The Leonard Street Royal Wedding Party

The Vintage Bride..

Can't quite put my finger on why I can't stop thinking of weddings!

Here's a lovely selection from our favourite Vintage boutique Tasty Vintage who will be selling at our Harewood House Royal wedding party near Leeds, Yorkshire this Friday from 10am.

1920s chiffon and crepe vintage wedding dress

1930s handfinished silk wedding dress

1940s illusion bodice wedding dress

1940s simple illusion neckline dress

1950s dotted Swiss wedding dress

1960s spiral button wedding dress

Cool Britannia!

Loyal subjects!

It's Thursday 28th April and those adorable little pups above are symbolic of one thing. Yes, yes, you're probably tired of it to [having to alternate flag-swinging hands every hour or so really takes it out of you] but heck, a mere 24 hours before 'the big day,' how can you NOT be a little excited?!

Granted, if you're looking for some sort of anti-Windsor stick in the mud, you probably shouldn't read this blog; as an individual who enjoys bank holidays, mugs with mugshots and 'Don't tell the Bride,' it's like all of my holidays have come at once. Second only to Geri Haliwell [who, from her outfit below, has been pre-empting the wedding since circa '97] we've had this day in our datebooks for a while now and we'll be marking it with a rather high-brow event at Harewood House, alongside a slightly more, er, urban event on London's Leonard Street [cocktail bar, tug of war, vintage marketplace - in that order.] If you're in Yorkshire or the Big Smoke, come give us a wave [royally, of course.]



Granted, even if regal nuptials aren't your bag, you've got to love the spoofs! In addition to T-Mobiles latest creation [featuring THE most convincing Camilla looky-like in existence and proving that our Lizzie looks good on the dancefloor!] we've seen some spoofs that are more Essex than Eton. Tower blocks, scrambled eggs, Middleton-come-early-Lily Allen - check it here.

Happy Bank Holiday one and all! I'm going to chow down on a vol au vent and blow things up, all in the name of the nation!

VVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Well worth the weight: London's Vintage Kilo Sale

Greetings Vintage Fans,

Cor, it feels like an age since we last conversed! Putting that right, we're back in the world of all things blogger to tell you of festival fever, South Bank madness and all things fair. Kicking things off, let's go KILO!

Late April is a funny time of year in these British Isles. With the weather hotting up, that already bumpy transition from bed to wardrobe to work [or uni] adds an extra hump. Distrusting of the sunny weather [and naturally so when one maverick cloud can leave you sodden in flip flops and looking like a tool] we often turn to last season's wardrobe to see us through. Shorts with Christmas jumpers, sandals with shearling - typical symptoms of the fickle British weather. And so, on Saturday April 16th, a good lot of you Londoners decided to do something about it. No longer should you perspire until payday - to the Rag Factory it was!

For those of you unawares, the concept behind The Vintage Kilo Sale is a winning one; working with Glass Onion, the UK's largest wholesaler, 2.5 tonnes of lovely vintage stuff wings it's way around the country whilst shoppers wait to bag it up. At £15 a kilo, it's the ideal way for anyone strapped for cash and exasperated with their inter-season wardrobe to feel, well, human [and room temperature] again.

In addition to bagging-up new threads, the Kilo's a dangerous place for your inner magpie. Featuring wholesale jewelry starting from £1, many found themselves glued to the stalls, a ring on each finger with more bling than Blazing Squad. A notion skyrocketing in popularity, the room of reworked also caught the eye of the masses, with more than a few of you jonesing for leather shorts [impermeable + pins out = 1 - 0 to the sensible, summer-hungry shopper!]

With Brick Lane a hair's breadth away, it goes without saying that our shoppers were dressed pretty snappily; cream capes, retro lettermen and fluoro trousers all popped up on the radar.

With our eyes very much on the prize, it was nice to see certain micro-trends in bloom, none more interesting than what we've dubbed the 'uber loose' [stay with us dear readers, this is not the latest single by Ri-Ri but a rather interesting style...] Check it out below...

Since the dawn of time, fashion boffins have drilled in the dangers of 'too baggy an outfit;' when prehistoric woman looked at her wardrobe, she never opted for an oversize pterodactyl two-piece, but rather mixed it up -a fitted mammoth top here, a cropped loincloth there. Even when Moses came down from the mountain, that mystery thirteenth commandment [found in the draft] would forbid every good Israelite from looking like a potato-sack.

Strangely, the maxim of mixing baggy and tight seems to have, well , loosened up of late. With hemlines lengthening and maxis bigger than ever, some could call the above outfit 'half-right.' After careful consideration and a lot of mulling over at Judy HQ, we think it's 100% darling; showing flashes of skin in unexpected places like under the arm or exposing wrists, an outfit that's centred around comfort can easily be cool. That said, who actually cares what the boffins say - vintage is all about DIY, with no decade or style trumping another.

At £15 a pop, the Vintage Kilo Sale is ideal for a spot of DIY time-travel. Rolling up to Leeds on Saturday May 14th, it's well worth the weight.

That's it for this weeks kids - tune in next week when we examine Middleton madness and look at a few of our favourite couples from times gone by [exciting!!]

Happy Easter!

VV out x

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Summer Lovin'

Greetings loved ones.

The sun is shining and the pins are out like we're in the Pacific. Here at a sun-kissed Judy HQ, this only means one thing...

Not just Kingston but a WHOLE HOST of Summer Fairs!

Newbies at Chester and Leamington Spa, a return to Newcastle and Bethnal Green and a jaunt across the border to Glasgow. Add to that a return to the iconic shores of Brighton for our Summer Vintage Spectacular [enormous vintage fair + furniture flea + music + tea party = good times] and we're onto a Summer unlike no other!

Maxis, cycling in the sun, loafers with no socks and getting Mr Whippy all down your frocks - a very British season!

Keep your eyes on our Facebook page for the scoop vintage fans. Now get out there and bag a tan!

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Britton's Got Talent: York

Hey, hey, vintage lovers! At our York fair the other week we were spoilt for choice with all the amazing vintage items on offer. The Hospitium was literally crammed to the rafters full of vintage delights, including lots of homewares to keep Britton happy!

These precious hand knitted tea cosies were first on my radar, everyone could do with a flower adorned tea pot and these beauties can be made in any colour to order by Karen, the brains behind Rosy Lea.

Next to catch my eye were these bedspreads. York was all about the spring florals, I was getting all shabby chic just looking at them.

This coffee set was snapped up soon after I took this photo, I'm not surprised, how anyone could resist the owls and the 70's colour way is beyond me. Totally unique and a nice price too at £20. I'll leave you with our favourite cupcakes from The Marvellous Tea Dance Company to drool over, the perfect accompaniment to coffee sipped from an owl cup, twit twit ter woo...

Over and out,

BGT x 

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