Home is where the vintage heart is - Beach Belles Burlesque All Dayer

There's another GREAT upcoming event in Bedford!

And I can't bloody make it because it's my sons birthday! I can tell you I am so peeved about this - but of course my baby comes first.

On the 23rd of July

Bedford Esquires presents the 'BEACH BELLES BURLESQUE ALL DAYER' 12.00 - 4.00PM - HOLY MOLY'S - BIZARRE BAZAAR in association with Bedford Burlesque - A veritable bevvy of fabulous stalls selling the best in hand-made and vintage...FREE ENTRY TO BAZAAR 8.00PM - MAINSTAGE - 'BEACH BELLES BURLESQUE SHOW' featuring: - Lexi Sexx - Daisy Cutter - Nelly Plum - Glorian Gray - Madame Treacle Compere: the infamous Mister Joe Black Musical hilarity from Elliot Mason 11.00PM - 2.00AM - HOLY MOLY'S - FOXYBELLES CLUB NIGHT SEASIDE FOOD AND SAUCY SEASIDE TREATS AVAILABLE ALL DAY TICKETS: £8.00 advance from Danny's Bar or online at www.wegottickets.com Ticket price includes entry to Holy Moly's after the Main Event.

(c) Gil Elvgren

Have a look at this cute little promo vid!

Find the event on Facebook.

Home is where the vintage heart is - Bedford Vintage Market

Come and have a look at the Bedford Vintage market - it's part of the Handmade Market Bedford and takes place every 2nd Saturday of the month in Bedford town center from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm!

4th Time Around Curiosity Shop and Rose-tinted Vintage (amongst others) will be trading this Saturday July 9th! Go and buy gorgeous handmade gifts, great vintage clothing, retro homewares & books and then browse the handmade section of the market too! 

Extra special this upcoming Saturday: besides her "4th time Around Curiosity Shop" stall Sarah will also have a vintage styling salon at the market for the day - so if you are in need of a vintage make-over - this is the place to be for you!

Sarah with her 4th time around Curiosity shop and Kat with her Rose-tinted Vintage are always trading there!

I shall have a wander round this month!

Find it on Facebook.

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!

Home is where the vintage heart is - Tea Dance in Bushey

This event is not really local to me (though not too far) but nevertheless sounds like a lovely one!

So in case you'd like to go I cannot leave it unblogged!

As I have no car at the moment I won't be there but hopefully there will be a more local one for Bedford.



"Come and join us for a lovely afternoon of social dancing. Whether you can Lindy, Jive, Jitterbug, Foxtrot, Waltz or Quickstep all dance styles are welcome. There will be a fun taster class at 2pm to get you moving on the dance floor. The Dance Hall has a Beautiful Wooden Sprung Dance Floor. Complimentary Tea, Coffee & Cake. Admission £5 Tickets in advance available at: www.Busheyfestival.org.uk Tickets available on the door on the day Organised by www.Swingsters.co.uk in conjunction with www.Busheyfestival.org.uk and www.Lincolnsfields.co.uk Lincolnsfields Childrens Charity – reg. No. 298392"     Sounds like good fun!   Sunday the 3rd of July  2-5pm The Dance Hall at The Lincolnsfields Centre Bushey Hall Drive Bushey, Herts, WD23 2ES Facebook



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!

Quick fix set - video tutorial review

Over at Lina Sofia's fabulous Spiffing Sporadics I came across this little video tutorial.

I was intrigued - you are meant to put an alice band on your head, twist your hair around and et voilà - curls in record time!

I washed my hair, used setting lotion and attempted a wet set with a plain elastic alice band. Indeed the set itself was done in a jiffy - but I had troubles at the back and because my hair is so fine and slippery it just kept coming out again. Instead of the suggested 70s flick at the front I opted for an elevated pin curl with my fringe rolled under. I then had the head band across my forehead which gave me a headache within a minute. I kept on moving it and settled for having it very near my roots - now that was a bad mistake because when I woke up the next day I had the band deeply - really deeply - imprinted in my skin. And bloody hell was that sore. So in the morning I moved it behind the pin curl - like on the picture below. I wish I'd done that straight away because the imprint lasted for 2 days! And it's still a little sore to the touch. I may have very sensitive skin (or head) or my band was just to tight - but I won't be doing it like that again. But on the plus side - it was really comfy to sleep on, much more so than pin curls.

The outcome wasn't bad but certainly not groundbreakingly good. It curled a bit more at the sides but the back was only wavy at the most. I suppose it would be ok for a Veronica Lake peeka-boo look - but for some odd reason I could not brush the curls/waves over my hand - they liked staying very separated. I have to mention that my formerly blue Lottabody setting lotion turned purple in the sun. Maybe it has lost it's magic? Has that ever happened to anyone before?

 

I did not like the very very flat back, elongated front section and a flat back - that is a style that doesn't suit me.

I also didn't quite like that the ends seemed to be very - strawy. With pin curling you tuck them in and they get curled aswell and I suppose with this method they just get stuffed into the band without actually bending them around.

 

I didn't trust this set so I decided to do a little Vivian Leigh and pin it back at the front - and I was quite right it only lasted a few hours. By the evening my hair looked like tousled california girl beach hair - which isn't a bad look per se but it's not my kind of look.

 

And on a different note - maybe it's the summer (well the 3 days of sunshine we had here recently) or maybe I have just watched to much Ugly Betty - I am really into yellow at the moment. I never disliked yellow but I was always quite indifferent to it. I'd never buy anything yellow nor choose a yellow thing. This skirt I only bought 3 summers ago because I just had a baby, could only fit into skirts and it was reduced to a £1 in Primark. And now 3 years later I wear it all the time! I suddenly love yellow!

Maybe it's just my constant sunny disposition! Cough, splutter...

Home is where the vintage heart is - 4th time round curiosity shop

This is a blog post I've wanted to get out for months!

4th Time Around is a curiosity cabinet of all things weird and wonderful, from retro tea sets to eye-catching fabrics, statuettes and bric à brac - owned by Sarah Dunn.
After a fair few years of hording, exploring and rummaging, and with Sarah's home now full to bursting at the seams, ‘4th Time Around’ was born.

Each of these unusual items has been lovingly sourced and sold to you in all of their one-of-a-kind, retro, glory! So in the spirit of the great collectors and enthusiasts of the bizarre, ‘4th Time Around’ aims to bring you all the best in oddities and curiosities.

Things to truly treasure and love!

With the unique name Sarah pays hommage to Bob Dylan - she is a huge fan and one of his songs is called "4th time around" - and the pre-loved items are possibly on their way to their 3rd, 4th or 5th home!

Sarah's also quite an artist - the logo is her own design

The 4th time curiosity shop trades at all kinds of vintage events in and around Bedford - like the Flitwick Fayre and the Bedford Vintage Market (more about this in a different post).

The 4th time round curiosity shop trades all kinds of... curiosities!

Stall at the "We are Bedford" event

At the Bedford Handcrafted and Vintage Market with Kat of Rose-tinted vintage

At the Originate Fayre in Flitwick

This beautiful set of crockery is sold - but there's lot's more to be found in the 4th time round curiosity shop!

Sarah herself is quite a dazzling character and certainly one to look out for in the vintage scene in Bedford. She lives the vintage lifestyle , her home is full of retro furniture and her wardrobe is fit to bursting with vintage clothing! In her own words: "I really love the look of the 1940’s so prim & proper but so very, very glamorous. I’m always running around in a ‘nice dress’ and love to find one off’s in charity shops, although I generally customise all my clothes. I love local places like Bletchley Park & Shuttleworth and the Twinwoods Festival as I get a chance to really dress up and meet like minded vintage loving people!"

Sarah with one of her elaborate daily looks

There's even more to Sarah - she's also quite an accomplished vintage stylist and is setting up her own styling business - but this new venture deserves it's own post. So stay tuned!

Email contact: 4thtime@aol.co.uk
 http://www.etsy.com/shop/4thtimecuriosities
http://4thtimearoundcs.tumblr.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/4thtimearoundcs

 



Breastfeeding Awareness Week

It was breastfeeding week in the UK this week and I'd like to raise awareness within the vintage blogosphere!

I know there's a lot of preaching out there but it IS a really good thing - something I am quite passionate about.

Have a look at this most fantastic video - vintage mummys doing breastfeeding burlesque! I cannot tell you how much I love the video - though I'd prefer it without the Big Brother guy!

http://www.sexy-sassy-breastfeeding-women.co.uk/

I am an active La Leche League member - a support organisation whose praises I can't sing high enough. And there's a new exciting thing going on - in many of the Sure Start Centres across central Bedfordshire they are doing so-called Baby Brasseries - friendly drop-in groups where mummy can sit, chat and eat cake, baby or toddler can play, mummy can breastfeed without inhibition and there is always a trained peer supporter to help onsite. Have a look at your local Sure Start Centre for your weekly Baby Brasserie!

In my local one we celebrated the breastfeeding week today - several mums brought amazing bakery and yummy stuff and the staff of the centre provided the most relaxing massages for mums and babes!

Boobie cupcakes - my culinary contribution to the breastfeeding awareness week 2011

Home is where the vintage heart is - Vintage Fayre in Flitwick

The Flitwick Originate Creative Craft and Vintage Fayre is on again!

The second one I had to sadly miss but I hope I can pop in again on the 9th of July.

If you happen to be a crafter or a vintage seller - a stall costs £15 and she's not fully booked yet, e-mail Donna at dlkurly@yahoo.com. Admission for the public is free!

Flitwick is a village in Bedfordshire north of junction 12 on the M1 so in easy reach for all around!

HERE's how you get there and more info about the location!

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...