Shop opens!

I have been a busy bee of late sewing and setting up shop online. I have been working on some lovely bows to start up my shop with. The shop is ultimately going to stock hand-picked vintage items, reinvented vintage pieces as well as some vintage-inspired pieces handmade from both old and new fabrics. This is kind of a test to see where it is best to sell my threads so please have a look at the shop and see what you think!

These sweet bows are only £3 and come in a variety of colours as well as their own little handmade quirks. I hope you like them.

xxx

THE SHOP

three bands/singer that i'm loving the style of at the moment...

Diane Birch...she really makes me want to cut a fringe again, looks so good with a hat too...

The Like...

Au Revoir Simone...

By the way, all these ladies also have great music, though I have to admit I love to call some of these ensembles my own.

xxx

back in london town

I have been frightfully neglectful of the blog this past week, I do have an excuse though as I have been on a mini holiday to the Peak District with my family. I barely touched my laptop the whole time I was there, which was actually quite refreshing!

I haven't properly been through my pics but I thought I would share some highlights of the trip which included visits to stately homes such as Haddon Hall and Chatsworth House as well as vintage shops in Manchester and even the Gallery of Costume Museum....

Unfortunately these pics are great quality, I need to go through them. I hope to go into some of these places in detail, especially the Gallery of Costume (above) which was actually situated in an old Georgian building which was really lovely.

Have a gorgeous day

xxx

homemade playsuit and waffles

What a lovely weekend. Involved picnics, reading in Hyde Park, sushi, drinks in Covent Garden and even outfit photos (finally got round to it!). First off though, here is the playsuit that I made this week...

I'm really pleased with the way it came out. It never ceases to surprise me how quickly you can make a piece like this. Ok, so it takes more time than walking into a shop and buying it, but when you wear something you've made with your own fair hands, it's a real guilty pleasure.

So now you know what I look like! The pics were taken by the ever-patient Richard, you can see his flickr here. I edited these using Picnik pretty cute programme. I edited these to have a 'lomography' look which I was quite pleased with as I've always fancied a lomography camera.

Oh and these were the waffles we made Sunday morning. I think Sunday morning waffles should become a tradition, they were utterly delicious and completely over-indulgent.

xxx

sewing project complete and alice in wonderland

I have been up to way too much this week, it's been completely mad (hence lack of blog update!). I've been working, thrifting, sewing, studying, socialising, baking and drinking way too many iced lattes! Pretty exhausted, but I've finally had a much more chilled day today and therefore have been able to write this post finally!

At the beginning of the week I managed to finish the sewing project that I've been talking about in the past week. I'm so pleased with them :)

They are high-waisted and floral, two things I am loving at the moment. I was a bit naughty though and I have been wearing them even though I haven't properly finished off the seams (lucky I didn't have an embarrassing split whilst wearing them eh?). They're are by no means perfectly made but I did my best and now I want to make more in lots of different colours.

I've already started thinking about my next project; a playsuit in this fabric which I got today...

It's been so hot in London at the moment. I don't think England is equipped to deal with this hot weather! Still it's nice that we Brits can wear all these lovely summer clothes so should make the most of it whilst it lasts.

Other than sewing projects I've been acquiring a few more pieces for the store. I also went to the BFI's Mediatheque on Southbank today. I love the BFI. I was actually there to do research for my dissertation which is on Nursing Uniforms during the Second World War. I had no luck there, but found some really great silent film features. Particularly this darling one of Alice in Wonderland....

Apparently it is the first ever film version of Alice and was made 1903. I love the costumes, think it would be really interesting to see the different versions of Alice's dress through the film adaptations...maybe that should be my next sewing project, think I'm becoming obsessed with sewing now!

Night xxx 

70s romanticism

I'm sat in my room painting my nails (a gorgeous pastel pink) and intermittently listening to the new Kate Nash album and Karen Elson. Not a bad evening.

I thought I'd share my recent finds/ buys from the weekend. First off are my newly acquired Shelly's of London 70s wooden sandals...

This is following my recent post about clogs, still want some more wedge-like ones, but for my now I am content with these.

My other 70s piece that I would like to share is this 70s maxi that my Mum picked up for me in Chichester on a visit. I got it when I went back to my home this weekend, it's quite fantastical....

It really reminded me of the lovely pieces that Ossie Clark and Bill Gibb were creating back in the late 60s and 70s. 

Ossie Clark collage

Reams of glorious florals, beautiful summer days lounging seductively in an array of floating fabrics. Sounds like bliss. This might be another piece I will be putting in my Ebay store/ market stall that I have in the ethers of my mind at the moment. We'll have to see, it's pretty dreamy.

Altogether, my trip home was lovely. We had blue skies and yellow sunshine everyday. Which is rather fantastic for the British countryside. My Mum and I scavenged car boot sales and charity shops for more vintage finds for my shop-to-be. After, we all (my older brother included) enjoyed ice creams in the garden. It was lovely. I was really sad to be going back to London though. I love London, but my holiday weekend went much too fast and I'm looking forward to our proper family holiday in the coming weeks where we can all relax some more, and perhaps even go on some more vintage-scavenging adventures.

My additional  buy this weekend was July's British Vogue...

I have been a loyal Vogue reader for the past couple of years, ensuring that I don't miss a single issue. I'm rather regretting this now. In the past 6 months, I really don't know how impressed I have been with Vogue. I still enjoy the pretty pictures and the odd feature, but somehow I'm feeling less drawn to the concepts and perhaps even the fashion direction the magazine has taken. It could be that my own tastes are evolving and not the magazine. For now though I am still as loyal as ever and shall persist with Vogue but perhaps broaden my horizons and take a new magazine under my wing also.

xxx

next stages of sewing project and the stellar boutique

Last night I finally got around to cutting my pieces of fabric for my shorts. That's as far as I got because I then realise I needed interfacing (?) It might seem quite apparent to regular home dressmakers but I am clearly still learning as I hadn't a clue what the stuff was. Still, interfacing has now been researched and successfully ordered.

So this is the story thus far...

I was checking one of my favourite sites this morning (Queens of Vintage) when I came across a really inspiring interview with a newly turned online vintage seller called Stella McClure. I love the fact that she came from selling vintage at market stalls such as Portobello and Greenwich and has now turned her business online.

Naturally I checked out her new shop The Stellar Boutique. To start, it's a really well presented site, very eye-catching for a first-time buyer. Stella provides a wide selection of vintage, divided up nicely into eras which I thought made the products very accessible.

Interestingly enough though, it wasn't the vintage that caught my eye this time, instead it was these pretties...

They are so cute. I'm not a big one for jewellery, but I'll often opt for a long quirky pendant and these fit the bill perfectly. They are buy Lei Rose and the teacup is £12 and the teapot is £15. Think the teacup is the most charming though.

Well I better get on with my day now, I'm going back to my hometown tonight. I can't wait. I love London but sometimes you just need to breathe in a bit of the countryside!

ttfn

xxx