Royal Mail has just released a special edition stamp set honouring the best of British Fashion. The stamps, which went on sale yesterday, feature some of the most influential designers to have come out of the country since World War II, proving exactly why Britain is at the forefront of world fashion design. The work [...]
Art deco is one of the most coveted design movements of the early 20th Century. With its origins in Europe, particularly France, it soon became an international movement after the First World War and remained popular until the late Thirties. Unlike previous design movements, advances in mass production meant that nearly everybody could participate and [...]
Selfridges London has opened its latest in-store exhibition, Big Britannica: 1951 – 1953, as part of a store-wide celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. Curator Judith Clark collaborated with famed hat designer Stephen Jones on the resulting selection of classic Fifties-era-inspired looks accompanied by period issues of British Vogue. Contrary to typical fashion exhibitions, [...]
Our Vintage Queen no 95 is the wonderful Elsa Billgren, a personal vintage shopper, blogger for Swedish Elle and TV presenter. A former PR for vintage shop Beyond Retro, Elsa has amazing style and an envious collection of vintage Fifties and Sixties dresses which she mixes up in her own unique way. With her red [...]
Think of the name Clara Bow and the description the ‘It Girl’ probably springs to mind. So-called after the title of one of her most famous films, the star is still associated with an indefinable sex appeal. Bow’s moment in the spotlight coincided with the brief era of the flapper in the mid Twenties and the [...]
We all know that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. But what about emeralds, pearls, and sparkly gems? Our motto: Anything goes! Vicki Sipe, founder of Nostalgic Collections, has this step by step guide to collecting stylish vintage jewels. 1. Make sure all the stones are secure. Time can loosen the setting and the glue can come undone. [...]
Why not sprinkle some stardust over your lunchtime sandwiches? In Hollywood’s Golden Era, stars regularly shared their favourite recipes with their fans through articles in fan magazines and promotional booklets. Jenny Hammerton delves into her silver screen recipe archive in order to tempt your lunch hour taste buds. In a 1934 Silver Screen magazine article entitled “Stars [...]
The easiest way of adding a bit of vintage glam to your every-day look is by wearing black eyeliner. This might seem a little tricky at first but fear not, we’ve found this excellent video tutorial giving you step-by-step instructions for drawing on your eyeliner perfectly.
Selfridges London has opened its latest in-store exhibition, Big Britannica: 1951 – 1953, as part of a store-wide celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. Curator Judith Clark collaborated with famed hat designer Stephen Jones on the resulting selection of classic Fifties-era-inspired looks accompanied by period issues of British Vogue. Contrary to typical fashion exhibitions, [...]
Think of the name Clara Bow and the description the ‘It Girl’ probably springs to mind. So-called after the title of one of her most famous films, the star is still associated with an indefinable sex appeal. Bow’s moment in the spotlight coincided with the brief era of the flapper in the mid Twenties and the [...]
Our Vintage Queen no 95 is the wonderful Elsa Billgren, a personal vintage shopper, blogger for Swedish Elle and TV presenter. A former PR for vintage shop Beyond Retro, Elsa has amazing style and an envious collection of vintage Fifties and Sixties dresses which she mixes up in her own unique way. With her red [...]
My name is Kate Garner, and I sing and play piano for vintage events, specialising in music from the Thirties and Forties. I’ve always loved music from the past. My Nana was a London pub pianist, and my Dad bought me a gramophone at a flea market when I was 12. I learnt my repertoire [...]
Art deco is one of the most coveted design movements of the early 20th Century. With its origins in Europe, particularly France, it soon became an international movement after the First World War and remained popular until the late Thirties. Unlike previous design movements, advances in mass production meant that nearly everybody could participate and [...]
In a 200 year-old stone and timber cottage, down a quiet winding road, nestled in the beautiful countryside of the Cotswolds lives a remarkable antique-collecting couple and their two black cats. From within this idealic world Clare and Mike Brown run one of the most successful and popular online vintage home style shops, Vintage-Home.co.uk. Through [...]
With the Royal Jubilee happening this summer, there will be plenty of tea parties and traditional British home-made afternoon tea treats. New book Vintage Teatime, put together by the Women’s Institute, offers classic recipes and baking inspiration for such occasions and everyday indulgences. The WI, which was founded in 1915 to encourage countrywomen to get [...]
The second volume of the influential vintage knitting book A Stitch in Time was published last year. Can it live up to the high standard the first volume has set? Rebecka Mustajarvi reviews. If one can talk about cult-classics when it comes to knitting books, A Stitch in Time is probably as cult as it [...]
New book A Re-enactor’s War (John Leete, The History Press Ltd) explores what inspires, moves and motivates re-enactors of all ages and backgrounds, and their close relationships with the veterans and people they seek to honour. Reminiscences of the Home Front from evacuation to the Blitz and beyond and new interviews with re-enactors are brought [...]
While most of those involved in Swinging London’s most famous fashion outlet, Carnaby Street, have now become part of the national psyche, the street’s most influential character, John Stephen, the man who made London swinging, has largely been forgotten. Born in Glasgow in 1934, Stephen first worked as a welder before, aged 18, moving to [...]
Think of the name Clara Bow and the description the ‘It Girl’ probably springs to mind. So-called after the title of one of her most famous films, the star is still associated with an indefinable sex appeal. Bow’s moment in the spotlight coincided with the brief era of the flapper in the mid Twenties and the [...]
With their love for motorcycles, leather and beer, Rockers have always had a bad reputation, even when they first began to emerge in post-war Britain. Christopher Raymond Brocklebank takes a look at a youth culture phenomenon which still fascinates us today. Rockers have been suffering from a mistaken subcultural identity for over fifty years. Teds, those frothily-quiffed [...]
From Marilyn Monroe’s billowy white halter in The Seven Year Itch to Audrey Hepburn’s effortlessly chic black number in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the silver screen’s stunning dresses have always left stylish women enchanted. But no matter how many trips they’ve taken to the mall or even to designer boutiques, it’s still always been nearly impossible to [...]
Childhood friends Kitty DuBois and Wanda Von Wink continue their life-long love affair with all things lacy, frilly, tweedy and delicious with their retro accessories label The Daily Strumpet. Based in Edinburgh, the two of them specialise in bespoke hats and other handmade accessories using heritage materials such as Liberty prints and Harris and Shetland [...]
If you go by the common definition that vintage describes clothing which is at least twenty years old, the early Nineties are now officially vintage. Festival curator Wayne Hemmingway has been making the news this week by including the Nineties in his line-up for the Vintage Festival this summer, prompting a lot of discussion among [...]
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