Signposts

Sadie

• Sadie’s Wardrobe is a classic “what I wore” blog of the type I love so much. Sadie is a cutie with a penchant for perfect vintage pieces. Look at her above; is this not delightful?
• Deena over at Fat Girls Like Nice Clothes Too has done a really in-depth post on the Beth Ditto for Evans collection, with the classic “changing-room photo montage”. I love the dedication.
• Daydream Lily is a beautifully-designed image blog run by a photographer with an eye for beautiful, atmospheric pictures. If you like Loveology, you will probably dig this. It directed me to the website Aspiring Couture, which features these amazing wedding dresses from ecofriendly designer Blushless. Although there is no law stopping people from wearing white dresses every day, these are thousands of dollars worth of couture-standard dress. I wish I could see bigger pictures.

Have a good weekend.

S

Biba & Ossie Clarke Gear

I have scoured the c20vintagefashion site and found some lovely pieces by Biba and Ossie Clarke.

Biba Leopard print jacket

Decadent Biba satin lounging dress

Ossie Clark dress with Celia Birtwell print

Ossie Clarke Jaquard Coat/Dress

Further outfit eye candy available here. A.

A Good Vintage

It can be difficult to find good vintage in London despite the plethora of vintage shops. I’ve read a few quotes from celebs recently saying much the same and I agree that there is a lot of dross out there.

You definitely get what you pay for, which means that I, for one, have lots of

Dehydration Dress

‘crazy’ vintage dresses made out of plastic fibre which is always the wrong material, whatever the weather. I have one particular dress, which features sprays of small blue & white flowers all over, which actively helped me dehydrate on my late summer trip to Italy this year.

So, it was nice to see that someone has thought of putting vintage on the internet. The only downside is not being able to feel the material (which I love doing) but that’s always the downside with online shopping.

Sunday Times Style magazine has picked out the best so I don’t have to:

• lovemissdaisy.com: extensive selection organised by type and reasonable prices.
• rokit.co.uk: Online version of the shop but could be viewed as a little pricey.
• ninaandlola.com: You can search by decade! Brilliant and a good site too.
• c20vintagefashion.co.uk: Biba, Ossie Clarke  and other60s/70s rock n roll boutique items.

A

Portobello Market Style at your fingertips

Cred: PretaPortobello

I’m a South London girl at heart – for many years, Greenwich Market was my local market staple. I heard good things about this magical West London market on Portobello Road but could not be convinced to trek across town to visit. Until one day, and there it was, laid out in its full glory and really, Greenwich Market just does not compare.

We followed the crowds from Notting Hill tube station, past the antique stalls selling everything from cricket balls to horn handled magnifying glasses, all the way towards Ladbroke Grove, and the fun, clothes bit of Portobello market. As you can probably tell, I’ve always imbued the market shopping experience with a magical, mythical quality; the experience tends to live up to that until the moment I find something I love, realise I have no cash and I’m a bit cold. And on a wet day like today, the idea of a market just doesn’t appeal.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I heard about the new site -
PretaPortobello. They describe themselves as ‘a brand new fashion market on the web’ and you can even barter with the sellers; I think the site’s little flourishes really add to an already great idea. There’s even a vintage section. A.

Ebay gems: Purple

Scanning ebay can be tiresome and frustrating for those with better things to do, especially when searching for vintage. Here is my selection of the best current ebay vintage auctions (UK) featuring the colour purple.

1. Jersey dress, size 14. At time of posting, £9.99. I’m not convinced that this is 1940s as claimed but it’s made of a draping knitted material and is a lovely colour, plus I love panels and layers.

 

2. Polyester dress, size 16. ATOP, £65. Steep I know but check out the detail: ribbon-edged ruffles in the skirt and at the neckline, with a full skirt and a luminous colour.

 

3. Polyester dress, size 8/10. ATOP £12.99. The graphic stripe on this dress is awesome. I apologise for finding you polyester clothing but it’s not always as bad as you imagine, I have a couple of polyester ebay and they are soft and wearable and hardly ever catch fire.

S