Bits & Bobs

We all enjoy a great vintage fair, the thrill of finding that unique dress or perfect pair of shoes. But the unsung hero’s of our recent fairs have been the ‘bits’, ‘bobs’ ‘nicks’ and ‘naks’ the little pieces of broken vintage jewellery, 50p charms, old pieces of antique lace, trimmings and cute little 1950s plastic trinkets, all flying off the shelves proving that the make do and mend trend is here to stay for 2010! Roll on the little bits and bobs that can be picked up for under £1..

Who's coming to our London vintage fair?  If so and you want a sneak preview of all the stalls arrive 1 hour early at 11am and use the password 'santa's little helper' at the door and we'll let you in to browse and buy all the bargains before the crowds arrive.

The Affordable Vintage Fair provides a creative alternative in the countdown to Christmas, with over 50 very affordable stalls from around the UK offering a greater diversity of items all under one roof.

The event was set up to help small and independent businesses make their mark on the UK fashion map. Hailing from as far north as Newcastle and as far south as Devon the traders will peddle their wares to London vintage lovers offering up to 50% off prices you would find in your local vintage boutiques.

Heralded as a ‘shopping phenomenon’ by the national press, The Affordable Vintage Fair holds the crown as the largest and longest running vintage shopping event in the UK.
On Saturday December 12th the event is set to make a glorious return to The Sustainable Studios located just off Great Eastern Street in the heart of London’s East End.
Aside from vintage clothing from the 1920s - 1980s, shoppers can also find re-worked and handmade clothes and jewellery, crafts, homewares, sale rails from vintage dealers, wholesalers, local shops and up and coming designers.
Charity TRAID 'behind the seams' workshop showing you how to customise your purchases & selling items from their TRAID remade line.
Spectacular kitchenalia stall - items starting at £5!
40s dead-stock haberdashery stall selling everything from trinkets to hair grips!

Vintage Kilo will turn into a huge knit sale, Christmas jumpers and reindeer cardigans on sale at £10!!
Vintage tea party by the Vintage Patisserie, selling Christmas delights http://www.vintagepatisserie.co.uk/
Makeovers courtesy of the lovely ladies at Lipstick & Curls  http://www.lipstickandcurls.co.uk/index.html

Spotted today at Liverpool's Affordable vintage fair.  Two shoppers who bought so much they had to make a few trips to the car!!

Balmain Love

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We thought we would feature Balmain as it has been so influential this season. Power shoulders and embellisment are all over the high street and they have sprung up at The Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair too! I found this great example on one stall.

Sequins and shoulder pads... perfection! And look at all the sequins they had brought along...

We were swooning over this glitz ALL weekend! But this trend is trully rooted in the 80's... we couldn't resist posting the Dynasty crew. Amazing!

Leeds Affordable Vintage Fair

We're busy preparing for our next two vintage fairs. It’s our Leeds and Liverpool dates this weekend and they are going to be crammed full of vintage bargains and alternative Christmas present ideas. We have 40 stalls booked in for Liverpool, with stall holders promising to get into the Xmas mood with Christmas cards with reprinted vintage images, tree decs made from vintage fabrics, Christmassy cushions and a couple of Christmas stockings made from ... er ... yes ... vintage fabric.
We'll then move onto our home town of Leeds (ah its good to be home) where we will fill Leeds university student union with over 40 stalls, ooh and we're holding a Christmas jumper sale smack bang in the middle of it. expect to see the fabulous Marvellous Tea Dance ladies serving up mince pies and home made cakes in their usual OTT 1950s style.

Spotted at the Fair

This lovely lady really stood out at our Durham fair on Saturday. As soon as she stepped in we noticed her liberty print puff sleaved dress and mustard opaque tights... as they say in the north east LUSH!

Another Coco Before Chanel Winner

Katy Coe capturing the essence of Coco in a tailored blazer and military style hat.

The Affordable Vintage Fair will be packing its bags and traveling North this weekend with two spectacular pre Christmas fairs to tempt the lovely folk of Durham & Newcastle with.  If you're in the area do pop in..
Sat 28th Nov - Durham Student union 11am-5pm
Sun 29th Nov Northumbria Student union 11am-5pm

One of our 'Coco Before Chanel' competition winners

Maggie Matich, 17 from Liverpool

We were thrilled when we received this entry for our 'Coco Before Chanel' competition... we think she could pass for Coco herself! We love how Maggie incorporated Coco's innovative masculine style touches into her look. The trousers, the baggy tee. Coco's 'little boy' look broke new ground in the 1920's.

Maggie say's her 'outfit was inspired by Chanel's nautical influence and her view that women have a right to wear trousers and jersey tee-shirts just as men did. I also wore the straw hat as in the film she decorates men's hats for the ladies, introducing them to her style.'

And there's still time to enter so head to our homepage www.vintagefair.co.uk and show us your Chanel inspired looks!

Another Christmas Cardigan at Cambridge and a hot pair of Brogues..

Spotted at our Affordable Vintage Fair in York, Christmas jumpers!

Hello and welcome!

Here at 'The Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair' we have been busy creating our brand new style blog. We hope you will enjoy perusing our posts and viewing all our vintage antics!