theprimgirl /

A Dress From Audrey’s Wardrobe

I, have been working in vintage fashion for over 15 years now, and, by far, one of the things I MOST love about vintage is the history and stories behind the clothes. I adore the fact that many of these dresses have been around longer then I have been alive, have lived a life, enjoyed outings and been loved by others before me. I especially relish in a dress when I find out who it once belonged to and where it has been before it arrived in my hands. I love pink, I love gold and I love vintage dresses, so, my heart skipped a beat when I came across this amaaaazing sugar pink and gold satin brocade cocktail dress. I saw this beauty on eBay and, to be honest, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, it had captured me and I knew I needed to make it mine. I’m a determined girl and that dress wasn’t going to go anywhere except for my closet. It was destiny for sure. I bought the dress, hitting the ‘buy it now’ button without hesitation, I knew that it and I would be a perfect match. Helen, who sold it to me messaged me straight away explaining that it had belonged to her Mother, Audrey Watson, and that it was a part of her huge collection of clothing that she had lovingly collected throughout her lifetime and that she hoped I would love it as much as her Mother had; that it had been a hard one to let go of. It immediately added charm to the dress that I now knew who it had belonged to. Then it arrived. It fitted me as if it had been tailored just for me and I knew it was gonna go straight into my own personal collection of vintage dresses that I will never be able to part with. It is a pure stunner. I love it so much I included in in my collection of dresses recently showcased in The Vintage Show as part of Norwich Fashion Week, I just had to show it off. In the package with the dress, Helen kindly enclosed a copy of an article in Saga magazine about Audrey and her vast collection of clothing. I was thrilled to know more about the previous owner and hurriedly messaged Helen to tell her that I loved the dress even more than I thought I would and to ask if she could let Audrey know that it will be forever cherished. She was delighted, I was delighted, and I hope Audrey was delighted too, that her dress had found a new happy owner. IMG_9870

IMG_9869

IMG_9874

Would ya just look at the beauty? Isn’t it pretty? Made by ‘Marjon Couture’, I discovered that Audrey bought this dream dress in 1962 in a small shop in Sleaford, in a sale, she actually bought two of the same dress and took apart the second in order to make a matching jacket. Oh my. Imagine the days when there was more than one of these dresses on the rail! Audrey will be 88 years old in May this year and during her life so far she has amassed thousands of items of fashion including dresses, jumpsuits, jewellery and shoes. Just imagine! What a fashionable gal! Her collection has even caught the eye of vintage lover Wayne Hemingway, that’s how great her archives are! During the 60’s and 70’s Audrey made many trips from her home in Lincolnshire down to London to hit the boutiques on the King’s Road and Carnaby Street. How I would adore to ask her about all her memories; “I went for clothes that stood out and were unusual rather than a particular label. I didn’t want to look like everyone else” she said to Saga Magazine. The interview in Saga goes on to say that ‘One outfit was rarely enough. Audrey used to put several in the car boot in case she changed her mind halfway through the evening’, she sounds like a true fashion dream! The majority of Audrey’s collection has now been auctioned off and is now being worn by a new generation, you can see more of the story on the Facebook page that Helen has set up. It turns out that Audrey never actually wore this pink dress, so I will be the first person, after all these years, to wear it, and I cannot wait. It has been cared for and saved by Audrey until it found it’s new owner; meeee! Thank you Audrey for this dress, it will be truly treasured. “All my clothes have memories attached” said Audrey, and now it will be making new memories with me. I couldn’t love it more.

Here’s some gorgeous pictures of Audrey and her love for fashion!

10617588_570080823113925_176672175_n

10645134_1486501174937326_9113575856920260928_n

10699175_590863691035638_590361730_n

1520624_1565613033692806_6000374264492920609_n

First image by Anna Gowthorpe, images of Audrey by kind permission of Helen and her Facebook page

You may also enjoy:

theprimgirl /

Tricks For Throwing The Perfect Fifties Cocktail Party

Throwing a Fifties cocktail party can be one of the highlights of your year if you pay attention to a few little extra cute details. The Fifties may have come before the Swinging Sixties but the cocktail parties were somethin’ ELSE! Social events for the upper and middle classes, cocktail parties, featured great food, great music and beautiful, beauuuutiful dresses, gah, the dresses! One of the best theme evenings you could go to is a Fifties night – and not just for the amazing music! With these top tips, you could throw the best cocktail party of the year!

Invites- The Fifties were the decade of formality and etiquette and sending formal invitations out for parties were the norm. Make sure you include the correct details for your RSVP request and ring around the week before the party so you get your party numbers.

Food – To truly impress your guests, make sure you bypass the buffet and go for serving hot and cold finger food passed around by a waitress you can hire. This is exactly what a hostess would have done in the Fifties so emulating that era is a darling thing to do! Fruit kebabs, ham and cheese parcels, and anything in aspic would be a popular option! Offer cloth napkins instead of paper ones for a real Fifties touch of class.Fashion – One of the best bits of a cocktail party was choosing your outfit! As these are formal affairs, strapless dresses with a full skirt and petticoat were all the rage. Throw on some small fancy colour diamonds and you’ll be the belle of the ball for certain. High heels, up-dos such as a chignon and a small handbag would set the entire look off beautifully. Browse online images of 50’s movie stars for inspiration, it’s a super fun way to dress! 

Home –A cocktail party at home would have been the best opportunity a housewife would have to show off the home and all your skills for keeping your home beautiful. Cutting fresh wildflowers from the garden and arranging them around the house would be a classy and gorgeous way of brightening the home without going for standard décor. While you most probably don’t like smoking in the home, dot vintage ashtrays through the room, as smoking was popular in that decade.

Cocktails – If you have a drinks cabinet, it’s time to get those bottles polished! You can put together a drinks trolley and offer martinis, side cars, vodka highballs and whiskey sours for a truly Fifties feel.

Music – You’ll need something to bop to so if you don’t have a retro record player, download some timeless tracks onto an iPod and dock it for the night. Not too loud, mind, as you want to be able to have conversation over the music. Crank it up for dancing later on!Your Fifties cocktail party will go off without a hitch and you’ll be the talk of the town just by following these party tips. Vintage doesn’t get better than the Fifties so it’s time for a shopping trip for a brand new cocktail dress!

You may also enjoy:

theprimgirl /

How To Throw A Vintage Garden Party, Darling!

 

When you think of a garden party, usually only two things come to mind. Either a barbecue with water fights, or a posh and elegant affair for the ladies. Garden parties are so underrated, and rightly so given that the weather isn’t always the best and most people don’t have the space in the garden to even throw a garden party – especially those in the city! If you are lucky enough to have a collection of vintage items you can use, then your garden party is already successful so all you have to do next is pick an era! Most people like to go for the twenties and earlier, but you do get those who want to relive the Sixties hipster era!

For a vintage garden party, the best food is usually finger sandwiches and delicate cakes. Think an upmarket picnic without the dodgy sausage rolls. Think twenties elegance while you sit in the garden among the flowers enjoying crustless sandwiches and mini Victoria sponge sandwich cakes. A silver tea service (for the truly vintage) would be perfect for a garden party, even if just as decoration. If you happen to have a collection of cups and saucers, they would be perfect for a dessert service of ice cream or Eton Mess. Bonus points for sending them home as party favours!Given that you’re having a garden party I think it’s safe to assume that it’s sunny outside and the right season for beautiful wildflowers. You don’t have to go as far as hiring out Jason Swanson painters to do the exterior of the house, but getting in some vintage tablecloths for table tops and even to act as fabric for a picnic will do the job! Pastel hanging lanterns for the trees if you have them will also be an excellently economical way to decorate. Bunting is a popular decoration for a garden party so match your pastels and you’ll have an elegant outdoor display.Your party will be a picture of elegance and poise and if you have any shabby chic furnishings you can bring from the inside to the garden, you can save yourself some money on decoration as this would be an exquisite piece for food to be on outside. When it comes to music, you could choose to hire in a vintage band, or pop on some old records. If you don’t have a record player, downloaded music will work but there’s nothing quite so lovely as the scratch of a record on a vintage record player. It gives the party and atmosphere a little authenticity. Your garden party can be a huge success as long as you follow the rules of elegance and beauty for the era which you pick. You can also add in little additions like mini pies and quiches for something different to sandwiches and cake. I doubt anyone is going to complain about the range of cakes and puddings you can offer for your party so go and enjoy yourself, darling!

You may also enjoy:

theprimgirl /

The Perfect 1930’s Fashion of Woody Allen’s Cafe Society

cafesociety

If movies were beverages, Woody Allen’s Cafe Society would be a cool glass of smooth Champagne; sparkling and decadent. A beautifully enchanting and bittersweet film, set in 1930’s Hollywood and New York. This latest Allen offering has his usual perfectly paced wit and charm, with Jesse Eisenberg captivating in his lead role, particularly personifying a younger Allen, a modern embodiment of the man himself with his faultless delivery of the dialogue and eager awkwardness. The film has a gorgeous, subtle and easy pace alongside the scintillating quickness of the script. Blake Lively and Kristen Stewart are the fashion in this film, gah, what era is more cinematically superb than the 1930’s? This is a feast of fashion indeed.

Floaty, feminine fabrics, dainty and fragile details, the 30’s clothes in this movie are so expertly selected, with pastels and ditzy florals in abundance for day wear and jaw dropping glamour when it comes to the evening wear. We’re watching the Bette Davis era, the elegance and sophistication is magnified and each outfit creates heart-shaped eyes for the viewer. Frilled cape sleeves, floppy neck ties, slim lines and below the knee hemlines conjure up a time when fashion was neat and beautifully effeminate. On a fashion note alone, this stunning film is worth watching just for the red silk gown worn by Lively, which in my opinion easily rivals that green dress worn by Keira Knightley in the film Atonement. Oh my.

You’ll come away from this movie with the 30’s on your mind, eager to add some of that look to your wardrobe, trust me, you really will. You’ll want sherbet colours, delicate details and prim gloves, you’ll be inspired to add a bias cut to your repertoire – which is flattering for every shape – you’ll want a neat short curled bob in your hair and a beaded bag on your arm. The day wear is cute and accessible and the evening wear is pure luxury on your skin, be it crepe or silk, no gal can feel unnoticed in a 30’s gown. Scour sites like Etsy for originals and replicas, or seek out online vintage fashion stores like mine which have done the hard work for you and have found the best pieces. To wear authentic items can be a pricey affair, but these pieces are a true investment with their value constantly on the rise, they’re an excellent addition to any collection, plus if you take the time to search you can find amazing items at fair prices or you can simply invest in some accessories of the era to add to your modern look, giving a discreet nod to this perfect period.

Cafe Society is available to own on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download from 26th December 2016, courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, and I defy you to watch it and not be inspired to dress and dream as though you are living in the utter delight of the decade. Swoon.

 

cs2 cs5 cs3 cs4 cs6 cs1

You may also enjoy:

theprimgirl /

Get The Vintage Fashion Look

Since the 1990’s women have been rockin’ various vintage and retro fashion looks, aaaw yeah they have! Vintage fashions are about waaay more than just what you’re wearing; they say a lot about the music, lifestyle, and your attitude to life. But with so many vintage looks out there, how can you get the right one that looks best on you? Well, read on to find out….

01

1940’s and 1950’s

The forties look has been a pretty popular look for the last ten years or so. It all started to come into fashion around the time that the shabby chic movement began. Maybe it’s something to do with the fact that culturally people always try to look back to a better time when things get austere? Anyway, the 40’s and 50’s silhouettes like the ones shown here have been gaining popularity ever since. In fact, they are so popular now that they are even a mainstay in the wedding dress market. A sure fire sign that they are here to stay, hoooray!

The 40’s look is more about the slim dress that accentuates your curves. Look for covered buttons and pussy bows for the right details. Try stores like Vivien of Holloway or Lindy Bop for these styles. The 50’s look embraces the full skirt more. This is a great look for any shape, as its creates the illusion of a small waist. This is because skirts and dresses in this style are often fitted on the top, with a definite waist and then flared out. You can wear the dresses on their own or with a petticoat which will give you that oomph for a real rock ‘n roll flared look.

02

1960’s

1960’s styles come in and out of fashion pretty regularly. The short shift dresses are effortlessly stylish and show off a great pair of legs. Last season we saw a lot of paisley print in new fashions as well as a nod to the 60’s. Remember that your vintage look, doesn’t have to be made up of purely vintage items. Mix and match new and old for a more modern and up to date take on your chosen era; modern ankle boots and a biker jacket add a great twist to a vintage look creating a bang-up-to-date fressh look just for YOU! Colours that work well for a 60’s look are schemes in greens, blues and orangey browns for that authentic feel. Pair short dresses with flat shoes for throwing some shapes and a high beehive in your hair if you want a really authentic look!

04

1990’s

The 90’s look is probably the look of choice at the moment. Trawl your local vintage shops and ask your relatives if they have anything that the used to wear back in the day in their wardrobes that you can purloin. You can also get plenty of items from vintage stores and 90’s styles new pieces. Neutral minimalism and Grunge were massive iconic looks of the era. Shops like Charlotte Russe are a good bet for some reasonably priced items with a definite 90’s feel. You can get Charlotte Russe promo code online too to save you some money on your shop, which is always ace! Car boot sales and auction sites are a good bet for accessories like mini backpacks and the occasional golden find of an authentic band t-shirt. Speaking of band, t-shirts, even Primark have jumped on the trend and offer cheap Nirvana or Stones t-shirts, which can be cut to make something like this, making it extra cool! 

Pick an era, any era, mix ’em up together and with modern finds, dressing with vintage is the MOST fun ever and is by far the best way to make a look which only you will be wearing!

You may also enjoy: