all for now. If you’re interested in an extended piece on any of the above shenanigans, do let me know, otherwise I shall be back properly with a bit of a beauty review of some products I’ve bought recently and going forward it will be business as usual with some university woes thrown in for good measure no doubt. Now excuse me while I do a light bleach to my roots and touch up the pink!

The New Vintage Look – A unique fashion event!

Have you always wondered about how to create a vintage look without dedicating time, money and knowledge to buying vintage? Maybe you want to see a bit of burlesque but feel a full-on evening would be a bit overwhelming for a first timer? Just curious to meet some of us that dress with more than a nod to eras gone past?

Well, I have got just the evening for you! The fabulous Bettina Scarlett and Sarah Bishop have arranged just such an evening, The New Vintage Look, at the fabulous Proud Cabaret on 10th April, a beautifully decadent venue in the heart of London with more than a little of the feel of a very glamourous speakeasy.

So what’s it all about then? Firstly, it’s a charity event, raising funds for The Royal Brompton and Harefields Hospital Charity but best of all there’s so much going on and so many massive retro reproduction companies involved. Some include Collectif, Miss Fortune, Miss Bamboo, Lady K Loves, Bernie Dexter……..I could go on and on! The there’s hair and make-up by the wonderful Lipstick and Curls and The Vanity Box. But that’s not all, oh no, live music from Knocksville and a burlesque performance from the delectable Miss Tempest Rose it’s going to be a hell of a night!

Tickets are just £12, available here, so what better way to get dressed up for some midweek fun, to those new to vintage and reproduction and to those deeply immersed in it.

I hope to see you there in your finest!

Vintage vs Reproduction

I thought I would share my thoughts as to why I wear a lot of retro repro, more than genuine vintage (at the moment).

There are a lot of vintage evangelists out there, who wear very little “new” clothing, there are era evangelists who stick to one period faithfully and historically acurately and then there are people like me, who just enjoy the designs and styles of eras gone past and love dressing up in them, whatever form that takes, new or vintage.

At the moment, I am incredibly time poor, my working week is long and come the weekend I mostly want to unwind and catch up on all the stuff I have no time to do during the week, as well as hang out with my rather attention neglected cats! Time to scour and source genuine vintage items is something I don’t have a lot of and as my choice to start dressing this way was quite a recent one, the easiest way to fill my wardrobe with gorgeously retro items, enough so I can dress the way I want every day, it just made sense to go down the repro route, allowing me to add vintage pieces as I’m lucky enough to find them.

I also don’t have an era I like to stick to, I love the 50s most but 40s tea dresses are also a love of mine. I’d say I don’t really venture beyond the 50s but that’s not to say I never will. It’s less about recreating an era down to the finest detail and more about just loving what I wear every day.

Another massive plus point is that there are so many amazing British repro brands out there, who design and manufacture (where possible) here that I’m doing my bit to support independent businesses and British manufacturing. What’s not to love!

My biggest belief is that we should be allowed to wear what we want, how we want and to look how we want. As long as you’re happy and confident that’s the most important thing.

All aboard the Love Boat!

First off, I apologise for neglecting my blog recently, I have been moving house so it’s all been a bit manic for a few weeks but myself and the cats are just about settled now and I finished the essential unpacking today (while hiding the non-essential stuff in my lovely new loft!).

In between the moving madness was another “It’s a Wonderful” event, this time a love filled Valentine’s Love Boat ball. On a boat! It was, of course, totally fabulous.

My outfit for the evening was an amazing Bernie Dexter for Modcloth creation and drew a lot of attention, I felt very special and as it was a birthday gift, it made it even more special.

I also made myself a little hair piece with a vintage anchor brooch so I had something a little nautical.

Having wandered round trying to find it for a little while we eventually spotted the balloons and posters pointing us in the right direction we arrived outside the lovely barge on the Thames where we were “papped” on the red carpet gang plank.

And then we entered the beautiful, intimate venue of the barge. I have to say, as a choice of venue, it was brilliant. Small and intimate but with enough room to move around. The lower deck had the main bar, a good size dance floor, stage and a little spiral staircase leading to the upper deck. The upper deck had a small bar, the area which was to host the speed swing dating and then the outdoor deck, where a few of us attempted to recreate Titanic, as you do…………..

As this was also my official birthday celebrations I was subjected to a birthday circle swing dance, this filled me with complete fear. I’ve had one 10 minute jive lesson and a few dances but I felt completely unprepared to be thrown around by lots of far more experienced young men. I needn’t have worried, the boys were lovely, I had great fun, managed to mostly keep up with the extremely fast (and specially written) birthday swing song! I recommend it to everyone.

I honestly had a totally fabulous night, got to catch up with some of my favourite girls including Bettina Scarlett, Lady K Loves and The Vanity Box.

Here are some more images form the evening for you to enjoy!

Like what you see? Then come along to the next It’s a Wonderful event! It’s in May and is the Jubilee Jamboree. This one is of epic proportions with both a pre-party warm-up and main event, all for the price of one ticket, it would be rude not to come, check it out here. You may even see me make a special appearance………….. 

So I said I like to sew………

Therefore it would be rude not to show you some bits!

I haven’t had time to do anything for a while, my crazy working hours and commute make it a bit tricky but I’m hoping as the nights get lighter I will get more motivated!

For now here are some pics of past makes for you to have a gander at.

Remnant heart.

Corsages.

Retro pinny

Another retro pinny

Personalised pet beds

Hair slide

So that’s just a little taster of the bits and bobs I’ve done/do. Hope you’ve enjoyed the little look.

My Funny Valentine…….celebrating turning 30

That time of year is rapidly approaching, where couples in love fight for a dinner reservation and singles cry into their wine at the lack of cards on their door mat. Or is it?

Now I generally let this one day of the year pass me by with little more than a cursory glance in Clinton’s heart festooned windows but this year will be different. No, a miracle hasn’t taken place, I have not found some poor unsuspecting man to buy me overpriced chocolates. Instead, I shall be heading off to the It’s A Wonderful Vintage Love Boat Ball! This will also be my official 30th brithday celebration so feel free to send a cocktail my way!

This is the second event put on by Olivia Farnesy of Moon on a Stick PR and it’s sure to be every bit as wonderful as the Christmas ball which I blogged about here. It will be a packed evening with a live jazz ensemble, the cream of London’s swing dance DJs, love tarot and psychic readings and a red carpet gang plank. There will even be swing dance speed dating, burlesque and much much more! All taking place on a beautiful 1920s styled boat on the Thames. Whether single or loved up, head on down to one of Time Out’s top 10 Valentine’s events and indulge in a bit of vintage glamour. You could really enter into the spirit and go for a full-on nautical theme to your outfit!

I will be there along with Lady K Loves, Bettina Scarlett and The Vanity Box.

A little taster of the last ball……………..

‘It’s a Wonderful’ Winter Vintage Ball from Promo Video on Vimeo.

Hope to see you all there!

Christmas Day outfit

As promised, my first ever outfit post. I don’t profess to be some super style maven but I will share with you my favourite outfits and it’s up to you to make of them what you will!

This is my Christmas Day dress, a piece of divine gorgeousness from Vivien of Holloway. If you live in London I recommend you go to the shop, the girls are gorgeous, friendly and wonderful, giving great service whether you’re a vintage veteran or virgin. I guarantee you will walk out feeling more fabulous than you did when you walk in. What’s even better is everything is made right here in Blighty so you are supporting a home grown industry from sketch book to sewing machine to store.

Dress: Runaround Sue by Vivien of Holloway

Hair flower: Shazam – sold in Vivien of Holloway

Slippers: Primark………..

Belt: eBay

“It’s a Wonderful” inaugural event

On the 2nd of December a new event was born and I was lucky enough to attend. The brainchild of Olivia Farnesy, the first “It’s a Wonderful” ball was a massive success and I can’t wait for the next one!

This event was called “It’s a Wonderful Winter Vintage Ball”, held at the Green Lantern in Soho and wonderful it most certainly was.

What a delight to see everyone make such an effort and everything was wonderfully thought through. From swing dance demos, a yummy treats stand, cocktail classes, vintage sellers, live music and of course a best dressed competition.

My outfit for the evening was a stunning Tara Starlet dress, beaded clutch from M&S and shoes i’ve had for years from Next. Much to my complete amazement and surprise, I won second best dressed! Much boasting and cheesy grinning ensued.

I also met the fabulous and lovely ladies from The Vanity Box and Bettina Scarlett, who put up with my yapping away and being altogether a bit over-excitable!

I’ll share with you a few more pics from the evening.

Me, looking smug, with my winner’s toffees.

Event poster.

 

Best dressed ladies competition.

One of my favourite images from the evening.

If you are interested in attending the next even, check out the Facebook page to keep up to date. 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Its-a-Wonderful-vintage-special-events/201887103223555

Open for, er, business?

Sooo, where does one begin on the blogging adventure?

I guess introducing myself is a great start! As in my little blurb, I’m nearly 30 (on 19th January) and think it’s time to start seeing if I can pass on a little of my hard earned and not so hard earned wisdom!

About 2 years ago, I fell back in love with fashion after us drifting apart for a while but Ifelt the High Street and mainstream fashion, as much as I love it, wasn’t really what I wanted to wear. So started my plan to go vintage and vintage reproduction/inspired. In August this year it all got going with gusto and I am absolutely loving it! I have found so many designers, makers, brands, websites, stores and I keep looking. It’s so lovely to find myself on the receiving end of so many compliments and I really feel fabulous a lot of the time these days which is no small battle for most of us.

As well as my superficial transformation, there’s all the little things that have come about. I have really gotten into baking in a big way, not that I have nearly enough time to indulge in it. I have discovered I am rather handy on a sewing machine but again, lack of time is my enemy. I recently went to my first vintage event (more to come on that) which was amazing and so inspiring, I am looking forward to starting swing classes sometime soon.

I think that’s enough waffling for now. I shall be back with some Christmas themed posts very soon.

Thanks for joining me, I hope you’ll stay x