A Busy Weekend Part Two

The wedding we went to last Saturday was lovely and they had the most glorious day for it. It was my first Church wedding and just happened to be in the same church and on the same date that my Mum and Dad got married in 1979. It was pretty posh - the bride looked gorgeous and arrived in a horse and carriage and they had a choir at the service. I also got to see some people I hadn't seen since school and meet some lovely new people. It turns out that I am one of those people who cries at weddings - A called me a wuss. Oh well. This is what I, I mean we wore:

A and I at the wedding
Monet Dress - £45, from Lili Bizarre
Petticoat - £30, Rock n Roll Years on eBay
Love Seam Tights from Pamela Mann, via eBay
Gorgeous shoes that I can't walk in - £10 (down from £60) online years ago, I forget where from

Don't worry, I asked A if I could post these pictures!

We didn't take a camera, so I've nicked these off A's dad. This is only the second time I've seen A wear a suit - the last time was at our school prom 9 years ago! It's the smartest I've ever seen him look. Of course I had to wear my Monet dress again - there aren't many occasions I can wear it, so I make the most of them when they come along. I really love it and I always get compliments when I wear it - even the Vicar complimented me on this occasion! People ask if I've had it made as well, but it's 1950s vintage (or maybe early 1960s with that structure?). It doesn't have a proper brand label, just a tiny size label.

 

There isn't a photo of the cool tights I wore, but here's a stock pic of them:



Love Seamed Tights by Pamela Mann - Source

I thought they were appropriate for a wedding. I wore the same outfit later on for the evening do but with flat shoes and my Nan's fake fur shrug to keep warm.

I had such a lovely time and I'm super excited for the next wedding we're going to in October where A will be Best Man. I had no idea I was quite so soppy!

Take care,

Nikki x

P.S. For those of you who are interested in what we use to take pictures in the flat, I will give you a quick overview. My top tip is to go out with a photographer - it definitely makes things easier. A's degree is in photography and he has therefore got some quite nifty kit (including a studio lighting kit with umbrella lights and a large format 5x4 camera - but we don't use those, although A has just said the photos would look a lot better if we did!).

When A takes my blog pictures, he uses a Canon DSLR with a flash gun (usually bouncing it off the ceiling) and shoots in RAW, editing the files later using some sort of technical wizardry to sharpen, straighten them, sort the contrast, white balance and what not. When I take any photos, I use his camera with the flash gun, shoot in Jpeg and hope for the best. If I do edit them, it's just to crop them. Hope that helps!

A Busy Weekend Part One

Ahem, so I guess I lied about being back on Monday - sorry folks. I've spent most of the last two days doing chores and errands and was too tired to write by the evening.

Anyway, on to my weekend. I'm going to do this all out of order and post about Sunday first. On Sunday morning I mercilessly dragged a tired A out of bed to take me to Vintage Village at Stockport Market Hall (just to clarify I was buying, not selling for those of you who asked).  The fair takes place on the second Sunday of each month and each month has a different theme. This Sunday marked two years since Vintage Village started and so the theme for this month was 'Second Birthday Bash'. Previous themes have included 'The Fab Gear Fair' which celebrated all things 1960s and the 'Ossie Rules Fair', which was a tribute to Ossie Clarke and the seventies.  This is only the second time I've made it to this fair (I wrote about the first time here) as I'm usually working Sundays. It's my absolute favourite vintage fair so I was understandably excited and it didn't disappoint, although we didn't spend as much time there as I'd like as A had to go to work in the afternoon.



Stockport Market Hall - Photo by A

There are many things I love about Vintage Village, but the main thing is that it sells a lot of homeware, which comes with a healthy dose of kitsch. Homeware is woefully under-represented at Liverpool vintage fairs (in my opinion of course) and when you do find it there aren't a lot of kitschy items - you'll get the odd 70s print and that's about it. (Why is that? It drives me mad - it's as if vintage begins and ends in the wardrobe). Not so at Vintage Village and there tend to be a lot of kitschy pictures in particular, which is what I mostly end up buying. You can of course buy beautiful, tasteful items too (I spotted some lovely linens, books and ceramics for example) - but where's the fun in that?



It's also a cheap fair - not only is it a measly £1 to get in (compared to £3 or even £4 I've paid at other fairs), but all the stock is in the dirt-cheap to reasonably-priced range and not once have I sworn inwardly on discovering an item's price (you'd be surprised how often I do that).

Inside the hall - bright and bustling

Another thing I love is the friendly atmosphere and the encouraged punter participation - visitors are encouraged to tweet pictures of their hauls and the pics are put into a Visitor's Gallery on their website, so satisfying those 'Ooh I wondered who bought that' or 'What did you get?' nosey urges.

So what did I get? Kitschy pictures of course!
 

'Harriet' by Strev  - £7 from La Vintage Vantage

It's just so cute! It will also make a perfect counterpoint to the 'Sad Little Boy with a Sad Little Puppy' picture we have too. There were at least 3 of these at the fair in different sizes, so she was obviously a popular lass in her day. A lot of people think the Artist's name is Harriet Strev, but the print is called Harriet and the artist John Strevens just used to sign himself 'Strev'. You can read a little about him here.

 

What tickles me about this picture is this:

 

Framer's Label on back of print

The framing was done by a 'Member of the Fine Art Guild' no less, which sounds so impressive don't you think?

 

Next we have this beauty, which I don't think A particularly likes but I think is fab:

 

'Flamingo Pink' by Vernon Ward - £9 from Lace and Liquor Vintage (It's my sofa that's wonky btw)

My first Vernon Ward! I hadn't actually realised it was a Ward print until just now when I photographed it and saw his signature. I just bought it because I loved it and I thought as a fifties fanatic I should own more flamingo things :). I could happily have bought much more from Lace and Liquor Vintage too!



Finally we have this amazing picture:

 

Holographic Picture of Mary - £10 from Wax Delirium

Isn't it great? You can't see the 3D effect here, but it's ace. I love how she has lasers shooting from her hands and she's the perfect match for our holographic picture of the Last Supper which we got at the last Vintage Village fair we went to (again, see this post).

 

I also got this gorgeous little mug from trader Ooh Betty!

 

Pink Elephant Mug - Source

Now you may have noticed that isn't my photo. That's because thanks to Luna, my mug now looks like this:

 

Broken!

Yup, the little bugger broke it! I didn't even get to photograph it, let alone have a cuppa in it. Grrr. Luna has a thing about bags you see - she has to get in them. Sometimes she panics and tears around the flat stuck in a bag like the rather hilarious time we woke up in the middle of the night thinking the world was ending or at least that thunder had somehow managed to come inside, only to be trampled on by Luna running across us in bed in a big paper shopping bag. She only stopped when she ran into A's leg (leaving him with a fair few scratches). This time I left the mug in a bag on the floor for a few minutes while I went to do something, next thing I know there's a rustle-y stampede noise and the sound of something breaking and Luna is bombing around the flat leaving pieces of elephant mug in her wake. There were bits of broken mug all over the flat and she's lucky she didn't end up back at the Rescue with tiny shards of pottery in her paws. A got a splintery bit in his finger and it was really sharp.

 

This was the biggest piece left of the mug

I'm really gutted about this and I'm now on a mission to find a replacement - so if you ever see one let me know! Definitely the naughtiest thing Luna has done so far. Git! Oh well.

 

Banoffee Pie Cupcake - £1.50 from Stuart Thornley Cake Design

I got a cupcake too - you pretty much have to, it's like a law of the fair. I couldn't decide which one I wanted as they all sounded so delicious, so I asked and the Banoffee Pie was recommended. It was lovely - I felt quite sorry for A though as they aren't vegan.

 

You also get a bonus outfit photo as I was 'papped' whilst at Vintage Village:

 

Me at Vintage Village - Photo by Ellie Hill Bruce. The stall to the right of the pic is Lace and Liquor Vintage  (not sure about the stock to the left) and what you can't see is A struggling with all my purchases!

Check out the rest of their pics here - there's some great stock and some stunning outfits!

 

So all in all, another excellent fair and I'll definitely be going to the next one on October 14th because it's fifties-themed in tribute to local legend and glamour model Sabrina Sykes.

 

I'm going to leave you with this vintage stunner that we both loved but unfortunately couldn't afford:

 

Miss Mixer - £110 from Vintage Allsorts

If you press the button, Miss Mixer wiggles and mixes your drink! It was the stallholder's first vintage fair and all the stock was from her personal collection. I wonder if anyone took Miss Mixer home.

 

 

Nikki x

P.S. Liverpool has been in the news today due to the sad findings of the Hillsborough Report. Please read Lucy's post about it here as she writes about it better than I ever could.

P.P.S. Thank you for your kind words on my last post and I find it hard to believe that any of you were ever shy doing outfit posts. I am getting better - I had my photo taken quite a few times over the weekend and managed not to run and hide. Also, I promise to catch up with all of your blogs tomorrow.

 

My 'Eiderdown Skirt'

Hello! Sorry it's been a bit quiet around here again lately - A and I haven't had a day off together in weeks and we've had lots of errands to run after work, so we've been making the most of what time we've had together in the evenings.

Anyway, an outfit post! I wore this yesterday. I've not worn this skirt in ages as I don't have much that goes with it - I really need to get some more tops in different colours as I have this trouble with a lot of my skirts. I do love this skirt - it reminds me of those beautiful vintage paisley-ish eiderdowns that I'm too poor to own. It is a bit on the small side now as I've put on weight since I last wore it and it is really quite uncomfortable, especially when I sit down (I actually had to unbutton it in work at one point). However I will let it turn me into sausages before I give it up as I heart it so much. 



Here it is:



Skirt - Oxfam Liverpool ages ago, but I remember it was £6.99
Top - Charity Shop (originally Dorothy Perkins)
Tights - Accessorize
Shoes - George

I'm not very good at outfit shots - I still hate having my picture taken and so usually look apologetic. A took this. We're struggling to find a good place to take outfit photos - A says the ones I do in the bedroom look shite, so here we are outside our bedroom door. I love our flat, but God the decor bores me - I wish we owned it so I could change it. I'm going to have to put posters on the door or something. The stuff on the floor by the way is a cat scratchy box that only Juno uses and a bit of string they play with that we didn't notice :). The flat is full of bits of string for them to play with - it comes tied around the veg box we get delivered each week. The books in the top right are all A's cookbooks.

But I digress... back to the outfit. The top is cute and I've been wearing it quite a bit on my jeans days. I'm still not entirely convinced it goes with the skirt. The trouble is the colours of the skirt look very different from further away. They're all primary colours, but look a bit subtler from afar. I think this is actually my only full circle skirt. Look - there's so much fabric;

This much fabric in fact:

And, look where it's from:

Label Porn

Good old Marks and Sparks! I don't know why I find that so surprising - maybe because it's so bright. I forgot to take a close-up of the pattern, but you should be able to see what I mean about the colours being much bolder up close from this pic.

I'm going to tail off here because I can hardly keep my eyes open. We've got a busy weekend ahead, including going to a wedding tomorrow and I'm going to a couple of Vintage Fairs on Sunday - Vintage Village in Stockport and The Vintage Fashion and Textiles Fair at the Crone Plaza in Speke. If you see me there say hello.

 

Have a lovely weekend whatever you're doing - I'll be back on Monday with lots of lovely purchases to show you and outfit pics. I will even try to smile in them.

 

Nighty night.

Nikki x

Post-Payday Purchases

Yep, it was payday last week so I bought things. I thought I'd display them on my mannequin Betty for a change and I think it looks better than just hanging them up. I really need to find the finnial-thing for Betty - it's been misplaced in a move.

1950s Checked Dress from Pop Boutique - £30

First up is this lovely checked blue dress. I now have about 8 blue 1950s dresses - it's definitely the most common colour in my wardrobe. I'm still searching for that elusive purple 1950s dress though. I also have a lot of dresses with checks. It seems to hang a bit funny in this pic, but it's fine on.

Buttons

 I love the buttons on this dress and it has sleeves - I'm on the lookout for more dresses with sleeves. There's no label to show you on this dress.
 

Maxi dress from Lili Bizarre - £15

Yay it's purple! I really like this maxi by Berketex. I think it's 1970s, but I tend to associate spots more with the 1960s, so I'm not too sure. It's quite thin cotton, but lined  in purple fabric.

Back View

 It also has a fabulous bow at the back.

Close-up of Bow

Berketex Label

The label is all crinkly so it was hard to photograph.

I also got another pretty maxi dress:

Floral Maxi Dress from Pop Boutique - £21.60 and one Luna



This dress is so sweet and I've wanted a pinafore-type dress for ages. This one reminds me of the 1980s cartoon Strawberry Shortcake.

Back View

It has a bow at the back too, but there isn't a brand label to show you, just a size label. It's quite thin cotton and only lined as far as the bodice, so I'll have to be careful what I wear underneath.

 

I'm rather pleased with my purchases, but again not sure when I'll get chance to wear the maxis with the weather and all. I've worn the 1950s dress to work already.

 

Apart from buying things, I've been getting a real back-to-school bug. Autumn really has that "new beginnings" feeling for me. I can practically feel it in the air. In the run-up to September, I always feel like I should be buying new stationery and starting new courses or projects.  I'd love to go to lectures again - proper ones in warm, dimly-lit rooms with a noisy slide machine- taking notes and filling my brain with fascinating stuff. I'm even missing writing and researching. If I had loads of money, I'd go and get another degree - I'm not sure what in though. There are so many things I wish I'd studied or kept up. I'd love to get back into French, or do Classics and I've got a bit of a hankering to learn Latin (my boss can speak Latin - I am in awe). I just want to learn things! I'm a bit stuck on what to do really - I've had a look at evening classes and I don't really fancy any of them., but I'll keep my eye out. 

 

Hrmm... what I should really do is sell things, so maybe I'll get on with that!

 

 

Nikki x