Overcast Skies

The weather recently has not been what it should be for this time of year, and my plans for wearing bright 30s outfits while sipping lemonade in my garden have been put on hold. I'm hoping that we will get some kind of summer at some point but, until we do, there is no need to let the weather dampen our spirits. 

I have been enjoying the wonderful moody colours of the clouds and the humidity and smell of the air and grass after rain. It was also an excuse to wear some knits in cosy colours and make some wholesome comfort food. You will know from my last post that I am trying to eat like they did in the 40s and 50s and so far it's going well. I have a decent breakfast of usually eggs and a simple lunch, then I make a good hearty dinner of pasta or stew or meat and veg. 

Last night however, I used my new cookbook and made a beef and vegetable pie. 

This pie is very hearty, filled with beef, potato, carrots, mushrooms and onion, and it is just what a person needs when the weather means you are cooped up inside watching "Poirot", no bad thing of course. 

This is me enjoying the excuse to go full on 40s.

This brooch is a reproduction of a novelty brooch, the kind that were popular in the late 40s-50s and was a very thoughtful gift to me. 

What you can't see here, is that my tights are the same colour as my sweater and looked very effective.

Once again I rolled my hair at the front and added a flower, it really is a simple but pretty hairstyle.

On Saturday, Alex and I are going to Staffordshirre to 1940s weekend, we are only going for the day but I hope to have lots of photos to show you. I can't wait!

                         Till next time dears xx

Book Review

Recently I recieved a package of books in the post. They were sent by my lovely parents and I thought it would make a good post by doing a review of them. 

I grew up in house with lots of brothers and sisters and now I am a mother myself, I realise just how difficult it must have been for my parents. My childhood wasn't without its problems but whose was? I have my parents to thank for an awful lot of things that shape who I am today. With loads of kids, money was tight but my mum and dad still planned days out that were fun but gave us some culture too. They would also drag us out in all weathers for picnics, walks in the country and blackberry picking. Some of my favourite memories are on damp drizzly days, holding a margarine tub for my blackberries and wetting myself at some member of the family who had just fallen in a ditch and got stung by nettles because they were determined to reach the big blackberries at the top of the bush.

The best thing my parents gave me, however, was a love of books. The tv wasn't allowed on before tea, so weekends were spent listening to the local radio and reading. This left me with a vivid imagination, an extensive knowledge of songs from the fifties onwards and a deep love of books. Books that ranged from crime fiction, to factual books and biographies, to the gentle humour of Thelwelll and the Scottish "Broons".

The books they gave me this time are factual and all about the fifties, perfect! So here is my review;

First however, I have noticed on other blogs that reviews of products come with disclaimers. Just another sad reminder of the "Sue everyone and everything" culture we live in, so here is mine: all views expressed in this blog are entirely my own and are not influenced by anyone living or dead, especially the authors of the books, their families, dogs, cats and goldfish. There, that should cover it.

As you can see I have quite a stash. Firstly a word on the cover design. They are well thought out and have the charm and feel of the decade they are specialising on, and I ask you, what vintage nut would not want to read and display these beauties?

This book is just lovely, it's cover reminds me of the fabric designs that were so popular at the time. The book itself covers all aspects of the home, from the buildings themselves to smallest details inside. I especially loved the section on space, that showed the fantastic space saving ways of arranging the home. As with all the books, there are photographs and illustrations galore. They even cover prefabs, because a lot of people were still living in them, but this didn't mean you couldn't be up to date on your fabrics and soft furnishings and some beautiful original advertisements are reprinted to show just how much emphasis was put on dragging your home out of the war years and filling it with bright bold colours and design.

These two books focus on the interior of the home. The modern design one is very interesting, it talks about the new cutting edge designs that were more streamlined and less fussy than the previous decade. Again there are lovely pictures of the bold novelty print fabrics along with ideas of paint colours to give your home a more modern look even if the furniture is out of your budget. G plan features a lot and its influence even creeps into the bedroom. These pieces of furniture were meant to be more affordable as well as adaptable to any home. The bit I found most interesting though was reading about how us Brits didn't take to the new modern designs quite as quickly as the Americans. The uncertainty of the war years meant were slightly more suspicious of the new looks and clung on to our clutter and knick knacks for just a bit longer. 

The kitchen book is a gem and focuses on the new labour saving devices that were springing up, with adverts making us wonder how on earth we managed without them for so long. Each advert comes with its own immaculately groomed, white toothed housewife gazing adoringly at the new gadget her adoring and gallant husband has just purchased for her. How times have changed, if a wife was presented with a new blender today, her husband will most probably find divorce papers stapled to his head rather than a kiss planted there! I, however want every item advertised in these books, the design is gorgeous, even the food mixer is truly beautiful to look at and I would be grinning from ear to ear too while I made a cake mix in one.

Which brings me on to this gem. I have been determined for a while to eat more like people did in the forties and fifties, I figure that not as many people were overweight back then and I'm curious to see if I can lose weight by eating more basic and wholesome foods. As a child I was ridiculously fussy ( I can imagine my parents nodding vigorously) but have made up for it in later life by being a bit of a dustbin. This book is crammed with every sort of food you could imagine. There are sauces, side dishes, desserts, soups and main meals. It covers fine dining and has recipes for the best basics such as steak pie to the ridiculously showy shrimp and eggs in aspic, ( not to sure I will be trying that one) there are so many that I will easily be able to have a varied diet based on this one book alone. I will let you know how I get on with it. 

All in all, these books are wonderful and as well as giving me knowledge, they will also give me ideas as I recreate a home and lifestyle from the past. So an enormous thank you to my rather wonderful parents, I can bore you even more now on all things vintage!

                Till next time dears xx

Goodies Galore

I know I said last time that I would show you my finds from Chesterfield, but I have got a few more bits since then so I'm going to lump them altogether now. 

Let's start with my fabulous Hoover;

After much searching we discovered this model was manufactured in the 1920s, it has a cast metal base and wooden handle. It was advertised as a vacuum cleaner that needed no electricity, it works on a dynamo that powers the motor when you push the machine. It claimed to have great suction with no need for the cable, (sound familiar?) and would make cleaning a doddle. I would say it is in between a carpet sweeper and a modern cleaner and I find it very useful for clearing up my kids crumbs each time they eat, without having to drag out my modern vacuum cleaner.

This a beauty, it's a full unopened box of powder complete with pristine puff, it's smells gorgeous and you are immediately taken back to the 50s when you smell it. 

These are a job lot of vintage packaging, they are so lovely and really add to the authenticity of a vintage home. I got lovely matchboxes too.

I also got yet more vintage earrings, and buttons that will be used on sewing projects. These things are so cheap and it can really make an outfit in my opinion. We found a beautiful dress from the 80s that had shape and styling from the 30s as its influence, so Alex is going to alter and add to it slightly to make it totally 30s. Il make sure i document this so you can see its transformation. She has also altered a top for me in a 30s style and I shall post that too, it's stunning and I got no end of complements while wearing it.

Lovely vintage handkerchiefs.

Yes, another vintage handbag, ( I am a girl you know!).

I like to have vintage books and magazines around my home, they give it a lived in feel and stop it looking like a museum, plus they are a fab source of information.

Just a little look at a vintage outfit, I know mother, I must stop pouting but it's either that or my natural sulky look or a smile that makes me resemble Plug from the bash street kids!

Just a quick word about prices, we go hunting for tat so often that we come across the same things quite often. The prices can vary spectacularly, so keep hunting, as I know it's possible to get things much cheaper if you scout long enough and it's great fun if you love your vintage collectables.

                        Till next time dears xx

Hemswell Happiness part 2

Well here we are, I promised you another post about our second trip to Hemswell and this is it. We went on another gloriously warm day, this makes the trip, which is mainly on country roads, very pleasant. This time we went straight to the warehouses we hadn't done or only had a quick look round last time. On our last visit it looked like there was a lot of lovely stuff to look at and we weren't disappointed. There were rooms full of stuff on two floors including a room full of vintage clothes and shoes and hats that Alex had to drag me out of,here are a few of my finds;

I have a bit of a thing for dress gloves and have quite a collection. These are a lovely turquoise colour and they flare ever so slightly at the wrist, giving them a semi gauntlet look, just right for a more 1930s outfit.

Yes this is a picture of my kitchen window but focus on the curtains, I've been after a pair of golden vintage curtains to add the finishing touch to my kitchen for months now, and these were found by Alex. Goodness knows how old they are but it was one curtain that Alex split in two and hemmed for me, the fabric is very delicate so she did a great job on them, I love them.

This is a lovely old example of photo frames that were very popular from the 20s to the 40s, this is also something I have desired for some time, but they can be quite expensive for what they are, but as this one was £2.50, I nabbed it pretty sharpish!

I also got two pairs of 40s clip on earrings, one in China blue and one in deep red, they are gorgeous and I shall do an earring post in the future, they were £1 for both pairs, marvellous!

As I said it was pretty hot, here is what I wore;

I love this outfit, it's so so comfortable.

Now today Alex and I had a quick look in an antiques centre in Chesterfield, it was only a quick visit as we were there running errands but boy, am I glad we went in. My next post will feature the treasures found there but, I will give you a sneak peek at a true treasure that I have desired for a heck of a long time.   TA DA!!!

 

O yes my lovelies, (that means you mum), you are looking at a vintage vacuum cleaner! I can't wait to tell you about it but make no mistake, this is MINE, ALL MINE! 

                         Till next time dears xx

Practical Miss

Some days my need to be practical and comfortable is equal to my need to be vintage and while vintage style clothes tend to be more structured than modern ones, it doesn't mean you can't have both. I am busy most days as every mother is, I clean my home from top to bottom four times a week and there is always something needing to be done somewhere, but Mondays are especially busy. As well as cleaning, the bedding is also changed and I do my weekly shop, so I do like to be dressed in clothes that look the part but also don't get in the way and allow freedom of movement. 

I usually wear trousers but skirts aren't completely ruled out, I just like them to be made of a more heavy weight fabric and a decent length that means I'm not flashing my smalls at all and sundry when I bend down to inspect the apples in my local store. On my top half I usually find a simple top the best, especially when teamed with a cardigan. That way I can shed a layer if necessary then add it back on five minutes later when the weather has changed again! ( this is Britain after all ). Below is the outfit chosen for today's usual roundup of chores.

I think the outfit has a lovely forties feel to it with the darker more muted colours, note the sensible comfortable brogues, essential when you live in a place that wherever you go you seem to be climbing a hill. The outfit deserves some close ups to show the details, it's all in the details!

The simple top has been slightly customised by adding some vintage buttons along the neckline and the vintage Coalport brooch is one of several yellow accesories, yellow and blue are just heavenly, I think.

My bag is just too too cute! It's vintage straw but the flower has been added later I think but it certainly doesn't spoil it.

I like to keep my hair out of my face when I'm busy and this style is just perfect. I put the front into a quick victory roll, then I put the rest in a hairnet secured by a couple of Bobby Pins and add a flower that matches my earrings. Very simple but very effective and there we have it, one vintage yet practical outfit. I apologise for the picture below, I was giving an instruction to my photographer (AKA Alex), and the result is my cake hole looks like the yawning chasm it is, o well.

Next time I shall be showing some treasures from my second trip to Hemswell (which is in Lincolnshire, not Leicestershire as I said last time!) and I have some great stuff to show off. 

                                   Till next time dears xx

Vintage Specs

Since a teenager I have suffered with severe migraines, and I do mean severe. They would render me useless as all I could do was lie in a darkened room and wait for it to pass and I would be washed out for two days straight once it had gone. The reason for this is my rather pathetic eyes, they hate everything about the world and have a nervous breakdown when confronted with any chane in temperature or light. Not great when they need to be used all the time I am conscious. 

Since I now have a magic pill that stops a migraine dead as long as I take it quick enough, I do not fear an attack as much as I used to but my eyes still insist on behaving badly. They will stream in an alarming fashion at any time they like. I have tried not wearing eye makeup but still they open the floodgates the second a mere breath of wind even threatens to come near them. It is for this reason that I wear sunglasses no matter what the weather, come rainy rain, come shines shine, come snowy snow, come cloudy cloud, come........(I could go on but I'm sure you get the point). While this ensures I look like a total moron in any season except summer, it does mean I get to sport my rather lovely vintage sunnies. 

I have three pairs at the mo; 

A rather lovely 40s pair in blue,

A totally gorgeous 40s pair that were gifted to me and are a darling pale green,

And a late 30s pair in a dashing deep tortoiseshell. 

I find that most outfits will suit at least one pair, so I always look as put together as I can.

All lovely then, I hear you say, well yes it was until recently.

Screens have always played a part in modern society but now especially, there appears to be a screen for every occasion, no matter what you are doing. As a newbie to technology of any kind (my tv remote still baffles me) I wasn't sure what to expect when I looked at anything smaller than my tv. I was pretty sure, however, that I wasn't supposed to be seeing two of everything. So off I popped to my opticians where I was told that I needed glasses to help me see close up. 

This is not normally a problem as you pick some frames get them made and hey presto the world has sharp edges again, but it can be a problem for a mega fussy vintage nut such as yours truly.

I scanned the racks in search of a pair of frames that would enhance my vintage attire rather than ruin it. I didn't have a wide range to choose from, in fact out of goodness knows how many frames, most of which were roughly the same as each other, there was a grand total of two that harked back to bygone times. 

I selected my pair and informed the optician of my choice in eyewear. The lady looked at my selection, and informed me in a manner usually used to address muppets, that I had picked a "very old lady" style and wouldn't I prefer a more modern pair. I smiled my best smile and directed her to my " very old lady" style of dress, which had clearly escaped her notice before now (so much for working in an opticians). This seemed to satisfy her, and arrangements were made for me to collect my specs, presumably I would be returning with a Zimmer frame to do this. So here is the offending pair;

As you can see I have gone the whole hog and added a pearl lariat just to ram home how my choice of frame clearly means I am one step away from the nursing home. (Rant over!) anyhoo I am very pleased with them and it means I can blog without seeing double. But seriously, opticians of the world, have more frames for those of us who don't follow modern trends, we want to look stylish in our own way too.

              Till next time dears xx

Hair Today

Today's post is a bit of an insight into how I try to incorporate vintage into my everyday life. You are all aware I wear vintage inspired clothes everday but I also try to make as many things I use and do as traditional as I possibly can. 

Most days are filled with housework, running errands, and running around after my two boys. For this reason I find it more practical to wear trousers for most of the time as this preserves my modesty slightly better than a skirt when bending and getting in and out of the car. I wear tailored trousers mostly with a high waist but I do own some high waisted 50s jeans with turn-ups. I pair these with various tops and cardies and add vintage accesories such as brooches and scarves and always earrings. Today I wore trousers with a top that Alex altered for me to give it a more 1930s feel, but it also works for my 50s looks too. She made a pattern to add the sleeve embellishments and then added on some vintage buttons that we sourced that were the perfect shade of red, lovely and vibrant.

Alex also set my hair in rag curls (a seamstress and a hairdresser, no wonder I have her! ). She rags my hair in the traditional way after spraying it damp with setting lotion, I then leave it to dry overnight and unwind the rags in the morning and brush through. My hair has been cut in a 50s midi cut, shorter at the front and graduating down to create a "U" shape at the back. This means the curls fall in the correct fashion when set and is a very easy to maintain hairstyle whilst also being true to my vintage roots.

Here is another photo of an everyday look.

I like to be as vintage as possible when caring for my skin too. I use a traditional cold cream to take off my makeup and then follow that with a traditional rose water and glycerin toner. I get both of these products from "Boots" and find them excellent value for money. Today's skincare products can be very silly money indeed but at less than £2 each, these don't break the bank. They leave my skin lovely and soft, which at my age is not to be sneezed at, and they last me three months before running out. Total value for money.

My lovely skincare products on my equally lovely Lloyd Loom bathroom cabinet, isn't it pretty?

Now I am going to be especially brave and show you a photo of my noggin in close up! AND with no makeup on!!!!

I hope you aren't put off by that! Please come back and view my next post, I won't scare you at the end I promise.

                        Till next time dears xx

Hemswell Happiness

Today, Alex and I tootled off to Hemswell in Leicestershire, to a disused airfield where several antique centres were, well, centred! We knew this to be the case as the oracle that is the internet told us so, only when we got there, we were slightly disappointed to find only two. One of these had mainly big furniture antiques and the other one had mainly junk. However we resolved to find something positive out of the day and got hunting. We found one room that had lots of mid century knick knacks, most of which were at daft prices that meant they would take a long time to sell, but I got a couple of little things nonetheless. 

The junk warehouse didn't afford much but Alex lifted up some old material to find a pretty Lloyd Loom washing hamper. I have wanted one for a while now but only seen ones that are either painted in garish colours, or are around £20, which is too much. This one was beautiful and cheap, so it quickly became mine.

We then decided to eat, and wandered outside to the tearoom only to be confronted with a map that showed where the other centres were on the airfield! So, as we didn't have much time left before we had to make our way home, we ate quickly and made a mad dash for the other warehouses. Imagine our horror ( well mine anyway, Alex doesn't do horror ) when we discovered that the fist one we went in was chock full of great stuff! We went round like couple of loons, as fast as we dared, looking at as many things as we could. I found a lovely little pot stand from the 50s complete with inappropriate pot that will be swapped for a far prettier one. Here are my finds.

The shoes are from the 40s and are a perfect fit and so so cheap, the photo frame is a complete darling and I shall replace the naff picture with a gorgeous old photo. The icing book is so lovely and looks great in my kitchen. 

We will definitely be going again now we know how much stuff is there as we didn't look round that warehouse properly and there was at least another one we didn't get chance to do. So you can expect further posts from Hemswell. 

I will leave you with a photo of what I wore, I usually wear little gloves with my dresses but even my crochet ones made my hands far too hot in this weather.

Yes that is my mug in the shot and what would appear to be the corner of my iPad cover! O well. 

I have to post the next photo to show my dad some lovely books I found in a charity shop, they are the cutest set of gardening books with lots of vintage advice on how to keep the flowers healthy. Love the prices on them too! You aren't having them father dear! 

                             Till next time dears xx

Baking in the heat

Wow it is so hot here at the moment and glorious as that is, it does make it tricky deciding what to wear.  Today I decided that my handmade circle skirt would be best teamed with a sleeveless tied shirt, this teamed with socks and pumps gave my outfit a very rockabilly look. 

The skirt is made to an original late 40s pattern and the fabric is a thin but heavyweight tight weave polyester, this makes the skirt drape lovely and it doesn't get blown up in the breeze.

The skirt has a lot of material and can be used with a full net petticoat but if you think I'm sporting that in this weather then u are crackers! However I can tell you that my white three layer net petticoat looks stunning under the skirt but you will have to make do with me holding the skirt out to show you its fullness.

My red strawberry brooch is Cath Kidston and my lacy blue pumps were a gift from Alex. 

While I do love the 50s, and you can certainly find more clothes from that period, I do still prefer the 40s, and the 30s are quickly becoming more of an interest to me. I love the bright colours of the 30s and my seamstress is going to be creating a whole outfit for me from that decade, with a tweed skirt and waistcoat and a lovely blouse. That however is some time away and my focus for tomorrow will be keeping cool, whilst looking the part for a day of browsing for yet more vintage tat. I will be wearing a frock that I found in a charity shop, it is a lovely 40s tea dress and if you are lucky (ahem) then I will post some photos of it along with any of my new vintage tat should I be lucky enough to find some.

                             Till next time dears xx

Dusky pink

So here we have it, my first outfit post! Although it's not really a proper one but it does give you a chance to see for yourselves one of my favourite skirts. It's a 1940s yoke skirt and was made for me personally by my greatest friend Alex. She has been roped into making things for me as original pieces are hard to come by. She has done a great job, she has also made me a full circle skirt for my 50s days and I will post pictures of that later. 

I did try having photos with my mask but I looked like I belonged in a horror movie so that wasn't the greatest result. So you will just have to lump a few headless shots instead until I come up with another hairbrained idea! Oh and yes, you aren't seeing things, I do really have the biggest chest in the world!

We found these gorgeous 1920s embroidery patches in an antiques shop in Newark, the only cost pence and were the perfect shade of pink to match my skirt, don't they look lovely when sewn onto the sleeve of a suitable top?

A closer look at the gorgeous trims and edges we chose to liven the skirt up.

You can see how the yoke looks very pretty when the rest of the skirt is cut on the bias, the blue lace is vintage as is the bias binding at the bottom, which came in its original packaging, it was almost a shame to open it.

The finished product, and very comfortable it is too. Just perfect for the weather we are having at the moment. I team my skirts with white ankle socks in the summer and original 40s brogues, rather like school shoes, so comfy!

So there you have it, my fist outfit post, not the best reflection on how vintage I normally dress but it does give you an idea. I will leave you with a photo of my personal seamstress, don't be fooled by the boyishness before you, while Alex is worryingly at home with a power tool, she also does girly things like baking and sewing, both of which she is very good at. 

                                 Till next time dears xx