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!?

 

Bank holiday evenings on the other hand…

…are made for cider, good company and live music!

So Blondie and I made our way to Angel yesterday to check out The Old Queens Head where The Magpie’s Nest was having an ALL DAY folk fest of live music!

I had no idea what to expect and it turned out to be a really fantastic night!

The pub itself was really pretty (especially the upstairs room!), not too packed with people but buzzing! We managed to find a couple of chairs and ended up seeing loads bands and lots of high jinks!

We were blown away with a band called The Ramshakle Union Band so much so that Blondie had to get us both a CD of their work! I’ve been listening to Misbehaving ever since – Beautiful!

And we got to see Frankie and the Jacks again and they where as good as I remembered from Lovebox, even with 3 snapped strings in one gig! – Hopefully there will be some recordings from them soon!

A fab way to end a Bank Holiday, even with a naked jogger chatting me up while I was walking home lol!

Frankie and the Jacks

I just wanted to spread the love!

Blondie, La and I discovered Frankie and the Jacks at this years very soggy Lovebox festival.

They are a rather attractive 4 piece swing band…

Set within the walls of the wailing harmonica and the screeching fiddle the sometimes dark and often caustic lyrics belie the foot stomping swing of the double bass and guitar. Here is where comedy and tragedy meet head on to deliver a full spirited testament to Franky and the Jacks’ one and only mantra…“Make ‘em dance”

Franky Doody: Lead vocals and guitar, John Beale : Vocals and violin,
Sax McGuinness: Vocals and harmonica,Tom Rosenfeld: Vocals and Double Bass.

As it was chucking it down we were looking for cover and followed our ears to this little tent and had the best time dancing and drinking to their pretty awesome sound! I have been playing Party Pooper continuously since then!  I also have deep moustache/hat envy!

I will definitely be trying to catch them again! They are going to be playing in London on the 29th August at Old Queens Head in Islington…hope to see you all there!

The Bombshellettes…

I”ve been loving this band for a while and was so excited to hear they where going to be playing at the Vintage Festival last weekend! Unfortunately for me they were playing on the Sunday so I had to miss them! It sounded like I missed an amazing gig as everyone I’ve spoken too couldn’t praise them enough!

I got introduced to The Bombshellettes when my friend was describing the band that she plays sax for and I KNEW I had to see them play! When I first heard The Bombshellettes play at the London Themes Festival last year with the Boy we couldn’t help but fall in love with this fantastic 1940′s all girl swing band!  Inspired by Ina Ray Hutton and her Melodears, the Ivy Benson and her All Girl Orchestra, and Anna Mae Winburn with the International Sweetheart of Rhythm you can’t help but start to dance when you hear this talented group start to play!

There has been some fantastic buzz around these girls since last sunday and even spotted a HUGE article in this months Vintage Life Magazine!!!

I think all of you will love them as much as I do so keep your eyes peeled for these very talented ladies!

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?