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Edwardian Costume at Kentwell Hall : All You Need Are Gloves

Sarah in her costume designed by Bess Chilver. Image Courtsey Mike Hill. 

Getting the costume ready for Suffolk’s Kentwell Hall World War 1 centenery event in August was a joint effort between volunteer Sarah Gaskell and the famous historical costumier Bess Chilver. 

Since 1979 the Suffolk hall has been known for its Tudor reconstructions where hundreds of volunteers gather to bring history to life.

When Sarah bough a pair of 1960s leather gloves from Vintageaholic, they ended up finishing off her costume perfectly. She survived all day dressed for her part in the searing summer heat!

We asked Sarah about what it was like to costume up for the centenery event:

“I've taken part at events at Kentwell hall for over 11 years now, and this is the second year they've done a WW1 event , “ says Sarah, “I've mainly done the Tudor events and more recently the Victorian Christmas event as a worker, but having done some upper class Edwardian filming earlier in the year I got the bug and decided to have a go at it at Kentwell!”

Sarah and the other volunteers took on roles to show the public what it would have been like if they’d walked around the Hall in August 2014. Prior to the start of the Great War, there were troops camping in the grounds and officers staying as the guest of the owner Sir John Aird.

Soldiers camped at Kentwell Hall in August 2014

Acting the part means getting the costume spot on as well. Her purple dress with hat, bag, belt and gloves was an essential part of the historical accuracy that the Kentwell re-enactment demands.

“The costume standards for Tudor clothes at Kentwell are incredibly high,” said Sarah,“ mainly due to the difficulty in getting accurate information of the clothes of the time so the knowledge comes from a select few who are experts in the field.

“For Victorian and Edwardian events, less guidance is necessary due to the massive amount of pictures and information we have of the time. Standards are always very high but it's more relaxed and easier to get right for the later time periods.”

Looking at surviving images of fashions from the Edwardian era – also known as ‘Belle Epoque’ – we can see the accuracy in the cut, design and shape of the dress. 

Vanity Fair magazine cover, 1914. 

Who created this wonderful outfit, Sarah? “My dress was made by Bess Chilver. She's an incredibly talented seamstress and historical costume expert. The costume was partly based on the costume I had for the filming and also based around the fabric Bess has already!

“The collar, sleeves and gloves I bought from eBay and Etsy and Bess designed the dress around the collar, the other pieces were added in.”

The gloves. Originally 1960s, perfect for the Edwardian era. Find more vintage items in our online store here: 

With the event taking place in August, we wondered if it had any influence on the costume design. Edwardian ladies would have been expected to adhere to the same standards in warm weather, wearing cumbersome corsets for instance, as they wore during cold months. 

A long line corset from 1914

“The dress was quite a light fabric (some of it is silk) so I would guess that it would be a predominantly warm weather dress though my knowledge in this area is limited. The sleeves were just a fine cotton and the neckline of the dress was quite low with the lace coming up higher. 

“Bess has said that with the sleeves and collar removed it would be more of an evening dress. The collar is pretty much tacked on and the sleeves aren't sewed in at all.

A concession to the weather might have been to remove her gloves, something an Edwardian would have regarded as an essential part of being properly attired. “The gloves were worn outside all the time, like the hat so I only took them off when I knew I was staying inside for a significant period of time. I don't remember them being too warm at all though, I was more an 'all over' stupidly hot that weekend rather than just my hands!”

What was the best part of the day, Sarah?

Fashions in Delineator Magazine, 1914. 

“My favourite part of the weekend was playing an upper class Edwardian for a change- I played a character I invented called Marjorie and she's stupidly condescending. She encompasses the attitudes of the upper classes at the time and helps to highlight the massive differences between the working and the upper classes; particularly in wartime when all were very much encouraged to 'do their bit'.

“Wealthy ladies were told that they should buy wool or provide the funds for the working women to knit for the war effort - the items being sent in their name, the idea that this was them contributing to the war effort is completely ridiculous and further demonstrates the class divide.”

Kentwell Hall has a long history that stretches back to before the Domesday Book and because of this, film and television makers have used it as a backdrop to productions. 

Re-enactors have also played a part in shows including the BBC’s  Henry V11: Winter King and Kentwell Hall even appeared in CGI form, for the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe!

We love that our gloves ended up being worn at such an historically important event. 

Thank you for telling us about your outfit, Sarah!

Anna X

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Vintageaholic Maxi Fads - Boho Skirts Back In Fashion

Do you like skirts long, long, long? We do too.

Here’s one of our beautiful vintage skirts we are selling by the label English Lady.

We adore the floral fabric and the way the border is so eye catching. Great natural tones also. Perfect for spring / summer..

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Skirts that hit the floor have been in fashion thanks to the hippy trend in the late 1960s.

With the recent fab news that the 70s is back in fashion we’re taking a look at them again.

Hippy boho and Yves Saint Laurent

At end of the decade that saw skirt lengths climb and fall, Yves Saint Laurent took the maxi trend to the Parisian catwalks.

Gaining a reputation for transferring masculine tailoring into womenswear, YSL bucked the trend in creating long line and flowing dresses…

Look at that romantic floral long printed silk chiffon dress owned by the actress Lauren Bacall. 

Click on this link to browse it in the online exhibition at the FIT in New York.

http://exhibitions.fitnyc.edu/ysl-halston/

YSL took his desire to translate Le Smoking to womens fashion to the max-i in this LBD in 1970.

Simple, elegant and utterly chic, you could wear this today and still look bang on trend…

Maxi suits any woman, anywhere

Maxi’s are one of those trends that suit women of any size, shape and culture and that’s what makes them so popular…

But it’s the way they show off fabric that we particularly like.

In the 70s Pandora skirt we are selling, the cut and line is dead simple but the fabric looks fabulous because there’s loads of it right.down.to.the.ground.

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Evening wear

Our Frank Usher 70s evening maxi dress brings together fabric and style to make a swish belted dress.

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We love the way the flowers increase in size to the bottom of the border and the belt tie that follows the same theme.

With a Frank Usher outfit you are wearing the best of British fashion history.

Don’t go too far with the fabric

We’re pleased we are looking at the 70s maxi’s from afar. Some fabrics were not known for their subtelty.

Tartans and bold florals became de rigeur and as this sewing pattern shows, they should have been sold with sunglasses..;-)

What to team them with

Maxi skirts look great teamed with halter necks in sunny weather

Or crisp shirts

Team it  with our 70s retro flared denim jacket for the total vintage retro look! 

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And our 70s sun hat for good measure ! 

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Enjoy our 70s collection and be bang on trend! 

Anna Vintageaholic X

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Vintageaholic Celia Birtwell and The Tip-TopShop Collection.

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In the 1950s when textile graduate Celia Birtwell and fashion designer Ossie Clark met in in a coffee bar in Manchester, England, it was a match made in design heaven.

Celia Birtwell, Ossie Clark and Percy the cat

Charming textiles

Her textile designs were complex, charming, inspired by nature and crafted in many contrasting layers of print. Think 1930s art deco meets 1960s graphics and you are almost there.

Celia Birtwell Fabric Design. Candy Flower Betty Blue On Oyster Linen.

Ossie Clark – 1930s meets the 1960s

Her husband’s designs were constructed and cut to hug and flow in long waves from the wearer’s body. People thought he designed a 1930s look into his clothes, borrowing from the designer who invented the bias cut – Madeleine Vionnet.

Ossie Clark 1960s Crepe Dress

Famous friends

Their move to London at the start of the swinging sixties brought them into famous circles.

Later on their famous friends became models in their fashion shows.

Jane Birken modelling Ossie Clark photograph by Patrick Litchfield. Vogue November 1967.

1966 Birtwell and Clark’s first collection

In 1966 she started to design the textiles for Ossie’s fluid, feminine and ostentatious designs. It created a look that was uniquely identfiable to them both.

Birtwell first worked from an idea and then created a corresponding colour palette.  She used this to created variations of that design in beautiful flowing abstracts across reams and reams of fabric.

He cut his designs in a way that made the most of her textiles, hugging the body and letting the fabric flow in a sexy boho look that defined the late 60s and early 70s era.

1960s crepe dress by Ossie Clark with Celia Birtwell’s flowering daisy textile design.  

Highly desirable designs

Before long their pieces were highly collected by the glitterati and fashion lovers alike.

A label from Ossie Clark or Celia Birtwell from this era means high value on the vintage marketplace. If you own one you must take care of the fabric as well as the item itself.

Mary Quant said: “Celia’s designs are heaven. They are original, beautiful and like works of art.”

Image taken from “Celia Birtwell”, a book by Celia Birtwell and Dominic Lutyens

David Hockney

The painter David Hockney thought of Birtwell as his muse and he immortalised their partnership in this portrait in 1971. You can find it at the Tate Britain.

Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy by David Hockney

Fashion, education and interior design

In the 1970s and 1980s with changing approaches to fashion and the end of her marriage, Celia began teaching at various colleges including Chelsea School Of Art And Design.

In the 80s she branched out into interior design. Using her considerable talents, wit and distinctive inspiration, her business became a huge success. Her textiles are hung and used in some of the most prestigious hotels in the world, for instance.

Celia Birtwell BirdSong Textile

2006 TopShop Collection

In 2006 riding the resurgence of interest in vintage fashion, the British retail store TopShop approached her to design a collection. In collaboration with them she produced some new designs based on the signature style and textiles from the Ossie Clark years.

Celia Birtwell Sketches Spring Summer 2006 Topshop

The first of 4 collections, in Spring / Summer 2006, was received with wide critical acclaim and, literally, sold out almost immediately. Collection 2, the Autumn / Winter collection – where the dress we are selling originates – was released in 100 stores on 20th November the same year.

Sell-out success

People were queuing around the block at the retail outlets on the day they were placed in store. They knew there would be a buzz around the collection. Topshop in Oxford Street, London, had a sign up in advance saying customers were limited to 1 piece each.

 Our dress in the Autumn / Winter 2006 Top Shop Collection

By 3pm shoppers were limited to 2 pieces each by harrassed sales assistants. By the end of the day in the London region all pieces were sold out despite numerous inter-store requests and new deliveries.

Items being hard to find didn’t change if you were ordering online either.

Outfits were soon changing hands for upwards of £150.00 on Ebay and demand for her designs sent shoppers crazy.

One shopper who got the outfit they wanted outside of London noted: “I got the green monkey dress today!...soooo happy!”

TopShop collaboration, what she said

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The collaboration was a critical success and relaunched Birtwell’s fashion career.

"I really enjoy working with TopShop," says Birtwell on 20th November. "It's a very different procedure to the way Ossie and I used to work but there is an energy working with the team that is infectious. I was overwhelmed by the response, it's fabulous that my designs appeal to a broad range of young women today, it's like my work has come full circle.”

Celia Birtwell CBE

Celia Birtwell and one of her designs.

In 2011 the Queen awarded Birtwell the CBE for her outstanding contribution to fashion.

We can see why she deserves this acclaim. For ourselves we are delighted to have such an outstanding example of her designs in our collection.

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Anna Vintageaholic X

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Vintageaholic Loves Beth Brett Knitwear Designer Extraordinaire

Designing wearable art

Between the 1975 and the mid 1990s London based fashion designer Beth Brett created ‘wearable art’ from a mixture of fabrics and textiles including knitwear, cotton, suede and leather under the label Beth Brett Handknit Designs.

1970s and Beth Brett for Bluestocking

A 1966 graduate in fashion design from the US Moore College of Art, she moved to London soon afterwards. She initially worked as a pattern cutter for various fashion businesses and for an Oxford based company, Bluestocking, where she designed smocks and dresses that were made in Liberty fabrics. 

Beth Brett Handknit Designs

In 1975, her newly established company Beth Brett Handknit Designs recruited a group of craftswomen to work for her completing her designs in their own homes. This is reminiscent of the way many couture houses and dressmakers worked throughout fashion history to craft and complete designs.

Expert knowledge & expert construction

Her design studio at her home was a creative mix of knitting machinery, wool, fabrics and large cutting tables. Her knowledge of the technicalities of machine knitting and hand knitting as well as pattern cutting and mixed media, made each Beth Brett piece expertly hand crafted and often one-off designs.

Signature look

As a knitwear designer she created a signature look that juxtaposed multiple layers of differing fabrics using intricate knits like Fair Isle, with contrasting applique work in leathers, silks, feather, fur and organzas, to name but a few.

She often used sequins and hand stitching work to finish her multi-layered and wearable items.

Pieces from her collections melded an array of different textiles using highly skilled techniques in construction. This created an aesthetic that was eye catching, beautiful and uniquely hers.

1977 Liberty’s Jubilee Celebration

In 1977 for the Queen’s jubilee celebrations in the UK, she made 3 coats knitted from shetland wool in bold designs that were displayed in Liberty’s shop windows in London. The pieces she created for the display were considered to be her signature look.

The 1980s

By the 1980s her work had diversified into lacy knitted designs and incorporated tie-dyed work from the 70s, for instance. 

She created the two silk handkerchief skirts we have for sale during this era.

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By then her work was sold mainly in the US and stocked in New York stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel, and Neiman-Marcus.

1990s, Scottish Tradition Limited

In the 1990s she started exporting to Japan and worked with a Scottish cashmere company - Scottish Tradition Limited. The company made up complex intarsia designs – a way of knitting using different colours.

By the end of the decade she was working for the Department Of Trade and Industry advising clothing manufacturers about exporting to the USA.

Beth Brett’s designs were sold worldwide; in London, New York, Canada, Japan and Australia.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Following her death in 2003 the family donated items from her collection to various charities which can be seen in the Vintage marketplace. After her death they discovered that she was more prolific than even they had known.

Many unrealised design sketches were found in her studio. Pieces were given to the Victoria and Albert Museum who retain the archive of her work.

Such is the impact of her work it is archived in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and was featured in a recent V&A exhibition catalogue about fashion design in the 1980s.

Vintage marketplace

Other pieces from her collections are offered for sale in the vintage markeplace occasionally and are always considered to be rare and valuable.

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They and the handkerchief skirts are Vintageaholic's Beth Brett Collection.

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The items we have for sale are couture – they were handmade with her usual expertise for a family member. They have been priced accordingly.

Anna Vintageaholic X

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Follow our new channel on You Tube 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6opicXJ3SE

Anna Vintageaholic X

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Vintageaholic.Com Hardy Amies A British Vintage Legacy

The British couturier and tailor Hardy Amies needs no introduction.

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A vastly respected tailor based in London’s Savile Row, the early history of his business is as fascinating as the man himself.  

Early life and early success

Hardy Amies was born in London in the summer of 1909 to a mother who was a saleswoman for the dressmakers Machinka and May.

He showed an interest in fashion as well as a talent for languages. It was his natural ability to describe a dress that captured the attention of Laschasse couture house in London.  

A fast climb to success ensued: by the time he was 25 he was managing director. By the time he was 30, he designed the entire collection and had moved on to the House of Worth, another famous London couture house.  

Military intelligence or fashion?

When World War 2 broke out he was recruited into military intelligence. He rose to the challenge but never gave up his true love of tailoring.  

During the war he became part of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers where designers like Norman Hartnell – the Queen’s tailor – and Bianca Mosca designed Utility clothes under the ‘Couture Scheme.’  

War Time Utility Scheme – CC41

IncSoc, as it was known, famously designed attractive and affordable clothes conforming to the government’s Utility Scheme.  

This was a way of designing and making clothing that met rationing restrictions. Cloth, other materials essential to clothing manufacture and even zips were rationed. Clothes designed under the scheme had a label called CC41.  

Couture as a business still happened under these restrictions but non-utility clothes were classed as a luxury item and taxed heavily. Only the very rich could afford the prices that tailoring and couture required during the war. 

The 1940s

After the war ended in 1946, Virginia the Countess of Jersey, Cary Grant’s first wife, gave the money to Hardy Amies to set up his bespoke tailoring business at 14 Saville Row.

Couture Post War

Clothes rationing was still in place in the UK making the work of couturiers a challenge. Despite this his talent shone through. 

Look at this suit in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It was made 2 years after the war ended in 1947.  

He cleverly created this outfit keeping to the restrictions that dictated how clothes should be designed and used the minimum of fabric.  

Amies: the man

Amies’s character was as renowned as his designs: “Imperious, arrogant and pompous but saved by a good sense of humour.”

He could be scathing and used his British wit to be highly critical of what he viewed as fashion mistakes in others.

”A woman’s day clothes must look equally as good at Salisbury Station as at the Ritz Bar”, he said and he carried that belief into his designs.  

Tailoring technique

His meticulous attitude was an intrinsic part of his tailoring technique.

A client’s preferences for a style were listened to, their measurements were always taken and there were up to three fittings before an item was hand finished.   

Tailors always know the truth of a person’s waistline! 

A Hardy Amies item fitted like a glove. Fabrics were often high quality wool and silk and looked quintessentially British. 

Amies and The New Look

Amies took on board the influence of Dior’s post-war ‘New Look’ which burst into the fashion scene in 1947.  

Contentious and attention seeking, the New Look was all about Paris wanting to re-establish itself as the fashion capital of the world after it was decimated during Nazi occupation.  

New Look and Amies – a natural fit

Amies and the New Look seemed a natural fit. He believed that the waist in women’s jackets should be cut lower than conventional fashion dictated, for instance.

The exaggerated femininity of the cut and line of the Parisian trend fitted his tailoring techniques to a tee.  

Amies embraced it, incorporating the changed fashion into his designs. 

Couture – the design process

When Hardy Amies designed the early 1950s jacket we have for sale he would have first measured and listened to the client who made an appointment at 14 Saville Row. 

She wanted something tailor made by the best of British couture. 

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She was probably a woman with more conventional taste and didn’t want the full New Look which required padding over the hips and shoulders to render the look complete.  

He would have shown his designs in picture form and she would have discussed how she wanted her jacket to look. 

Then they would have selected the fabric both inside and out.  

You can really see the influence of the New Look in the design of this jacket!

Toile or practice jacket

A toile, or practice jacket, would have been made from a cheaper fabric to test the pattern and fit.

Then the real jacket would have been crafted and adjusted to the owner’s body and specifications.  

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Despite those limitations Amies designed this jacket with a nipped in waist and an emphasis on the hips.  

This was inherited from the New Look but made with the Hardy Amies signature combination of cut, cloth and flair.

1950s onwards

In 1950s the wartime clothes rationing in the UK came to an end and designers heaved a sigh of relief. 

Fashions became more opulant and playful and Amies established his ready to wear collection.  

In the 50s he was vice-chairman and then chairman of IncSoc and his business grew and grew into the massive tailoring brand it is today. 

He was Queen Elizabeth’s official dressmaker for 50 years and firmly established the idea that women’s fashion could have its roots in men’s tailoring. 

But it’s his early work that firmly roots him in the annals of fashion history. 

From then until the current day his brand has been known world wide as the upper crust of British tailoring. 

Exceptional Vintage Couture

All hail Hardy, the king of British couture!

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Anna Vintageaholic X

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Designing A Love Story – The Sound Of Music

Celebrating its 50 year birthday this year, The Sound Of Music, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer is an 174 minute nun-singing,  Austrian mountain - climbing,  edelweiss adoring love story between the naïve nanny Maria and a lonely widower Captain Georg Von Trapp.

Maria never wore pink in the film!

Set in 1939 at the outbreak of World War 2, the film spawned thousands of sing-a-long showings and as many fancy dress outfits.  It’s become as well known for its costumes as much as its timeless songs and made stitching clothes from curtains A OK!

We take a look at Julie Andrew’s costumes. They cleverly tell the duckling to swan story of Maria and her awakening in the arms of Captain Georg Von Trapp.

Join us in our journey through our favourite things.

The designer …

Dorothy Jeakins, costume designer for the film said she enjoyed designing costumes for period films more than modern. She made the clothes as authentic as possible, even down to having bows and buttons instead of zippers.

Maria’s wardrobe …

She has a novice outfit, two travelling costumes, pretty dresses, a nightdress and a wedding dress. Quite a wardrobe for a young lady to have!

Opening scene …

Roaming the mountains and singing into the air in the opening scene has Maria in long black dress with a white apron. It’s a little bit like a nun’s habit, but not quite.

Her face stands out above these drab clothes – telling us that even though she’s in a convent, she is really about her music and singing.

Leaving the convent …

Leaving a convent is a big decision. Maria exits carrying a battered suitcase and a guitar and wearing a rough looking and badly fitting skirt, halo hat – yes that’s a hat that is a halo - and jacket.

The poor didn’t want the clothes, so Maria took them.

This outfit shows how humble and unconcerned she is and makes The Captain’s attraction to her more profound.

Julie Andrews still made this outfit look stylish, though, partly down to her fantastic slender figure. You can tell she’s a women underneath.

Like Marilyn Monroe, she’d look good wearing a sack!

Her love rival …

Every good love story has to have a rival and the worldly Baroness Schraeder is the exact opposite to Maria in every way.

Dripping with bourgoise elegance and impeccable upper class extravagance, she looks like the type of woman Maria would never want to turn into or could be.

Maria wears clothes that are more like the children’s clothes. She’s on their side, as free as the children and almost as young. This is true of what she wears all the way through the film right up until the marriage ceremony.

The Captain has a choice. A woman who looks and wears a million dollars or a woman who is a million dollars on the inside.

A few of her favourite things …

Her nightie is as virginal as you can get. Buttoned up to the neck and showing nothing of her figure, it’s a hint of the change that is to come.

Wearing it during the emotional thunderstorm scene she gets an idea to use curtains as play clothes.

When she next wears white it is for her wedding, but a few more changes to her clothes has to take place first.

As she falls in love …

As Maria falls in love with The Captain, her clothes change with the biggest transformation taking place after she returns to the Von Trapp family home. 

Becoming more feminine and attractive they are made from light coloured and bright fabrics but they still look different and gauche in comparison with Baroness Schraeder.

Do re mi, Maria. Having made the children clothes out of old curtains, she looks like she’s done the same for her outfit too.

She’s far away from the type of woman Georg Von Trap appears to want to marry.

Or is she …

You can practically see the electricity crackling between them when they dance in this scene.

Maria’s soft chiffon dress looks like petals on a beautiful flower – and she’s blossoming as well.

That wedding scene …

Julie Andrews said in all of her films, she’d never felt more beautiful than she did in the silk wedding dress she wore for that tear-jerking scene.

As grand and theatrical as the cathedral she is marrying in, it’s a different kind of white from the colour on the nun’s habits.

This shows she’s decided she’s made of earthly stuff, rather than godly.

The honeymoon …

The Nazi’s are all around them and she and her new husband decide to escape.

How different she looks in this scene. She is a grown up married woman discussing the seriousness of the escape which is underlined in this chartreuse skirt suit.

Her taste has grown up too.

The escape …

Maria is the perfect wife and mother to the children.

Returning to her style from early on in the film we see how much she’s changed and yet in her practical clothes how right she is to climb every mountain for the flight to freedom.

How striking Maria’s clothes are in The Sound Of Music – they say everything about her as a woman.

The other costumes are just as iconic. One of the curtain outfits was recently sold for a staggering $7,500 in auction!

We love the lederhosen and dirndl skirts but for us it is Maria’s transformation that makes The Sound Of Music complete.

Anna Vintageaholic X

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Vintageaholic Footwear: Shoes, glorious shoes!

At Vintageaholic.com towers we’ve been admiring the marvellous foot fashion we have for sale.

Take a look and drool - each pair looks so good and tells it’s own story about fashion history.

Rayne Ltd - shoes fit for the Queen

Queen Elizabeth is a fashion icon in her own right. Championing British designers like Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies she buys shoes made by H M Rayne Ltd who made these fabulous classy leather 1970s size 8 shoes. 

Princess Diana and The Queen Mother wore Rayne Ltd shoes too. 

You can see the Royal Seal in the photo! 

In the Vintage marketplace shoes from Rayne Ltd are highly sought after and have considerable collectible value.

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Top end and high class shoes designed with the British woman in mind. These shoes are the very best of British.

Buying these shoes means you are wearing footwear fit for a queen.

Fancetti – Italian 1980s fashion at it’s best

Fancetti was part of the Italian tradition that makes footwear by Fendi, Gucci and Prada grab your attention on the runways of Milan.  

The Italian footwear design legacy can’t be underestimated. Aways made in high quality leather and often using unusual colours and designs these size 4 ½ / 37 Fancetti stilletto style shoes show 1980s Italian design at it’s best.

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Not too high or with too pointy a toe, they are utterly wearable even today. Bellissimo!

1960s satin black and diamante pumps

In the UK in the 1960s square toed shoes reigned supreme. Designers raised the heel of the flat pumps from the 50s and added features like buckles to the front.

These gorgeous shoes are made for the evening. With two rows of diamantes at the outer edge  – imagine wearing them with a boho maxi or mod mini skirt and then look down.

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Glittering, sparkly, eye catching. So smart and so very cool too!

Go-go 1980s stilettos

The fashion conscious girl in the early 1980s wore stiletto heels and pointy shoes. Made by the famous British high street retailer Dolcis, these are an unusual maroon or reddish brown colour and are in almost perfect condition.

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So utterly on trend for the ‘80s revival you will stand out in these true vintage 1980s shoes.

Navy blue – classic through and through

Clarks shoes are about as British as you can get. Established in 1825 they have manufactured high quality shoes ever since.

The trend for blue and white shoes borrows from nautical fashions and always looks classic and stylish.

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These low heeled classy shoes have never been worn and are as good as they were when they were first made. They come with the original box as well.

So unusual and so desirable on the Vintage marketplace!

Check out more of our Vintage fashions in our online store here

Anna Vintageaholic X

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True Vintage - Introducing 1930s Women's Fashion

Before the 30s 

To understand 1930s fashion, you have to understand the 1920s. The economic boom in the roaring 20s influenced fashion greatly.

This era of excess saw expensive fabrics like silk used routinely and hemlines shot up – a sign of economic prosperity. Flapper fashion in the ‘20s firmly drew a line under the stern Victorian look of 20 years previously.

Early 1930s - showing the influence of the flapper style in the 20s

The Big Change..

Extravagance was curtailed by the Wall Street Crash in October 1929. What followed in America was the Great Depression, a time of enormous hardship and poverty. 

Throughout the western world the Crash affected the fashion trade from availability of fabrics to price of manufacture.  It also affected the public spirit enormously.

1931 Jaeger Skirt Suits 

Utilitarian But Feminine

Fashion design became more sombre and utilitarian.   Whereas in the 20s you changed clothes throughout the day dependent on what you were doing – dressing for dinner for instance - in the 1930s that went by the wayside. In the early half of the decade women wore one good outfit throughout the day and hem lines shot down ending at mid-calf.

Modelling fashions at Ascot in Brisbane, AUS, 1935

One Good Suit

Women started to “make do and mend” – a phrase that became famous in the second world war to describe patching, reworking or saving clothes rather than buying new ones.

Women wore skirts all the time and smart skirt suits were very popular.

This signified the progressive movement of women in the workplace, borrowing from the tailoring of men’s suits. Coats were either belted at the waist or hanging straight from the shoulders and finishing at mid calf length.  

1934 Dresses

1932 Fashions

Hair and Hats...

Short, boyish hair with pin curls was seen at the beginning of the 30s. By the time 1933 came around, hats were worn by every woman.

Throughout the decade wavy or curly mid length hairstyles reflected the place of the hat in fashion.  

Gloves were teamed with hats and were essential to accessorise outfits, shorter ones for day time and longer ones for night.

Wear U Well Shoe Catalogue

Shoes

Shoes were mid height with a 2-3 inch heel.

Conventionally laced up at the front they finished far up the foot, sometimes with a T Bar and often with the leather punching borrowed from the style of men’s brogues.

Hollywood!

The 1930s reclaimed the feminine look lost in the boyish flapper style of the 1920s.

The glamour of Hollywood became a huge influence with Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford carving out their own looks which in turn influenced the everyday woman.  

Despite the actress Marlene Dietrich wearing men’s suits,  trousers were not worn by women everyday until working culture was shaken up by the second world war. 

Marlene Dietrich 1935 

Looking Like A Star

Every girl desired the Hollywood look and this particularly played out in the designs for evening wear…more on that later!

The Women Film Poster - dripping with 1930s fashion

Film Stars of The 1930s

Cinema entered the Golden Age.

With famous faces like Clark Gable and leading ladies Deanna Durbin, Mary Carlisle, Hedy Lamarr and Raquel Torres and the greats like Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford and the often nearly naked Jean Harlow, the silver screen was as influential then as the TV screen is today.

Broad Shoulders

Shoulder pads makes you think of the 1980s – but shoulder pads were more fashionable in the 1930s. Shoulder silhouettes broadened and waists got tighter and cinched in giving an inverted triangular look.  Skirts were cut to lightly flare from the thighs.

Still from The Women

Bras and beaches

Before the 30s corsetry was ubiquitous but in this decade, underwear relaxed as did beachwear.  Bra sizing changed and we first saw the A, B, C, D cup sizes that we know today.   Women usually wore an all in one girdle but towards the end of the decade bras and half girdles were more popular.

Evening glamour

Evening wear was always floor length. It was often cut with a low back – a very sexy look inspired by Hollywood. If it had a real or artificial flower on the shoulder it was very de rigueur. Fabric was often cut on the bias, in velvet or satin. The shimmering looks seen on screen were desired by the everyday woman, inspired by the beauty and powerhouse of the Hollywood beauties.   Towards the end of the decade empire line clothes - ones where the bodice finishes below the bust – came into fashion and were often tied at the back.

McCalls Evening Wear Advert 1930

Fabrics and prints

Fabrics for everyday or colder weather were typically thick and in natural darker fabrics. Light floral, polka dots and abstract patterns in cotton, silk or the new artificial rayon were particularly used in pretty summer dresses.

1936 Polka Dot Dresses

Bodice Styles

Until 1938 and 1939 bodices were worn high and fastened with collars or bows but these started to change at the end of the decade, showing a bit more  decolletage. House dresses – that were worn around the home and were informal or tea dresses really showed feminine flair.

1939 Mail Order Catalogue

Enduring Look

The enduring 1930s look is the long line and clinging silhouette with figure hugging fabric. Utterly feminine and gorgeous we still hark back to these dresses to design clothes today.

1939 dresses

Fashion Milestones

Use of synthetics like rayon 1935 - Zips replaced hooks and eyes 1932 - Bra sizing changed: A, B, C, D. 1938 – invention of nylon stockings Hollywood a more important influence than Paris Hats an essential fashion accessory Mid length and tailored or floor length and clinging Outfits not items  

1939 Fashion

Designers

Coco Chanel via her costume design for film stars at United Artists. Elsa Schiaparelli Mainbocher Patou Lanvin Madeleine Vionnet Salvatore Ferragamo

1935 Mainbocher 

We hope you've enjoyed this tour around 1930s fashions!

Anna X

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What Is True Vintage Clothing?

The word Vintage used to conjur up images of posh sounding experts, expensive wine bottles and musty dark cellars like RobertDanvers, the wine connoisseur played by Peter Sellers in the 1970 film comedy There’s A Girl In My Soup.

True Vintage is…

Vintage also means a period of history that runs from the end of the antique era – before the 1920s – to 20 years before the present day.

Vintage defines the clothes that were made during that time and also the culture that has grown up around it.  

To view this dress click here 

What’s special about the Vintage era…

In the 70 years of the Vintage era, clothing manufacture changed completely and the way we bought and wore clothing altered alongside it.  

Whereas beforehand it was usual for women to either make their own clothes or have them made for them, by the time Mary Quant was designing in the 1960s it was commonplace that women and men went to shops to buy clothing instead.

From home seamstresses – or Kitchen Couturiers as we call them – to big factories churning out mass produced clothing at low prices, the Vintage era brings with it hundreds of different clothing styles, designs, designers and labels from across the globe.

To view this dress click here 

Vintage fashions

The Vintage era saw fashions change radically. 

Think of the difference between the 1950s, when women wore outfits inspired by France’s New Look, to the 1980s when women wore a wide variety of different styles inspired by clubs, music, workout gear and men’s tailoring.

To view this skirt click here 

In the 1980s there was a fashion trend when people went back to the 50s by wearing Levi’s 501s jeans.

Although a pair of 1980s Levi 501s would now be considered Vintage, in the 80s they were retro.

How do I know something is true Vintage?

Anyone selling Vintage clothing should be able to accurately date the item they are offering for sale.

You can always check with them before you buy that they’ve done their homework and like us, it’s properly Vintage when they say it’s Vintage.

To view this dress click here 

Can I trust the item description?

Think about buying a second hand car. You’d be careful that you are spending your money on a car that is what it says it is when it is advertised. 

Well, buying Vintage clothing is no exception.

With buying second hand cars, you’ll have a log book to look at. Vintage clothing retailers should be able to provide you with the reasons why they say an item is true Vintage – we do!

To view this jacket click here 

Vintage style / retro

The Vintage era had some memorable fashions associated with it that people have copied and made.

“Vintage style” or “retro” clothing describes clothes that are modern but borrows from the style of the Vintage era.

Vintage style and retro is not true Vintage.  

To view this jacket click here 

Vintage value

The value of Vintage clothing depends on a lot of factors. Some things to consider are:

·       Label ·       Condition ·       Rarity ·       Quality of manufacture ·       Desirability

Vintage retailers like us apply their knowledge of fashion and the Vintage marketplace to price their items accordingly.

Vintage clothing is highly collectable and usually a one-off. That’s part of what  makes shopping for Vintage so exciting and unique.

Take care of your purchase - think of it as an investment and a future antique. 

I’m happy to answer your questions if you have them.  

Come back for more guides about Vintage clothing!

Anna X

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Vintage Fashion: What We Wore At The 1999 Eclipse

On Friday morning at 8:30 am Great Britain will be plunged into darkness due to a partial solar eclipse. Exciting!

Eclipses are rare in the UK - the last one was on 10th August 1999.  People flocked to Cornwall in the South West of our Island to watch the sky eerily darken.

It happenedin the heat of summer and heralded the start of the last few months of the last year of the 20thCentury. The millenium was a hop, skip and jump away.

What were we wearing while the last eclipse happened…

Take a tour around our stellar collection of fashions from 1999.

1999 started in style with Lisa Evangalisa on the front cover of January Vogue. 

Flourescent colours were very ‘in’ in 1999 and the orange typeface reflects that fashion.

Here’s the fashion editor and all-round avant garde dresser Isabella Blow showing how to rock that look in this figure hugging one piece and surprisingly demure accessories in Paris in 1999.

Whether you were a guy or a gal, you had cargo pants in your wardrobe.

Inspired by army gear and made famous by British girl band All Saints, they were flattering to any figure including if you were pregnant like band member Melanie Blatt.

They also meant you didn’t have to take a handbag with you – all those pockets did the job nicely!

Clubbing hard at home or in Ibiza meant you had to have outfits to match.

Here’s one rep working hard at a club on the Island in 1999.

You might not have worn them during the day, but inside all of us was a fluffy bra wearing woman that came out at night!

Hair was boring if you hadn’t dyed it a bright colour…

Pink was all the rage. Here’s Kate Moss strutting her stuff on the Spring / Summer Versace catwalk that year.

Versace’s influence was total. The shiny metallic print you see on the front of her dress was seen everywhere from the high street to high fashion.

What about Posh n’ Becks?

Our soon-to-be national treasure, Victoria Beckham was waiting in the wings of fashion shows worldwide.

The Spice Girls broke up in 1998. With that Posh Spice married her footballer pro-beau David Beckham and started her trajectory towards fashion stardom.

Here she is in 1999 in an informal shot showing the fashion for zipped up fitted jackets with mandarin collars that were worn that year.

Last but not least, posh frocks for the evening or special occasions are summed up in this spectacular outfit worn by Cate Blanchett at the 1999 Oscars.

The look for long line, mid length spaghetti strap dresses was everywhere.

Made by John Galliano for Dior it glistened and gleamed and hugged her figure beautifully.

We hope you’ve liked our looks from our retro 1999 collection. 

Here’s a Vintage belt from the 90s that you can buy at our Etsy store.

Click here to view this and other Vintage items in our store

Remember to wearsolar glasses if you are watching the eclipse tomorrow. 

Shades don’t come more fashionable than this ;-)

Anna X

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Vintage Weddings - We Adore The Celebrity Dresses!

When spring arrives our thoughts turn to summer weddings and dreamy visions of brides in knockout dresses.

Celebrity vintagewedding dresses are both iconic and timeless, inspiring many copies and homagesto the original designers over the generations since.

From Audrey Hepburn to Marilyn Monroe, here are our selection of the most stand-outvintage and vintage inspired wedding dresses of all time.

Get ready for our list and guess what - the bride didn’t always wear white!

Let’s start with expert retro. ‘The Good Shepherd’ film starred Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie in a plot about spying set in the early 1960s. Here’s a picture of Madame Jolie “marrying” Matt wearing a dress designed by costumier Ann Roth.

With a low neckline, slinky silk slip and slightly structured cap sleeve it looks more 1930s than 1960s which makes this outfit doubly retro as the film was made in 2006!

 The eternally beautiful Audrey Hepburn stayed close to her signature style when she married American actor Mel Ferrer in 1959.  Wearing Balmain, the dress mirrors that worn by Kate Middleton with it’s demure lines, close fitting bodice, nipped in waist and full skirt.

Hepburn adored wearing her favourite designer Hubert de Givenchy – he designed that dress in the poster for ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’ – but we like this one because it shows her before she became the world star we loved her for and her beauty at it’s most natural.

In 1986,  the year after her husband’s global fundraising success with Live Aid,  the late Paula Yates married rocker Bob Geldof in Las Vegas.

Wearing a river of red designed by Jasper Conran OBE, godfather to her their daughter Fifi Trixibelle, she looked stunning.  We think this dress proved how stupendously she broke the mould in everything she did.

RIP Paula. She may be gone but like this dress, she is never forgotten.

Famous American comedienne Lucille Ball married Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz in 1940 when she wore a black skirt suit appropriate to the times of austerity.  They had a church wedding in 1949 where she wore this intricate and lacey light blue gown.

The affair of  Edward, Prince of Wales and American divorcee Wallis Simpson rocked the nation and ended his reign as monarch of Great Britain. Their romance was as long lasting as his decision to abdicate the throne.

Here they are at their wedding at the Chateau de Cande in 1937.

Wallis Simpson was small and slender.  Her suit designed by Mainbocher was made in ‘Wallis blue’ to match her eyes and showed off her figure impeccably. Her hat and gloves by Caroline Reboux matched her dress perfectly.

You can buy our sheer blue gloves for some Wallis Simpson vintage inspiration.

 Click here to see them in our store

Fast forward to 1967 when ‘One Million Years BC’ star Raquel Welch married Patrick Curtis in this thigh skimming mini crocheted dress.

It takes the right woman to buck tradition in such an ultra-trendy outfit but she did it with as much panache as she did when she made the doe skin bikini famous.

As sexy as this on your wedding day, outrageous!

The parents of SVU actor Mariska Hargitay knew how to work their assets.

In 1958 blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield and Mr Universe body builder Mickey Hargitay looked as if they were poured into their wedding outfits and wow! what a good looking pair they made.

 While we are talking about pouring into dresses and blonde bombshells,  let’s take a look at Marilyn’s 1956 wedding outfit to author and playwright Arthur Miller.

Her stunning looks shine through the lace as much as her adoration. It was every bit as Marilyn as her other famous outfits…

…including the one worn with Jane Russell in a scene in the quintessentially glam musical from 1953 ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’.

No spoilers if you haven’t seen it yet, but it’s a must see for the music, the sassy one liners and the stunning outfits designed by William Travilla.

We can’t mention celebrity weddings without mentioning British beauty Elizabeth Taylor.

She married fellow actor Richard Burton, husband number 5 twice – this is the canary yellow chiffon outfit she wore to the first ceremony in 1964.

It was designed by the film Cleopatra’s costume designer Irene Sharaff.  Taylor met Burton on the set of Cleopatra.

She famously said that she didn’t remember much about the film as there were “other things going on.”

Vintageaholic.com is a British based company and so we finish our list with one of the most well known British stars well loved for her singing voice in the 60s and 70s and her TV stardom since.

Liverpudlian Cilla Black married her manager Bobby Willis in 1969 in the most famous musical city in the world from the era.

First married in a red velvet dress designed by popular fashion designer John Bates, she did it again mini-style in an white ostrich feather lined dress and white boots a few weeks later in a Catholic wedding for family and friends.

She said the clamour of the crowds was “smashing” which is Liverpudlian for OMG, amazing!

Cilla has been a part of the British landscape ever since. Her trademark humour first made famous by the Fab Four makes her a national treasure.

Well done, Cilla. You are part of the style that makes Britain truly British.

We’ve got tonnes of vintage and vintage style clothes and accessories for sale at our store.

Check out the links below and enjoy browsing your favourites from Vintageaholic.com.  

Anna X

Browse and buy in our Vintage clothes shop on Etsy here

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The Oscars Of The Past: Our Favourite Vintage Outfits from Vintageaholic.com

What's YOUR favourite Oscar outfit! We drool, lust and desire the LOVELY clothes worn on the red carpet at the world's most famous awards ceremony. 

In honour of the history of the ceremony that people look at as much for the dresses as the awards, we thought we'd post some of our faves...

Here we go! In no particular order:

Edith Head, the film studio's costume designer often designed the clothes worn for the awards ceremonies. 

In 1970 Elizabeth Taylor, accompanied by Richard Burton arrived wearing this oh-so-sexy low cut gown designed to match her violet eyes by her too. 

Alluring and eye wateringly low cut, she looks as classy as the diamond necklace she wore, worth thousands of pounds. All hail this British beauty! 

Diane Keaton famously wore androgynous clothing off set and in the Woody Allen film Annie Hall was allowed to dress in her own clothes - something that made the costume designer furious! 

She did the same accepting her Oscar in 1978. Good on you Diane - who says the boy-look can't look stunning in front of the world's cameras! 

Beyonce arrive at the 2009 Oscar ceremony wearing a gown designed for her fashion label House of Dereon. With a hint of Versace glamour it is a smashing nod to her curves, with the fish tail and bodice lending some structured glamour. 

Cher has always been known for her big personality and fashion sense to match. Think of THAT video for If I Could Turn Back Time - who else would get away with sitting on a big gun on the deck of a ship that way. 

So we shouldn't have been too surprised at her taking it one step further for the 1986 Oscars when she announced Best Supporting Actor wearing this Bob Mackie outfit. 

And here's her sticking two fingers up - in the nicest possible way - to the Oscar Panel about what she is wearing. 

Cher - don't go changing - we adore your 'tude, man! 

Our list of most memorable outfits - and memorable ladies - doesn't stop there. 

Another lady who marches to her own tune is the fabulously quirky Icelandic singer Bjork. 

She stole the show in this dress by Marjan Pejoski at the 2001 awards. We can't remember any other dresses from that year, hers was so unusual. 

The image of her in the swan dress has lasted over the years since!

Changing the temperature back towards the classics, Gwyneth Paltrow accepted her award in 1999 in Ralph Lauren. 

So sweet a color and so elegant for an actress still in the early days of her glittering career. 

But it was Julia Roberts in 2001 who took everyone's breath away wearing this vintage Valentino gown. 

Setting the tone of culture and elegance just right,  her choice breathed a freshness to the fashions worn at the ceremony. 

We think cemented the world's love affair with vintage fashion as a whole. 

But it is probably the most enduring and iconic actress who wore our favourite gown. 

The ever beautiful Audrey Hepburn wore this Givenchy dress to the 1954 Oscars. 

We don't think we can add any more, our breaths are taken away. 

Look, dream and adore this gorgeous number!

Anna X

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1950s Debcraft Shirt USA : Harnessing New Synthetics - Vintage Blog

It's hard to think about a time when synthetic fabrics weren't part of our everyday living - think about a world without Lycra, for instance! But until World War 2 fabrics like Nylon weren't common - tights hadn't even been invented.  

Women wore silk stockings but silk was in very short supply because it was rationed due to the war. 

British ladies used gravy browning and eyeliner to fake the look of stockings on their legs. You need a steady hand to apply them. ;-)

When America entered the war, it was far ahead of the UK in inventing and using synthetic fabrics like Rayon and Nylon.

British ladies wanted nothing more than a GI to give them a pair of Nylons freshly flown over the Atlantic. It was the American nylons that later turned into nylon stockings and then the tights that we know today!

Nylon wasn't only for stockings though. Companies like Debcraft harnessed the potential of mass producing designs for clothing that could be moulded in different ways than natural fabrics. 

We've got an amazing 1950s Debcraft shirt for sale. 

Debcraft was an American label established prior to 1945.

It delivered off the peg womens wear cleverly harnessing the design potential of synthetic fabrics that had become so popular in World War 2.

They were sold in the USA in department stores and outlets. They are always distinctive and show an understanding of the possibilities from the early days of the brand. 

Look at the way the pleats tuck into the bodice – that’s clever design.

Debcraft designs are flexible and always on trend and fashionable. Because they were so fashionable they can be dated easily by looking at the current design for the era and matching to the blouse.

A very similar blouse has been sold on the Vintage marketplace from the early 1950s and that is the era for this design also. Snap! 

A blouse in such good condition over 50 years old – bloomin’ marvellous!

Buy it in Sterling (GBP) on Etsy by clicking here

Buy it in Dollars on Zibbet by clicking here 

We can see why someone kept this in such good condition for years!

This is a highly original item and is unlikely to be duplicated or sourced elsewhere.

 Anna X

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British Vintage: English Eccentrics Shirt For Sale

English Eccentrics was a textile design label founded in London in 1982 by sisters Helen and Judy Littman.

And we're so thrilled to list a shirt from their 1988 collection for sale at our vintage shop Vintageaholic.com!

It took us on a journey exploring the legacy of the English Eccentrics label. We found out what makes our shirt exclusive and eye catching as well as an example of the Best of British artisan design. 

English Eccentrics exploded into the international fashion scene in the early 1980s alongside their contemporaries Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano and Katharine Hamnett.

In a short while their work became world renowned. Examples are on permanent display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Designing mostly on silk due to its ability to absorb dyes and dazzle in a vast range of colours, English Eccentrics are known for their eclectic fabrics and accessible outlook towards clothes design.

Helen said:

“My aim in designing is that the clothes and accessories we produce are fun to wear and help to make any woman look wonderful be she overweight, over eighty, or a fashion model.” This shirt we have for sale is a perfect example.

Look at the beautiful design, the colors and the skill that went into producing this shirt!

Starting their business with hand printing onto fabrics, in the late 1980s Helen and Judy focussed on designing and printing scarves.

The same designs for scarves were taken into a small range of shirts and waistcoats. You can see how Mick Jagger, Prince and Paul McCartney wore their English Eccentrics shirts in the photo below.

Helen was inspired by travel, ideas about the mind and green issues, you can see the influence of the scarf fabric in this Grecco-Roman shirt – one of their famous ‘myth’ designs.

This shirt was designed for Spring / Summer 1988. The design is called “Empire” and the colour way – the colours used in printing the design was in black.

We think the golds and greys sing out from the shirt, so glorious is the depth of the dyes absorbed into the fabric. 

We contacted Colin David's studio to ask him more about the shirt on sale. He was lovely to interview. He told us a bit more about the name of the shirt and the colour way used in the design and print. 

He also sent us a picture Toyah Wilcox, the famous singer songwriter, wearing the tunic version of the shirt in 1988. Here it is!

It suits her - it is bright, bold and distinctive. Wearing it shows the best of British textile print in motion.

The lure of the flamboyant designs takes a strong personality to carry them off - so we can see why the rich and famous in the world of performance have always been attracted to English Eccentrics' designs. 

We have been very inspired by Helen Littman's textile art and the shirt takes pride of place in our collection. 

Colin and Helen David are now working with new and established artists at The Scarf Gallery . The project means they work with printed scarves being created by a new generation.

It is exciting that they are nurturing new talent and entirely appropriate as it was such a signature of English Eccentrics as a textile design company. 

English Eccentrics is a highly collectible label due to the intricate, hand printed and hand made designs. This is a collectors item through and through.

Whoever owns it will be buying into the history of British fashion. Take good care of it! 

Anna X

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Treasured Vintage and Antiques on Etsy - Gorgeous Gifts.

For you Vintage and antique lovers out there who haven't discovered Etsy yet you are in for a treat. 

Etsy.com is the global marketplace for artisans, vintage sellers and traders of antiques and collectibles. 

Browsing through Etsy is like walking into an online market. Every shop has a different name and has photos and descriptions of all the lovely goodies they have for sale. 

It might be online, but its just as delightful as any browse in an antiques and vintage market. Because we have our shop - Vintageholiccom there we have been browsing and creating our most wanted finds in a Treasury List. 

When you arrive in your chosen shop you are greeted by the shopkeeper telling you about themselves and then a list of little pictures of what's on sale. 

The little pictures are such a tempting thing for a Vintage lover because they give you a glimpse of the goodies and oh there are so very many of them!

While your finger hovers over the click button you imagine all sort of things.

You think about where the piece of china you like originated. Was it American, English or from a far flung place you've barely heard of.

Does this go in your living room or would it match your friend's color scheme at home perfectly. 

And the jewelry is so eye catching. Who wore the unusual 1930s brooch you've discovered on page 4 of the shop's listings and which coat or blouse can you wear the leaf brooch with. 

You can't draw your eyes away from brooch called Aurora Borealis! You can see the dancing horizon lights in the colors glowing in the gold setting. 

You feel yourself drawn in by the unique beauty of each thing for sale and your resolve not to spend too much  is weakening. 

Which occasion could you wear these lustrous pearls and the 50s-60s hexagonal shades with a lovely green lens. You know they'd look amazing with the 1950s dress at the back of your closet. 

And the bizarre and unusual are there as well. Clara Bow photographed in a surreal picture on a beach with boxing gloves. Fantastic!

A macrame hanging that is so 1970s it could be part of a TV or film set. 

And its not just the pretty, feminine or unusual things that draw you in. There are the items that the man in your life would go weak at the knees to own. 

Russian telephones in bleak white or a hardback 1946 copy of Ulysses by James Joyce. 

And the dressmakers and craftspeople in your life are catered for too.

This lace collar is intricately made and speaks to the generations of craftspeople who learned and made and passed on their talents in houses over the centuries. 

Your kids can own an illustration from a children's book and play at translating it back into the French where it originated. 

By the time you've clicked on the item you have fallen in love with it and are working out who in your life would appreciate it or where it can fit in your wardrobe, living room or kitchen.

Each of them has the "I know just the person who'd like that" factor. 

Perfectly in time for Christmas a month away. 

Browse the stores selling my wonderful finds here!

Anna X

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1990 - 1995 The New Vintage Era

We were having a mini-argument at Vintageaholic this week. It wasn't a big argument but it was fierce. It started because Etsy is including the early 1990s as 'Vintage' in their listings. 

What's so wrong with that? Well some people think of the Vintage scene starting around about 1920 and finishing around about 1970. Vintage clothing traditionally includes the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Even the 1970s seems 'a bit modern - but OK we'll accept it'. 

It doesn't seem possible that the 1980s and any part of the 1990s could be included. The big surprise is that it now is!

Over on our Facebook page and in my Facebook stream our friends either couldn't believe that 1990 - 1995 could now be termed Vintage or jumped up and down in delight. 

We decided we'd set up a new Facebook group dedicated to buying and selling clothes from 1990 - 1995. Here it is - you can join too. 

So what's the most memorable fashions from the early 1990s? No-one can forget the influence of grunge and rave. Big T Shirts with smiley faces on them or DM shoes and long skirts and hair. 

We've recently listed a 1990s Denim Jacket from the British Brand Warehouse which we think sums up the retro 70s look so well. 

Here is is 

We love the back because it shows how cleverly cut the jacket is. All that shaping and darts makes a to-die-for 70s retro look bang in the 1990s. 

Most of all though it was a period of time where fashions today started to show through and there was a lot of fun in street fashions too. 

Everyone, and we mean everyone, wanted to bleach their hair. Striped sweaters were worn by Freddie Krueger and Kurt Cobain and all Nirvana's grunge followers. 

Reef sandals were on your feet especially if you were off to explore or work in Australia because Neighbours the TV series made you want to go, the coolest thing you could do to yourself was get a tongue piercing and you wore your baseball cap backwards. 

It was fun and some of the clothing deserves to be new Vintage. Watch this space for more juicy 90s fashions to come too. 

Anna X

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