Vintage Shopping List - Summer!

Well it's nearly June, and Summer has been teasing us by popping its pretty little head out to say hello for long enough to allow us to put on a frock and paint our toenails, before mischievously disappearing being a big, angry cloud.

But fear not....even if it keeps raining, Summer vintage style needn't be a complete washout! I am certain that sunshine is just around the corner, so with that in mind I have put together a little shopping list of vintage and repro buys that are must haves for the season

3 Umbrellas...too much?

This gorgeous little set from Tara Starlet is so cute! If you ask me it demands a great stack of bakelite and bamboo bangles and a pair of souvenir wedges!

                       

Stripe knot top £40 and stripe shorts £50

Freddies of Pinewood have some lovely new shorts that come in Navy, Black, White and this lovely bright Red, all with a gingham trim

Gingham Shorts £39.00 

 If you haven't visited Freddie's website for a while, I advise you to do so. They have absolutely loads of tops at the moment, whether you're a 40s Sweetheart or a Rockabilly at heart, and as always they are really reasonably priced and great for everyday wear. I love this Bardot top which also comes in black and navy stripe, and although yellow doesn't really suit me, I think it's great for Summer

Bardot Top £30.00

I have been drooling over these Miss L Fire Lola shoes for ages

Lola Shoes £99.00

Although I think I will probably get these, which I aboslutely love and are slightly more practical (and cheaper!)

                                                                       Lana Wedge £69.99

I think I'll also be investing in a pair of these moccasins from Clarks as a lovely casual summer shoe

Sylvie Chic On sale @ £39.00

Staying with the Clarks Originals range, I also really like these classic strappy sandals

                                                                        Frieda Sun £69.00

The Rocket Originals 'Nancy' Play shoe now comes in a super chic snake skin!

                                                                             Nancy £75.00

If you are heading to the beach, then you can't beat a What Katie Did swim suit. From my own experience, they fit so well, and are incredibly flattering, I adore them! I have this one in blue (see my last post!)

Retro Bikini Top and Bottoms £34.75 each

Etsy have an amazing choice of vintage swimsuits, unfortunately they are always really quite expensive

Vintage 1950S Swimsuit $165.00

I love this vintage 2 piece with Sarong skirt as well, so cute!

1950s Bikini  $198.00

Pretend it's sunny and wear sunglasses!

These vintage decorated cats eye frames are from Dead Men's Spex

Vintage Sunglasses £75.00

 If you're after a pretty Summer frock, the Heyday! Fleur dress is a firm favourite of many a vintage girl, and these beauties are currently on sale!

Floral gingham rows in Pink Fleur Dress £40.00

If I had some money right now to spend on a frock I would buy this beautiful vintage number from Etsy

1950s Alfred Shaheen Dress $94.00

A Summer outfit wouldn't be complete without a wicker bag and there are zillions to choose from on Etsy. Here are a couple of my favourites

Bright red!

Vintage 50s/60s Wicker box bag $40

Bright and flowery..and round!

1950s Straw hat box/bag $36

Top it all off with a pretty straw hat

Vintage off-white straw and horsehair clamshell platter hat $68

But, if all else fails, and the heavens open....protect that hair!

Marilyn Rain bonnet from Betty Blue's Loungerie £26.25

Happy shopping folks!

Outfit Catch Up

This month has flown by in a whirlwind of holidays, events and illness. Yes, twice now I have been laid up ill, nothing too serious, but a kidney stone simultaneously with a urine infection and then a horrendous mutant chesty/head cold can really take it out of you.

So, as a quick catch up, I thought I would summarise May so far with some outfits

Spain

I started off the Month in Spain. Those of you that have been following my blog for a while might remember my post last year when we visited a relative in the Costa Del Sol. Well, we were lucky enough to have been asked back, and although it wasn't as hot as last year and we weren't there for as long, we had a lovely, relaxing time. I won't bore you all with all of our holiday snaps, actually we haven't seen them all ourselves yet, as we have yet to develop the 20 rolls of film that Hanson snapped while we were out there, but here are a few of my holiday outfits:

This 1950s beach jacket became a staple of my holiday wardrobe. 

Seen here within Freddie's Pedal Pushers

I actually cut the legs off an old pair of Freddie's to make these shorts, but I believe they sell shorts now

A fave dress; 1950s leaf print barkcloth

Terrified for our lives on a cable car

Paradise

What Katie Did Bikini, vintage blouse,  Spanish espadrilles, unstyled wet hair, handsome man

Mr Cool

The Ric Rac Club

I love being part of the Vintage Mafia, and hosting the Ric Rac Club is so much fun. This month we held a circus themed party and were overwhelmed with the effort folks went to with their costumes. The three of us Mafiettes went dressed as a circus performer, fortune teller and ringmaster.

The 1940s Relived at Brooklands Museum

This was the first time I've been to Brookland's; a museum with an amazing history in motor racing and aviation. This 40s themed day was absolutely lovely, with some amazingly dressed friendly people, superb re-enactors, brilliant entertainment, all within this historic setting. We are dying to go back and have a proper look around when there isn't the distraction of so many well dressed folks! As I'm a 50s girl, I decided to go for a late 40s New Look...erm, look. I wore some 1940s shoes that I had been thinking of selling, but may actually keep them now as I've fallen back in love with them. We'll see.

The lovely Sadie of The Vintage News

Well, Summer should finaaaallllly be here soon, so there will be frock posts a plenty to come!

The Vintage Saks 5th Avenue Dress

This amazing new addition to my wardrobe doesn't need much of an introduction. An absolute classic late 1950s silhouette, beautifully made, versatile and timeless.

Its label can be seen here on the Vintage Fashion Guild, its the third one down on the right.

There is a similar dress with a matching jacket in an original ad below at retailing $95 in the 50s, so we can say that this would have been a luxury garment. I'm lucky to have received it as a birthday present, and even though the belt is missing, it still looks as good as new.

Image credit

Image credit

Image credit

The Vintage Starlet Parlour

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending (and being photographer's assistant) at a lovely new event hosted by the ever glamorous Miss Turnstiles. The Vintage Starlet Parlour is a small affair, where ladies can spend the day being pampered, coiffed and preened in the enchanting surroundings of the Vintage Patisserie. The fact that there are only a small number of others in the group means that you get to have lots of attention spent on you; firstly with Miss Turnstiles herself who is not only is hostess with the mostess, but also stylist and vintage expert, picking you a fabulous frock from a collection provided by Vintage King. Then on to have hair and make up magic worked on you by the marvellous Lipstick and Curls, before the finishing touch of beautiful vintage jewellery provided by the expert Passionate About Vintage

Simone aka Miss Turnstiles

The charming surroundings of the Vintage Patisserie...

Lipstick and Curls at work!

As an extra treat Minnie Moons was on hand (geddit?) to give her famous vintage moon manicures. More exciting than actually being treated to one, I finally got to meet the lovely Sharon herself who is an absolute doll and worked wonders on my nails.

Getting moonicured

Please go and visit the Minnie Moon's Facebook page where I nicked this picture of my hands from, styling the gold moons against the gold lame! 

We were treated to delicious treats throughout the day...all homemade and beautifully presented...

When the ladies had been styled, they then got to spend some time in Hanson's pop up Hollywood portrait studio, where they posed like movie starlets of the golden age, and then will each be sent a photo of themselves looking like a glamorous goddess. I really enjoyed watching the ladies be utterly transformed. I spend so much time with vintage girls, that I forget what it's like for people that don't dress or style themselves in that way normally to be given the opportunity to look that way, even if it's just for the day. I hope some of them took away some inspiration from their time in the Starlet Parlour and add a little Hollywood glamour into their everyday lives!

Miss Turnstiles is currently busy planning a Great Gatsby themed event of a similar nature so visit her Facebook page to find out more.