Friday 30 July 2010

The Car Boot Sale



For those of you who've never been, here's what one looks like! I'm very lucky to have this excellent Sully car boot sale close by, and it's next to the sea so a beautiful location too.

Most car boot sales generally only run in the summer months, from May to August, and you can find out if you're in the UK where your closest one is by looking at a website such as carbootjunction.

Guidelines for the Car Boot experience:
1) On a sunny day, wear a hat and take some water. You will get absorbed for hours in other people's junk and won't necessarily notice you're dehydrated and sunburned!!
2) HAGGLE! There's usually quite a bit of leeway on the price, and if there's not, the seller won't be offended.
3) You need to get there early for the best stuff, as it will be swooped on pretty quickly. However, remember that at the end of the day sellers don't want to take their stuff home, so you're more likely to get an absolute steal when they're packing up.
4) Take some shopping bags, sellers often run out.
5) Take some change, sellers run out of this too.
6) Look out for the old ladies, they often have the best stuff in terms of vintage jewellery, teacups etc.
7) Don't count on anything electrical actually working when you get it home, regardless of how convincing the seller is!

Recent car boot purchases have included (from top to bottom): silk dress for £1, selection of books 50p-£2 each, dress clip 20p, metal cake stands 50p-£1 each.





Thursday 22 July 2010

Recipe: Double Chocolate Muffins

A day is never a waste if you've baked something.





Wednesday 21 July 2010

"Punting" Fashion Plate

A recent purchase is this Marks and Spencer print from a charity shop in Keynsham. It's by Georges Barbier, who produced fashion plates for French gazettes between 1908 and 1920. I just love the flowing lines of this picture, and the girl on the boat has red hair so I can pretend it's me!



It's hanging proudly in my bedroom so I get to look at it a few times a day. Definitely worth three quid!

Tuesday 20 July 2010

My Vintage Lamp

Now and then, asides from clothes, I buy the odd vintage item for the home - this was a car boot sale bargain, 50p, just needed a new fuse.


On old lamps like this the wiring can be missing the 'earth' wire, it's just live and neutral. I thought I'd have to rewire it, but after research I've confirmed it's perfectly safe to use this set up, as long as you put a really low amp fuse in! I'm using a 3 amp in this lamp.

The shade sits a little wonky but I think that adds to the charm of this little lamp.



I'm having problems with both laptop and camera at the moment, so sorry for the lack of posts, I am going to have lots to catch up on when both are fixed!

Thursday 15 July 2010

Dita for Perrier



As it's Friday tomorrow I'm sharing a little treat for Dita Von Teese fans (grown ups only!) at www.perrierbydita.com.

Drive up to the Perrier Mansion in the interactive video and explore the various rooms where Dita will tease you in a manner of different ways, all inevitably including a bottle of Perrier!

Tuesday 13 July 2010

Longline Bras

A trend which I heartily approve of this season in underwear is longline bras! It's great to be able to get these vintage-feel bras at high street prices, and in sizes to fit the modern woman (there's no way I can fit into a vintage bra with their tiny back sizes!). Here's a little round-up of what's in the shops at the moment.

First up, Tesco have this selection on offer.





Next, Floozie has this country-girl longline bra available at Debenhams.



Finally, Topshop has a peach silk longline bra available here.

If this is all too modern for you, take a look at the vintage bras on Sleek 'N Chic for the genuine article.

Wednesday 7 July 2010

I've Won a Vintage Repro Dress!!

I'm absolutely delighted and thrilled to discover that I am the winner of a custom-made dress from Shristi Studio! To enter the competition you had to send off a picture of a vintage dress you wanted recreated - I went for a simple 1940s wrap dress (I've been hankering after one for a while!) and sent off this picture.



So, the next decision is fabric - I'm thinking either a black cotton (simple, elegant, will wear a lot), or a novelty print such as the lovely apple prints Wearing History posted about a while back. Might be a bit hard to track down any fabric like that though, plus it's late 1930s rather than 1940s, so any other suggestions of a fabric that would be in keeping with the style of the dress would be greatly appreciated!

The last thing I won was a teapot, so this dress is definitely the biggest thing I've ever won!!

Eek!

Friday 2 July 2010

An English Country Garden

Last week I went to visit my friend Victoria (the Textile Designer I've done a few posts about) in Keynsham, South West England, and we spent the morning in her lovely garden before doing a trawl of the local charity shops! The only cold drink she had was white wine, so please forgive the picture of us drinking before the sun was over the yard arm, but it was a particularly hot day!







The purple sweet-peas are a variety that has been grown in England since Medieval times. The last picture shows our delicious lunch - a home-made quiche and a salad picked fresh from the garden! Her garden really does put my little paved-over yard to shame, so I've been making an extra effort this week to plant some things, and the radish seeds she gave me have already sprouted, look!!

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