Coral and Tweed

Ah, the British staple that is tweed.  A classic tweed, be it a jacket, skirt, or whole suit, is a must for any vintage lover's wardrobe.

New Video: Wearing Vintage In The Workplace

A while ago I posted (here) about the practicalities of wearing vintage in the real world, when a change of job meant a complete wardrobe rethink for me!  I thought I'd revisit this topic in the form of a video, so you can see the types of vintage style that I wear to the office every day, and what I have to save for weekends.

This is only my second video so please bear with me on this learning curve - I should have put better lighting in place, so apologies if this is a bit dark.

 


What vintage styles do you consider appropriate for your workplace?  Do you find yourself toning down your style or can you go all out?

Linkups:
#Passionforfashion with Rachel the Hat and Lena B
Friday's Fab Favourites with Style Elixir
Tea Party Tuesday!

Red Hot Buffet World Cardiff Review

I was delighted to win a meal for two at Cardiff's Red Hot Buffet World, as part of my runner's up prize from Capital FM at St David's Ladies Night, for not winning the big prize of a trip to New York.  Who needs New York, when you can travel the world's cuisine in one restaurant?

Looking at their website, I was impressed with the range of dishes on offer, with a good offering of vegetarian options, gluten free, halal, etc.  I eat low carb and it seemed from the website that this wasn't going to be a problem at all.

I then read lots of online reviews, and my delight turned to trepidation.  A free meal, is nonetheless a free meal, and so I thought we had better find out for ourselves what the experience was like.

Dig for Victory!

I do hope you've had a good Easter weekend?  I've been quiet, I know - that's because I've been spending all my time outside, preparing the garden for the months ahead!  It's been challenging at times, especially not knowing what all those plants are popping up everywhere in our new-to-us garden, and on more than one occasion I have dug up a 'weed' only to discover it's some rare and highly prized species of rose!!  It's a steep learning curve and I've never spent so much time on Google searching for things other than clothes.

Here are some pictures of the blooming loveliness that's been surrounding us.  I've spent most days in old jeans and a t-shirt, digging furiously.  We have planted a herb garden, an apple tree, bulbs for next Spring, and have begun work on the veg patch.  It's back-breaking work, but I am enjoying it immensely.  We've never been to bed so early, gosh it's exhausting.

Hurry up little seeds and grow! (old eggboxes make perfect seed trays!), and that's a cut glass dressing table tray underneath catching any water.

Did I Wear It? Was It Worth It?

You may recall that in February I felt I had purchased a few too many things, and felt like a hoarder for not wearing existing things in my wardrobe.  I then read an article in Vogue that tracked a few women and their purchases over a season to see how many times they wore each item.  This inspired me to keep a tally of my own purchases.  You can see the original post here.

Today I'm back with the results!  Below is a list of the items that I had bought back in February, and there's a tally next to each indicating how many times I've actually worn them.

The Secret of French Dressing: My Favourite Style Tip

Do you ever wish you could be a little more 'French'?  Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a bit of an obsession with French beauty and style.  I'm sure I'm not the only one that looks at French women and thinks 'why can't I look like that?!'.  Younger French women look chic and trendy but never overblown, whereas older French women look classic, but never outdated.  They move with the times but always remember the core of what good dressing is all about.  French dressing is about the balance of classic elegance and being fashion forward, all fused together with that 'je ne sais quoi'.

My Favourite Style Tip - Their Secret is My Secret!
So, what's the secret?  And yes, there is a secret.  I've read all of the books to find out what it is, from 'French Women Don't Get Fat', to 'Two Lipsticks and a Lover'.  I have an impressive collection of French beauty products.  I've read interviews with French style icons such as Audrey Tatou and Charlotte Gainsbourg, and I've shopped French, buying clothes from affordable retailers available in the UK. So here is my number one style tip, even if you're not trying to be more French, it's a tip to help you be more stylish!

Vintage Inspired Bargains: Peacock's

I'm back with more vintage inspired bargains from British shops - this time it's Peacocks' turn!

Poor Peacocks, I really loved the direction they were heading in, with lots of vintage style inspiration since they took Pearl Lowe on board as a designer, but then the company went bust and after a tricky period they were bought out by the Edinburgh Woollen Mill.

I wasn't sure if the EWM would try and take Peacocks in a new direction completely, but I popped to a local store recently and was pleasantly surprised - absolutely oodles of vintage style clothes, all at a snip.

I was also super impressed to see many of their garments now proudly showing a 'Made in Britain' tag.  Good for them.

Here again is my experience in the fitting rooms - some of it turned out surprisingly well, others were a poor fit.  Read on to find out which were the winners!

Historic Buildings YOU Could Live In

A couple of comments from readers on my 'Langland Bay' post got me thinking the other day.  We're really spoilt with historic buildings here in the UK, and whilst I think we sometimes take our architectural backdrop for granted, most of us are very curious as to what these buildings look like on the inside, particularly if the novelty is that they've been turned into luxury apartments.

May I present then, a peek inside a selection of historic buildings that now anyone one of us - if we had the budget - could own a slice of!  All of these are in South Wales, but there are certainly very similar buildings across the whole of the UK, you can bet your money on it.

The former 1930s hospital at Hayes Point, Sully has a selection of apartments up for sale, all fairly spacious and with wonderful seaviews.  I've spotted a 2 bed apartment for £199,950.  The grounds are pretty fabulous, and although the complex has been subject to lots of rennovations, there are still some original features around the building if you hunt for them!

Vintage Inspired Bargains: Sainsbury's

Hello vintage lovers!  Have you made any Spring purchases yet?  No?  I am always a bit slow, waiting for the first lot of sales generally before I make any vintage-inspired purchases from the good old British high street.  My guilty pleasure is supermarkets though - their prices make an injection of fashion much more affordable, and more economical time-wise if you can do your weekly food shop at the same time!

I recently popped to Sainsbury's to see what vintage inspiration they might offer.  Here is what I found - from the ill-fitting to the super stylish.  Take heed of my words and you need not do battle with the changing rooms.  Excuse the lighting - I went into a well-lit changing room first, but the door didn't close, so I had to swap!

Beauty Roundup, April 2014

I have been wanting to do a beauty product roundup for a while, from the point of a vintage-loving girl, and  have finally summed up the courage to do a little video!  I'm doing a text summary below the video for those of you who can't watch them due to the restrictions of technology or location, so you can still see which products I liked and which ones to avoid.

The products that feature in the video are shown in the pic below.

Featured brands: Giorgio Armani, Korres, Berdoues, Dr Hauschka, Lavera and Mac

Book Review: Vintage Home

With the promise of Spring comes thoughts of a revamp, not just for our wardrobes, but for our homes too.  Whether you are living with family, renting a room, or have your own place, there are always homely touches you can add to make the space more inviting - from 'upcyling' existing items like lampshades, to wallpapering a whole room.

Creating a really individual look to reflect your tastes doesn't have to break the bank these days, as there are so many ways to recreate trends that are in fashion - shabby chic being a case in point - and there are many books to give you an inspirational starting point. One of the best of these is Sarah Moore's 'Vintage Home', which has 50 home projects, ranging from simple seasonal decorations, to the more labour-intensive application of pretty wallpapers to the 'risers' on a wooden staircase or sewing of silk scarves to create curtains.

The author is a vintage designer and writer, with her own website here that showcases her vintage inspired home accessories (available for purchase!) and links to her blog, which is full of great ideas.  Browsing around her website could turn into a Pinterest frenzy!

Ladies' Night Report: Embarrassing Moments, Red Lipstick and Being a Cover Girl

I don't like shopping with other people, being a staunch believer that 'she who shops alone, shops fastest'.  Last Thursday then, I was looking forward to a night of just me and the shops, at the now annual St David's Ladies Night - late-night shopping at their huge centre, with the added bonus of free gifts, discounts, treats, demonstrations, drinks, nibbles and so much more.  Now, while my main love is vintage, I love looking out for vintage inspired pieces in 'normal' shops, and I am always on the look out for new red lipsticks, so I hope that explains why someone who's into vintage would be interested in a night like this!

The Pre-Shop Meet Up
At the start of the evening, myself and some fellow bloggers were invited to the VIP area for a mingle.  I bumped into fellow blogger Leanne from Slice of My Life but didn't really get chatting to anyone else or see anyone else I recognised.  I am always on my own at these things and it's quite hard getting chatting to groups of people who obviously already know each other, but I did have a nice chat to the lovely ladies from Grayling PR, comparing tips on hosiery and so forth.  We were treated to a tomobola, pick and mix, a beverage and the opportunity for a make-up touch-up by Georgio Armani, who have a new counter in Debenhams, and L'Occitane had a stand also for you to try out their products.