Wednesday 26 February 2014

Alice Hannah Gloves

Alice Hannah Gloves

Have you heard of Alice Hannah accessories?  This London company has a range of gloves, scarves, hats, and collars in some beautiful designs.  I was introduced to the brand via Jessica of Chronically Vintage (a fabulous blog if you haven't already seen it).

Monday 24 February 2014

A Vintage Guide to Cowbridge, South Wales

I love old-fashioned towns where you can have a good potter around for a day.  Here in South Wales we are lucky to have a few such places.  On the weekend I took a trip to Cowbridge, a posh town in 'The Vale' (the Vale of Glamorgan), not far from Cardiff.  It's in a rural location, and surrounding villages are pretty to drive through.



If you are looking for somewhere to take a day trip to, here are my tips on what to see and do in this lovely town.

vintage guide to Cowbridge

Friday 21 February 2014

1950's Shirtwaister for #PassionforFashion

We actually had a sunny day, two weeks ago today exactly.  I quickly grabbed my sunglasses and struck a pose - I've been missing the natural light for outfit photos!  I was off to visit a friend and her newborn baby, and she's quite a stylish arty type so I thought I'd better make myself look presentable.

1950s shirtwaister

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Make Up Review: Mac Pro Longwear Paint Pots

I have been a bit slow on the uptake, but I've finally discovered Mac's Pro Longwear Paint Pots, and I'm a huge fan!

I suffer from greasy eyelids, which means that eyeshadow eternally slides off, so I went to Mac in search of some sort of primer to stop this happening.  Paint pots were one of a number of products recommended to me, among concealers and suchlike, but this product immediately jumped out at me as something really useful, if it worked..

Mac pro longwear paint pot review

Monday 17 February 2014

French Perfume Pick Me Ups - Olfactive Studio

What are you using to help banish the winter blues?  I use fragrance as a pick-me-up sometimes, whether it's through a lovely rose scented face cream, a fruity perfume, or even a couple of drops of essential oil in a burner.  I also find photos can be a visual pick-me-up, and try and keep interesting postcards and images pinned around my desk.

But what about perfume, and photography, together?  That is indeed the latest concept brought to us by The Olfactive Studio, a collaboration between perfumers and photographers, or as it's more suggestively described on the website, an 'encounter'...


Friday 14 February 2014

Do You Wear It? Is It Worth It?

No love themed post from me today, let's talk about buying too many clothes instead.  In February's Vogue there was an article detailing this season's purchases by five affluent ladies along with a tally of how many times they've actually worn them.  Their lists are a bit ridiculous in terms of the number of high end purchases (who needs TWO Hermès bags?!), but I thought the principle was interesting.

I feel like I bought an awful lot of clothes in January and I now feel the need to justify my purchases in terms of cost per wear.  Below is my list of what I bought in January, and how many times I've worn each item so far.  I'll report back in a month or so with updated figures!  Obviously there are things like a killer party dress that recoup their value in a single fabulous night sometimes, but is there anything that won't get worn even once?  And what will turn out to be the indispensible wardrobe heroine?

My January Purchases

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Book Review: The Rice Paper Diaries

We are lucky in Wales to have a handful of excellent local publishers who publish thoughtful, prosaic works. Seren books have published poet Francesca Rhydderch's first fiction book, 'The Rice Paper Diaries', a fictional account of a Welsh woman's experience of Japan's occupation of Hong Kong in WWII.

the rice paper diaries book review

Monday 10 February 2014

Clogau: Welsh Gold and a Royal Love Story

Valentine's Day isn't far away, so today I have a romantic tale for you about how the rare seams of gold found under the mountains of Wales have became part of Royal love stories for the best part of a century.

As many of you readers are not based in the UK, let me first explain that Wales is a mountainous land, reknowned for the industry of its past that was based around huge deposits of coal.  Not everyone is aware though that Wales has also had small gold mines, the scarcity of which made Welsh gold very rare, and expensive.

Welsh gold has long had ties to the Royal family, since 1911 when Prince Edward of Wales had his investiture using regalia incorporating Welsh gold.  In 1923, the Queen Mother set the trend for using Welsh gold in wedding rings, and the tradition has continued ever since, from Queen Elizabeth, Princess Anne, Princess Diana, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Katherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

The Queen Mother, (Lady Elizabeth Bowles-Lyon as she was then!) & Prince Albert (1923)

Friday 7 February 2014

1940s Swing Trousers & Vote For Me!

I had these fabulous 1940's reproduction swing trousers in navy, but I felt compelled to return to 20th Century Foxy and purchase them in black too!

I'm linking up again today with Passion for Fashion, so head over to either Rachel the Hat or Lena B to have a look at what everyone else is blogging about today - you might discover some great new blogs!

Wednesday 5 February 2014

I-Spy Winter

I've been trying out my mother's new fancy bridge camera, capturing snaps of bare trees, frost-bitten blooms, legs permanently encased in boots...but the upside of winter is ales by roaring fires.  Let's make the most of the excuse of wet and windy weather to stay in and read a good book!


 

 What do you find as the 'upside' to winter?  What will you miss when the sunshine arrives?


Monday 3 February 2014

A Vintage Attic Sale

This weekend I went to Abergavenny, to Vintage Vision's attic sale!  For one day only the shop was opening up all of its stock to the public, with bargain bins, £5 rails, and 20% off all of the usual stock on offer.








I left the lovely 1950's lilac frock as I couldn't justify the money after my recent spendathon, but one of my friends picked up a few pieces for work.

If you're anywhere near Abergavenny, or Vintage Vision's other shops in Chepstow and Blaenavon, it's worth popping in - a social enterprise, they trade for a social and environmental purpose, providing opportunities to develop new skills, and preventing textiles going to landfill.  Any profit they make goes straight back into the business to support this. For you, that means excellent prices - the beautiful, perfect dress pictured above was only £40, which is about half the price that vintage boutiques in Cardiff would charge.

After our little rummage, my friends and I retreated from the rain to a cafe for a spot of tea and cake, before having a wander around the castle and museum.  A lovely day out - but worth a return when the weather's better!  You can see in the photo below that we were getting blown sideways!


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