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

Trend Alert: Hell For Leather

Leather-envy; the very notion of it was, until recently, preposterous in my mind.

Sure, like most of you I have flirted with leather; a jacket dalliance here, a waistcoat romance there – these liaisons always appeared to be a little too dangereuses upon looking in the mirror, leading all inclination to be a leather-clad maverick to be swiftly filed away.

Happy in my leather-free bubble, I watched bondage-clad collections at Marc Jacobs roll out; I looked on as Gaga rolled about like a cow-skin princess; I stood back as vintage shops stocked-up on leather coats to be oh-so-seventies –still, I felt nothing. Content in not looking like an extra from the Matrix, I thought i’d soldier on indefinitely.

Little was I to know that leather was to land on my doorstep [figuratively speaking of course] Former bookings gal and serial shopper Samantha and I were perusing the Judy's stalls at the South Bank when we found it - the thing that was to shatter my allusions in a big, biker-y mess. Cropped, one-off and emblazoned - it was bad-ass in a jacket form. Crowning the item was a lone wolf, howling to the graffiti moon.

The above picture is not an image of the jacket [or myself and Samantha - what 'lols' that would be!] but a picture from the 70s epic 'The Warriors.' Know why? Because this jacket made me want to be one of 'The Warriors,' cleaning up the streets with quick quips, running around on subways [wouldn't quite be the same running around on the Northern Line - I think i'd have to emmigrate] and embracing la vie en leather.

Of course, the jacket wasn't for me [and was a girls. and too small] and so all that remains is a solid case of leather envy. Adding insult to injury is the resurgence of the Native American trend which goes so very well with leather [a kind of cowboy-meets-indian car-crash - now that's what i'm going for] Until fair season, I have my eye set on this tassel-tastic number from vintage vendor Burger & Fries...

Luckilly, fair season starts this coming Monday with Spitalfields [hooray!] and so I shouldn't have to wait too long. Until then, I guess my wax jacket will have to cut it. But know this -my Navajo-ly Grail is out there. Somewhere. And one day, it will be mine.

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

Tis the season [isn't it?]

The sign of a must-have outfit is one that makes you throw caution to your surroundings. We've all been there - short-shorts in Autumn, black in the blistering heat - so set are we in our choice of wardrobe that it doesn't matter what is beyond the curtains sometimes.

Inducing the same kind of sado-masochism-come-style is our new A/W Flyer! In all of it's Jill Sander block-colour glory, it makes us want to pack away the Factor 50 and pile on the pea coats pronto! Roll on A/W [no matter what the weather]

xVVx

For a full list of our A/W dates, head over to our homepage stat!

Drink, Shop & [Up]Do

Making waves [quite literally] in the vintage world is a place named after three verbs: Drink, Shop, Do. Roaming vintage ragamuffin and reporter Gina Louise went to take a look at the salon-come-milkshake-shack to see why it's being labeled heads above the rest...

'Thank god for Bettie Page. Not only was she a pioneer of '50s glamour, but her iconic over-the-eyebrow fringe means that when my DIY hair cut ends up an inch shorter than I intended (as it often does), I can simply cite the original pin up queen and disaster is averted. If only I knew about her when my mum used to cut my hair at school!

But having a fringe this short makes it notoriously difficult to train into any other style, and being bright ginger brings in another issue - what make up to wear. So accepting my lack of knowledge in the grooming department, I decided to put my beauty in the hands of professionals Dolly and Rhonda, and pop-

ped down to their ’Pin-Up’ Vintage Hair & Make-Up night down at Drink, Shop & Do in North London.

In a matter of minutes I'm sitting at their make-shift beauty station, enjoying a milkshake and chatting with the beautiful Rhonda, a hair stylist who loves nothing more than to do '60s beehives. I go for some slightly more subtle '40s waves, and she begins curling, pinning and spraying my hair to her heart's content. I learn how to use a parting to influence curls, and how to hide or accentuate that awkward fringe of mine, depending on where the mood takes me.

I was then passed over to Dolly, who shattered the illusion that you can't mix and match hair and make up colours. No matter how bright your bangs are, there's a shade of make up right for you. She teams green and brown eye shadow with some sultry eye liner, with some exaggerated brows and cherry red lips. A look that I'd never have thought would work on a red head, but she pulls it off perfectly.

With my pin up curls and movie star make up I looked like I'd stepped out of a time machine, but, being a school night, I was all dolled up with nowhere to go. And that's where the trusty head scarf came in - not just good for those days when your hair's hygiene is a little past its sell-by-date, it's good for putting your curls on ice until you're ready to unleash them to the world. And on Saturday night, I let my hair down. Literally. And teamed with a few techniques I'd learnt from the girls about prolonging your style, I was ready to go.

But if you don't think your hair will last that long without a wash, or you're not up for wearing the same make up for 3 days straight, then never fear - the girls do personal bookings too. So if you've got a hen do to plan, or you're just feeling like you need a bit of extra attention on a Saturday night, email the girls on dollyandrhonda@gmail.com - not only are they good at what they do, but they are lovely with it.'

xVVx & Gina, Queen of Vintage

www.vintagefair.co.uk

The Vintage Festival: Swing Lowe

'Pirouettes, tutus, ballet,' you may stipulate, in response to the above image, 'isn't that a bit passé?' Perhaps, dear reader, we'll give you that; reminiscent of a mere 8 months ago when we were all Colin Firth and Celine capes, the family Lowe's choice of prima ballerinas on the runway does feel a little bit yester-year.

The new capsule collection for Peacocks by Pearl, Daisy [and mini-Lowe Betty, aged 4] showcased at The Vintage Festival is none-the-less spectacular; lace, corsets and feathers in amber, duck-egg blue and ivory swept across the runways. Inspired by the flapper from the 1920s and using vintage fabrics, the collection ditches connotations of classicism, the show itself a little more burlesque than ballet. Lightyears from the OTT plumage of Jean Paul Gaultier [whose A/W collection looks to be designed for super villains not super models] the Lowe look is a tale of two halves; demure yet contemporary, feminine yet edgy [though the using sheer fabrics] as light as a feather with a certain gravity.

At the end of the show, all the Lowes appeared, Daisy looking stunning in a collared tea dress. The audience, a million miles away from the usual 'Frow' crowd of designers and celebrities, lapped it up. It is in this moment that one realises what a wonderful ethos The Vintage Festivals holds to its heart; as well as shining a light on the brands and icons that have made up 50 years of fashion history, the light is very much on the public, the everyday styles, items and idiosyncrasies that in the words of Mr Hemingway 'make us the coolest nation on earth.' In helping to further that, Lowe [both Daisy and Pearl] we salute you.

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk

The Vintage Festival: Seventy years of Style

For any vintage fan who has picked up a paper in the last few months, the following mantra regarding 'Vintage at the South Bank' may ring familiar; "Vintage at the South Bank is a sensual delight," states Wayne Hemingway, design mogul and man behind the event; "Vintage is a big dressing up box, a collectors dream, a creative feast."

For anyone stood on site, a quick 3-60 concretes this statement; little Liza Minellis handed out samples, ladies with parasols and gents in hats watched the Chap Olympiad whilst a gaggle of fifties gal-pals walked on by. From Jimmy Saville to Savile Row, no look was left untouched.

Whilst nobody can deny that 'Vintage at the South Bank' was a sensory buffet, some could have a bone to pick with the any suggestion of 'fancy-dress;' With bloggers, the BFC, journalists and celebrities on site, 'Vintage at the South Bank' was much more than a cabaret old chum; a testament to the integrity of vintage as both a style and a lifestyle, check out our best-dressed selection below and see that retro is so much more than treading the boards....

For more photos from a wonderful weekend at the South Bank, check out our Facebook page - mid-century furniture, celebs, men channeling 'Saturday Night Fever' and a lorra lorra wonderful stock, take a look here.

xVVx

www.vintagefair.co.uk