Category: vintage
Weekend Wanderings..
On Saturday Fairy, Bella and I headed to Shoreditch to the Jumble and Pearls vintage and more sale at the Book Club. (A fab cafe in it’s own right with loads going on…and it’s own table tennis table..)
Shoreditch is an eclectic, buzzing, creative, urban area with stories and something different round every corner. Looking with eyes wide open is a must.
(I was thinking of you, Su..loved the retro letters..)
Opposite the light shop was this fairytale-like Reclamation Yard…we were immediately sidetracked (it doesn’t take much..). Set in an old church it was like stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia…..
I didn’t think so much space existed in central London…
In my dreams this old French haberdashery unit is pride of place in my kitchen holding bowls and plates..and anything else..
We were at Jumble and Pearl to see my wonderful cousin Nathalie (her story here) and see her new merchandise for Sam Says Enjoy Life.
(My sister swears by these bibs and is always being asked where she got them from)
I also had Bella’s portrait drawn by the lovely Jenny Robins.
I’ve always fancied having a wall of framed ‘street art’ portraits of the kids, drawn across the years, seen with different eyes and marking their growth into adults.
Jenny has said she’ll help, so this is the first one…I like to think the finished collection will be like an Installation in it’s own right..
We headed home, very happy with my purchase from Nathalie – one of her new up-cycled denim bags, perfect to hold in style the daily detritus I manage to accumulate and lug around.
I particularly like the pockets..that little bit of embroidery is heaven.
Laters, Kate x
Bill Skinner x
What’s a girl to do when faced with such gorgeousness? Possibly write a very large wish list and place it somewhere purposeful and prominent. With a begging money box on the side. Classic with a giggle, Bill Skinner has a way of capturing the essence of vintage for the modern wardrobe – this enchanting Butterfly pendant is hand carved and enamelled with even the glass dome hand blown in Kent. Makes the £90 price tag seem a bargain…
Or how about a Kingfisher? (They remind me of all things delicious – dollshouses, Victorian taxidermy..and do you remember those tiny glass bottles filled with beads that passed as fairy dust??)
Bill Skinner learnt his trade with the best: Asprey, Arpels, Garrards and Van Cleef. Followed by a polishing of Street from Butler & Wilson and the wonderful Vivienne Westwood.
Influenced by heritage but not stuck in the past his designs always have that touch of fun.
Any Shrek fans?!
Adore!
Designs of delight and a price point that works..what’s not to love? Now… where’s that credit card hiding…
Laters, Kate x
Funky and Fanciful x
There’s a serendipity when things that aren’t perfect just are.
Like an unexpected marriage of colour, nostalgia and manipulation.
But then would you expect any more from Karen Walker?
(I want this bow necklace. Like now…)
The Queen of witchy powers, always willing to throw magic into the mix. And cackle with glee at the results..
Laters, Kate x
A Stitch in Time..
(one side – flowery with geometric)
Beautiful bed linen lifts me away from the world and gives my soul one more colour. My most favourite, treasured set came from my Grandmother and I used to sleep in it as a child when we stayed at her beautiful thatched cottage in the country. Now, even though it is faded and getting worn away, Charlie sleeps in it which is an utter joy because it represents a living link to the past.
(The other side geometric)
But part of the love is not only the nostalgic memories and how soft the sheets are, but the design is just so edible and clever: The pillows, the duvet – even the fitted sheet and the sheet – have the choice of 2 contrasting patterns, one on each side: one flowery, one geometric. What’s always amazed me is that the sheets are one printed piece of fabric yet when you look you never see the other pattern coming through, even now when they’re decades old. And the two sides compliment and work together so fantastically allowing endless combinations and configurations. I’ve never found anything like them…until recently.
A Company – The Secret Linen store – has just started offering sheets and duvets that are reversible. And there’s more..
They’ve used a single off-white warp throughout making every piece feel as though it’s from the same family, so even though each design can have a totally different look, it can all be mix and matched together to create you’re own aesthetic.
And they send out free samples so you can see what you’re getting and check colours..
Also the prices..they’re aiming for great designs and GREAT prices…from £30 for a double duvet? I likey.
But possibly most exciting of all for me (see previous post) THERE’S A SIZE LABEL WOVEN INSIDE!!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!! At LAST!!!
Maybe I can finally retire my beloved set before it falls to shreds…….and turn it into a quilt so it can continue giving joy and memories for generations to come.
Anyone know a good quilt maker??!
Laters, Kate x
Yo! Beach…
Last summer I was seduced by retro swimwear..the high wasted bottoms and halter necks. 
It was my first toe in the water of vintage styles for the beach and I didn’t want to trip up so kept it simple and stuck to black accessorised with cats eye sunnies and a slash of red lipstick.
It was one of my best buys of the summer and this year I want to expand into colour and print – it’s hard to explain the physics of how more can be less. The nearest thing I can say is that it’s like the wonders of a mini skirt – with a normal bikini you’re basically standing in your pants and nothing is left to the imagination. Wearing a mini, not much more is added..except you want to see the pants! 
These beauties are truly designed for women with curves and effortlessly turn you into that nostalgic siren of the screen, oozing feminine charm..
(All the above swimsuits are from Esther Williams, and can be bought through Luna for those in the UK.)
(And this lovely number is from Pour Moi at Fig Leaves.)
It’s a no-brainer – we need to step away from the sticks of this world and embrace the decades that embraced us back!
Laters, Kate x
La Vita e Bella..
Spring has really sprung in London..you can almost leave the house without a coat… it means all I want to do is pour myself into summer…
It doesn’t help that the Dolce & Gabbana Spring Summer advertising campaign has cherry picked everything my heart is yearning for…
The effervescence of the simple life – the joy of cooking with fresh ingredients, the passion of creating, the aroma of flowers and fruit ripening in the sun, blue skies and al fresco suppers in the garden…the extra long brown legs don’t help either (where I can find them and how much do they cost?!) all sharpened up with a hint of Mafia.
There’s a haunting beauty that’s still grounded in the past, capturing a time when there was time to roam and relax into natural rhythms..
There’s still laughter and fun..the fluidity of life rushing on the slow side with everything in broad strokes.
I want to hold it like a snow globe and treasure it forever..
Laters, Kate x
Silken Favours x
Victoria Murdoch is the independent, free-thinking spirit and designer behind the label Silken Favours, creating her own silk pieces from traditional pen & ink techniques.
Based in London and originally working everything by hand, she’s managed to combined her nostalgic sense of magic with fast, modern digital printing techniques to produce commercially priced work with that personal touch.
Humour with a delicateness to make you smile and lust.
Clever designs that speak to the heart with a shift in every mood and a requisite fair and lightness.
Sort of cute but still sly making it all so appealing..and endearing.
Silk is her canvas, but this is just the start – there’s more to come like insanely printed silk shirts. Imagine!
I can’t wait.
Laters, Kate x
The Fableists x
(Bella wearing Baseball shirt £20)
The driving force behind The Fableist’s children’s label has nothing to do with fashion, it has nothing to do with faddy designs or even seasonal clothes. The name comes from the amalgamation of two words – ‘fables’ – for the telling of stories and most importantly, where each piece of clothing comes from, and ‘activist’ – what it’s going to take to change this industry around. The simple focus of the brand is the wish to do the best for our children and that this should never involve child labour or harmful chemicals.
(Charlie wearing Recycle tee £16)
But that doesn’t mean the fashion doesn’t exist..
Look through the Collection and you’ll find their Chore coat..utilitarian to a seam – can be worn by either boys or girls..timeless, versatile and a wardrobe staple winter or summer.
(Bella wearing Charlie’s Breton tee! £20)
Or their Smock Dress? A tom-boys delight..a dress that isn’t girly based on a vintage dress found in a Parisienne flea market. How perfect?
(Charlie wearing Brain tee £16)
Every element has been thought of and thought through, from the biodegradable PVC packaging to passports and labels made from re-cycled paper and rhino poo. Certainly had my scamps laughing!
At the heart of so much fashion today is a grotty portrait of a dusty, broken world where profit comes before anything else.
What a joy then to discover a Company that is prepared to buck the trend.
The Fableists are chicken soup for children clothes – rich, deep and soulful. They recognise that our future is the little people..and their future needs a planet.
Cool clothes and a good heart?
It’s a rare combination that deserves our support.
Laters, Kate x
The Girl with the Pearl Clothes…
I will love you, Mother of Pearl AW14, but I will hate you at the same time..because I could never afford your prices…
Your witty take on William Morris, courtesy of the collaboration on the Collection with Richard Saja, brought willingly to the twenty first century with neon embroidery has stolen my breaking heart.
There’s the game changing take on tartan..
And ingenious print..It’s not just about what you want to wear, but who you want to be. If I wore this, I’d be myself – but a bit better: I’d waft. And wonderful phrases with many syllables would flow like liquid gold from my happy lips, making even Sparrows smile….
The little touches, the fabulous shoes..how could nude ankle socks ever look so chic?
And this is actually a dress..a surprise..
(Photos by Style,com and Kristabel Plummer)
One by one they follow the shape of my heart…and walk on by…
Laters, Kate x
Lay on the Lippy! x
How much love is involved in the beauty of a vintage lipstick case? They exude the allure of times gone past with fleeting glimpses of decadent Hollywood glamour. Let alone that evocative smell that is like no other.
They speak of a time when the packaging on the outside was as precious as what went on inside.
I don’t have one – partly because I’m wary of investing in something that can’t be used, which would be heartbreaking.
But I’ve spotted these by Paul and Joe (also available at ASOS) – refillable lipstick cases – the cases are about £7 and the refills £14 and, whilst I applaud the concept, and as much as these are fun (great little present) it’s a bit like comparing cheap fizz with Veuve Cliquot.
Does anyone know – CAN vintage lipstick cases still be used? Does lipstick come in a universal size?? If so, I’d be one happy bunny!
Or maybe one of the big Cosmetic companies are still making proper, metal, swanky lipstick cases that can be refilled it’s just we rarely hear about them?
If they’re not – why aren’t they? They’d be little bits of every day heaven to treasure, with the joy of upgrading and swapping colours – or buying new cases! I’d buy in like a shot! – I really can’t think of anything chicer to have in my bag…
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 