Edith Head - the designer who spoke womanese with ease.

One cannot even think of Hollywood 1930's glamour movies without thinking of the legendary influential Edith Head. Not only did she design for the films but the actresses themselves. There is no one more iconic than she. She was costume designer extordiaire!
An yet somehow whilst dressing the top Hollywood stars and seeing them stripped down before her large mirror in just their bare necessities she still managed to stay humble to the core, graceful in her taste and style and remain in the background, which is exactly where she felt the most comfortable. This was a woman who believed and I quote,
"You can achieve anything in life if you dress for it".

Her career spanned six decades of Hollywood style and she dressed over 1,000 films. Which when you work it out is roughly about 35 films a year. She was prolific in her designs and dedication. This means if you think about it she would have dressed just about every movie star who graced the silver screen. She was a woman who dominated a world ran by men and commanded respect, all this she did in her own quiet yet determined way.

With everyone the world over admiring her taste and good measurements Edith wrote two books in her long career, The Dress Doctor and How to Dress for Success. She was the first and original Trinny and Susannah rolled into one. The Great Auntie to Auntie Gok. Being so intimate with the movie stars gave Head inside knowledge to their real sizes and insecurities, after all she was the one paid to hide them boasting that she was 'magician' , saying,
 "I accentuated the positive and camouflaged the rest".

Head had the talent to spot the best feature in a person and flaunt it, often making them a star in the process. Certainly she made them a pin up and their clothes something to be copied and desired by American and English audiences alike, producing sewing patterns and ready made store pieces.

Quote: "You dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to show you're a lady".

Hired by the studio at Paramont Pictures as a sketch artist she eventually became head designer with her sketches. Edith won eight oscars in her life for her creations on screen, later quoting ,
"There were eight men in my life, they were all named Oscar". That's more than any other woman has in Hollywood has ever won.

Edith Head dressing Sophia Loren.

Born Edith Claire Posener in 1897 California, USA  she was talented enough to gain entry to art college where she met and married Charles Head, a brother of one of her classmates, although the marriage ended in 1936 due to divorce Edith still kept her professional names as Head right up until her death in 1981 when she passed aged 83.
She worked at Paramount Pictures for forty three years before moving to Universal Pictures and evntually Universal.
Edith married studio set designer Wiard Ihnen in 1940, their marriage lasted until his death from prostate cancer in 1979.

Quote: "Good clothes are not a matter of good luck"

Audrey Hepburn dressed by E.Head
for Sabrina.

Edith was well known for her low-key working style and, unlike many of her male contemporaries, she usually worked exculsively with the female stars of the studio. As a result she was a favorite among many of the leading female stars of the 1940s and '50s such as Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Shirley McLaine, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor , Mae West, Karman Miranda, Veronica Lake, Ingrid Bergman, Dorothy Lamour, Rita Heyworth, Sophia Loren and Natalie Wood are but a few. Edith even on occasion 'lent out' by the studio to other studios on the insistent request of their female stars.

From concept to design Edith Head's understanding and sympathy for the female form is clear. She dresses not for the clothes, but for the woman inside the clothes. Seeing the potential that is there and unleashing it with a fanfare., making the most shrinking of violets into a Princess.
When she designed for a woman she designed for the whole woman. Hiding her inner fears and insecurities while pushing her best assests forward. I have yet to see a badly dressed woman by Edith Head. She knew that each woman was an individual and designed accordingly, tailoring everything to her personal needs in the minutest of detail. When she dressed Sophia Loren, long a heroine of mine for her hourglass figure, Edith knew how hard it was to compliment her shape without making it too trashy with the fitting. Edith hid Audrey Hepburn swan's neck and broad shoulders making her appear petite and waif like, all doe eyes and boyish charm.

Grace Kelly 1954's  Rear Window.

and we ALL know this iconic actress, film
and dress!

I have seen this film hundreds of times and everytime I see this LBD dress I cannot help but marvel at how perfect a dress it is for Hepburn. With her broad shoulders this dress has small just the right size medium straps to come inwards, the necklace hides and draws your eye to the centre, but it is the back that does all the work to complete the illusion. It's those cut out's with side to show us her shoulder blades and then the thin line drawing our eyes inwards to the centre of her spinal column. Perfection in classic black, whether it is the dress  that made her doesn't matter, it is the dress she will forever be remebered for. That in a nut shell is what's so phenomenal about Edith Head's work. She makes statement individual pieces that are so iconic it is the dress that makes the image. It's the dress that wears the wearer and not the other way round. Her designs speak so loudly for themselves that Edith Head never needed to take the limelight, she let them speak for her instead.

Exotic Dressed Beauty - Gene Tierney.

Gene Tierney, a woman I gazed at awe in whilst watching her old movies as I grew up. Her grace, beauty, those eyes, her hair, those shoes, her makeup, those dresses, hats, jewels - she was grace personified. It wasn't so much her presence on screen as what she wore on screen that captivated me. Oh those clothes......(whistles loudly)....beautiful.

Laura 1944.

Funnily enough the films that I admire Gene Tierney in don't contain Tyrone Power. She has a most magical presence in the film The Ghost and Mrs Muir, 1947 which was the first film I ever saw her in. It is my favourite Gene Tierney film for her acting and the script. Not one for beautiful dresses or elaborate costumes, it is a film to nourish the soul. Tierney plays a young widow who moves into a lonely old house on a cliff, by the sea called Gull Cottage, which is haunted by a handsome young sea captain called Daniel, and with whom she falls in love. This is the house I desire to build, I love it so. I have watched and cried at this film easily over a thousand times. It touches my soul deeper than I can ever possibly explain.

Having watched her in the films where she starred alongside Tyrone Power, her appeal lessened and she seemed thin and insipid along side his charms, but that may of course be an immense personal preference on my part.........er hem...(coughs).
I didn't warm to her as an actress in any other film until I saw her in Laura, 1944. Where she played alongside Cliffton Webb, he of Mr Belvadere fame. It is a murder mystery as Tierney's character is the victim, and we the audience are asked to unravel the plot through her letters, friends and personal diaries, along with the policeman investigating her death - who soon becomes obsessed with the deceased character.

My favourite red Tierney dress.

Born in 1920, American actress Tierney died in 1991 aged 70 of emphysema. She suffered from mental health issues after the birth of her first born child and was treated with electric Shock therapy, something that she later claimed took large portions of her memory away. Married twice, her first husband whom she married in 1941 and divorced in 1952, was the noted fashion designer Oleg Cassini, who for several years designed exclusively for his movie star wife. He was assistant costume designer to the legendary Edith Head in the 1930's and later in the 1960's became the favourite designer for the classic American first lady Jackie Kennedy, JFK's wife.
Oleg and Tierney had two daughters together. During her first pregnancy in 1943 Tierney contracted Rubella (German measles) from a brief autograph signing of a fan meet and greet at a movie studio held event. Her daughter was born with severe disabilities due to the illness and had to be intitutionalized. All her daughter's medical bills and life long care were paid for by Tierney's good friend billionaire Howard Hughes.

I love this red dress that Tierney wears in this late 1940's photo shoot, no doubt designed and created by her loving husband Oleg Cassini. It is beautiful. Especially with the lilac sash. It's one I hope to recreate for myself one day very soon. I have a huge stash of old movie clips and photos and hoardes of dress sketches I wish to sew, but it's that old enemy time. Until then I shall just keep collecting and drooling......looking for similar at the Vintage Fairs.
This look on the right with the black and whole striped gloves and head band/turban/wrap are what I am on the lookout for at the moment. It is on my list - all except for the pink corsage flower as the finishing touch, for me I think it should be scarlet red. I love EVERYTHING about this photo apart from that pale pink flower. Her hair, lips, coat - just that flower lets it all down. It is a small bug bear, but there we have it.
I ask you, what woman couldn't fail to look timeless, elegant and absolutely stunning with a genius like Cassini exclusively designer for her?!


Tierney and her designer husband Oleg Cassini.



After their divorce Oleg went onto become engaged to Grace Kelly. He was obviously a man who had an eye for style and beauty, not just on the clothes rail but off as well. He even went on to design and produce a fashion doll named after Gene and his second daughter, Tina. Something that is quite sort after by collectors I am told, although I never had one as a child - I think the doll looks suspiciously like his ex-wife Gene, but then maybe it is more than likely to be modelled on their daughter. It's a shame she didn't end up rivaling Sindy or Barbie for their titles, along with Mary Quant's Daisy doll.

I love the delicate neckline of this outfit. Cupids and their hearts. It reminds me of the latest butterfly cardigans that you see around now in the Vintage and retro boutiques in Brighton. Something that would go well with high waisted slacks, a full circle skirt, pencil skirt or cropped jeans. It is cute not matter what the style of occasion you wish to dress it for, with almost a bedtime peignoir lure to it.

Yes, I am afraid it is her designer husband and his creations that fascinate me more about Gene Tierney, than Gene Tierney herself. Even though she had by some standards a tragic life and one of some hardship, I myself see her more as a stunning clothes horse for her husband's genius creations. Perhaps I am being too harsh on her, but really it is not so much Tierney I notice or watch in films, as her dresses that glide by my vigilant eyes.
Yes she is beautiful, yes she is a good actress, but her appeal is more for a male audience I think. All those fluttering eyelashes and demure smiles. No, my interest alone is her outstanding wardrobe - one that I envy with a clear passion. Would that Oleg Cassini design for me! x

Gowns galore to have a hissy fit over. One of the types of gowns Cassini is known for today is his Wedding gowns, of which he had a line out when he died in 2006. Beautiful, elegant and understated, almost echoing the ball and evening gowns of his ex wife Gene Tierney. What a muse she must have been for him, along with Grace Kelly and Jackie O.
If Tierney is wearing an outfit between 1941 and 1952 you can bet it will be have been designed by her clever husband. What better way to advertise your creations than on one of the most beautiful women in the world.

Fur.....the difference between vintage and retro.

With fur being the big thing this winter and all the rage, it is essential that you know how to indentify the real thing when you come across it. Generally the rule about vintage is if it has reached the grand old age of thirty years then it is considered a vintage item. Although nowadays some people will class things from several years ago as vintage - it's not, it's retro. It's also retro if it's trying to look vintage.

1. One of the first things you need to do is identify the species of fur you are looking at. This will give you a clue as to how old the item is, as we all know and rightly so some species are endangered because of their fur culling and hunting ethics and so cannot be now used to make friviolus fashion items. This is commendable and totally the right way to go about things for the future and generations to come. However this doesn't solve what to do with all those old vintage furs that are still out there. Do they get burnt and wasted or used and appreciated? Everyone has their own opinion on this, and no one is right or wrong - it's still a matter of hot debate between the best of friends.
Ok, some furs went in trends some were always elitest. You can as a rule of thumb tell a real fur from a faux fur by it's feel. This is something you have to do for yourself with practice. You have to stroke real fur and faux to get to know the difference. It's not that hard once you've been stroking a few coats believe me. The oils in the real fur are still there and it will feel soft, silky and luxurious. The faux fur, although getting better still doesn't have that absolute snuggle me and love me forever feel to it yet. Nearly but not quite.

To add with a little help - there is also a smell. Real fur will have at some point in it's life have been looked after and introduced to moth balls. They leave a soft lingering smell in the lining. Sniff around the pockets and neckline where they would have been stored or hung.

2. Look for a label. Sounds easy enough. But real fur is still sold, so you have to know which stores still sell furs. Chances are that you will come across an old label that you've never heard of before. This could mean that it's from an old store - as they change their names over the years. Knowledge of this and from the era of coat you are sourcing helps. Gen up on what it is you are looking for if it is a specific make, style or era. Knowledge is power.
Also look for initals sewn in. Often furs were made to order in select fashion houses. Remember years ago only the rich could afford real fur. Usually the woman had her initals sewn in as part of the service.
Also if the label says wash at such and such degrees - it's faux. Real fur should never be washed only dry cleaned at a specialists.

3. Know your eras and their styles. Look and research a certain era of coat. 1970's and 1960's furs will be a totally different cut to a 1930's 1940's coat. For example in the 1950's the coats were often shorter sleeved, called a bracelet cut - so the lady could show off her diamonds as well just for that extra money sniffing effect. In the 1940's coats tended to be more long sleeved. It all depends on what you are looking for. The answer here is research, research, research!

4. Look for sand. Evidence of sand tells you it is old straight away. Feel the weight. A real fur naturally will be slightly heavier than a faux fur due to the hide. Especially if it is vintage. Years ago in some they used to place sand in the lining of the coat to help combat damp and weight it's hang. It's also to do with the process of the furrier.

5. Look at the fur in a good light. Seems obvious right, but faux fur is manufactured. It will be perfect and often a repeat pattern. Think about it - it's a mass produced product right. Real fur like us is made with imperfections. Patterns and colouring will be random. Simples.
If you want to take a magnifying glass along and look at the individual hairs. A faux fur will have the same couration all the way along on each one, a real fur will be individual. Try it and see.

6. If in doubt, here's one my Granny taught me. Take a pin with you, get a single hair folicule and pierce it with the pin. I'm serious. If the pin passes through easily it's fake, if it resists and is difficult it's real.
Another one is if they allow you to, you can ask to snip a very small piece of the fur from under the collar, on the inside or once you have purchased it, if you love the coat for itself. Hold the snipped fur to a naked flame in a pair of tweezers. The faux fur is made from synthetic plastic it will smoulder, then burn with a chemical smell. Real fur will smell like your own hair when it get's caught in the hairdryer and create a clumped smouldering ball. Please though, remember to do this test away from the rest of the fur item so it doesn't all go up in flames!!

7. Remember real fur will be attached to a hide, faux fur won't. Check the lining of the coat if in doubt. Also if it has a head and a tail, feet even - more than likely it's a real pelt.

Fur - The BIG Debate.

I am a vegetarian. I love animals. Goes without saying. I did not choose however to become a vegetarian, I was born this way and then raised as one. I am allergic to the fats and protein in meat. They make me sick, literally.
Now, I don't like touching meat full stop, which I think those who you who know me will I'm sure of heard me mention before. Can't stand it. Reminds me a a corpse on a slab and I don't like it. Yet I still cook and prepare meat for those I love every week. It is their choice to eat meat not mine.

Simone D'alliencourt. Loius Vuitton pic by Henry Clarke 1930's.

Okay.........fur. It is the bi-product of the meat production, both for animals (cat and dog food) and humans. Leather is a bi-product of the beef dishes and burgers fast food joints and rabbit fur is the bi-product of all the tins of pet food consummed in their billions every week. An where do you think the fleece of the lamb or mutton goes after it's been killed? Into any kind of wool product industry they can sell it to of course.
There are some furs that I won't wear though, I absolutely don't agree with killing an animal for it's fur coat alone, like cute baby seals, foxes, minks, leopards, bear, tigers etc - but I do wear leather and wool. I love leather coats, bags and shoes. I love knitted dresses and scarves. However I don't agree with using animal skins either just for the sake of it, I'm thinking crocodile skin bags here and the such like.
I don't agree with killing an animal just for it's skin or fur alone is what I am trying to say, but if it is a bi-product of the meat eating industry then it I've come round to the conclusion that it's okay for me to wear it. Use all of the animal, don't waste it's life......Or.......... and here is where some real controversy may kick in -  if it is vintage. And I mean at least fifty years old. Where the animal has died long ago and it seems a sin to just destroy the fur, otherwise the animal really did die in vain. Of course these are my own personal opinions and everyone else is entitled to their own. To some it may seem like I am muddled in my ethics but to me they make absolutely perfect sense.
I already own faux fur coats, boleros and wraps and I did own two adorable full length fur coats when I was a teenager. Vintage 1920's white mink and a 1930's brown rabbit, but I was a teenage kid, I looked too frumpy in them, I hadn't quite matured into them yet. Then when we got stuck for money as a young loved up married couple, I sold them to a vinatge clothes dealer for good money. Hurrah, we could pay the mortgage that month!
Only, I really regret selling them now, because I want another fur coat. I have always missed them, always thought rather fondly off them, and now I wish I had them. So along with my other three coats I desire, I am adding a fourth to the list - a vintage fur. Or it could be a faux fur - I don't mind - it would be much easier to look after.
Oh yes, a real fur needs constant care - I learnt that as a small child from elderly relative's wardrobes and their  furs, they were like Narnian Wardrobes of delight for me as a tiny nipper. You have to keep them at a constant low temperature, (to avoid moulting and moths......yes really, it will moult but not grow back!), never store them in a plastic bag - as they need the air to circulate around them, try not to wear shoulder strap bags as this can wear and rub on a vintage fur shoulder, if it gets wet in the rain - just shake it off and let it dry naturally - never use heat to dry it, place cedar moth balls in the pockets and hang some in a bag on the hanger to keep them safe from moths, gently smooth it and love them as you would almost real human hair otherwise you will end up with a patchy bald fur coat - not very attractive.

The big craze this winter in all the stores is the fur. They are everywhere. Topshop have some beautiful faux fur coats at the moment and they also have some amazing faux fur capes , faux fur stoles glam rockette style, and their fur wrap tie collars. Other stores such as the divine  Oasis 60's style Peggy coat  both stores are filled with extremely stylish and reasonably in priced stroke-able items. I just wish I didn't have to choose one, because I could easily purchase them all. Oasis has a whole heap of faux furs in store and online. I will definitely be checking them out come the January sales!!!
Meanwhile I am on the hunt for vintage 1940's furs. It's my pre-Christmas Winter gift and I will know the coat and wrap when I see them. It will be my special, special - I can wear a slinky little Summer number underneath, even in the cold heart of Winter, coat. My, have to look after it for life coat.

Shopping With A Mission.

Your Mission, should you decide to take it is..................shop till you drop.
Target : Vintage clothing, shoes and bags.......you have your list, work from it.
Your Disguise:
Comfy boots, you have miles of hilly terrain to cover.

Easy to slip on and off dress....there will be changing rooms, lots of them.

Thin Cardigan: It may be the end of October but you will be working up a sweat hiking and carry heavy bags.
Spare high heeled shoes: For trying on those must have dresses.
Large Bag : Carries survival kit, chocolate, mobile, purse and bottles of water.
Camera : You never know?
Your destination : Brighton, all the Laines...........cue music........................

Up at 6am, quick get ready as my lift will be here soon. Yup, shopping this early. Well, first is the travel time and the aim is to get there exactly as the shops open. Bang on. We have a lot of ground to cover!
For those of you who have never been clothes shopping with me.......well let's just say it is an experience, and for those of you who have, I apologise again, you really didn't know what you were letting yourselves in for bless you. All those miles and hours I made you walk, I hang my head in shame..........but it is an addiction. Fortunately it has taken me years to find her, but I have found a worthy adversary. Someone who loves clothes shopping every bit as much as I do, and who can shop just as hard and fast. Ding Dong!

Even before the shops opened Brighton was busy, heaving like a swarm of bees. We parked and set off through the large shopping centre and off into the back hills of Brighton. The best place I know for the most vintage, retro and general cute individual shops in this area.
First place we headed for was the wonderful Velvet in Bond Street. One of my favourite shops and I couldn't leave without I buying a cute little delicate scarf before we blasted into Irregular Choice shoes like a whirlwind of squeals!! Their shoes are to die for!!
Then it was off to one of the best vintage shops in Brighton that I know Dirty Harry in Sydney Street. Their prices are so much more than reasonable and the staff are fabulous, not only by wearing the vintage clothing in their own individual styles but also in their pleasant approach to helping customers. It's a thumbs up from us. My girlie friend bought the most divine Audrey Hepburn 1960's black marabou feathered wiggle number. Bellissimo. x
Bustling down Sydney street was a gas and all the shops and market stalls were in a Halloweenie mood, except one seemed to have a mix up of the seasons and had the Easter Bunny ears out instead?! But they're so cute, we can forgive them for making us go "Awwwwww look at the bunny ears!"

Next it was a quick step over to the gorgeous Wolf and Gypsy who always present their shop in such a beautiful way. They have at the moment these most adorable hand knitted cardigans, but that will have to be for another day. We had a list to stick to for situations just like this, when one of us is torn and drawn by a beautiful item of clothing.....the others job is to issue firm orders to "step away from the non listed bargain"!

We weaved our way through Sydney street in and out of the nicely presented vintage shops and one rare shop that smelt of heavily of moths balls and where everything is piled it seems without neither care nor love. Each of us holding the others bags as we rummaged on hands and knees sometimes through the piles of discarded hats, shoes and wraps. Rail upon rail of coats and vintage dresses, asking to move mirrors into the light and giving each other honest appraisal and opinions of potential purchases. We met some of the most jolly, happy and lovable staff along our merry journey and some that were so miserable their faces might have cracked had they actually smiled at us, but that's the heady mix of Brighton that I love.

The energy, the buzz, that eclectic mix of life....and then it happened, I stepped into a small store that I adore on the corner of Sydney street, the rightly and justly named Fashion Temple, and I fell in love with a dress the moment I saw it hanging there on the rail. A 1950's rockabilly retro wild black and red cherries halterneck dress with low hung black netting. That with petticoat frou frous at home would look banging! For such a bargain price I could not leave it there, it had to come home with me, but not before I twirled around the shop in it jive style. Ready for next years Vintage Fair.

A sharp left turn up the road and we were at another shop I adore Kate and Aud . Small compact, but beautiful and filled with the most delicious items on the cusp of Trafalgar Street. Kate does the dresses, Aud the jewelry. I found a beautiful 1930's tea dress upstairs, but sadly it was designed for a flat chested girl. I know, I was heart broken. My head had already planned it to go with my heeled tan brogues, brown knitted bolero.....but it was not to be ma cherie. Having traipsed through every vintage store on the North Laines it was time to head over to the conventional stores for a quick mooch before heading off to the South Laines, Ship Street, where my girlie friend fell in love with a vintage fur coat in Penelope's Portmanteau, a classy little joint with smoking hot jewelry and handbags. We rounded the day off with a visit to Monsoon a shop I adore at any time of the year or any place.

Winding the day down we snuck into Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shop  for a few treats to take home. The shop is a legend of vintage sweets for memory taste buds. Our nearest one is in Chichester and my girls love it! It is the main shopping event for them every time we go in.

We also quickly popped over to Hardy's Orginal Sweet Shop There is so much to test and taste that it's like Harry Potter's Honey Duke's store. There is always something new to squeal at. Shelves filled to the brim with row upon row of delectable sweets, all brightly packaged and coloured begging to be tried and devoured. This time I got them a Gumball machine each to savour. The staff were all dressed in full macabre Halloween costume, which I adore. It really gets everyone into the ghoulish spirit of things and is immense fun!!!! 

Last but no way in the least is a visit to the famous  Choocywoocydoodah's in Duke Street where the window chocolate sculpture displays have hoards of people always crowded around it. They never disappoint and have displayed a gorgeous Halloween theme. As this is the career path my youngest daughter wants to take, I just had to take some photos to show my girls when I got home, They displayed a Vampire pre-bite on a woman's neck and several life like chocolate skulls.

It's a must do visit I'm afraid! The sculptures are so  awesome and then you realise that they are completely made out of chocolate....the fascination and admiration grows ten fold in a heart beat.

Heading home with arms full of bags, recent loved purchases, treats for those loved ones at home and sides aching from laughing together girlie friend and I staggered gracefully back to the carpark.

Tonight my legs and buttocks ache from walking and climbing quaint little boutique staircases. That was some hardcore shopping, but it was worth it..every step, even if we did only buy two vintage items off our lists......there is always another shopping day to plan.

What is Vintage?

'Vintage'.......what a marvellous word. It forms the mouth so sexily on the 'cha' ending sound as it passes through one's teeth. It can encompass such a wide range of things. Vintage wine, vintage cars, vintage antiques.....but to me it instantly means vintage clothing. Outfits and items from a bygone era that I feel at ease in.
They may be older than my Nan, true, but they carry with them an energy that is so delicious that I could be sampling a vintage wine, in short they are in a class all of their own.
The word vintage has become a generic term for all second hand clothing - discarded and unwanted they have been given a new lease of life by those who can see their true hidden potential. It's a much nicer, politer term than 'second hand' clothes or 'used items', which of course they are. They have lived their life with one owner, perhaps several before you find them, claim them and give them a new and loving home. Like adopting a wayward pet from a shelter. We clean them, even repair them and set about bringing out the very best in them. Allowing their fibres to once more feel the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze of air waft through them as they hang off our bodies. We have resuscitated them back into life from the forgotten century from whence they came. I make it sound all rather dramatic, but in essence that is exactly what we are doing. They had a life before us. A woman saw them in a shop, fell in love with and bought 'them'. Perhaps wearing 'them' for a romantic anniversary dinner, a late night show, the theatre, an exotic holiday or perhaps her first date....the possibilities are endless. They are like sharing a past love. I shudder to think how many beautiful vintage clothes went to the shredder or rubbish tip because they're old and used or their 'fashion' era had come to an end.

Vintage clothing for me isn't just about the label. I will never buy something for a label alone. I have to love the piece to buy it and more importantly it has to suit my figure and shape. There's no point in wearing a beautiful garment if it does nothing for you and you for it. It's like a wrongly matched love affair - it will always be doomed from the start.
Those of us who hold tightly to the past do so for our own deep rooted feelings. Perhaps they remind us of a cherished loved one, maybe we inherited a wardrobe, or our bodies are simply suited for a shape cut only in the past? For me, I've never felt that I truly belong in this era. I've always claimed since I was three to my parents that - "I was born too late" and didn't belong here with them. Make of that what you will, but I firmly believe that I don't fit in, nor do I belong in this time frame - as much as I dearly love my husband and children in the here and now, and I DO more than anything in life itself,  I just cannot shake the deep feeling that I feel at odds with the twenty first century in more ways than one. Perhaps subconsciously I still cling to a life past and therefore am in explicitly drawn back to the eras I loved and previously felt alive in. Hence my desire to clothe and surround myself with vintage items.
It is only recently that fashion has been seen as vintage. Clothing in a wearable art form.

Fashion and Textiles Museum, London.

A visionary who also believes this is the legendary iconic fashion designer Zandra Rhodes. Founded by her and located in Bermondsey, London, is the Fashion and Textiles Museum is an iconic place to visit if you want to know about the history of fashion and textiles or you wish to be inspired. We are constantly looking to the past for inspiration, what better place to start than here.
Over time Zandra has collected iconic pieces from British designers to memorialize them both in fashion and textiles for her exhibitions. At the moment they've just had an exhibition on Tommy Nutter : Rebel On The Row and are currently closed until the 18th November when their new exhibition Catwalk To Cover will be showing until the 25th of February 2012. Personally I can't wait for their exhibition on POP! Culture and Fashion 1955 - 1976 which starts the 6th July 2012. It's something I am definitely hoping to go up and see.

Have we met before?

Have you met my new shoes?

They're divine and sooo comfy. The inner soles are even padded. I think we are going to be great friends.

Vintage Cake and Tv.

Had a lovely chat with Mother In Law number 3 this afternoon on the phone and then this evening as we collected our new television they had kindly brought back with them from Wales for us, from Mud Boy's brother Jimbob. They won a brand new super duper tv in a raffle and no longer need their old one. It is a transaction between brothers - which I leave and do not question Mud Boy about. If he feels we need a new tv, who am I to argue. I am sure he has a plan, he usually does and it all works out for the better in the end. It was our little nieces birthday over the weekend, John Lennon's birthday to be exact, and mother in law number 3 and father in law number 2 went down to stay and celebrate with them in Wales. It's lovely how families work together.

Mother in Law number 3 often keeps in touch and in contact with the girls. She knows all their likes and dislikes, hobbies, clubs and latest adventures, news and interests. They can natter together for hours. She is a very creative woman with a loving heart. She has a lot to give to the world, and I feel enriched for knowing her. As she knew the girls were coming over she made them a chocolate cake, knowing Budge appreciates all things chocolatey. She is all the more lovely for doing so. As father in law number 2 cut the girls more cake, the laughter rings out between them all, (it's complicated relationship wise with all the mother in laws so let me explain a little because you may be forgiven for thinking that I have been married three times - nope just the once and still married to him x - here we go : father in law number 2 is mother in law number 1's (Mud Boys biological mothers) second husband. He raised Mud Boy from the age of 4 until 16 as 'Dad'. Then they divorced and Father in law number 2 married lovely mother in law number 3. Mud Boy's biological father remarried also to mother in law number 2 -  So that's two divorces and four marriages - got it? Good x).

Knowing I am always on the hunt for vinatge clothes mother in law number 3 had picked me up a little choc brown knit on her travels. It is divine! So adorable, with beautiful buttoned cuffs, my favourite part about it!  What a sweetie she is. ((hugs)) XxX

Just a mild vinatge obsession..ever so slightly.....

I am a vintage fashion whore and that includes photography, which I will drool over and stroke lovingly when I find an outfit that I dearly covet. It isn't a pretty sight - it is an addiction - and the only cure is vintage shopping - hours and hours of vintage shopping therapy. I think I am nearing that point of obsession and need a session of retail therapy soon. Good job I have a vintage shopping excursion with a dear friend booked for the end of the month! Which is why I have clothes and lists on my mind so much at the moment. I am busy compiling a list to search for.

Cocopana dancer 1953 - the eyes, the gloves.

The dress.

Dress!

40's bathing costume - glasses.

French Chic.

                                                                   

Chic Fur.

EVERYTHING!

Really, I have thousands of these kinds of pictures on disc - thousands! I am compiling them to cover my bedroom wall in them. YES, REALLY !! Every so often I print ten off ten or so and put them in a box, and then they will be pasted on my bedroom wall - ALL OVER! Floor to ceiling. My OWN wallpaper, my OWN design, my OWN idea. No one will be able to copy - it will be my OWN inspirational sanctuary - espeically in my walk in wardrobe. I can't wait!!!!!