Tis the season for vintage fairs and thrift store sales.. wooohoooooo

I’d like to say these events are perfect for Christmas presents..

but I really mean perfect for ME!!!

London’s Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair.

This Affordable Vintage Fair provides a creative alternative in the countdown to Christmas, with over 50 very affordable stalls from around the UK offering a greater diversity of items all under one roof.

Aside from vintage clothing from the 1920s – 1980s, shoppers can also find re-worked and handmade clothes and jewellery, crafts, sale rails from vintage dealers, wholesalers, local shops and up and coming designers.

• Charity TRAID ‘behind the seams’ workshop showing you how to customise your purchases & selling items from their TRAID remade line.

• Spectacular kitchenalia stall – items starting at £5!

• 40s dead-stock haberdashery stall selling everything from trinkets to hair grips!

• Vintage Kilo will turn into a huge knit sale, Christmas jumpers and reindeer cardigans on sale at £10!!

• Vintage tea party by the Vintage Patisserie, selling Christmas delights

ALSO…

The Thrift Store Christmas Extraveganza!!

Thursday, 10 December 2009 ,

This event is fantastic and shouldn’t be missed!!

see you there…

How many ways can you wear a single dress?

New York based Sheena Matheiken has pledged to wear the same dress for 365 days  ’as an exercise in sustainable fashion’ and only a few months in, she is pulling it off perfectly.

Her idea is to wear her specially made dress , a simple black cotton tunic shaped garment, every day, and accessorize to her hearts content with vintage accessories, thrift store finds and eBay purchases.  ”Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir,” she says.

Sheena  revels in the sartorial challenge of switching up the familiar. By wearing the dress frontwards and backwards, unbuttoning it like a jacket, and layering with  hats and plumes, dickeys and drapes,  shoes and slips, belts and brooches, she creates ensembles that are slightly avant garde and yet hugely accessible.

As someone who admittedly wears a different outfit from day to day, I am in total awe of The Uniform Project. I’m not sure I would have Sheena’s stamina for such extreme , but have more than enough creativty to brave a few days. It is such an admirable way of cutting back on buying while still retaining a delight in dressing and fuelling our need for novelty.

” The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums.”

Find out more and follow Sheenas inspirational Journey. The Uniform Project

Since Yves Saint Laurent  popularized androgyny in women’s fashion decades ago, stealing your boyfriend’s blazer has become the thing to do.

It seems every season, designers bring baggy pants, waistcoats and tuxedo jackets down the runway ,in new shapes and combinations.

This season’s mix of masculinity and feminine sexiness is more funky and edgy than the femme fatale look, seeing sharp shoulders, over-sized vests, and long blazers delivered to the catwalk once more.

But where do we go when  we can’t afford Wang, Jacobs or McQueen?

Why your boyfriends wardrobe of course!

First out of the closet is, undoubtedly this seasons key piece, the trusted  Boyfriend Blazer. 

Take a look at last weeks blog  ‘The Boyfriend Blazer”  for inspiration 

Next up, I dug out my boyfriends only pair of  ’smart’  suit trousers. Sexy. 

Roll the bottoms up to show a bit of ankle and team with heels.

The oversized shirt appears to be everywhere at the moment. Mostly because it is so versatile and can be worn in a million different ways.

Belted, tucked in, left loose, you can’t really go wrong. 

If you want the shirt to be worn as  a dress, try to find a shirt that’s big enough to be long, but that still fits reasonably well around the shoulders. If the shirt is long but fitted  it can be crisper, while a more oversized shirt will sit better if in a lighter fabric.

Roll up the sleeves. The hands and wrists are quite a feminine body-part and therefore balance out the masculinity of the oversized shirt

The Boyfriend Jumper can be incredibly sexy. with a belt, bare legs and heels or tucked into skirt or trousers.

A simple and effortless look.

White t-shirts, oversized, t-shirts with a rock-band on, everything works here. Just make sure it’s not too big. Roll up the sleeves a little bit for that cool factor.

When accessorising, don’t forget that a belt can completely change the look. For some other ideas, try layers of bangles, a vintage neck-scarf, or men’s pocket handkerchief. Some tousled bed-hair or a simple pony-tail will set off this look perfectly.

Be creative and you’ll see that there’s a lot fun in the mans wardrobe.

Everything that looks stylish on you is just to grab. There’s no rules here, be playful and have fun!

Frock Me is a vintage clothing fair held every few months at Chelsea Town Hall.

‘it’s the place for vintage vixens to see and be seen – the countriess top dealers and chicest devotees will all be in attendance.’

THE LONDON VINTAGE FASHION EVENT

• Chelsea Town Hall, Kings Road, Chelsea,London SW3.

• 22nd March

• 11am to 5.30pm

THE BRIGHTON VINTAGE FASHION EVENT

• Sallis Benney Theatre, University of Brighton, Grand Parade, Brighton BN2 0JY

• 3rd May

• 11am to 5.30pm

See you there xx

Since ’Vintage’ has become all the rage, it appears all vintage specialist shops have taken it upon themselves to double their prices and limit their stock. So I thought I’d give you a few little pointers on how to track down the best and most bargainous buys out there, in the good old fashioned charity way!

• If it’s genuine designer vintage pieces you’re after, then head straight for the posh end of town. Here you’ll find all those much treasured designer cast offs. Be warned they might not be as cheap as you’d expect, but normally in perfect condition and deffinatley worth it. 

•  The best charity shops are those off the beaten track. If in town, head away from the high street!!  My Boyfriend comes from the most divine little East Anglia village where the Charity shops are wholesome and wondrous, and filled with genuine treasures. I find  these locations tend to have an entirely different collection of  items than that I’ve ever found in a city and are also a hell of a lot cheaper so definitely worth a look!

• Don’t gently parruse the selection… Really get stuck in there and have a proper good rummage through the rails and piles of cast offs. I’m a bugger for not looking properly and then watching as the person next to me picks up a gorgeous cardie that I would have found, had I have looked properly!! Pull clothes OUT and look at them properly and don’t be afraid to try them on.

• THINK CREATIVELY AND OPEN YOUR MIND!  If it doesn’t fit you can easily adapt and adjust.  If it’s only  the fabric you like then think of using it as a trim on another garment or if there is enough of it.. make a whole new garment. Don’t be put off by stains, missing buttons and holes. All are fixable, and also gives you the right the haggle down the price.

• Check out local Markets. I’m lucky enough to live in the East End of London, the mother of all market locations. If you have the patience and time to look past the utter shit that some stalls sell.. then you’ll find some excellent buys at real knock off prices.

• Check out your local Car Boot and village jumble sales.  http://www.carbootsrus.com/

• Raid the lofts, attics and garages of your Granparents. The older generation tend to hord away some beautiful vintage clobber and also appear to have looked after it all incredibly well!

• Chat away to the owners of the stores. Ask if they have anything hidden away ‘out back’. Make friends and build up a relationship with them so they get to know who you are and your style, in the hope they will start putting stuff aside for you! They may also be able to source stuff specifically for you.

• ONLINE IS GREAT!  A few sites to check out are
• www.stardustonline.co.uk/ 
• http://www.absolutevintage.co.uk/  
• http://www.rokit.co.uk/ 
• and my faveourite  http://www.legacy-nyc.com/
• Don’t forget Ebay either for some brilliant Vintage Shops

Good Luck Troopers!! xx