My visit to Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair!

Hello Lovelies and Happy Sunday!

Sorry it's taken me so long to make another blog post, but I hope you find this one makes up for it!

Today I visited Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair in Bethnal Green. For only £2 entry I was able to browse the best vintage offerings at amazing prices! This includes clothing, footwear, accessories, home-ware and everything in between!

First up here is what I wore to the fair (with my new shorter haircut!)

I wore a Pinup Couture dress which is one of my favourites and it's the first time this year I was able to wear it due to the sunny weather! I'm also wearing my amazing Luxulite lobster necklace.

Now for some cute fair pics and then I'll give you my round up and also reveal my buys!

Cute faux Chanel earrings!

Jeepers creepers!

This jacket was too cute!

Amazing red lip print!

Vintage phones…so cute!

Anyone for lobster?

Super cute coasters!

Brooches galore!

The sweetest ornament! Kind of wish I bought it now!

Amazing home-ware

Full house!

Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair was born in London in 2005 by Judy Berger, who understands that people love vintage (like me!) but often don't have the big bucks to shell out for pretty pieces (also like me!). The quality of the items were amazing and the price just as so. Here you'll find some really unique pieces of clothing, jewellery and home ware. For the true vintage lovers of the 40's/50's there might not be quite as much to choose from (as that era can be quite pricey), but there's a lot of great 80's does vintage items, which I find just as cute!

The atmosphere is very busy and positive, everyone working there is a doll, everyone was super sweet and really helpful. Plus there was tea, cake and crumpets on offer!

Now for my purchases! My budget was quite low but even with that I managed to score a vintage 1980's Moschino Barbie pink crop jacket for only £40!!! It was love at first sight, I saw it on the front of the rail and literally ran towards it! As soon as I tried it on I knew it was meant to be! Pics and details below…

Cute!

bought from Vintage Fever

Contact details from the seller

Perfect fit!

The cutest trim!

Love love love!

I also bought 2 nylon scarfs for £5 altogether! Perfect to put in my hair if I'm having a bad hair day!

Phew! What a day! I am more than happy with my purchases, I can't wait to wear my new jacket to work tomorrow to show it off! I'm having a pink phase at the moment so this is just perfect.

All in all I would definitely recommend Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair, it's great value, super quality, and an all round fun time, a great thing to do on a Sunday. Check out the Facebook page to see when Judy's is in a town near you! They travel to 30+ cities and 6 major festivals so they're bound to be near you soon. They also do a mix of general vintage fairs and vintage furniture fairs so you're sure to find one you like.

That's all dolls, I hope you enjoyed my review! And do leave comments if you have any questions or know of any other fairs I should visit!

Sweet dreams

B 

House of Satin Review

Happy Sunday everyone!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, I realise I probably don't have many readers but I still do feel like I'm slacking, so I will strive to post more from now on!

Anyway, today I finally tried on my House of Satin lingerie set and I just had to include it in today's post as it is simply wonderful!

I went for the pink satin bra, knickers and suspender set (all pictured below). The entire set came to about £30 which I thought was somehow a trick but it's real!

The story behind House of Satin really warmed me to the brand as well. Everything is hand made in the UK in Derby, by a lovely lady called Yvonne I believe, and you can really feel the love that goes into these garments. Also the sizing is great as I really struggle to find vintage style bras that still make my boobs look good! I'm quite busty so some brands don't always cater to my size or they tend to flatten my chest, I went for a 32F and it is pretty perfect! I would say they are quite roomy so go down if you're in-between sizes.

Now for the pretty pictures! (all taken on my iPhone 6 with no editing)

Vintage style pink satin full coverage bra

£9.95

My waist is about 26 inches and I went for size Small with the belt (it is on the tightest hook)

Suspender belt in matching satin

£14

Vintage style pink satin briefs

£5.50

I'm around a size 10 and went for Small in the briefs

The stockings I used for these pictures are What Katie Did

As you can see the colour is magnificent, I feel like a true pinup Barbie. The colour ranges are also a surprise as they have a lot of choice (and new lines coming from what I can tell on the instagram). So if bright pink is a bit too striking, you can also go for pastel blue or white or classic black.

The product range is also more than the above, including night wear, girdles and slips. I will definitely be buying more, I wanted to start with a classic lingerie set to get a feel for the brand. 

I'm sure you'll agree that sometimes cheap items can be off putting, as with vintage lingerie the more expensive the better the quality (in most cases). But I can assure you that I am simply very impressed with the quality of these pieces, I am yet to wear them out for a long time but just on a first trying-on I feel that it will all be very comfy and long lasting.

Also the love that has gone into this lingerie makes me think that this is less of a money making scheme, and more of a labour of love to give customers affordable glamour.

B

xxx

Collectif & Erstwilder Match Made In Heaven!

A happy Tuesday to you all!

I hope you've all been having a wonderful day, I am settled on my bed in my fluffy dressing gown, and pleased as punch with my recent purchases so I thought I'd share.

When I heard Erstwilder was being stocked at Collectif I freaked! Her brooches and jewellery are beyond adorable and are so unique to what else is out on the hight street. They're made from quality resin in amazing colours and characters.

As I have a cute schnauzer called Teddie who I love and adore when I saw the pink schnauzer brooch I knew I just had to have it!

Isn't he the cutest?! And only £17.50 from the Collectif website it is such a bargain, as it's also a great size and very eye-catching! Also the packaging is adorable, I am definitely keeping it stored in the box!

After I browsed the new Erstwilder collection I found myself in the sale section on Collectif as usual! Oops!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the Marianne Jacket for £20 and the matching Caroline Skirt for £16 - that's a whole set for £36! Amazing! Pictures below (with some professional photos from the website thrown in as my camera does not do justice to the colour!).

I went for a size 8 in the skirt as my waist is quite small, and it fits very snugly, it's perfect! It's lined and the material has a lovely woollen feel so it's prefect for the current weather, as it's still very chilly in London. The jacket is a size 10 as my bust is quite big, and then I can also wear it comfortably over clothes without the buttons pulling. This is the same material and lining as the skirt, but the faux fur…WOW…it is so soft! The faux fur is amazing quality, I really couldn't stop stroking myself! Hehe!

I am super happy with the fit, quality and of course the price of all the items I bought from Collectif! I really recommend having a look at the Erstwilder brooches as they match perfectly with the style of the Collectif clothes. The cute pink Schnzauzer looks really adorable on the blue/green and I can't wait to wear this out tomorrow…it'll certainly turn heads on the tube!

I hope you enjoyed my review, do let me know if you have any questions about what I've bought! The sale section is still on and everything above is still available for sale, but be quick about it!

B

xxx

Woman Crush Wednesday

Happy hump day!

It's Wednesday already and after today we can quickly slip into the weekend. Hurrah! To celebrate I thought I'd dedicate my second blog post to the three women I constantly crush on, as they are not only incredibly beautiful, but also daring, brave and all round inspirational.

Bettie Page

Of course I had to start with Bettie, the Queen of the Pinups. She has recently been coined as the Notorious Bettie Page - a term she herself has refuted, as she saw nothing wrong in what she did. I recently watched Bettie Page Reveals All and I can't recommend it enough. It's narrated by the Queen herself, and contains unseen photos and video archives that are a joy to watch.

However underneath Bettie's enticing smile was a very dark and troubled childhood and adolescence, that she discusses very frankly in the documentary. Her willingness to carry on in the face of so much hardship, and embrace herself for exactly who she is is so inspiring to me.

One memorable anecdote from the documentary is when she confronted her first husband with divorce. He had returned from the war a changed man, like most men did those days, and Bettie wanted out. He yelled and threatened, and held a knife to her throat screaming; 'If you leave me I'll kill you!' but (in Bettie's own words) she 'did it anyway'. She never let any man walk all over her.

Bettie is beautiful, ballsy, brave, and her pictures speak louder than any words, so here are some of my faves.

Betty Brosmer

Ah another beautiful Betty. Betty Brosmer with the waist that just won't quit. I remember the first picture I saw of Betty, and I just thought 'wow! That waist can NOT be real!' but it is and she's all round amazing!

Betty was a model through and through, appearing on hundreds of magazine covers, and winning many beauty pageants - everyone loved her look. Betty was the first true glamour girl, and for me is the personification of Glamour.

She's often overshadowed as she appeared at a similar time to Marilyn Monroe, and as they were both blonde they were often compared. But Betty's insane figure and radiating smiles has always won me over.

Dita Von Teese

The Queen of the Tease, Ms Von Teese herself. The woman who arguably bought burlesque into the modern age. For me she is the performer who introduced burlesque to me, and has promoted it in such a positive way.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Dita three times and every time she has been lovely, sweet, and ridiculously good-looking (not to mention hr outfits, wow!). I also once saw her perform her Opium Den show, and there really is nothing like seeing that woman move on stage, I highly recommend seeing her perform if you can. Check out her website for details.

Most of all I love Dita's approach to life and being a burlesque superstar. She must be interviewed a hundred times a day but her answers are always so on point. A few of my favourite quotes below:

Physical beauty isn't so impressive to me.

I advocate glamour. Every day. Every minute.


Ignore the critics… Only mediocrity is safe from ridicule. Dare to be different!

You can be the ripest, juciest peach, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches.

I have included only 3 of my favourite femme fatales, but my list is endless. If you need any inspiration in either life, performing, or a confidence boost I suggest you check out: Miss Mosh, Raquel Reed, Gia Genevieve, Miss Miranda, Immodesty Blaize, Sabina Kelley, Masuimi Max - I've listed modern pinups so you can check out what they're up to now and perhaps catch them performing/appearing near you, each name links to their website or social media.

Please feel free to comment with your woman crush Wednesday, I'd love to learn about more amazing ladies either past or present.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

B

xxx