Summer's definitely gone!

We've changed to winter time, it's November and I'm gearing up towards Christmas. So why not show you some summer outfits! 

Obvious, no? 

Well being such a lazy blogger over the summer months I have collected a few outfit pics and I thought why not share. Some of these are "new" to me and some I have owned for years. 

Sweet playsuit bought via Ebay - it's an American brand and a size to big but it's so cute anyway. I assume it's 80s does retro but it's a good quality, cotton and is really comfortable to wear. I did start wearing it with brown accessories but do now prefer it with blue shoes, belt and scarf.

My favourite of my "uniform" - white fitted shirt and a floaty skirt. I have owned both for many years, the scarf and the pin used to be my nans.

My most favourite purchase of the summer - 80s does retro, cotton, nautical and it has pockets. My heart skips a beat any time I see a dress with pockets! I bought it via Ebay for less than £5 and it's actually a Burberrys dress. I don't care about this but I was surprised by the seller not advertising this. My luck!

Going incognito on one of the few very hot days. Dress I have shown many times, hat is from Primark.

And this is the lovliest surprise of my summer outfits - Mr. Bossy runs a homeless shelter and gets lots of donations. Somehow I never managed to have a look at the stuff (because many grannies just dump their vintage wardrobe there) - but one warm summer day Mr. Bossy came home with these charming culottes - he saw polka dots, had to think of his darling Bossy girl, gave a donation and they are now mine!

Playsuit #1

I have no idea what's going on with blogger -  it wouldn't let me upload pics for days. Still can only upload them one by one.... 

But with my boy's birthday last week I had been very busy anyway - hope to be back again now from my short hiatus. 

I'd been selling my old clothes on Ebay again recently and things went fairly well - so I was able to stock up on some vintage! A few more outfit-posts are to come! 

First I got my hands on this adorable playsuit! Brown is hardly ever the colour of my preference but brown with white polka dots makes me feel like Pretty Woman herself!

I am sure the suit is 80s does 40s vintage but it's a beautiful and comfortable rayon, sits perfectly and was such a bargain. Ever since purchasing I've been kind of living in it.

I also tried all brown accessories - Mr. Bossy got me lovely brown brogues at the market a few weeks ago - but in the end I decided all brown is too much of a Safari look for me. But I like the brown-white scarf with white shoes and a white belt - that's my favourite. 

Note to myself - tie the belt tighter!

Sucker for nautical goods

Yes that's me. Guilty as charged.

Right after worshipping polkadots I am obsessed with anything nautical. I see it and I want to possess it. Badly.

This loverrrrly dress I found months ago at the Flitwick Originate Fayre in February - it cost a mere £3! I loved it straight away, obviously. It's an interesting dress - it has an (I think) expensive looking top with two golden sailor themed buttons at the back and a fairly long skirt but with a drawstring. I think it's very typically 80s does retro.

Ever since I took the shoulderpads out I love it even more. And it has pockets!

Heels would be better of course but I do a LOT of walking a day (I am talking about 3 hours at the minimum) so even wedges leave me sometimes crippled at night. These also very nautically looking red flats are from Primark about 5 years ago.



Attached is my 1940s bow brooch which I have shown several times before.



And the obligatory shots of my hair....

Ship ahoy!

Retro inspired swimwear

This morning my trusted postman brought me a very charming little packet. My much coveted swimming costume!

Months ago I have blogged HERE about this darling little swim dress from Bon Marche which costs an affordable £20. Well affordable for the average person - not so much for me. So I went - as usual - on an ebay hunt and tracked one down for less and it's as good as new! It is a size too big but never mind. I am such a sucker for navy and white polka dots I just had to have it!

The built-in cups are very bullet-bra like .....

..... and  I was delighted to see that underneath the skirt is peeking a very low cut leg line!

The high street is bursting with vintage inspired swim wear! I had a good look around and really all shops have some kind of wrap-around retro style on offer, a few stores do swim dresses. Even the leg line is cut fairly low on a lot of pieces - though the truly retro looking ones with the lowest cut legs are the priciest!

Now I need a swimming cap to preserve my set!

Again they are very easily obtainable online but as always Ebay seems to be the winner in prize. I'll either look for a yellow one or even better for a daisy one similiar to the picture below!



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My son got new trunks and floats the other week - so swimming pools here we come!

Reinventing frumpy clothes

I am - like every other vintage loving gal - very partial to charity shops. Apart from the odd gem here and there you find a lot of frumpy looking grandma stuff from the 80s - but said items have huge potential. Shortening hems and sleeves, nipping the waist in or just a different use than intended - all great ways to give granny chic a new lease of life.

When my Dad came to visit the other week he brought me an old blouse which once belonged to my late Nan. My family thought I would like it because it looked "vintagey" - and quite right they were!

This blouse is very typically 80s - crinkly rayon, baggy cut, no collar, long wide sleeves and no shape at all - but indeed a very 40s-esque print! At first I wanted to give it to charity because it was just wrong on me (or anyone else for that matter) but I couldn't do it because it was my Nan's.

And this morning I tried to tie it at waistlevel - a style I always thought I'd look absolutely hideous with. Well I don't think I did  - not with high waisted trousers anyway. Granted those are not ideal but I am on the hunt for white ones at the moment - black ones would be better than my grey ones aswell of course.

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Please excuse these badly lit pics - we tried to get a pic in without my son hopping into the frame and before we could take pics in the park my camera broke again... Blogging really isn't easy without a camera or your own computer...

And I finally found a garment that goes with my peach scarf my mum gave to me!

I have not quite decided if I like peach on me or not - I am not sure if it accentuates my paleness or if it simply drains me.

Anyhoo - I dress vintagey every day and I always get stares but this outfit today was quite the show stopper - though I also got a really nice compliment so it's definately coming out again!

By the way - these lovely little wedges I purchased from Littlewoods!

I know catalouge shopping is a bit tacky but I really love it. If you look carefully you always find something great and it's so gentle to the wallet - I like a quick fix retail therapy I can pay in small installments! These great white shoes I found in the teenage section of all places! I have tiny feet...

How long do you take?

Now look into my eyes!

Look into my eyes and tell me how long do YOU take to get ready?

But seriously - this is a question every vintage gal is propably asked a zillion times at least. I certainly get it very often and the questions vary of course! It ranges from unbelieving exclaims like "It must take you hours to get ready!" to ruder comments like "Bloody hell how much time have you got on your hands!". My favourite ever was - "You clearly don't spend only 5 minutes in front of the mirror!".

No I don't, I never did and I certainly hope I never look like it.

But that doesn't mean that I spend hours of my day getting ready.

For absolute donkeys years I have always given myself an hour to get ready. This hour includes breakfast, shower, getting dressed, daytime make-up and hair. And this "rule" is still applied ever since I went into vintage mode on a daily basis. Of course I have days where I faff around for ages and I also have days where I am much much quicker. I also have a stropping toddler to dress - that sometimes takes way longer!

I still haven't quite gotten used to people now seeing me as "elegant" (that's a word I would have never linked with me when I was younger, it makes me very proud now), "glam" and "perfectly groomed". I am not always but I try and a few tricks of the trade help tricking people in thinking so!

Faux bangs and a ponytail are propably my favourite hairdo and also one of the quickest of my repertoire. How I do them I told already HERE! A pretty bow tied around my ponytail and a matching flower near the bangs and my hair is done in 10 minutes good to go!

 Even quicker is this quiff-roll. I shall do a  how-to tutorial very soon! This do takes me under 10 minutes!

Victory rolls of course take a tad longer but with some practice they just need double the time of the do shown above - but with the back shoved into a snood I don't even need to pre-set my hair!

And that brings me to the most tedious and lengthy part of vintage hair. The set! I like to wet-set my hair the previous night when my child is already asleep - so again not much time is taken out of my precious daytime. I do admit I am not great at setting my hair but here again - practice will make me perfect and more important: quicker!

Brushing it out in the morning takes no time at all - so actually pre-setting hair on a sunday night is good for rushed monday mornings! But with all that wind going on currently I prefer my barnet in rock solid faux bangs or victory rolls. Ah what would I do sans my hair spray!

 And quite contrary to popular believe I don't wear a lot of make-up. I love make-up and I enjoy applying it but ever since I had my son I use it very sparingly!

Tinted moisturizer, concealer, a dab of powder, brow pencil (why that one so obviously you can read HERE), blusher and lot's of mascara. Lippy I don't wear every day, some days I also use eye shadow and at night an eye liner. But that's it!  I've been putting my face on for a good 16-17 years - I have so much practice it only takes me a few minutes!

The end result does look well groomed but that is because vintage styling is perceived as very ladylike and elegant.

And I say thank you!

Which brings me to this mental leap!

Stepping out in vintage gear causes a lot of attention. No denying that and it would be a lie to deny that I enjoy the attention. I get a comment a day and nearly all of them are kind and nice. People at check-out tills or market tenders comment the most. But the other day I got stopped in the street by a random woman who actually made me blush because she was so sincere and nice in what she said. And all I was wearing was this measly unexciting outfit:

When I went to Austria a few months ago I was astounded by the hostility of people. I was so show stopping that I even caused a little accident on the road. But it was really striking how openly rude people stared, one woman even gaped with a kind of disgusted look in her eyes. Given that she herself was sporting a 80s short hair permed head and an upper-lip moustache it wasn't that offending but it still showed me how much different the polite English are. Here in sleepy little Bedford Vintage seems to be quite widely spread and as mentioned I get a nice comment a day.

I didn't take many pictures back home in Austria but above were all taken at my parents flat.

So tell me fellow bloggers - how long do you take and how does your envoirement perceive you?

The very beautiful Lindsay of Vintage Rose has asked a similar question HERE!

What are you wearing to the Royal Wedding today?

Mr. Bossy, who is 100% British, has been looking at me for the last couple of days as if I'd hit my head a bit too hard. But I don't care - I love revelling completely shamelessly in the guilty pleasure of the Royal Wedding.

Here I am all decked out in union jack colours ready to celebrate with the in-laws!

I also made some crazy patriotic cakes - yummy!

Have a fun weddingy day today!

Outfits to fill the boring gap

It's gotten so boring on my blog it's sad!

I am back in the UK but my laptop is still down and no silver lining in these regards. That means hardly any online time and the little I get has to be divided between various course work, picture editing (a zillion pics I took in Austria), general chit chat and of course blogging. So first things first - a blog post! And as I have no time to research I'll delight you with two outfits! :-)

40s inspired playsuit by Jasmine Guinness

 I love this suit, it is the most expensive clothing item I ever bought or owned. But I bought it via Littlewoods which means no big amount of money all at once! Yay for deluding yourself! 

When it arrived in the mail order just before Christmas Mr. Bossy loved it so much on me he happily accepted the price. It is indeed quite short and daring (well at least for me it is) but despite the shortness it still has an elegance to it.

And please do not forget the true model in my house.
Le poser extraordinaire!

 Suit - Jasmine Guinness via Littlewoods (not available anymore)

Shoes - Peacocks (years ago)

Cardigan - Primark (dito)

Bag - Marks & Spencers (last year)

Sweater Guard - Ebay

Snood - homemade

I particularily like the Gerbera, my favourite flowers, print.
Very punchy colours!

And here a land girl inspired outfit.

I really like knitted tank tops - I've had a few sitting in my wardrobe for years but hardly ever wore them. They certainly get their wear now! I also do a similar version of this outfit in grey/pink.

Trousers - Marks & Spencers via Ebay
Shirt - Pimkie in Austria (about 10 years ago)
Tank - Primark (few years ago)
Snood - homemade

What a failure to try to photograph my hair and my black snood. Blame the toddler who made me laugh.

These little lovelies I bought in Austria (at Deichmann) a few weeks ago. I love them! They were cheap as chips, have exactly the look I wanted and the heel is so reasonably low that they are comfortable for the whole day!

You may have noticed my new brooch. This was actually a birthday present my great aunt gave to my mum many years ago. She doesn't know what era it exactly came from but it certainly matches my growing collection. I hope my great aunt doesn't mind - I love it and wear it a lot!

And talking about family heirloom - as you know my nan recently passed away and I brought a few treasures (treasured by my heart and by my vintage loving eye) with me. But this one is my true precious. I inherited her seal ring with my grandad's - her late husband's - family's coat of arms. My mother and aunts all have one as well and my nan would always say I'd get one for my 18th birthday. I suppose because suddenly so many grandchildren appeared in the family or maybe because my grandad got ill around my 18th birthday and died the following year we never talked about this again. So I was very touched when I inherited her very own ring. And it fits like a glove.

Which is a stupid saying by the way because I have such tiny hands - no glove ever fits me. Unless it's a child's glove.



My true precious



I have just discovered photoscape. Indeed I don't know what I am doing yet but you can see I already had some more fun with these pics than with boring old Picasa. It will take me a little while to get the hang of it but I'll get there!

Outfits'n'hair

I am showing these outfits not because I think they are so great - by golly I really don't - but because it amazes me what I can find in my wardrobe with a bit of rethinking. It's the wardrobe of Narnia! I find old forgotten pieces in there and pieces I wanted to throw out but deserve new love - all kinds of things. I really consider my hesitation to go full time vintage (inspired) so silly. For years I would always don a full skirted dress with a petticoat and 50s hair for occassions but never dreamt of the possibility to do it every day. All it took was some rethinking, some "new" vintage jewllery and of course the hair. I still think that is what makes or breaks the outfit.

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I really liked the pink number, not so keen in hindsight on the navy-red combo (in the mirror the 2 navy tones didn't look that different) and I have never been fully convinced of the teal cardigan. I think I just need to find an ideal item to wear it with.

As mentioned before I started selling bits of my wardrobe to fund new vintage or vintage inspired items. One of my first treasures is this pair of grey M&S high waisted trousers. Blimey do I love them. I live in them at the moment. Currently I am trying to hunt down a navy pair on Ebay. These grey ones were in mint condition and cheap as chips.  

The floral cardigan from Primark is also a newer aquisition via ebay and the leopard print one I had for a while - also Ebay but originally Next.

2 brooches from my vintage jewllery treasure chest

I thought my hair is also blogworthy

These were taken the day after the vintage event in Letchworth after the hairdresser told me to roll at the base around 2 fingers. I managed to get the victory rolls more standing up but I still have not got the hang of it.



I crocheted myself a rat - what a difference! I love it how neat and tidy the back looks now - and when I am in not such a rush in the morning I could also try hiding the pins...



I absolutely love this pic of my lil' man and me.

The little scallywag always tries to hog the limelight - here's the proof!

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