The Vintage Festival: Dog Days

'Celebratis paralysis' [NB: latin subject to translation ] - it's every Joe Blogger's greatest fear; that awkward moment when confronted with anyone of a certain status, be they singer, model, actor or other, when your tongue is tied , resulting in looking like a blithering idiot.

Luckily, that didn't happen at The Vintage Festival this afternoon when we bumped into Florence Welch + friends. A notorious vintage fiend, Flo shopped the stalls, channeling a look that was boho-meets-sorceress [and channeling it well!] Picking up a pair of boots from trader Dusty&Dylan, and discussing the annoyance of hat stealers [a subject very dear to our hearts] she was a dream.

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

The Vintage Festival: Day One

They say that seeing is believing but sitting on the South Bank, I'm beginning to cast my doubts; to the left, a set of dandys have landed on site, forties from head to toe, tweeking their moustaches and smoking a pipe. Straight ahead lay atomic-print chairs, silver cigarette machines, and a blinking set of lights from a bygone New York ['from the twenties to be precise' adds a trader, dressed like Capone. For a moment, i lose myself, scrambling to find my era.]

For those of you out of the loop, I am of course talking about 'Vintage at the South Bank;' the mother of all vintage events, we've had the privelege of cultivating, assembling and creating the largest vintage marketplace on the continent, all for a weekend [and free to enter]

Looking around, many are as abashed as I am in this land without time; flappers sip on cider whilst flicking through the rails; a man in milatary regalia examines an Ercol chair and a gaggle of eighties shoulder pads are trying on some shoes.

Camera in hand, I bid adieu to my decade. Lost and loving it, it's time for a spot of time travel. If you're in the city this weekend, we hope to see you too.

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

The Vintage Festival cometh!

Suitcases are packed; maps have been drawn; packed-lunches are being pondered upon; we're not talking about the mother of all geography trips - we're talking about Vintage at the South Bank.

Heading down tomorrow, we'll be in the Big Smoke all weekend, hosting over 150 of the UK's tip-top traders at the free vintage market place, all down the South Bank. We'll be posting like there's not tomorrow so keep your eyes on the blog, facebook and twitter accounts [and Southern folk, come say hello in the flesh!] Check out the first stages of the build here.

London, we're a-coming.

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Because there's no rest for the wicked....

That's right folks; the time is nigh. Next weekend, we'll be torn in two as we head North and South for two [read it, two] huge festivals.

Dusting off our wellies from Lovebox, we'll be setting up shop in the idyllic environs of Kendall Calling from the 29th. As well as bringing some tip-top traders for you to peruse, catch us busting shapes to Mr. Scruff and queuing for a bedtime story from Debbie Harry in the library [high-brow huh?] Show them some love here.

As if that wasn't enough, we'll be buffing our brogues and raiding our wardrobes before heading to London to live the vintage-lovers dream - we're talking Vintage at the South Bank.

The sequel to Vintage at Goodwood, we're curating Mr Hemingway's festival, responsible for the 150-trader vintage marketplace at the South Bank. With free entry to the marketplace Friday [29th] through to Sunday, we expect to see you there [look out for a fella in a cape and cut-offs wielding a Nasa-esque headpiece and Bob's your uncle, you've found me!] Limited tickets for the rest of the event are still up for grabs so have a browse here.

Until then fans, see you [quite literally] in the field,

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Kilo Instinct

Everyone enjoys a fresh set of peepers; with that in mind, we sent Spoonfed's Gina Louise into the mecca of all East-side vintage events - The Vintage Kilo Sale. Sack in hand and cardie in the other, let's see how she got on...

"The word 'vintage' is never far from the lips of Brick Lane shoppers, but on Saturday there was no room for any other topic of conversation (not even asymmetric hair cuts got a look in)

As I made the walk from Bethnal Green Road to the Rag Factory, I could make out one common theme from the babble of passers by: the Vintage Kilo Sale. Swarms of excited shoppers were trundling past, most with huge bags of second hand finds slung over their shoulders like Santa's sack. As I wavered on the entrance to the warehouse, it was time to see if I'd been naughty or nice this year...

It turns out I must've been on my best behaviour, as over 70 rails of vintage treasures awaited me inside; floral tee dresses through '70s tennis vests to bolshy shoulder padded numbers all called out to me from the hangars. For those of you who love a good rummage, there were plenty of boxes beneath the rails, full of shoes, bags, scarves and other bits, waiting to be stuck into. My advice is to dig deep as these are always worth a look - I've unearthed some of my best finds here!

When the common theme of an event is bargain hunting, I'm always surprised that people aren't more savage to get to the goods. Perhaps it's all the lifting of tea cups and finger sandwiches with our pinkies on parade, but everyone was polite, and I didn't have to pull anyone's hair [although I learnt the hard way not to let my clothes out of my site in the changing room, as after admiring myself in a '50s swing dress, I turned to see a group of girls cooing over the cardie my nana knitted me. Hands off ladies!]

But disaster averted, I left with all my own clothes, and a few more to boot. At only £15 pound a kilo, I shopped safe in the knowledge that if something wasn't quite right, I could afford to customize a few pieces [although knowing how lonely my good intentions and sewing kit get, I'll probably not bother]"

One-nil to Gina's augmenting vintage wardrobe, we say...success! The Vintage Kilo Sale returns in Autumn, with stops at both Leeds and London. Our advice? Get culling your cupboards now.

xVVx [& Gina, Queen of the Kilo]

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Lovebox 2011: Singing in the Rain

There's something quite primeval about festival season; the backseat of personal hygiene, the secret lust to run out of battery [being incommunicado for a week - take that, reality!] setting up tents and leopard-print dresses all conjure an image that's a little more Fred and Wilma than Mr. modernity.

Luckilly [peraps] we had none of that this weekend as we curated Lovebox, set in the heart of Victoria Park. Not a poorly-pitched teepee in sight, Lovebox does not permit camping, forcing us to head back to society each night for some shut-eye.

Setting-up shop by Thursday, our traders looked wonderful; candy-striped roofs shone like toothpaste in the sun with a sea of glasses, prints and fabrics spilling out underneath. With the public coming in on a sunny London Friday, we were set to go.

Alas, as the poet and potential-weather-man Robert Frost [see, it's in the name] once wrote, 'nothing gold can stay;' giving the Great Flood a run for it's money, London got wet. Luckily, we took a few snaps in the sun before the clouds came home...

Seizing a moment of sun, none other than Jade Jagger came for a wander of the marketplace, leaving with a pair of vintage sunnies [and a quick pose]

Our first festival of the season [we'll be at 6 others over summer - click here for deets!] we came to a rather British conclusion; sometimes you've just got to muck in [instead of being a stick in the mud] Come [biblical] showers or shine, our parade remains unrained upon.

See you [quite literally] in the field!

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Life is a cabaret, old chum

It goes without saying that buses are rarely glamorous; [sometime] surly drivers in hats, finding the right change, Jason Derulo blurted out of a mobile phone - a double-decker disaster, waiting to happen.

That said, those rascals at Proud Caberet have gone and turned suburban travel on its head with their latest teaser [and teaser is the word] Fresh off the buses, international glamourpuss Miss Betsy Rose is in town, making public transport the most sultry it's ever been...

As Betsy ditty-bops all over the capital [with complete disregard for the Highway Code - don't try this at home kids] you can see clearly why Proud is so dear to us; fun, seductive, indulgent yet chic, it encapsulates everything that vintage is supposed to be; the glamour of a bygone area, the stories of a fallen republic, drama, mystery, intrigue [and giggles] - it's a mission we both hold dear.

As time ticks on, we're delighted to announce Proud's presence at our Spitalfields, Bethnal Green and Brighton events [rsvp kids!] If a spot of pseudo-time-travel is right up your alley then pencil us in and let's party like it's 1929.

Can-canning out,

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

60s Style: Playing Devil's Advocate

Inspiration strikes in the strangest of places; crushed into the bosom of your neighbour on a Mega Bus, queuing behind the jumble-shufflers at the Post Office, squinting in inebriation on a Friday night- nobody knows when the proverbial lightbulb will land atop your head but when it lands, it lands.

Denying a glorious Sunday evening the attention it deserved [dirty show off, British summertime!] my Sunday night was spent with the curtains drawn and Polanski's sixties classic, Rosemary's Baby, on the screen [nothing contextualises a self-inflicted sore head like a spot of demonic possession on a weekend]

Aside from a serious case of the heebie-jeebies [Mia Farrow is led into madness by a bunch of recorder-playing, mousse-making, Satan-praising geriatrics who want her baby back. Necromancy aside, the image of anyone over fourteen playing a recorder is repulsive enough!] I found myself struck with something other than sheer unadulterated horror - a bad case of fashion envy. Take a look at Mia's looks below and hopefully, you'll see why....

Embroidered collars , polo necks, space-age prints and glorious shifts - there's no denying that our heroine Rosemary is delightfully 60s [with an incredible home to match - definitely worth a pause and a swoon when watching!]

As we soldier on through Summer into A/W, a resurgence of all things sixties is already on the cards - Issa, Louis Vuitton and Mulberry all channeled the era, rewinding the seventies trend that dominated this season. For anyone wanting to pre-empt the trend for a bargainous price, the Vintage Kilo Sale will be rolling up to London this Saturday [16th] selling wares from the 60s - 80s at £15 per kilo. For more details, click here.

As for Mia, we couldn't ask for a sexier, edgier more aesthetic epitome of the sixites' cult status [pardon the pun] The devil wears Prada and boy, does she wear it well.

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

The Vintage Kilo Sale takes place @ The Rag Factory, 16 - 18 Heneage Street, Saturday 16th July 11am - 4pm. Click here for details.

Purple reign, Purple reign...

Cyclical in nature, fashion has a habit of bringing things back into the limelight - sheer skirts, bell-bottoms, big hats - there are trends that orbit into our wardrobes every ten seasons or so [often eclipsing our fashion sense in the process] That said, there are some items that refuse to spirograph in and out of our lives, some icons that will never be anything but 'du jour.' In this vintage industry that we call home, nothng is more alluring than staying-power and today we give you the poster boy of staying-put - Prince!

Headlining Hop Farm last Sunday, the media is abuzz with stories of the artist more limber than an early Shakira video. His rapport with fashion and popular culture as poignant as ever [white jumpsuit - hello Michael Kors A/W 11] it's hard to believe that he's 53. The reliability and eccentricity of an LBD meets a 'Raspberry Beret,' Prince, like our vintage, gets better with age.

In other slightly tenuous fashion-meets-fame news, guess who we spotted at our Cumbria vintage fair...

Perplexed and pointing his finger at the goodies waiting on the rails, it was safe to say this this gent [be he Bono or wanna-Bono] "still hadn't found what he was looking for." Luckily, the vintage fair team were on hand to help, admiring his use of the Judy's colours in the meantime. His belt reads 'Rockstar' and those hips don't lie.

Ciao for now

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Baby you're a Firework...

Giddy-up vintage fans, for today is the fourth of July! In celebration of our overseas brothers-from-other-mothers, we've been out and about papping the best bits of Americana to make your heart go boom.

Everyone knows that Navajo is a big trend this season but boy howdy, talk about wearing it on your chest. With Native American and Aztec prints, it really doesn't matter how you wear it as long as you wear it with pride. Dress it down, dress it up [we'll call you 'Dances with Mulberrys'] and wig wam bam, you're onto a winner.

More American than a Whitehouse wrapped in a hamburger, you can't get more American than denim [interesting fact: denim is originally French in origin, created in Nimes, or de Nimes as it was abbreviated to. Everyday's a school day!] Boot-cut, stone-washed, skinny or flared, we can't help but love a Levi. All-weather and effortlessly chic, chinos eat your heart out!

We could wax lyrical all the livelong day about tassels, totems and all things 'outremer' but we've got work to do [and things to blow up.] We leave you with this rather peculiar vintage postcard hailing from the States. Fiery, cute and a little inappropriate [British Health and Safety staff would have a hernia!] - God Bless the USA!

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk