Steel-City Chic

The second city we ever visited, we've a soft spot for Sheffield; cooing over shoes on Division Street, Jumanji-style hijinx in the Winter Gardens, the Moses-style water-wall as you leave the station - heck what's not to love.


Holding a fair there TODAY [the Workstation next to the Showroom Cinema, click here for details] we've been out on the streets to meet our people; move over Milan - Sheff got style!

Super-chic indeed. All the fun of the fair to come. 

xVVx

www.judysvintagefair.co.uk

And the nominees are...

Sometimes taking the news with breakfast can be a dangerous thing; coffee scolds, burning toast and Cheerios propelled from the mouth, into the bowl below.


Yesterday was one such morning. Over a pre-PM peruse of our messages and news,we discovered this: we've been nominated for a Cosmo!

Yes, the above big, pink button of joy signifies that we're up for a Blog Award! Nominated in the category of 'Best Brand Blog' [up against Russel and Jo - what? that's a good joke!] safe to say, it was brekky to remember.

Now here come the pleading, encouraging, get-down-on-your-knees-ing part: readers, we need YOU! If you enjoy our style news, our views, our overuse of puns - please, click here [or on the Cosmo balloon above] and vote for us for Best Brand Blog. We may not be the biggest [sharing a category with Topshop - hello fear/reverence!] but we want to show that the underdog's got B-I-T-E! Out with the identikit and in with vintage - you know what to do!

Now, to return this soapbox to whence it came and leave you all in peace.

Adieu vintage fans - here's to making dreams come true.

xVVx

www.judysvintagefair.co.uk

Life through a Lens with Judy HQ

They say a 'picture is worth a thousand words' and, this time, we're going to believe them.

In that vain, we wanted to treat you to a little occular delight [oh dear, it sounds like a Halloween dessert] to catch you up with all that we've been up to these past few weeks. Set phasers to 'stunning' - these pics will blow you away...

Plane-sailing at Fly to the Past Festival

Talk about 'pin-up...'

Paisleys and pea-greens at the Spitalfields Bank Holiday Vintage Market

Baring all whilst treading the boards - it's Proud Cabaret

Looking sharp - 'A pencil full of lead' at Spitalfields

And there we have it - hi-jinx, sky-jinx and a whole host more. As we embark on fair season '11/12, the above image says it all; 'these are the good old days' vintage fans, and we're delighted to be spending them with you.

For anyone in Leeds this weekend, catch us for a free vintage weekender here.

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Acceptable in the 80s [and 90s. And Now]

Greetings loved ones,

A few glorious fairs and some terrible TV, we've got our trend-hunting hats on. A big one we've clocked comes in couple form - the matching outfit!

There's no chicer way to say "i love you, fellow fashion fan" than matching paisley or wool-on-wool. The jury's out on whether the lady above's clutching a banana - we'll leave that up to you.

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

"You sound like you're from..."

Greetings loved ones,

We hope that you're well and celebrated accordingly our newfound spot in the Eurovision chart - hooray! Although we won't be booking plane tickets to Azerbaijan [mostly due to our inability to locate the elusive land on a map!] we are milking the Estonian/ German/ Serbian entries to death! Eastern-European Katy Perry, a German Cheryl Cole, sixties in Serbia - what's not to love?

An event that was a world away from "nil point," we're recovering from a lovely weekend in Brighton. As we de-sand our toes, stay tuned later on for a full report! This week, all eyes are on the weekends fairs, Cambridge and London; favourites in our vintage fair diary, make sure you get your gladrags on for both events always draw in a rather stylish crowd...

Ooh. Fancy!

See you there vintage fans!

xVVx
www.vintagefair.co.uk

Here's JUDY!

Greetings loved ones,

[Rather unbelievably] a week since we were draped in Union Jacks and going mad for Middleton, we at Judy HQ are packing our banners and finding our bearings for, once more, we are hitting the road!

A myriad of different dates in the mix, check out our fanpage for the full lowdown [and prepare to graffiti those datebooks rather voraciously with the words 'VINTAGE FAIR!!!'] In the next few weeks we have newbie Kingston, Glasgow, Newcastle, the Leeds Kilo Sale and our biggest event yet on the sunny shores of Brighton [75 stalls + incredible mid-century bargains courtesy of The Vintage Furniture Flea + DJs and cake = a complete no-brainer!] For those of you not sure whether to venture out over the next few weekends or pondering whether to put down that library book, have a look at some of the wonderful stuff our traders will be offering up...












Tempting n'est pas? Bringing 40 traders to every event alongside pastry treats, style hunters and a bounty of bargains, the library or highstreet just doesn't cut it. Just like the seasons, Judy's is in bloom and we're heading to you. Drop what you're doing, head on down and emancipate your wardrobes with something old-world.

See you imminently vintage fans - it's lovely to be back!

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Joan on the Road

Greetings loved ones,

As the sun peeps out, everyone's favourite plastic mascot has been out on the town, finding out what makes Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair tick. Here's what she got up to at York's Hospitium....

'Joan on the Scone' [this pun completely depends on pronunciation. Soz!]

'China doll...'

'Whoever said that vertical stripes weren't flattering...'

'Joan gives other vintage fairs the boot.'

Oh Joan! What WILL you do next?! Tune in next week for more stories from the road!

'Life in plastic, it's fantastic!'

JotR x

Joan on the Road

Greetings vintage fans and welcome to our new weekly section, Joan on the Road. Everyone's favourite plastic paparazzo, Joan's been out and about finding out what makes Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair tick. First up, Cambridge and Southampton - she's absolutely MAD for it...

'Joan was always on the cover of the fifties magazines...'

'The cat that got the cream at The Old Tea Party'

'Another bargain clocked as the fair progresses'

'Joan held the keys to many mens hearts...'

'Three cupcakes in, Joan thought 'to hell with my figure!'

Tune in next week for more folks.

Life in plastic, it's fantastic!

xJotRx

Joan on the Road!

Greetings loved ones,

We hope you are all well and PUMPED for Bethnal Green this weekend - it's going to be a biggy. Today, we here at Judy HQ have some simply joyous news to share with you but first, we must tell you a tale...

At the beginning of the year, all at Judy HQ noticed a certain je ne sais quoi missing from the office. No matter how hard we tried to soldier on, filling the void with soups and jokes and post-it notes [ahem..Sam] something wasn't quite right. Yes dear readers, like the velvet-clad 60s-hero Austin Powers, we'd lost our 'mojo.' Bloated, big-haired and sallow-skinned from a Christmas of excess, we just weren't GLAMOROUS any more!

With knitted brows, we gathered around the PC for a bit of an emergency mother's meeting. 'What to do?' posed Judy, looking to boost morale. 'Well, how about animal-shaped post-it notes? Or a new set of gel-pens, the smelly ones?' riposted Collins, bookings and facilities manager. Batting the request away with a look that said 'we're not in Year 6, Sam' both fair manager Britton and myself were stumped. Firing up the modem, we turned to the only place modern man [and woman] goes to instantaneously make themselves feel better...the internet. Loading up Amazon [whilst furiously looking away from our reflections on screen] we whizzed through to the checkout. In 7 - 10 days, happiness arrived. ladies and gentlemen, meet JOAN!

Red-haired muse of Madmen and undisputed queen of Mad Ave, Joan waltzed into Judy HQ and into our lives for good! When shes's not clutching her couture bag [Judy's in the process of writing to Emma Hill at Mulberry to fashion a tiny bag for our first lady - the jury is out on that one] or smoking tiny cigarettes [which I intend to create on Friday - ideas welcome!] then Joan is going to be our resident Cool Hunter, snapping away at your outfits and best bits in every city we visit. Debuting at Bethnal Green this weekend, she's already got quite the eye - check out these cool cats that she's found in the 2011 archives...

As you can see, Judy's attracts a fair selection of bobbydazzlers. Keep your eyes on the blog each work for Joan's selection of the cool kids in our new feature, 'Joan on the Road' and make sure to 'fix up, look sharp' when you're perusing! Joan, welcome on board and we wish you the best of luck!

Life in plastic, it's fantastic.

VV out x

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Diamonds are forever, Vintage is for life

Greetings loved ones,

Now, as you probably know, we're on the cusp of launching our first new city of 2011 this weekend: Cardiff. Safe to say, we're a teeny bit psyched - like a modern-day Columbus, we stand on the deck of the Good Ship Vintage, scouting for dapper new natives to encounter. As jittery as the eve before Christmas [or Christmas Eve as it's more conventionally known - jeez, just roll with it!]we hope anyone attending this weekend gets a tiny rush of excitement when they think about what's in store. Like a warm glass of milk ['where is he going with this?' you may say, rolling your eyes. Well roll them back my way and, in the words of Miranda, 'bare with...'] we wanted to give you a little something to ease those jitters as we count down to Cardiff, a little reassurance that we're well worth a visit...

If i'm not mistaken, that infamous Cardiff-born monolith Miss Bassey said that 'Diamonds are Forever' and we here at Judy's are partial to a bit of sparkle. Check out some of our favourite craftsmen trading this weekend...

Tiny bridges, scrabble pieces, pocket watches- the lot. If that's not enough to delight your inner magpie, we don't know what will. Menfolk - don't be put off by all that shimmer and shine. If your doting girlfriend, wife or persistent housemate insists that you come to the fair, just roll with it. Looking at our specialist menswear traders, you're in for a bit of a treat [check out www.princesvintage.co.uk for a flavour] Get clearing those wardrobes folks - the English are coming.

See you at the weekend!

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

All the fun of the Fair - Nottingham

Greetings loved ones!

Take a seat - let's talk business. As any enterprise worth it's salt would, we at Judy's are masochistic enough to put our claims of being 'the largest and leading vintage fair in the whole gosh-darned UK' to the test. This week, we slot Nottingham's Affordable Vintage Fair under the microscope as the up-and-coming blog-boffins at fashionregency.com put us to the test. Move over Mary Portas, you aint got nothin' on this...

'It’s 12.03pm. We’re weaving our way through the already thickening crowds to grab the brilliant bargains before anyone else grabs them [and we thought we were early!]

First stop, Trilbies and Tassels where Lottie Sissons sold Jessica a gorgeous black beaded top that she has probably worn about seven times since, today being the eighth [it’s really quite ridiculous]

We love Vintage Reclaimed which is a returning fixture and no wonder; everyone goes crazy for their bespoke jewellery. Abi was hunting through the assortment of chains whilst Jessica bought a clock mechanism, soon to be smashed up and made into a stunning piece of jewellery. One thing we love about the fairs is that there was always the option to buy the separate pieces and have a go yourself.

Jessica had a bit of a chat with Adele at Tullula and interestingly found that she makes her own clothes. We both love her unique style of re-working leather, her stock coming from newspaper ads and warehouses. Abi was definitely impressed to hear that Pearl Lowe once wore one of her Tullalah dresses, and we expect many more fashionistas to be pining over her styles in the near future! We can't wait to see what is in store from her next.

We also spotted Nick Reed’s glorious Cartoons and Film Posters; we have managed to track his website down, even though it is under construction at the moment, keep on checking because you wouldnt want to miss one of his amazing designs:http://www.nickreed-gradely.co.uk/

Princes Vintage has a really useful 10% discount card that we picked up at the stall and will be using at some point or another - Abi has a thing for jumpers and Jessica had to practically drag her away from all the lovely goodies to be found here, we loved the prices!

All in all, as expected, we had a fabulous time at Judy's Affordable Vintage Far and we'll definitely attend whenever they plan to delight us with another visit to Nottingham. The Affordable Vintage Fair seems to cater for any taste and there are always treasures to be found! Abi had a wonderful time searching for shirts (which she seems to be addicted to) and ended up with three beautiful shirts which came to a total cost of £12! You wouldn't be able to buy a quarter of a shirt for that in Topshop! Jessica treated herself to a lovely little bag as well. All in all, Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair isn't one to miss!

This was our second visit to Nottingham’s Affordable Vintage Fair and neither time have we been disappointed. Fashionregency wholeheartedly urge you to go stop what you’re doing, fire-up the computer and have a look and see where they are next - maybe we’ll see you there!'

-Abi Colgan & Jessica Gaten, fashionregency.blogspot.com

There we have it folks - straight from the horses' mouth. We hope those of you in Oxford, Cardiff and London are super-psyched for our upcoming fairs - they really are treasuretroves. Testament to the fact that vintage aint goin' nowhere [finger click? too much? ok] check out this titbit from Marc Jacobs during New York Fashion Week...

Proof? Pudding? Get investing!

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk