Fashion, Frocks and Fasting

Frock Me! Vintage Fashion Fair 

Sunday 19th May

Chelsea Town Hall, London SW3

11am to 5.30pm

If you would like a free ticket just email me anytime up to Saturday bedtime. 

I shall be taking my usual spiffing selection of vintage fashion, accessories, fashion designs, and associated decorative trinkets to enhance your summer wardrobe. 

Here is a sneak preview of some irresistible items I shall be taking along for your delight.

Original 1950s fashion design prints

True vintage 1950s floral dress

Authentic period plastic button on the cuff 

Adorable child's 1950s ballet tutu with matching satin pants

Very Shirley Temple!

A set of three old glove patterns with I believe the "English or Bolton thumb"

(It gives the most comfortable fit and is used in the best quality gloves)

I've been missing for a while enjoying spending time with our Australian family and our beloved  grandchildren who visited us on their whirlwind round the world tour.

However I had a shock on seeing the photos - I've clearly put on far too much weight since I last them in Sydney 15 months ago.

So today I bought this

And started with a fast day...

I am SO hungry!

Vampish Vintage in Frome

The Spring 2013 Vintage Bazaar was held in Frome, Somerset today.

I was so busy that I didn't have time to take photos of the stands but I did manage to persuade these three lovely customers to pose for me.

Sylvia who admitted being well into her '70s,  was dressed to kill in 1940s style. She was so amusing -such a sense of humour and Sssh! I can't say more about her private life - but what a girl! She is a re-enacter as well as giving talks on social history and lifestyles of the periods 1930s/40s. Sylvia bought some lovely 1940s crepe fabric and three 1930s/40s dress patterns from me. 

Sizzling Sarah a vampish red-head in her new 1930s dress. She was already dressed so stylishly in shades of yellow and orange when she arrived.  She clearly has an eye for colour as well as style.

Sarah has her own blog: CuriousPip do pop over and take a look.

And another Sarah - channelling 1970s celeb style in her newly purchased Jacqmar palazzo pants.

And adorable 'Woody' the *Chug

(* Chihuahua/Pug cross)

Although indoors, it was a beautifully sunny spring day ( at long last) and the sunlight streamed through the high windows. Such an enjoyable day for sellers and visitors alike. Thanks to Liz aka The Washerwoman  and Clare of Daisy Darling millinery who are the brilliant organisers of the Vintage Bazaar fairs. 

The Famous Vintage Bazaar in Frome on Saturday - Don't Miss It!

Golden French silk threads on old wooden bobbins from the disappeared industry for which Lyons was once world famous. Quirky needlecases: 1960s Australian parrot, 1930s hand-painted heart.

Bright 1950s/60s fabrics and a 1940s embroidered cushion featuring a sweet fieldmouse sheltering under beautiful but deadly red and white spotted fly agaric toadstools.

Original 1950s fashion design prints

Plus a rail of true vintage fashion with lots of summer frocks.

And loads more!

I'm on a Diet

But please don't judge me!

Lunched and about to go shopping
In honour of the reappearance of warm sunshine

 Leather sandals from Camper

And just in case (!) - my new bargain boots from Land's End

These boots were bought in the sale with a further £5 off voucher - all courtesy of an alert on Sharon's THRIFTMYSTYLE.  As well as finding fashion bargains, Sharon shows current designer fashion styles with a variety of lower priced alternatives. Her blog is well worth following if you're on a budget - or even if you're not, for some inspirational fashion and vintage ideas.

Dairy House Day

My stand

My textiles

The beauty that is Hesta Nesta ( Jo)

More from Hesta Nesta

Lizzie - The Washerwoman 

Who has a stand full of treasures like this?

The elusive and lovely Elaine of ted and bunny!

Karyn and Woo - who they?

The fab team from Vintage Explorer Magazine

Karyn Sparks launched the stunningly successful VE after several years on its sister magazine, Antique Explorer. 

The delightful Alice from Homes and Antiques magazine

Alice is the roaming ambassador for H&A and always brings a carefully chosen selection of vintage treasures when she attends a fair. Today we were also visited by a photographer and writer from the magazine so look out for coverage in a future issue!

And at last a pic of our sponsor's permanent stand. Trixie Hewlett is the new joint owner of Dairy House Antiques, Semley near Shaftesbury, Dorset where the fair was held today. 

Well worth a detour!

DAIRY HOUSE TEXTILE FAIR SUNDAY 14 APRIL

Dairy House Antiques

I shall be taking a good selection of mid-century fabrics, reference books, dressmaking-patterns, trimmings, buttons and other sewing accessories

Summer dresses - here comes the sun?

Hats and bags for special occasions

Lots of sewing/textile /fashion reference books

and vintage quilts

Homes and Antiques Magazine will also be attending and taking photos. 

See you there?

No woman No Cry - Margaret Thatcher RIP

source Guido Fawkes Blog 

http://order-order.com/

She made mistakes but she had guts especially compared to the current spineless lot.

Whether you like it or not she did a lot of good things when first in office. Younger people won't know how restricted life in Britain was before she got into power. Life was difficult whether it was Labour or even the earlier Conservatives in office. 15% interest mortgages anyone? Petrol rationing? Getting sacked 'cos you were pregnant? Getting knocked back at work 'cos you were female and put forward an educated opinion on a business matter. Expected to make the tea and clear rooms for meetings even though you were the same grade as the men - though often on a third lower salary? 

Not allowed to add extensions on your (nationalised) GPO phone line. Taking six weeks to get an engineer to come round and do it and charge££.  Nationalised utilities boards who treated all customers with contempt and wouldn't let women have their own accounts - had to be in husband's name or your father's if single. 

Thatcher proved that women could succeed to the top if they were determined. She didn't look for or expect help. And she expected other women to do the same. I'm sick of moaning women who think they deserve a 'hand ' up the ladder from other women. Her father taught her to be strong and independent. She saw herself as a politician. That was her job. More Elizabeth the First in style and took her role as first minister of the constitutional monarch Elizabeth II most seriously. The men in her cabinet that she deposed were fatuous - resigning left and right when they didn't get their way. She wasn't part of their (mostly) public school private club either. That's why she beat both them and the Opposition. She came from a typical Labour working class background and was clever and determined enough to outwit them all. Even Tony Blair was an acolyte of sorts. 

In 1979 Britain was a flailing island monarchy of failing world influence, off the coast of mainland Europe. With very few international friends and countless faithless allies. We'd abandoned the Commonwealth for the EC ( as it was then) - and that brought us few favours from France or Germany (who we still regarded as a defeated enemy). Oh and if you went on holiday you could only take £50 out of the country until 1971. No widely available credit cards then. Of course £50 was quite a lot of money then to most workers. I think the low average wage was still around £12 a week then. We got together £25 each to go on a driving holiday with a borrowed car through France in 1970. That had to cover fuel, lodgings (small inns or camping), food and drink and entertainment. Actually there were already package hols to Yugoslavia for £28 per person and prob less to Spain. Their advantage was that you paid up front for flights or coaches (!) and accommodation so could take cash out of the UK for spending once you got there. 

Margaret Thatcher became a brilliant ambassador and negotiator for Britain with the two most important world powers of the time: the USSR and the USA. She succeeded where no other prime minister since Churchill had. Made the French sit up and take note. And laid the path for all those hugely less charismatic PMs who followed her. 

So she made some mistakes. Yes she should have gone after her second term. Maybe Major should have been given the lead then. 

Certainly none of the other leading Conservatives had much to offer except spineless bluff. As it was said at the time, " She was the only man in the cabinet".

I had a lot of respect for her at that time and felt sad at the way she was knifed in the back by her so-called colleagues when she exceeded her 'sell by' date. Not a man enough among them to face up to her to allow her a gracious exit.

And what were we left with? First the sadly ineffective Major. Then Tony Blair who was probably her true successor but he has been blamed for the Gulf War debacle when in fact only a politician of Thatcher's calibre had a chance of standing up to the USA strategy against the so-called 'axis of evil'. This has left the UK with the terrible legacy of anti-terrorism laws that have gradually and insidiously stolen the civil liberties that the ordinary UK citizen has known since Magna Carta. Blair was followed by George Brown (God help us) - and now the ConDems. Do you really think that they are better?  We need more people to vote in general elections because the turnout is so low.   That is the real disgrace of our modern democracy for which so many fought and died to secure. I wonder how many of those involved in violent or peaceful 'demonstrations' actually bother to exercise the simple but powerful right to cast their vote?