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.

click to enlarge
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!

Feeling the 50s

In the winter months I found myself strongly favouring the 40s - high waisted trousers, woolly snoods and such! But now the weather is getting warmer - albeit the sun seems to be always accompanied by a frosty breeze - I'm really feeling the 50s.

Floaty skirts and high ponytails feel ever so summery to me!

 And I realised I had never tried a certain hair do. Whereas I've been living in rolled bangs and a ponytail in the previous month or two I now really discovered this hair style for me. Ever so easy and quick and I suppose I'd do Gwen Stefani proud!

My old school Gwen Stefani hair interpretation - though currently made popular by Imelda May.

I took these pics when it was getting a bit warmer - but I had just ran out of my last pair of intact natural tights so the dark ones had to make do. They came off during the day as it was really a bit too warm like this.
I really like this outfit - this is actually a long top (New Look) worn under a linen skirt (Primark) which I hoisted up and cinched in, the cardigan (French Connection)  is a sheer thin fabric and unfortunately I have broken my beloved sweater-guard! All the items I have owned for many years.

But actually I am living in this "uniform" - I totally adore my simple white shirt and I am combining it nearly daily (I do wash it inbetween!) with various floaty skirts I have. As I still haven't won the lottery I still have to be creative with my not growing wardrobe!



The shirt is from Primark, the skirt from New Look - both items I had for ages. Here again I have pulled the skirt up and cinched it in - it does fall nice and puffy but a little too short!



Different brooch but the same outfit in a yellow variation - skirt also from Primark. And a very weird grin on my son's face!

 I am absolutely no sun worshipper, I quite like my pale skin and I really don't like baking in the sun. But I do admit a few rays of sunlight in my face do make me happier!

So let's see what the English summer brings for us!

Victory rolls like magic!

A few days ago the beautiful Fleur posted this video tutorial. 

I've been doing Victory rolls for a little while now and I do them quite often, so I thought - well what else can be new? I already tried a few techniques but nonetheless I watched it because it was Fleurs. 

And I am glad I did because even though I do them in a very similar way - roll them half way down around the fingers because neither rolling from the base nor rolling from the tips worked well for me (I could never achieve the desired stability) - I never tried this very simple alteration: Fleur rolls around only one finger whereas I always roll around two - I have teeny tiny fingers I never thought this would work with only one bony stick like mine - but it does and how it does! 

I rolled around one finger and like magic I had much more control over the placing and shaping of the roll - it even works with uncurled poker straight hair. And my hair is not only poker straight it's also very fine and silky - backcombing doesn't last and the ends just spring out, they just want to stretch and be free (they are such a pain while pincurling I tell ya!)

I am still in Vienna at my parents - I took these pics a minute before we all left the house in quite a hurry. So please excuse the blurriness etc. But just before we left I took out the very obvious pin and added an obligatory vintage brooch to my cardigan.

And since this is a vintage blog - Vienna in general is quite the vintage mecca - not neccessarily for the 40s or 50s but for the periods Biedermeier (obviously) and Art Nouveau (my very favourite). It is such a pleasure to look around for vintage loving eyes and ever since my parents moved into the inner city (which is the very oldest part of Vienna) I see daily many different antiques traders - you can find little shops all over the city, also in the neighbouring building. But as it is very much appreciated in this country it is also very, very expensive. 

Note the floor in the background of the pics in my parents flat - this is a truly vintage floor, it dates back to medieval times. My mum is not 100% - it's an original floor from anytime between 1200-1600. The building they now live in (which has about 10-20 appartments) is the second oldest building in the district and a very historical one. Beautiful!

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.

(click to enlarge all pics)

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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Pimp my coat

For months I'd been trying to hunt down a nice vintage coat for a reasonable price. Always unlucky - lost the auctions, wrong sizes or wrong cuts. I do love the look of swing coats but in reality they just don't suit me, I need something more tailored. If my waist is not cinched in I look like I'm wearing a tent. Tough luck.

So here's my solution. Take my old but well fitting dreary Primark coat with only half of the original black plastic buttons (I kind of lost one a day in the last few weeks) and exchange them for some vintage buttons!

Actually already not so dreary anymore with my beautiful vintage brooch pinned on.

Successfully I found these beautiful original 50s buttons on Ebay.

The buttons I used for the coat in detail

Et voilà - a perfectly fitting coat with a vintage twist!

The other day someone asked me if I found my "vintage" coat on Ebay. So I guess - result!

Finally the review of the vintage event in Letchworth

Finally!

THIS event was indeed very interesting!

The beautifully restored Mrs. Howard Memorial Hall in Letchworth was the perfect setting for a very pleasant but a tad quiet evening organised by the FIRST GARDEN CITY HERITAGE MUSEUM. Mellow 1940s music in the background, homemade cakes to die for and endless servings of tea - served on the most beautiful vintage crockery.



Beautiful ladies of Buns and Buntings



 Please do have a look at http://bunsandbunting.blogspot.com/ - what a wonderful local vintage catering service! Just to look at their wardrobe, swoon over the crockery and not least of all indulge in their cakes was worth going for!

Weird pic of myself but the only one we took of the crockery! And one of my victory rolls was drooping!



 The other very interesting part was the vintage stylist DANI RICHARDSON. She gave an informative presentation of 2 40s hairstyles and daytime make-up and did not leave interesting historic facts regarding rationing out. I also took away a very helpful tip (of course she spotted my dropped roll straight away) - to roll at the hair base around 2 fingers instead rolling the hair from the tips down. I still have not fully worked it out but I am getting there!

Dani and her model

There was also a stall run by JOLLY BROWN, a vintage shop in Hitchin!

Apart from maybe too quiet music there was one major hiccup - even though I love love love the idea of "SWISHING". It was advertised as a vintage swap shop. So one could expect that you actually swap vintage, couldn't you? Well there was not much vintage (no obvious vintage enthusiasts as guests either) and I even spotted a Tescos t-shirt with it's tags on. I would have been gutted, really gutted, if I would have brought anything to swap. So my advise for next time is to actually police more what people put into the swishing pot - or not proclaim it as a vintage swap.

My own outfit I wore

Pretty sure it is a 70s dress but I love it anyway. Found it via ebay (it's one of my fist purchases I got with the money I got from selling bits of my old wardrobe - so it's part of my very own swishing!). Cardigan is my trusted Primark one and the Mary Janes are from Peacocks - but years ago.

And my hair in more detail - no roll dropped yet on these piccies!



 2 more reviews of the event:  http://www.gardencitymuseum.org/blog/swap_shop_fun_and_upcoming_events and http://bunsandbunting.blogspot.com/2011/02/vintage-swap-shop-success.html



Photoshop up but camera down!

Seriously. Is this sod's law or what? I have now photoshop on Mr. Bossys PC and will upload a good handful of outfit and hair posts of recent weeks over the next few days starting tonight - but now my camera is down! My toddler - again! - broke off the capture button. Seriously. I need to get a new camera. But first I hope Mr. Bossy can fix the old one again and Bossy junior needs his own camera!

And my phone takes dreadful pics, look at this!

But I rather love my "new" vintage scarf which I think is genuinely 50s. Also in the background you can spot a little teaser for the upcoming give away!

Home is where the vintage heart is - Vintage fair in Northampton

My vain little self misses pictures of me on here! As this is a long term problem with my laptop I just have to give in and install photoshop on Mr. Bossys PC and beg for some online time. So hopefully soon lots of outfit and hair posts.

I had a lovely time today at the vintage fayre in Flitwick!

(Blogged about HERE)

 I met fellow vintage ladies in the flesh who I had met online before - 2 shops I will soon tell you about! The fayre was full of beautiful vintage crockery and a bit (enough for me!) affordable clothing (picked up a few dresses myself). Not to forget plenty of vintage haberdashery stuff and all the crafting!

And talking about vintage fairs - there's another one coming up! This one will be in Northampton on the 19th of March. I won't make it as I will be back home in Austria for a few weeks but they have more dates coming up. Check out the blog!

http://northamptonvintagefair.blogspot.com/

I absolutely adore this flyer!

So many vintage events in the area - my head is spinning with excitement!

Home is where the vintage heart is - Vintage fair in Harpenden

I have a 100 followers! Unbelievable!

Promised give away will follow - soon(ish)!

My laptop is down and my child a bit under the weather - so hardly any online time and no photoshop on the "big" PC here equals hardly any blogging. Crap, I know.

But there's another very exciting event to promote!

Please have a look at the website http://www.hertfordshire-vintage-fairs.com/ - really exciting stuff!

 Looks like paradise to me.

The upcoming event in Harpenden is still in reach for me from where I am based - so I'll be there!

DIRECTIONS to the location

Home is where the vintage heart is - Vintage swap shop in Letchworth

I am currently having severe technical difficulties with my laptop. I've got a few hair and outfit posts lined up but no laptop to upload pics.

Nevermind because this brilliant event was brought to my attention by a friend and I have to share!

On Saturday the 5th of February there's a vintage event in Letchworth, Hertfordshire!

Vintage Swap Shop, Howard Hall, 5pm-8pm

Get swishing - bring along some vintage clothes to swap

Buy vintage styles & accessories (from a stall run by local vintage shop, Jolly Brown)

Get professional vintage hair & make-up tips (from Dani Richardson)

Enjoy Tea & Cakes on vintage crockery from local newcomers, Buns & Buntings!…

Hop to some 1940s music

Bring along some friends and meet other 40s fashionistas!

Taken from the official announcement HERE.

Not sure if I can make it (who wants to babysit?) but obviously I really want to go.

DIRECTIONS to the location

A few outfits, snooded and casual hair...

With our current financial issues I cannot just go out and buy a whole lot of "new" vintage dresses or some of the most gorgeous repro stuff out there. I have to make do with what I have and just combine it with more effort and vintage inspired hair.

It's a new challenge every day and the fancy hair is indeed very glam for play groups but what the heck - I am loving it.

I did not manage to capture every day of the last week as I have a tendency to rush to places and be late everywhere I go :-)



Dressed up in a little black cardigan and 2 different skirts and dressed down in a polkadotted number



I think the lovely shoulder detail makes the blue dress very vintage reminiscent but that huge zip down the front obviously destroys the look. But it makes it IDEAL for discreet breastfeeding and that's why I still got it in the first place. It's from LoveLabel, the fake leather belt I have added, it's 2nd hand via Ebay.
The black cardigan is from South, it's a bit short in the body and also short sleeved (I am wearing a H&M breastfeeding top underneath) but I love love love the frilly ruffles and the bow attached to it!

I don't know if my outtakes amuse you but they sure amuse me :-)
My darling son always wanting the spotlight and in the middle I had bashed my elbow walking backwards and really hit the famous funny bone.

The hair is the really exciting part for me at the moment. I am always on the lookout for dressed down casual vintage styles. Any tips? This updo is so quick it counts for me as casual but it does look rather glam I think. Just a little pompadour, twisted back and pushed forward side parts and the back is rolled up - which would look neater if I'd had a rat. And it was such a rainy grey day I just needed a flower in my hair.

And I adoooooooore snoods. So elegant! This one I made myself and I will make more. I guess if I make one in black or brown it would be more casual. I'm in love with victory rolls at the moment but they are rather dressy. So beautiful!

Recently I was asking myself if people are really interested in my musings or if I am taking my vanity a step to far in waffling endlessly about my hair and clothes. But yesterday a friend told me that she went out and bought stuff I had shown on my blog and wouldn't have thought of going there before and that gave me new confidence. I have purpose :-)

Also thank you so much to all the people who are following me - it's a crazy addition of about 65 people in the last 1 1/2 months.

When I reach the 100 I'll do a give away which will include a snood!

Granny chic on a budget

Buying more genuine vintage will be a slow process. First of all they are not that easily obtained here and genuine garments from the 40s and 50s are just too expensive at the moment. 70s/80s does 40s/50s is a good start for me but nevertheless still a slow one.

But I do want to expand my wardrobe with a few more staple items like a plain multi-functional tweed skirt or/and classic trousers. And let's not forget more knits. More. And more. I love knits!

And then I had an epiphany! Where do grannys go and buy their granny clothes? Grannys must be on a budget considering their small pensions, right? Apart from the obvious - charity shops - I thought the en vogue place for grannys in Bedford must be Bon Marche. It think it's THE granny shop. So I had a browse through on their website - and I was so surprised!

Not only is it really affordable, I really like it.

A selection of tops and blouses currently on offer:

(click to enlarge all pictures)

I was quite surprised to find pretty skirts

These tweed skirts make my heart beat faster. Must go and get one!
The plain black pencil skirt is just £4 at the moment - clearance sale!

I like these very classic trousers

Surely that awful belt in the middle must be detachable...

Of course Bon Marche offers lovely old lady knits - I dig them

But also surprisingly interesting pieces!

I love this peter pan collar sweater and quite like the ruffle collar on the right

Great dresses!

Some more interesting looking ones

The coats are also worth to be looked at

And I absolutely adore these swimsuits!

I am really not one for a bikini and I like plain nautical swimsuits. They are perfect!

The swim dress is so darling I must go and get one!



BON MARCHE has a clearance sale going on at the moment!

All items shown are below £20 (with the exception of I believe 3 dresses and the coats) and quite a few are under £10.

It is really worth looking at!