Another little Video! Bargain Retro-Style Haul.

Here is a little haul video of things I have found on EBay, Poundland, Primark and my local YMCA charity shop... enjoy, nosey peeps!

Cheap Chappette Style (Olympiad & Vintage Event Dressing On A Budget)

There are some events where everyone dresses up. Events where half the point is to people watch, to see and be seen. Events such as The Chap Olympiad, which pop up once a year in the vintage calendar and provoke a mad panic of 'what shall I wear?'. It's part of the fun and part of the hell of getting ready ... and sometimes all those lucky people with perfect late 40s Dior or made-to-measure repro can be pretty intimidating to those of us on a more modest budget. Ha, never fear! One of the great things about these events is their creativity - in all but the most joyless, geekiest snobfest (and who would want to go to an event like that anyway?) when you look closely you'll see a myriad of different styles, budgets and methods. If you look closely at some of the perfect 'just got papped' blogger types, you may well note it's their sharp eye for styling and not their budget that gave them the edge. So here are some ideas on how to dress for those 'big' vintage days out without breaking the bank...

Button Revamp - New Old Top!

Hi all! I hope you're enjoying the bank holiday in all its glory. I was a little worried yesterday as I could see my breath and it was pouring with rain, luckily it's brighter today! I shouldn't really be blogging now if I was a proper blogger, as people don't read it straight away - but heh, you guys can read this whenever. If it starts raining again you can thank me for something to do.

Miss Selfridge via a Chazza

Cute Pocket detail

I was rummaging through my wardrobe recently and found this shirt, which I bought for about £3 from a charity shop a year or two ago. I love the pattern and cute pockets - it also lends itself to being styled with casual jeans or work wear, and can look very 50s gypsy style or hippy chic. Bargain! However, as you can see, it was all crumpled and folorn at the back of the shelf when I found it...

Poundland Haul

Sorry I've been away. I've been quite poorly recently unfortunately.

Never mind. Local Poundlands had a chance to re-stock. Here's a V-log about my latest Poundland and 99p Stores haul...

 Enjoy! And if you do YouTube, subscribe to my channel as I am planning to do more video stuff in future. Just don't expect expert camera action, it's gonna be more You've Been Framed than BAFTA material.

Attacking Things From Poundland With A Glue Gun

Ah yes, the weather has been foul so I have been doing things indoors. By doing things, I mainly mean reading trashy fantasy novels and watching YouTube tutorials whilst eating Pringles by the fistful - but eventually, occasionally, I actually get round to making the things I've watched. Yes, crafting. Or in my case, sticking everything in sight together with an overheating glue gun and hoping for the best.

S'cuse the nekkid nails.

Trip To The V&A

Alas I am limpy once again. My sciatica struck during the snow and it's still here... unfortunately I got no sympathy on the tube because, it seems, most tourists think that injured or disabled people look like Tiny Tim. Obviously I have no right to walk slowly looking relatively normal, or try to do normal things. Grr. I wouldn't mind so much but bar stairs, I'm actually quicker than the average tourist is, so their request to the person hanging on to the handrail and wincing as she walks to speed up were a bit rich to say the least.

Anyway, my sister and I made it to the V&A to catch the end of the 'Kitty & The Bulldog' mini-exhibition and the new fashion galleries. I like fashion history and my sister likes Japanese sub cultures, so between us we made up one cultured visitor. We also like anything a bit OTT and wearable. You can't beat it whether it's a hooped velvet skirt from a Victorian wedding or a lace and pearl cuff from Japan. When we were looking at the 1850s section of the fashion galleries, my sister quipped that I would be normal sized then. Heheheh indeed. I would be mighty and tall! On reflection, the crinolines would also have hidden my gigantic feet too. But there wouldn't have been any central heating so I would probably have burned myself to a crisp as I rashly edged nearer and nearer to the fireplace in my purple velvet monstrosity.

Winter Wonderland 2012

On the first of December, I dragged himself out do do something Christmassy. For it was the first of December and my house was too much of a wreck to even consider Christmas (this left the cleaning and tree wresting to Sunday, with a hangover, which in hindsight I should have foreseen). Anyway, it was time to get squashed, get muddy in a park line up in the cold for the toilets and buy beer in plastic cups ... that festival in the midst of winter, Winter Wonderland Hyde Park.

If you've never been, essentially it's a German market, circus, fun fair, Santa land and ice rink all in the middle of London; free to get in, with loads of stuff to spend all your pennies on inside. Like beer halls and mulled wine. Yeah, we were totally up for the cultural stuff. What a shame, we got waylaid by the food and booze, as is our way.

Aint No Party Like A Retro Party

Helllooo! Apologies for the recent lack of posts. I've been working hard (mid exam season) and haven't really done anything interesting to blog, hence the online absence.
Well Saturday night I did something very blog worthy. Whether you think so or not hahaha! As it's my birthday this week, I threw a party for me and my sister, with a full on 70s buffet. For all the trends and pinterest boards on classy snack stations, you just can't beat a cheesy old retro buffet with cocktails. I combined some older recipes with some modern ones off t'internet, and it went down very well.

Of course, some pictures...

Sweet little fella!

My old university pal brought a cheese-and-pineapple hedgehog. With a face, no less! What a garnish to the buffet that was. We could hardly bear to eat it. It was hard... but we managed - he was spineless by 10pm. Even the vegetarians had a go- for shame!

Jubilation Throughout The Nation

Four days off work waheeeey!

No, in all seriousness, the Jubilee is going to be an interesting event for those of us who enjoy aesthetic and domestic history. You can look at major events from the perspective of their ancient heritage and timelessness, but on the other hand each major festival is so utterly 'of its time' it helps create a snapshot for of antiques, retro and culture for the future.

Celebration Bread & Butter Pudding made
 by Rosie Lee-check her out on FB...
She restored the stand from a tarnished wreck, too!

Why I Dress Like An Explosion In A Charity Shop

First off, apologies for the lack of posts recently. It's the two most hectic weeks of the year for my day job. No time for blogging, all energies must be reserved for paperwork and fine toothed combing of the paperwork of others.

I have been distant.

I have been reading blogs however, especially some interesting ones about 'why I dress this way' (or 'why wear vintage?') from some fab bloggers:
Retro Chick
Suzie Q for Retro Chick
Tuppence Ha'penny
Vintage Secret

Crafty Bargain

As any craft-lover knows, crafting is back in vogue. This is fantastic for ideas- a quick search for blogs, Pinterest, or my favourite site Cut Out And Keep, brings up a wealth of content. However, as any fule kno, when something is popular, it gets expensive.

My bargain book: £1.49!

Life Magazine Recipe Book 2

The second half of the fascinating book...




Please note there is representation of dodgy attitudes to ethnicity and gender in the book, obviously these do NOT represent the feelings of this blogger and are noted as such in the video.

Wonderful 50s Book & 1st Youtube Video

Check me out, my first Youtube video!


I found this wonderful book from Life Magazine in a bag of old recipe books purchased for 20p at a boot sale. It's got some amazing insights into the 50s Hollywood-luxe lifestyle, as well as some fabulous recipes. And the outfits are to die for...

Please excuse my hideous Lahndan accent.

Old Skool

More of my scruffy 70s stylings. Meet my favourite shell toes:

Gained in a thrifty manner, but of course! Several members of my family (all a good 3-4 inches taller than me) have the same shoe size. These were inherited, nearly new, from my sis who works in meedja and is much trendier than me.

Easter Florals

Happy Easter, everyone!

Easter Shoes!

A quick outfit post for you all today; spring has sprung (according the the calendar if not the weather) so I cracked out one of my floral 60s summer dresses. With opaques and a 70s tracksuit jacket, because of the aforementioned weather.

99p Garden Fun

After several hours of hacking, strimming, mowing and being raked by brambles last weekend, we got our new-ish garden looking like this:

OK, so it isn't the prettiest yet, and (you may note, by the G plan chair) we have no charming rattan garden furnishings either... but it's finally useable. So we've been using it, to dry laundry, to put out wee seedlings of herbs and small veg. Mainly, however, given the lovely warm weather, to sit about in.

Ethical Fashion Bloggers

I've just joined Ethical Fashion Bloggers. Very kind of them, I'm pretty thrifty and sometimes ethical... but 'fashion' is a bit of a stretch hahaha.

One of the reasons I'm so excited about the community is their fun challenges. I'm always up for a challenge and sharing fun style. Unfortunately, although this month has a fabulous competition, I just didn't seem to have my fashion-blog mojo on. I'm not one of those people who blogs every outfit, because a lot of my outfits look similar to each other and frankly, I'd rather go for quality and variety than outfits everyday.

So I decided to dress back up in my favourite vintage outfit of late, the one I wore to the launch of Style Me Vintage: Clothes. There are a few reasons why I love this outfit and feel it represents an ethical choice.

Win A Cami Set With Emerald Angel!

I have been a terrible blogger of late, no posts for a week waah! I have no excuse bar having no life at the moment and thus nothing really to share, how terribly boring. Luckily I stumbled across something lovely at Vintage Passions Just Like Mine; a contest from Emerald Angel we can all enter! WooHoo! Oh, and of course the prize is pretty lush. A cute girdle and cami set in retro style, with darling kitsch designs- perfect for anyone from a saucy chapette to a rockabilly girl - and these are made to order, so it's definitely a top prize.

Cute Camis and girdles

Of course, my fave's the animal print!

To enter the competition, you need to visit them at their Facebook (linked here) and follow their instructions. This includes including the instructions when you re-blog or FB share...which I shall do now below:

"Here it is what you've all been waiting for! A chance to win one of my new Girdles and matching bra/cami tops! 

So all you have to do is Like my FB page if you haven't already and then publicly share/repost the photo of the set from my FB page you would like to win. Easy! (ensure you keep all description text)

For each time you share the photo you will get 1 entry in the draw. So keep sharing daily if you wish and you will have more chance of winning!

You can also gain extra entries by reblogging on Tumblr if you have an account there too. My Blog: http://emeraldangeluk.tumblr.com/ Remember to let me know if you have a different name on Tumblr than Facebook.

Or by blogging about it in your own blog. (Remember to send me a link)

Competition closes on 4th April, winner will be notified soon after. Girdle & Cami Top will be made in your custom size.

Where you can find out more details or buy these: http://www.emeraldangel.co.uk/hoisery-lingerie.html"

Well good luck, people. I would like to say I hope you win, but I'm kinda hoping I win! If I don't, however, I'd prefer it if one of my lovely followers did. 

Chelsea Girl

Last week I did something very unusual for me. I went into a shop and paid full price for something new. I know, I know! £30 of my hard earned cash. Blimy. Mind you I don't regret it, because this is what Retro Chick wisely calls pyjama clothes. A dress which looks 'statement' but feels loungy. Plus, it's kind of repro-retro (well, no, it isn't, it's just from River Island- but it is part of their Chelsea Girl revival range). And anyway, as I always say, my style combines vintage/retro and modern- so why not repro and modern too?

Making Luurve

I don't get people who dislike Valentine's day because they say (usually condenscendingly) 'anyone who treats their loved one especially nicely once a year must therefore be neglecting them the rest of the time'. Not only is that deliberately mean spirited (assuming that everyone apart from their holiness of holier-than-thou is neglectful every other day and merely OK on Valentine's) it patently ignores the one thing that modern psychologists, historical sages and wise nannas all agree on; that it's impossible, and unhealthy, to be in a full-on emotional state 24/7 - so ritual and celebratory dates are valuable. A moment of excess and expression. Everyday love is vital; it's listening, cooking dinner, remembering to take the bins out on a cold night so they don't have to. It isn't - unless you're rich and unhealthy- champagne, chocolates a-plenty and nights on the town. That's why we have festivals.