A Very mOBSCENE Halloween

I’m sure you would have guessed that Halloween is my favourite time of the year what with my LOVE of fancy dress.

So far this year I’ve been Mystique, a Firefly inspired space cowboy,a Hippy & The Pink Panther

It was safe to say even I was getting slightly fancy-dressed fatigued!

Even so Halloween seemed to creep up on me and I had a couple of days to cobble a costume together before the big VOODOO ROCK night in Angel.

I managed to find the perfect jacket in Primani and The Boy found me the perfect hat in Camden so I could create a mOBSCENE outfit…

So all I needed was face-paint and BUCKETS of fake blood to do my make-up

Think it worked out quite well?

Of course everyone else’s costumes looked amazing too

Braaaains….!

Exploring Hackney Wick… The Walls Have Ears

Two mins from Hackney Wick station the Boy and I stumbled across east London design group, The Bread Collective’s latest project… The Walls Have Ears!

Collaborating with the local community, Bread has taken a run down and neglected 100 metre stretch of road in the shadows of the Olympic Park and turned it into a beautiful, typographical mural of the area’s history. Each section representing a different link to Hackney!

A couple of my favourites…

Mint Creams

“The confectioner Clarnico is synonymous with Hackney Wick. The company, known as Clarke, Nickolls, Coombs until 1946, arrived in Hackney Wick in 1879. Despite being taken over by Trebor Bassett, the name lives on in Bassett’s Clarnico Mint Creams and also in the CNC Property company.

Just after the second world war, Clarnico was the largest confectioner in Britain but moved further across the Lea to Waterden Road in 1955 where it survived for another”

Parkesine

“The Parkesine Company was established at Hackney Wick in London in 1866

Parkesine is the trademark for the first man-made plastic. It was patented by Alexander Parkes in 1856. The Parkesine Company was established at Hackney Wick in London in 1866 with the aim of supplying Parkesine in quantity at a cost much below that of India rubber or gutta percha.

The company, however, failed due to poor product quality as Parkes tried to reduce costs. Parkesine’s successors were Xylonite, produced by Daniel Spill (an associate of Parkes), and Celluloid from John Wesley Hyatt. Parkesine was made from cellulose treated with nitric acid and a solvent. The generic name of Parkesine is pyroxylin, or Celluloid. Parkesine is often synthetic ivory. The Parkesine company ceased trading in 1868.”

The Bread Collective: Owen Phillips, Victoria Walmsley, Jo Lee and Luke James

The clever people at Bread’s video of the mural being painted…

Seriously worth taking a visit especially as we discovered this round the corner…

Who wants to be a SuperHero!?

The beginning of February saw the night I had been planning forever… My 25th Birthday!

In true Ms Lenith style a strict dress code/theme was put in place – Super Heros Vs Super Villains and everyone was told a few months in advance to give everyone time to get their outfits organised!

I decided to go as Mystique (the very warm option) from Xmen

I started with a Blue body and mini skirt then used this youtube video to do the details on my face/body paint…

The end result was this…

(hairband came from here and was very handy to keep my Bettie Page fringe back – and is also AMAZING!)

Lucky I have very lovely new housemates who didn’t mind me giving things a slightly blue tint!

I was quite nervous that I would be the only one who made any effort, which was a complete underestimate of my amazingly mental friends… despite the snow everyone made the most AMAZING effort!

We had Batgirl and Joker

Batman and Robin

The Black Canary

Wolverine (a fellow mutant)

Hit Girl, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn

It was the BEST night… Camden really didn’t know what had hit it!

My friends ROCK!

Have you guys discovered… The Diner?

This is one of myself and Blondie’s fav places to go when we’re feeling hungry!

The 1950′s American style diner has a fab selection of very naughty foods (the bacon chilli dog is a must try!) which you can enjoy with a pint of beer or even a traditional milkshake!

Though this is not the only reason why we seem to spend many a pre-night out here… The staff in the Camden restaurant are always amazingly nice! I know that doesn’t seem like a massive thing but they are always a happy, eccentric bunch and with the alternative music playing we can spent hours just chatting in a booth!

I took the boy to the one in Shoreditch last time he was visiting and it didn’t fail to disappoint!

Hummmm I know where I’m going for dinner tomorrow now! YUM!

Fish and Chips the vintage way…

After a long day of vintage shopping in Spitalfields market why not head to the wonderfully retro fish and chip shop… Poppies

Great food, great value and service without compromise. Poppies is all about traditional East End values, experienced in an authentic style serving great fish & chips with Pop orchestrating the show.

Love the attention to detail with the retro waitresses, jukebox and beautifully design graphics I can’t wait for an excuse to sample the fresh fish that everyone is raving about!

Check out their Facebook page here…

My new favourite store!

Wow I’ve been super busy with run up to Xmas clearly…. but not to busy to shop!!!

The boy bought me this navy blue 1950′s nurse’s cape from Birmingham as a pre-xmas gift… the only problem was it was missing a button!

So we went off to brick lane to see if we could find any replacements and stumbled across the most amazing shop…BLITZ

I had heard about it from the Vintage Guide to London a few months back so was very excited to stumble across it on our great button quest

The BLITZ folks describe the store …

BLITZ is a warehouse space with 5 rooms, 9,000sq. feet and more genuinely hand selected, on trend vintage clothing than any other in London.
Blitz has antique furniture, from early 20th century through modernist industrial and reclaimed eccentricities. Blitz has vintage books, records, jewellery, reading glasses and sunglasses. Alongside watches, pens, fragrances, bikes and luggage. What else could you want?
Blitz is the modern concept store selling yesterday’s best concepts.

Not only has it got rooms full of clothes that I spent hours rummaging through (I was so happy to find their selection of What Katie Did lingerie!!)  it also has a fab little cafe and book store for when you need to gather your strength again

I found the perfect set of buttons for my cape and LOADS more! I will definitely be going back…

The countdown begins… 24 days until The Belle Epoque Party Halloween special

I love Halloween!

For me there is no better time of the year (xmas comes a close second… maybe if there was more fancy dress…?).

I’m a massive fan of dressing up at all times but Halloween means being covered in fake blood and looking as scary as poss without too many funny looks!? But this year I will be swapping the fake blood for glitter and heading to the Belle Epoque Party! I don’t think I could be more excited!!!

I have been wanting to go ever since I went to one of their sister parties (the Blitz party). It sounds right up my street…

Get ready to be transported to the sin filled alleys of 19th century Paris for La Belle Époque. Celebrate bohemian style and applaud debauched elegance at this unique new event that promises to indulge the artistic side of partying.

La Belle Époque allows you to re-live the absinthe fuelled hedonism of 19th century Paris with the people who brought you Blitz Party and Prohibition.

Lie back in one of many velvet lined alcoves and watch aerial and trapeze artists perform over your head as you sip on La Belle Époque’s Absinthe inspired cocktails. Watch the showgirls perform French dance hall classics and immerse yourself in a sound that could only have emerged from the streets of Paris’ red light district.

With tickets at only £20 I jumped at the chance to do something different for Halloween! Lucky for me Blondie, the Boy and my work girlys are more that happy to come with me!

Only a month to pull together a fabulous costume eeek! The Dress Code:

Ladies drape yourself in feathers & squeeze into a breath-taking corset, Gentlemen embrace your devilish side with dashing masks, coat-tails & top hats!

So as the Boy is over in Germany we spent last weekend sorting out his Halloween costume! We hit Camden HARD. Came away with black highway boots, a white pirate like shirt with billowy sleeved and a lace up front and a black cane! All we need now is this red devil mask to come back in stock and I volunteered myself (I don’t know how) to make a cape (thinking crushed velvet!?) and he will be quite a fetching Devil! I do love that he lets me dress him up!

Now my outfit is a little bit more tricky. I’m thinking burlesque woodland creature!? Lots of emerald greens and reds.  I’m using these images as my inspiration…

My shopping list as it stands is a killer corset and meters and meters of tulle to make a skirt like above! Hopefully not too difficult a task!? I’ll do an update of the final thing when (if) I finish it!

What is everyone else doing for Halloween? Hope your all dressing up and up to no good! Just avoid the Mean Girls slut rule…

“Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.”

And remember you can never have too much fake blood!!!

All the vintage goodness I’m going to miss next weekend!

I’m off to Germany on Thursday to go visit the Boy for a long weekend and it looks like I’m going to be missing SO much vintage goodness I’m almost annoyed!

The shopping I’ll be missing out on…

Bethnal Green’s Affordable Vintage Fair is on the Saturday and if it’s anything like last bank holiday’s fair it will be worth a gander

‘Formed in early 2005, the formula for Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair is a winning one; gathering the UK’s leading vintage purveyors, founder and ex-Selfridges personal shopper Judy Berger set out to create a one-day cosmopolitan marketplace, a celebration of vintage fashion and homewares from the past sixty years. Away from the steep pricing and snobbery of other vintage events, the fair was to be accessible, exciting to every generation and, above all, affordable. Explaining her decision to ensure that no shopper is ever out of pocket, Judy sites a personal reason as well the obvious; “Ultimately, I wanted to create a fair that I wanted to shop at,” she says. To this day, no trader passes through our doors without being scrutinised for affordability and the eccentricity of their stock.

Frock me vintage is back on sunday in Chelsea

The vogue for vintage clothes attracts fashionistas, stylists, models, fashion students, collectors and costume designers for stage and film. Top designers and celebrities can often be spotted amongst the crowds searching for one-off fashion finds.

Frock Me! is the place to find clothes from every era, from 1920s ‘flapper’ style to Fifties glamour, eighties retro-chic or classic 1960s trends with prices ranging from one or two pounds up to several hundred.

Blondie and I have discovered the most fantastic gems from there! its £4 entry but not too expensive if you have a bit of a rummage!

The festival…

The Thames Revival is an annual event that celebrates vintage glamour, classic boats and the golden days of sailing. The event is part of The Mayor’s Thames Festival, London’s largest free outdoor arts festival, taking place annually in September. This looks like so much fun and dead cheap at only £15! With so much going on …

Fashion Show - Retro style and Glamour
Seagull Race - using the famous British outboard motors. Like Maritime Marmite, you either love ‘em or hate ‘em
Sculling Race - with a single oar off the transom, expect to see frustrated men going in circles
How to Avoid Gaff Gaffes - an expert explains why this traditional rig is still going strong
Motor Manoeuvrability - how to turn a boat on a sixpence
Duck Punt - see the ancient art of waterborne duck hunting, just remember your earplugs
Swing Dance Competition - Learn the steps and try your luck
Paper Boat Race - one for the children, who make paper boats during the day and race them at 1600 hours. Winning boat gets a prize

and there is the rest of the festival to go enjoy all along the southbank!

The vintage club night…

I’ve discovered a new group crush in the form of the Vintage Mafia who have this new club night on the saturday VM Presents…The Ric Rac Club (Let’s Misbehave) which looks so good!

This brand-new club night is hosted by the dangerously glamorous Vintage Mafia – a six-strong girl gang who are, in their own words, ‘Always well-dressed, but not always well-behaved’.
Their inaugural club night is aimed at vintage aficionados and newcomers alike, with the focus on socialising rather than partner dancing.Upstairs, we’ll be playing 50s jive and 60s Northern Soul, with guest DJ All Fringe, No Knickers. Northern Soul Dancing mini class and demonstration too!Downstairs will feature 30s and 40s swinging dance band tunes played by none other than Miss Fleur de GuerreA Ukelele turn by Miss G will serenade our guests as they arrive, with a free glass of ginger punch courtesy of our kind sponsors The King’s Ginger for each and every attendee
Our soon-to-be legendary raffle will take place at 10pm sharp, with useful, amusing and ridiculous prizes, including bottles of booze
And if that wasn’t enough, we promise a fun, welcoming crowd of well-dressed guests.
Indoor smoking terrace, amazing atmospheric pub and a super time all guaranteed!

 

 

 

 

Oh I am annoyed now! There is just too much vintage goodness going on and it has to be when I’m away so I will have to live vicariously through you lot!

I’ve also got to work out how to get the Boy to watch the start of the Rugby World Cup… that might be interesting!?

 

The Vintage Guide to London – Best of 2011 Awards, and the winners are…

I hope that everyone has seen the 2011 Vintage awards!?

If not you can check them out here

I’ve only been living in London for 4 months now so will be hitting up all the places on this list asap! Especially the Hula Boogie club night!

What does everyone think?

Personally I’m not a massive fan of Vivien of Holloway  so not too impressed with Best London-based repro brand section but really intrigued by all the shops!?

What did you do over the weekend…?

So after a year of planning Myself, the Boy and Blondie hit the Southbank for the amazing Vintage Festival!

I had my rollers prepared, seamed stockings at the ready and many a outfit to pick from!

I ended up wearing my vintage cream/gray abstract print dress (that I picked up in Birmingham last year), my great grandmothers fox fur cape and my new obsession, my peep toe, brogue detailing, sling back heels!

I’m very lucky that the Boy and Blondie love dressing up as much as I do and that the Boy is a fantastic photographer who documented the whole day for us all!

The highlights had the be the Black Cotton Club and the Lets Rock room where we had many a cocktail and enjoyed all the live music! check out their website for the highlights and photos… www.vintagebyhemingway.co.uk

Talking about photos the lovely people at UCA have posted all the photos from their photo booth check out this fabulous shot of the three of us on their flickr page

On a bit of a vintage come-down so in the need of planning our next vintage outing any suggestions?