Vintage Event: Wartime Weekend at Pickering 2013

I went to Pickering last year and it was a lot of fun, so my family and I decided to go again this year to soak up some of the vintagey times together.

The wartime weekend is a perfect mix of historical reenactment, vintage shopping and a sort of festival atmosphere as there are many sites all along the North Yorkshire Moors Railway that are taking part in the festival.

Sadly however, unlike last year, this year the weather was rubbish. We managed to wrap up and still cope with the rain, but it meant that a lot of the outside things like DJs and dancing were cancelled. Sad times.

I had to cobble together an outfit as my stuff is still split between the north and the south. I did have a Jaeger suit from the 1970s though that I felt had a bit of a 40s look so I decided that was a good option. There is a faint blue tinge to the fabric so I wore a blue hat with it too. I also wore my stole since it keeps me nice and warm. Oh did I mention that the suit was £7?! Yeah! eBay bargain!

My mum also decided to get into the spirit of things wearing my Grandmothers fur coat that I mentioned in this post. Oh and I did her hair... it was super soft and kinda short so I was so pleased that I even managed to get a twist at the back of her hair. My husband and Dad weren't dressed up so we made them be our pro-photographers.

There were lots of people dressed for the occasion through despite the weather and as usual they had the train platforms split so that you could take pretty nifty pictures of all the vintage-y folks.

Including Winston Churchill...

The  local choir was singing We'll meet again...

It was also great to see the medical professionals were out in force too.

I adored the portable Glambulance, not only were they doing a great job at giving ladies fantastic up-dos, but their name was also a pun!

Some dodgy dealings going on in the black market.

Is this young chap really old enough to drive?! I'm not sure he looks too happy about being stuck in the car all day.

As usual there was a heavy focus on the armed forces, of remembering those that fought in the War and the lives of those that were touched by the war. I found the poppy appeal display very sad in particular, they seem to have a different on each year, and they never fail to make me well up a little bit. I think the North Yorkshire Wartime Weekend really does find the right balance between remembrance and historical fun - something I'm sure they'll keep up in the future!

Oh and of all the vintage cars I saw, I adored this one. I made me think of Captain America, but upon a closer inspection it turned out to be an Australian Chrysler, not what I expected. Mind you that doesn't make this care any less amazing. If this is yours I, and my family are very jealous!

  

Phew, that was a super picture heavy post. We ended up spending the Sunday in York as it was raining and so windy so I don't know if anything happened on that day. Hopefully the weather will be a bit better next year!

Bye for now!

Vintage Event: Scarborough Vintage Faire

A few weeks ago I took the day to visit my husband in Scarborough and it just so happened that there was a vintage fair happening at the Scarborough Spa.

Naturally I decided that I had to visit! The weather was pretty nice so I was pleased to be able to wear a nice dress, and get this, go out without a coat. We even managed to find the time for a nice stroll along the promenade on the way there.

I decided to dress for the occasion and wore a lovely Jager tea dress, that may or may not be vintage. It is black with multi-coloured flowers, good-old shoulder pads and even pockets (which always make me desperately happy). I bought it off eBay and cost in the region of £20 so I am pretty pleased with it. I teamed it with a red cardigan from M&S and the ever reliable retro seamed stockings from What Katie Did. Lastly the brogues are from Clarks and are super comfortable  they come in so many colours too and are really durable I would highly recommend them.

I even did my hair, but it was the first time I really tried to style it with the fringe so I'm not sure it turned out too well...

The fair itself was really busy, I blame the bank holiday for drawing in the crowds but it is good to know that business is good. Lots of stalls to look at with lots of the standerd stuff, dressed, records and nic-nacs. The prices were very mixed some were very reasonable and some more expensive but they did generally reflect the quality of the item - there wasn't any faux vintage Primark either!

While browsing there was musical entertainment, a pop up hair salon and lindy dance demos etc so there was lots to keep you occupied. The husband and I even managed to get in a bit of dancing on the empty dance floor (they also had lindy lessons running throughout the day if that's the sort of thing you'd fancy).

Overall it was pretty enjoyable and at £2 entry it was one of the cheaper vintage fairs I have been to. I enjoyed it quite a bit although I am not a fan of fairs in general (I prefer charity shop rummagings).

What is the best vintage fair you have been to?

Vintage Events: 'Introducing Barberpop' - The Scarlet Street EP Launch

Last Friday I was a lucky blogger and was invited to the Scarlet Street EP launch for Introducing Barberpop. I wrote a brief heads up about this group a few posts ago so I won't go into too much detail on that here.

The launch was held at Jimmyz Bar on the trendy Newcastle quayside and the whole bar was booked for the private party.

Upon arrival (right on time for a change) it was quiet enough for my husband and I to get a drink and I could take a few snapshots of the decorations around the bar.

There were posters showing the EP album work scattered around but Scarlet Street had even had their own coasters printed for the event! This was definitely a favourite touch of Mr Fancy who collects such trinkets.

The group also has a special cocktail menu devised for the event - a class act all the way! I very much appreciated that one of the drinks was called 'The Jen' (on a side note I should have known I would appreciate this band when upon first speaking to the famous Jen she said 'Oh! Hi Jennie - great name by the way!') Sadly 'The Jen' cocktail was not really my thing as I'm not a fan of Tia Maria. 'The Zita' however was something I could happily sip on (that sounds ruder than its meant to).

The first act of the night was a rockabilly band named the Honey Bop Trio who sang around 10 songs and were thoroughly entertaining while I took pictures of the band. Who were impeccably dressed by the way!

The ever humble Scarlet Street served guests with delicious canapés wearing a collection of retro pinnies.

After the band there was a burlesque act by the Sisters of Tease. They did several strips and it was really fun to hear the gasps and giggles from the audience.

Then on to the main event. Scarlet Street performed several of their YouTube classics while bathed in a red light and wearing red. I've always been a fan of ladies wearing red and I have to say these gals looked fantastic.

After a few acapella tracks they moved on to perform the original songs from the EP - and they are certainly very good!

Annoyingly my last train home was at half past 10 so I didn't get so see the whole set but I saw about 6 songs and they were all fantastic.

I would highly recommend Scarlet Street to everyone who is a fan of that close harmony big band barbershop style.

You can buy their EP online at CD Baby now and it will be available on iTunes soon!

Oh and one last picture - just in case you were wondering what I wore for the evening:

Sorry I look a little dishevelled - I got thoroughly rained on while walking to the bar and my hair does not survive well in the damp.

That's all from me for now.

Vintage Events: Pickering Wartime Weekend 2012

Last Saturday I attended the Pickering 1940s Wartime Weekend with my parents and husband (still getting used to saying that!).

Pickering is a 1940s re-enactment event that has been running for 20 years and is one of the biggest in the country. Although the centre of the event is Pickering North Yorkshire there are events held across the North Yorkshire Moors Railway line, from an evacuation re-enactment at Goathland to the occupation of French village LeVisham.

Travel between events via the railway on beautiful steam trains was the way most seemed to get around but, sadly, we didn’t have time to travel by train on the Saturday.

We did however manage to get onto the train platform as a train was arriving, the platforms were separated into one for ‘period costume’ only and one for everyone else. I believe this was so photographers could get ‘authentic’ vintage shots, but who knows.

The station was not only the focus point for many re-enactors but was also the location of several musical performances and a mock blitz air-raid (which was pretty scary).

There were also lots of vintage stalls selling clothes, accessories and military memorabilia, we even managed to find a retro beauty parlour tucked away in a back street.

 

And everywhere you looked there were vintage cars!

At one point my mother took a photograph next to a vintage car and a swarm of photographers started taking my picture, it was fun for a few moments but then I began to feel a little embarrassed – it wasn’t even my car!

We also stopped off in the local church where they were serving tea and cakes and they were also creating a memorial installation using poppies form the poppy appeal.

The streets were full of people, so many of them in full costume I was really amazed by how much effort people put into their clothing. There were a lot of men and women in vintage armed forces uniforms, as would be expected at a war re-enactment event, but what was really amazing was that so many children were dressed up too. It was nice to see history so alive and well in the hearts and minds of those attending the weekend.

All in all I had a great day, but to get time to see everything, or even close to everything, it would be a good idea to spend more than one day there. But I would recommend it to anyone even vaguely interested in vintage, the 1940s or the home front.

Vintage Events: Leyburn 1940s Weekend and Vintage Accessories

Hi everyone!

A few months ago I went to the Leyburn 1940s weekend. I only went for one of the days but there was still lots to do; shopping, dancing, speeches, a parade and re-enactors. I had a really great time despite the slightly iffy weather.

I wore a coral dress by Pearl Lowe at Peacocks. It is a lovely dress with a very vintage inspired shape, but the print and colours make it look quite modern and the shape of my cardigan was not very vintage at all. I think when I was choosing what to wear I didn’t expect other people to go so 'all out' when dressing for the event!

Thats not to say I didn't have a good time - I did, however, I made the decision then and there that for the next 1940s event I attended, I would dress more appropriately. It just so happens that I am attending Pickering 1940s weekend next week. I have heard that this event is huge for re-enactors and vintage enthusiasts so I very much wanted to dress the part.

I have two outfits in mind for the event (depending on the weather of course) and I went shopping last weekend to find some choice accessories for the event.

I attended the New College Durham vintage and antiques fair that I have written about previoualy here. It is not typically an event for looking for clothing, but for finding accessories, it seemed to be the perfect place for bargain hunting!

While rummaging around I managed to find three hats, one a genuine 1940s hat, a vintage faux pearl bead necklace a vintage broach and a beautiful mink stole!

The stole is a simple gorgeous fit, it has a gap over th shoulder so that it fits perfectly - I was so pleased when I found it. (What made it better that all of the above cost less than £60!)

Hopefully with a lovely vintage hat and a classy stole I will look like I fit in at Pickering. I'll post soon and let you know how I get on!

Vintage Events: Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair - Durham

Hi folks!

So last Saturday (the 28th) I visited Judy's Vintage Fair in Durham Students Union. Now I'm not sure how long Judy has run an event in Durham, I'm just pleased that it's been long enough that the event seems to be in the swing of things by the time that I moved to the North East.

I attended one of the sister events at Brighton and while the Durham event is smaller there is no shortage of bargains to be found. (Judy has events in lots of cities - you can find a list here - scroll down)

In Durham, much like in the rest of the UK it has been raining, so I chose to wear my trusty teal raincoat, long boots (I didn't want to ruin a nice pair os shoes on the muddy lane) and a trusty navy tea dress from Monsoon.

The fair, while taking up a fairly small area in the basement of the Union, was packed with sellers and clothes rails filled with goodies. Prices varied a lot depending on age style and colour but the most expensive thing I looked at was around £65 - I dare say they were more expensive things, I probably just missed them. But there were also rails for £10 dresses and id say the average price was around £20-30.

I didn't spend much time looking at the scattered items of lingerie, or any shoes or jewellery but there was a fair selection for those interested. There were even cupcakes available for £1.50 from Cakes and all things nice.

I'd say for the £2 entry fee, or £1 if you're a student, there was lots of choice and it would be easy to spend a hour or more rummaging. Stall owners were friendly and helpful and there were a fairly good selection of sizes not just the tiny tiny items you find at a lot of vintage fairs.

So what did I get?

Well I had a fairly good day of thrifting, I bought a blue dress from the fair I believe it is probably from the 1970s but I simply loved the colour! I also bought a mushroom polka dot day dress that had all of its labels removed so I have no idea where it is from, it is made of a thick cotton fabric and some very light padding at the shoulders.

I also went on a little bit of a charity shop hunt and managed to find a lovely teal coast skirt and red polka dot blouse. Last but not least, and this is cheating a bit, is a blue and white summer dress from monsoon. Technically my mum bought this dress but she said we could share it which is convenient given that we are the same size - its just to pretty not to share!

Anywho, that's it for now, bye for now!

Vintage Events: Swing Ninjas Album Launch Party at The Mesmerist

Hi there folks, sorry for the delay in this post I’ve been rushed off my feet at work!

Anywho, last week I went to the Swing Ninjas album launch party at The Mesmerist pub/bar in Brighton. (This post contains a few artistic shots... mainly me learning to play with the aperture settings on my camera...)

The Swing Ninjas are a three-piece jazz band based in Brighton and play fantastic gypsy jazz and swing. Their album is a mix of covers and original tracks and features guest performances on vocals from the ladies at Swinging in Heels and some additional help from a bit of double bass and clarinet for the evenings performance.

For those of you thinking of a trip to Brighton any time soon, the Ninjas play at The Mesmerist every Wednesday evening.

I wore a 1940s style red polka dot dress for the event, but forgot to have any pictures taken (possibly letting the point of this blog slip my mind) but fortunately someone else did (taken from the facebook page for this event) along with it is the best picture I could find of the dress from a swing tea party a little while back. I apologise for my terrible dancing face... it would seem I was having a good time and that left me incapable of looking glamourous!

There was a lot of dancing to be had, with a large space to be filled with Lindy hoppers spinning. I didn’t get much dancing during the evening as I’ve been having a bit of a flair up of arthritis recently but I was able to catch pictures of many of the other dancers.

There was also a Charleston dance provided by the Brighton Lindy Hoppers:

Accapella performances from Swinging in Heels were a treat for the ears:

There was also a fire breathing fan-dance burlesque act from Miss Billie Rae if the Ninjas' tunes weren’t enough to get you excited.

I’d highly recommend the album for those that like that kind of thing, or for those looking for something to dance to.

More pictures (and uncropped versions of these) will be added to the facebook page here very soon, give it a like and tag whatever you like.