Family, Fling and Fun

Well I haven't been able to take the pictures for the blog post I wanted to get out yet, sometimes life gets in the way, in the meantime...

I have moved house (again) but hopefully this time will be more permanent and I wont be moving for a while. I am slowly making it like home and now that I have much more space I can have all of my vintage homewares with me which makes me really happy. I can't wait to blog about it once I have some cash to spruce it up fully!

This month has called for some outfit planning, I love getting ready and try to make an effort every day so here were some of my favorite outfit moments of the month.

Brexit

Ok so this was not my favorite moment as such but I am not getting into politics here. I combined this high waisted royal blue stretch skirt with this cute yellow vintage short sleeved knit, in a nod to the day (and to my vote which is clear from the pictures). The lady at the polling station was most impressed!

I was reminded of the patriotic brooches, often in red white and blue, that were worn in WW2. Historically women have found ways of communicating through their clothing and accessories and it's an area of fashion history I find fascinating!

The Mid Century Market - Cecil Sharp House www.cecilsharphouse.org - North London

Not only is CSH a fantastic local venue with so many different activities going on (check out their website!)  it also houses the Mid Century Market  which I had been meaning to go to for such a long time. I met with Catherine of Vintage Frills as we had planned to make a day of it.

I was just browsing really but it is a really great quality market for those who want true vintage, they are very selective in who their sellers are and the variety is excellent. After shopping we had a little wander around Camden and then went for a seriously delicious Nandos as a treat.

I wore a vintage tea dress which is actually 80's, with vintage gloves and a 1950's bag. The shoes are from Clarks. I wore my hair in a Gibson roll using a rat which kept my hair neat and out of the way all day.

Safety pin selfie

Horrified by the increase in reported racial abuse post Brexit I read about the safety pin campaign with interest. I wasn't sure it would take off at first but soon social media and the powers that be at the Huffington post and Guardian made sure it was getting the promotion it deserved.

 I loved the idea of wearing a symbol of solidarity so I rooted through my sewing kit until I unearthed my safety pin collection (don't ask!)  proudly pinned one to my top, and have done so since.

I found myself wearing tops that would make it stand out, I wanted to be part of this, was proud to wear one for the values it was standing for. As I said I don't want to get too much into politics but these are very interesting times. Again I am reminded of the 1940's when symbolism and a sense of belonging were a cornerstone of society, if you were in the WVS you proudly wore a uniform, undertook the necessary actions and above all maintained the associated values.

The safety pin might seem small in comparison to the voluntary work from the past but in my opinion it comes from the same need, in times of strife, to belong and to maintain your own values, linking with others who share them. It's about community.

The Fling Festival Chelmsford.

The fling festival is a family day out for us and we have been for the past 3 years. It's a one day festival and I think the best way to describe it is alternative. There is something for everyone and everything in between. My personal favorites were:

Cabaret tent: The burlesque performance by Vicky Butterfly blew me away! As many vintage enthusiasts can appreciate burlesque is more than semi nudity and Ms Butterfly has some seriously strong song choice and costume game going on. If you want to be transfixed then check her out.

The Imagination Station: We make a point of going to this puppet show for adults every year as it is just hilarious, Aunt Sarah will lead you through a tale that will curl your hair and there is nothing funnier than a masturbating puppet. Check them out here

Music: My favorite band of the day were Salvation Jayne I made a point of going to see them after listening to them on youtube and they didn't disappoint, the lead singer has a filthy voice with more power than a JCB on Viagra. Check out their youtube channel and I will definitely be on the look out for their next gig!

Photos: The fairyland trust were also on hand to make sure we got the most hysterical picture of the day. For a voluntary donation you could dress up from their selection of costumes and have your picture taken in front of their fairy backdrop. Being a proper grown up I shunned all the sexy fairy outfits and went full dragon, well it would have been rude not too!

As for my outfit I went for a very casual rockabilly style outfit with my trusty cowboy boots, a headscarf and my aging leopard print cardigan.

The final event I went to was my lovely grandma's birthday, She had a great day and as we were going out to a restaurant I wanted to wear something that wouldn't be too tight once the cake was served. I opted for this striped shirt dress which was actually a 50p bootsale find, my cowboy boots with black tights as the weather was changeable, a stack of wooden and marbled effect bangles and my yellow bakelite earrings.

I hope to be able to bring you more outfit posts in the near future. I've just started walking to work from my new house and it's proving challenging to maintain a vintage style on top of this, maybe it will make it into a blog post soon!

Until Next Time

Lucy
x

Putting On The Blitz

For my birthday in March my sister bought tickets to the Blitz party, I was so excited, it's something I have been meaning to go to for ages and I finally had tickets!

The best part of something like the Blitz party is the pre-drinking getting ready time. My sister and her friend sat in the kitchen waiting for me to do their hair whilst I faffed about with my fake eyelashes. As with my colleague last week it was so much fun doing vintage hair on someone who doesn't usually wear it and my sisters friend was impressed with what I did for her, alas by the end of the night she had managed to dance her hair out!

I decided not to worry about wearing true vintage as this kind of event is the sort where drinks might get spilled. I settled on my army green collectif dress which was a charity shop bargain, a red cardigan to match the red snood in my hair and seamed stockings. I wore some vintage earrings which reminded me of a V for Victory sign so I wore those in a nod to the era.

Loads of people wore all kinds of reproduction so if you haven't been before fear not, you don't need to go all out buying something expensive and it is certainly not a "purist" event.

Everything was themed as you would expect, the drinks menu consisted of a few cocktails for around £8 each and you could also buy beer for £4. They didn't serve wine though which would have been nice as I am not a huge beer fan and don't drink cocktails very much. I settled with beer and it wasn't bad tasting. The cocktails were served in tin cans or mugs, all adding to the novelty!

The atmosphere was smokey and dimly lit with searchlights scanning the venue, props appeared as if from nowhere and there seemed to be something to look at in every corner. In an outside area was an old army truck which you could climb into for pictures. It got very busy very quickly but we managed to grab a quiet moment for a snap later in the evening.

We headed down to a small seating area where there was a second bar (different cocktails on offer here) and grabbed a seat to enjoy our initial drink. They also had cupcakes and sausage rolls on offer much to our American friends delight.

There was a hair and makeup station where people could get dolled up for the night and they seemed to be quite busy so if you are thinking of utilising this you should look into it on their website.

The musical acts were fantastic and we really enjoyed all singing along to the songs we knew, a particular highlight was the entire crowd joining in with "When The Saints Go Matching In" Everyone was in good spirits and the dancefloor was rammed full of people. We did have some laughs at the couples acting as though they might actually be parted from eachother, some of them could have done with a room!

There were also dancers who would put on a skit at various points in the evening whilst the crowd cheered them on, I am not the greatest dancer in the world so I do enjoy watching those who can really do it properly!

By 12.30 one of the bars had run out of beer and I had run out of steam, my sister and I headed off home before the 2am wind down. I would love to go to this again and stay a bit longer. It's a fantastic evening for the ticket price and I would say that vintage and non vintage lovers alike can really enjoy this event.

Next Week: In-Corporate Vintage Into Your Work Wardrobe - Part One - The Accessories 

With Love
RB
XX

Why Hair Matters

I am known amongst many of my friends as the person who loves doing hair and makeup. I do my own of course but over the years I've had lots of practice on others, especially having two little sisters. Some of their friends would even pop round before a night out for a quick hairstyle!

When I got into the vintage scene it took some practice of the older techniques to get the kind of hair I wanted but eventually I had it down. I also invested in a middy cut which lots of people are wary about having done because of the layering involved.

I have a very long middy and my pin curl sets have much improved. I'd recommend going to a vintage hairdresser for this. Don't bother trying to explain to anyone at a generic salon what you want, I've seen too many disasters to risk it. I use Vertity at the Vanity Box in Essex, although I am long overdue for a cut!

Vintage hair does require practice and patience and those in the scene will be familiar with the aching arms of your first pin curl set! Recently a colleague asked me if I would give her a vintage style so she could try out the look for herself, and being a good Office Manager I said I would!

It was partly because I was dying to practice my skills on hair that is not as straight as mine, practicing on people with different hair types helps me to perfect and adjust my technique to suit.

So we hid ourselves in a meeting room after work and got started.

Before

I made a side parting and pin curled her hair in approximately 1 inch sections, rolling them under and securing with proper pin curl clips (not bobby pins - they leave dents) All in all it took about an hour as her hair is quiet long. Once all the clips were in I sprayed lightly with some hairspray and left them to cool before taking them out and completing the brush out.

After

Her reaction was priceless. She said the set made her feel womanly and sophisticated, she felt very Marilyn! It was interesting to hear that something as simple as vintage hair had made such a change to her mood.

It did get me thinking about how much I love to wear vintage and how happy it makes me to pull on a dress with some history too it rather than primark's latest offering. I think how feminine it is has a lot to do with it, at least for me, because I have a very femme personality. I was recently asked if I always wear skirts and dresses and had to admit that I don't even own any dress trousers!

Getting up and putting on a slick of red lipstick can make or break my day, and there is nothing fickle about that! Vintage is so much a part of my life now that when I am less vintage I just don't feel like myself. I feel sloppy!

Vintage really does put a spring in our steps and seeing someone who is not on the scene enjoy it so much was a real thrill. We made sure to go out for a drink afterward as it felt like a waste otherwise! Another colleague has put her name down for a hair night so I might have to start a little side line in the office.

Next week: Putting on The Blitz - Blitz Party review! 

Love
RB
xx

Make Do and Make up!

We all know those products, 2 in 1 shampoos, a highlighter that will also act as an emergency tampon, marscaras that will thicken lashes and read you a bedtime story etc.

I am a lover of beauty products, the more the merrier in my house. Some time ago I signed up to a monthly box service, for £10.00 a month you got a box full of products to try. Unfortunately I ended up receiving so many similar products or colours I didn't like that I stopped ordering from them.

Some of the products were great and I gave some of the unsuitable ones to friends but I was left with a few that were just cluttering up my already overflowing cosmetic case. However in the spirit of thriftiness and having a genetic inability to throw anything away, I found other purposes for them and now they are fulfilling their make up destiny! Hooray!

Frugality in foundation, if you will...

Eyeliner - The staple of any vintage lovers kit, inkwell, fineline pen, good old fashioned brush - you'll find opinion varied on what is the best one. Personally I love collection2000's inkwell which is a couple of pounds. I have tried others but always go back to this and I keep the black and brown versions in my kit.

Through the box service I was sent this eyeliner pen, and I am not a huge fan of this kind. I thought I would give it a go anyway and whilst it wasn't capable of creating the nice flicks I wanted, the colour was ok for a discreet 40's eyeliner look (but it's rare that I wear that)

(Make me Beautiful Perfect Look Eyeliner)

It was just that the colour was quite weak and I don't have time for layering this stuff up!  But it struck me that the pen design and slightly opaque colour would make for a good brow product. I whisked the little brush though my brows and it worked a treat!

It was light enough that I didn't look like Frida Kahlo having a fight with a mac consultant, but the pen style nib gave great control in drawing the shape I wanted.

Lipgloss - I am usually a wearer of lipstick over lipgloss as I prefer a classic matt finish and if I want to moisturise my lips I use good old Vasaline. This product went on my lips quite nicely and the consistency wasn't bad, the problem was the colour. It was another product from the box so it wasn't chosen specifically for me and this tube was languishing in the bottom of my make up stash. I tried to give it away but it really didn't suit anyone I offered it to.

(Absolute New York Velvet Lippie)

However after my success using the eyeliner for brows I thought this lip product wouldn't make a bad cheek colour and so I placed three dots on my cheek and blended. The colour was so pretty whereas on my lips it was too pastel in tone.

I'm going to go through the rest of my kit and try to make use of the products I have hung on to in the interests of thiftiness, it's time for a clear out anyway, I think there is some glitter gel from the 90's in there somewhere...

Until next time
Love
RB

The Technology Transition

When I started blogging again and decided to write about the vintage lifestyle which I am quickly becoming more engrained I could already tell there would be aspects of life which would change for me over the months.

I am a social media addict, I adore it, even down to seeing what people have had for dinner and those other posts which many find tedious. Now that I am blogging I have upped my social media game with Twitter and Instagram in addition to my own Facebook. Two words which strike terror into my heart - Lost & Phone! 

Part of the reason that I am so pro social media is that it was Facebook which lead me to the wonderful vintage group I belong to. A year later and I have met lots of fabulous new friends and am enjoying a much more varied social life. It wouldn’t have happened without social media.

But this obviously flies completely in the face of the era. There are lots of opinions on what the vintage "lifestyle" actually is and a small number people are very keen to impress upon you that you should be all or nothing and as authentic as possible.

For those who live authentically, well that's just fabulous and good for you for living how you want too. To any person choosing a carpet sweeper over a Dyson for authenticities sake, I salute you! 

For the rest of us who cannot or do not want to live a truly authentic existence because we love our phones, TV's, deep baths and clothing that has never graced a mangle that's fine too!  

Just don't listen to the kinds of people who tell you you should be doing something differently, you'll find them in both camps and it's all tosh! As much as I think I would like to be a housewife I have to earn a salary and cannot stay at home making cakes. Oh how’d like to (for about a day) then I'd want to go back to work I am sure! 

I say that you should just do whatever you feel is fun, whatever makes your life enjoyable and if elements of the vintage lifestyle bring joy to you then indulge in them. 

However I have learnt this month that there is something to be said for stepping further back in time every once in a while, and this happened entirely by accident. A couple of weeks ago I look the day off and my brother and I spent the whole day in London. It was only when I got to the station I realised I had left my phone at home and I was horrified. 

Shockingly for at least 30 minutes I felt a genuine sense of panic .  There was nothing I could do, I had to suck it up and my brother commented that it would be nice not to have phones for the day and agreed to keep his in his pocket. 

I thought I would be bored, that even with all our plans, the day was going to stretch out in front of me like a wifi-less sahara. In fact the opposite happened, I did reach for my phone to take a photo or check facebook almost like a reflex but I quickly adjusted to the idea of not having it with me. 

In fact in the end it was quite an attractive prospect for the day, no one could reach me, no one could interrupt me, I was incognito - effectively private browsing in my own life! Honestly it was liberating and I'd advise people to try it. 

I also realised on route to Cardiff recently that I had forgotten my earphones. My phone serves as my diary, a directions advisory service and very importantly my source of music. I listen to music everywhere I go, in the supermarket, walking around shops, on any kind of transport. 

When I realised I had forgotten them I was so disappointed. My brain was telling me off, two whole hours on a train with no music! There is one thing I know for certain in these circumstances...someone will want to strike up a conversation. I vowed to buy some earphones when I got to Cardiff. 

At the first stop out of London a gentleman got on the train and almost immediately started talking to me. He commented about his journey, about the weather, about how much he disliked David Cameron. Then he started asking me about my outfit, did I always dress that way? what got me into it? wasn't it nice to be a little different? 

As he was from Cardiff I took the opportunity to ask him about the city and any recommendations he might have, he was so helpful and wrote the road names of some places down for me on a scrap of paper. 

In what seemed like no time at all we'd arrived  and he wished me a pleasant stay as we said goodbye at the taxi rank. It occurred to me that I wouldn't have had the conversation with my London "don't bother me" face on and my earphones in so I decided not to buy any and see what happened. 

Over the weekend I spoke to so many people, a lady on the bus, people in the street (It’s very friendly in Cardiff and more than one person stopped me to say they liked my look which made my day) but if I had been plugged into my earphones, music blaring, would anyone have bothered? 

I think because I looked more approachable and less unavailable that people were more inclined too strike up conversation. So I spent the whole weekend without having the musical barrier that I normally put up and it really got me to thinking about how much I rely on technology. 

I guess what these two days have taught me is that whilst I love some aspects of technology I don’t have to love them all the time, by opening my eyes and ears for a couple of days I was able to enjoy the moments and experiences by being in them, rather than updating about them. There is always time to share later.

So I am making a commitment to have more of a technological balance in my life and will start by having two nights per week where I don't engage with Facebook, Instagram or any other social media channel. 

In a funny way it’s a small step to adopting a more vintage way of living, I will never be one of those who doesn’t have a phone but I will take a break from it every now and again and enjoy doing so. 

I wonder if I read this back in a years time other things will have changed for me?

Love

RB

X

Make Do and Don’t Spend!

I have done a couple of posts on how I best find cheap vintage, in the interests of balance I wanted to write about what happens when you have the ability to shop smart but you shop too much. I see it mentioned so much on the vintage pages that I had to write about it.

I have been trying to fight the urge to seek out vintage bargains that I really don’t need! This is difficult for a vintage enthusiast because when you see something you love it's not like shopping at Topshop, you can't just wait till next month, it's likely to be gone. That's the thrill of the vintage chase but it can be addictive!

There are people I follow on Instagram, or blogs that I read and the people responsible for them always seem to have something new, serious OOTD (Outfit of the day) devotees whose posts never feature the same dress twice.

It’s lovely to spectate, or even dream about winning the lottery and living a dress per day life from time to time but I don’t want this blog to become the kind of contrived environment where I blog in order to maintain the facade that I don’t have bills or have to limit myself in any way. Its something I have been working on a lot recently as I realise my spending is erratic at best.

Online shopping is somewhat easier to avoid if you delete your apps and but if vintage fairs and antiques markets form part of your social life as well as your shopping habits you might have to fill your time with alternatives if you have the kind of self control I do (meaning zero!)

However to have a spending ban is healthy so here is how I have gone about it:

Before you start:

Be realistic - don't stop your life, you will get miserable and justify a treat to yourself. Everything is about choice, you can blow your wages on a vintage dress or you can look at the ones you already own and attend a vintage event with that money instead, what's the point in having those fabric beauties if you are not showing them off?

Offset it - consider selling instead of buying which will free up funds for when your spending ban is over.  If you have things you are not wearing then why not sell them and why justify buying more? I’ve sold loads of things on ebay recently and have much more to sell and I’m telling myself its good to let them go as it is paying for Twinwood! 

Budget it - don't try to impose a spending ban when you know you have friends birthdays and a night out coming up, choose a quiet month and fill it with alternative things to do as below but if you have an event to attend budget for it and don’t beat yourself up about spending something for a planned event.

Do I have hobbies? Think about the things you enjoy other than seeking out vintage, write a list of them and tick them off as you go through your spending ban.

The things you don’t have time for:

We all have things that we proclaim that we would dearly love to do, but we don’t have time. A spending ban is a good way of trying these things out. Last Monday, grateful for the bank holiday but not impressed by the weather, I set myself the task of cutting out a dress pattern which has been languishing in my sewing box.

Whilst it wasn’t the most glamorous of tasks, it took me the entire afternoon to carefully cut out the pattern without ripping it. It does mean I am one step closer to being able to (in the interests of thriftiness) make my own dresses, which will save me money in itself.

Looking to the future:

Just because I am on a spending ban doesn’t mean I cannot look ahead. Getting my diary out and going through all of the events that I am interested in for the summer vintage season was a real pleasure. I’m a list maker so I really enjoy writing everything down in my little book.

Just researching how I would get to these places and looking at the cost of the train fare was enough to keep me off eBay! I find planning for the events I will enjoy rather than worrying about what I will wear to them and then panic buying yet another dress very useful.

Taking care of you (and your purse)

Other than vintage the other area in my life in which I waste stupid amounts of money is food. I used to love cooking and would always whip up a big pot of something on a Sunday to freeze and take to work the following week. This weekend I made a batch of lunches, which has cost me the same as one shop bought sandwich. It was super cheap and saved me loads!

I really enjoyed myself too, feeling very thrifty and getting back into cooking the way I used to with the radio blaring. With no one around in the house I could pretend to be Nigella for a while, and my pinny got an outing so it was win win all around.

I’ll do a receipe blog post on my thirfty lunches soon as I think they would be really handy especially for those with a big family to feed.

Buddy up:

It would be a jolly good idea to buddy up with a vintage pal for a spending ban and you could make a competition out of it. Just make sure it’s not a friend who will enable you. I have some friends that I could never do this with, as much as I love them.

You can check in with eachother during the ban and if you have been browsing (naughty!) and see something you cannot resist your buddy must approve it and you must give 5 reasons why you should have it.

Catalogue it:

If your reading this and relating to being a bit of a vintage shopaholic then hopefully you’ll also relate to this: Forgetting what you have got!  Having just moved to a tiny bedroom in London I currently have storage issues and not everything is within reach or view. I was wearing a red dress recently and wondered why I didn’t have any earrings to match. I did have earrings which I found two days later when I was looking for a hair flower. Sad, bad times! 

I have started taking photos to store in a private online album of what I own. Not only will this help me plan outfits for vintage events but it will serve a great purpose when the spending ban is over to allow me to assess quickly what I already have when I see something beautiful for sale at a vintage event. If I have something too similar then either one must be sold or I have to leave the item there. Should be simple shouldn’t it?!

I’ll do a blog on this soon too as although it has taken some time it really is helpful to do.

Desperate times:

It's Sunday evening, the latest series of Home Fires has finished and you are at a loose end. You reach for your phone to just have a quick look at ebay/etsy. GO AND HAVE A BATH! Wet set your hair, do something other than tempting yourself by looking at vintage. If you really cannot control yourself after all that then put your phone in the inside pocket of your handbag and paint your nails. It will be impossible to get out without ruining your manicure and your bag lining!

So that’s how I am going about my spending ban, and it’s going pretty well. I’ve had one vintage event which I budgeted for but other than that I have resisted the urges to shop thus far.

Until next time

Love

RB