CALAMITY JEM'S VINTAGE VAUDEVILLE

Hello Goodbye

2011-07-04T00:52:00.002+01:00

Hey peeps,
I'm moving but you are all more than welcome to come with me...

you will find me here from now on ;)

I'd love for you to come and join me on my new adventure!

Thanks for everything, YOU GUYS ROCK!

peace & love,

Jem

xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-06-27T01:30:00.003+01:00

Last year I salvaged an old cabinet from a street corner that is now serving as our "cocktail bar", where I keep my ever growing collection of soda syphons & retro ice buckets and hubby his bottles of Polish vodka.

I've been planning to cover the back of the shelf with some snazzy vintage wallpaper or retro prints but haven't come across anything suitable for the job until today that is :)

When I was perusing a stall at the car boot sale I came across this carrier bag...

The inside held a large collection of old beermats that the seller had collected as a child;
this is just a few of them...

The idea struck me immediately, how fab would it be to dress the back of our cocktail cabinet using these quirky things, it was a done deal at £2.
These would make great trimmings for a retro cocktail party too :)

Speaking of party, how about these technicolour street sweeping lashes for a bit of party fun?!

I also came across an old biscuit tin for much cheapness...

It had a bunch of dominos inside....bonus!

More stuff befitting a retro party,
namely six 70s placemats in a cheery hue, yay!

Vintage 50s (just guessing) souvenir ashtray from Sydney...

I bought a brass coal box from the car boot sale last year that hubby now keeps his work shoes & cycle helmet in.
We don't even have a fireplace but when I spotted this brass fire screen for £1.50 I took complete leave of my senses & bought it.
Buying the box made sense cause you can obviously keep a plethora of different stuff in it but what the heck do you do with a fire screen when you don't even have a fireplace in your house, D'oh!
Och, never mind!
I'm sure I'll find some obscure use for it ;)

I also got another framed religious stylee print for 50p...

...and a handwoven wall hanging from Lesoto...

Last but by no means least, a bunch of vintage dresses from my vintage dealer friend who was at the car boot sale today...

Two 50s cocktail dresses
80s 'Kanga Collection' by Dale Tryon dress
80s 'Tricoville' chiffon dress
I also bought a rather jazzy shirt for hubby, it was a case of he'd either loathe it or love it luckily it turned out to be the latter.
Hope you've all had a fab weekend, it's been sweltering in London today...help I'm melting!
Peace & love,
Jennie
xXx

I stick two fingers up at Fullers!

2011-06-26T01:00:00.009+01:00

After a shambolic meeting with the new management team from Fullers I decided to jump ship, they were actually expecting me to take a pay cut the cheeky fuckers, so henceforth I am officially a free agent, yay!

It is now my wholehearted aim to make a go of my FROCKTASIA venture, so if you are looking to buy fabulous vintage clothing…I’M SELLING IT!

More listings will be going up in my etsy shop over the next few days & I also intend to start listing on eBay again.

I've got some friends coming over to check out the boudoir of delights tomorrow and I'm hoping that a few more peeps will rock up for that in the near future.

It really is a golden opportunity for anybody who is into vintage clothing but remember in a few short weeks it will be no more!

If you are interested, then what are you waiting for?

I don't bite and I promise the racks and stacks will be full of goodies for you to peruse,
I'll even make you a cuppa to sweeten the deal who's that?! ;)

After four and a half years of working Saturdays it's been really nice to be able to just RELAX and take the day as it comes!

Earlier hubby & I went for a stroll in the sunshine and this evening we took in a funky local pub before going for a meal at a Turkish restaurant, it was absolutely blooming grand!

This Evening's Ensemble:

Vintage 70s halter maxi dress (eBay)
Vintage 70s suede waistcoat (vintage dealer)
Vintage 70s St Michael raffia wedges (charity shop)
Dean suede fringe bag (car boot sale)
Mexican earrings (market)
Tribal style necklace (car boot sale)
A pleathora of bangles (car boot sale & pressies)

I love this vintage suede waistcoat, I bought it from my vintage dealer friend some years ago and it keeps on cropping up in my outfits...it's fabulous!
The main reason to why I wore it tonight was to cover up my bra because I don't have a halter bra.
Although the dress looks far better with the plumped up clevage, it's a sad sight to behold from behind when the bra is on display.

This dress was part of a joblot that I scored on eBay a while back and I've now worn all but one of the garments from that.
I was really lucky in bagging these fabulous items and I put it down to the fact that the awful auction pics put a lot of other potential buyers off.
Just goes to show the importace of good quality pictures, if you are hoping for a profitable sale anyway.
I'll just show you the original auction pics next to one of my own...

Does blurry, bad quality pics put you off bidding?
Have you ever bid on something with a crap picture or even no picture and if so did it pay off?
Have a lovely Sunday peeps!
Peace & love,
Jennie
xXx

Transitional Times & a frocking Vlog

2011-06-21T23:23:00.002+01:00

I finished making my first ever Vlog today :)

I've already posted it on my frocktasia blog, were it rightfully belongs but I'm so ridiculously excited about this whole thing that I'm just going to have to post it here too.

I'm not entirely comfortable with having a camcorder thrust in my face but I'll get over it I'm sure...

I think I could probably make another seven minute clip with me swearing at squeeky floorboards and cursing myself for meandering off topic, hehe!

If you want to see some more pics of my boudoir of delights then pop over to Frocktasia and why not add your pretty face to my 18 awesome followers while you're at it, ah, go on, you know you really want to ;)

I'll be posting more regularly over there from now on & I've got some fun stuff lined up & ready to roll and you wouldn't want to miss out on any fun stuff now would you?!

Take care peeps.

Peace & love,

Jennie

xXx

This Time I'm Gonna Try It My Way!

2011-06-21T15:04:00.004+01:00

Today's Ensemble:

Vintage 70s Laura Ashley maxi skirt (eBay)
Vintage 80s Wallis ribbed stretch top (car boot sale)
Vintage 70s Suede waistcoat (vintage dealer)
Vintage 80s sunnies (car boot sale)
Vintage 70s St Michael raffia heel wedges (charity shop)
Retro belt (car boot sale)
Suede fringe bag by Dean (car boot sale)
Necklace (market)
DIYed cuff bracelet (made myself with duffle coat buttons)
A pleathora of other bangles (car boot sale)
Mexican earrings (car boot sale)

Peace & love peeps :)
Jennie
xXx

FROCK ON REGARDLESS

2011-06-20T23:42:00.002+01:00

More bags made it to the charity shop today....only two more to go now :)

I've found out what's happening to the pub after next Friday and I'm sad to say...

it's just another corporate takeover, as Fuller's are moving in.

Will I stay if they offer me a job?

Probably not, I'm not a company kind of gal.

Naturally I'll stick around to hear what they've got to say for themselves but somehow I can't see my situation improving under the new management.

I have worked for brewery pubs before so I do have a fair idea of what's on the cards and I'll tell you something right now, I for one ain't wearing no fecking Fuller's T-shirt.

The 'wear what you like' attitude, food & beverage perks & relaxed working conditions that were the mainstay of the current owners are likey to become a thing of the past.

Never mind, on a personal level, all this change has done me a world of good cause it's made me snap right out of my perpetual procrastination.

Things that I've been putting off for years & meaning to do for months are finally getting done and it feels flipping well wonderful!

Today I wore the dress that I bought at the car boot sale yeasterday,

I'm in love with the funky cut & the fabulous colours!

Today's Ensemble:

Vintage dress (car boot sale)
Moschino belt (market)
Vintage deadstock tights (charity shop)
Demonia heels (car boot sale)
DIYed cuff bangles (made myself)
DIYed peace sign earrings (made myself)
Tibetan prayer bangle (pressie)

FROCKALICIOUS!

I made these cuff bangles using duffle coat buttons from a charity shop button box & large round beads from the car boot sale...

These earrings were made from a pair of keyrigns that I bought from the car boot sale & some vintage clip earring fasteners that I bought from a market.

Peace & love y'all :)
Jem
xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-06-19T20:09:00.002+01:00

This morning's haul...

Four retro patterned trios: £2

Vintage St Michael bed spread: £2

Unused Scottish mohair blanket: £3

80s interior design book: £1

Four tribal inspired necklaces: £2

I also got a few funky threads currently drying on the balcony after being the first garments to be washed in our new washing machine.
The old one died on Friday, hubby ordered a new one on-line yesterday & it was delivered this morning...now that's what I call a speedy service!
The colourful pleats that you can see in the above pic form the skirt of a very pretty dress and the knitwear is a stunning balloon sleeved cardigan.
I actually found the website of the talented knitter of this lovely garment, Rachel Grimmer, you can get a similar cardi custom knitted for around £240...
I paid a bargainous £2 for mine ;)
Hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend?!
Peace & love,
Jem
xXx

Excitement, Adventure and Really Wild Things...just around the corner?!

2011-06-15T23:15:00.006+01:00

Hi peeps,

I took another bagful of stuff to the charity shop today, only a "few" more to go now.

Yesterday they got a blue IKEA canvas carrier laden with laptop cases and cooler bags.

Every time I visit my folks in Sweden my mum sneaks a cooler bag smockful of Swedish edibles into my handluggage, so when we cleared the loft out the other week, we found no less than twelve cooler bags in perfect condition; a pretty excessive number of cooler bags for a family of two I think you'll agree.

So off to the charity shop they went & hopefully cancer research will get a few pennies for them and someone will be able to keep their beer cold in the park...everybody wins!

Today I struggled along the road with another (bastardiously heavy) carrier, this time full of hubby's old PC games and CDs.

I've still got four carriers waiting in the hallway & I haven't even started on the clothes yet.

The clothes that were in the loft went straight to the textile recycling bank but I've still got to sort out all the stuff that I weeded out from hubby's & my own wardrobes.

I will get to the end of this...I will!

This is officially the last week at work before the change over i.e. when my current boss hands back the lease to its owner and we still haven't been informed what is going to happen.

It's really shit and probaby illegal too but hey-ho, who am I to pipe up, eh, being but a lowly part-time barmaid.

When we were first told that our boss had been knocked back for a renewal of the lease it was the general consensus that we were all going to be made redundant, however it is common practise (or so I'm told) that you are informed of this atleast some time in advance.

Nothing has been said, the rumours are flying around like bats that have gorged themselves on amphetamines and I am none the wiser as to what my future (as far as the pub is concerned) will hold.

Needless to say I'd love to get paid off, I've been there for over four years but as I am only part time, any redundancy payment will probably not have me laughing all the way to the bank anyway.

I feel ready to close that book and start a new chapter in my life, one that doesn't involve wenching it up behind a bar in The West End...slogging my ars off and having to deal with drunk dullards.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for all the other staff, I dearly hope that whatever happens it works out better for all of them in the long run.

Today's Ensemble:

Vintage 70s Indian cotton maxi wrap skirt (eBay)
Liz Claiborne silk waistcoat (charity shop)
Old Tee (pressie)
Vintage scarf (market)
Vintage bag (car boot sale)
Tassel tie (car boot sale)
Earrings & bangles (car boot sale)
Egyptian print slippers (car boot sale)

I found these kitsch-tastic slippers at the car boot sale a while ago,
I just had to have them ;)

Regardless of what happens with the pub, I'm powering on with my own thang!
I'm almost ready to let you in on my "big secret" ;)

When I'm ready I shall be moving over to my frocktasia blog on a more permanent basis...

...and it will be...
Excitement, Adventure and Really Wild Things

I promise ;)

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Teapot in the toilet

2011-06-15T01:00:00.005+01:00

Hi peeps,

Remember me?

My life laundry is almost completed, huzzah!

What started out as an innocent bit of spring-cleaning back in early May,

turned into a clutter expulsion of epic proportions.

The loft was all but emptied to make room for the stuff that I had in my studio.

A friend of ours is going to lodge with us so I had to surrender the room to make space for him.

I’m utilising the room until he moves in & I shall reveal in what way later ;)

Today I’ve been busy cleaning & sprucing up the bathroom/toilet.

Our landlady has been promising us a new bathroom for about four years but she says she can’t afford it now.

If we owned this flat I’d replace both the bathroom & the kitchen, as they are ancient.

I’d also have all the fitted carpets (bane of my fecking life) ripped right out, it almost makes me sick thinking of all the dead skin cells & detritus that is locked up in that biohazard.

I grew up with Scandinavian rag rug clad linoleum underfoot, so I don’t really get the fitted carpets thing.
Unless you can afford to replace it with regular intervals, it’s just bogging…right up there with grotty old stained mattresses.

I prefer rugs to carpeting cause you can just bung them in the washing machine.

Ocht well, you have to make do with what you’ve got, eh!

At least all this intense hoovering is burning calories…every cloud has a silver lining!
My mum sent us these funky Asian vibe towels & shower curtains, so I decided to work the bathroom around that theme.
I got these signs from a shop in Langkawi.

We don't actually have a shower but I use shower curtains as a sort of bathtub splashback.

I know I'm an odd bod but I think it's perfectly alright to keep a teapot in the bathroom ;)
It's so pretty!

I used some Chinese brocade fabric to drape the shelves & tables and I found this 80s poster print up in the loft.

This is the wall that I look at when I'm relaxing in the bath so I do like to have some interesting things up there.
A lovely Japanese scarf, decorated with vintage buttons and a couple of poundland frames with two photos that I took in Kuala Lumpur.

I miss Malaysia & Thailand, every now and again I get struck down by a powerful longing.
Here are the two photos that I framed...

...and here are some that I didn't...

This last pic was taken at the Langkawi Underwater World...

I've still got a few loose ends to tie up as far as the life laundry is concerned but I should be able to return to a more regular blogging schedule soon :)
Peace & love,
Jem
xXx

Drizzle & designer crockery

2011-06-12T19:09:00.002+01:00

It was drizzling this morning so I didn't expect much from the car boot sale but when I got there I was more than pleasantly surprised.

A family were clearing out some very upmarket clutter and I managed to wedge myself into the scrum to snatch up a few bargainous treasures, like this cottage chic enamel jug for a mere 50p...

I went back to the same stall several times as they kept on bringing out more goodies.
Designer- & studio homeware galore for crazee bargain bucket prices.
How about these retrotastic plates & cups by Rosenthal for £1.50...
FANTASTISCH!

I also found this Mari bowl by Iittala for £1...

I was surprised but very delighted that no one else had grabbed hold of these fabulous bowls & plates...

I snapped them up for £4. They are by bodo sperlein & the pattern is called Arcadia. You can still buy the pasta bowls & side plates on-line for £15-£35 a pop.
Today's super duper boot sale bargain has to be this cute pair of Bianco Nero patterned cups by Missoni Home at £1...yes that's for the two...pretty darn amazing, eh?!
This particular pattern is still available to buy but they seem to have changed the actual design of the cups.

I also bagged a cast iron Japanese tetsubin teapot & a vintage trivet all from the same seller.
My total spend? £12...not bad at all!
Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend.
Peace & love,
Jem
xXx

Light at the end of the life laundy tunnel...

2011-06-10T03:14:00.001+01:00

My life laundy is nearing its end, HUZZAH & HALLELUJAH all rolled into one!

After a month of hardcore toil, blood, sweat, tears of sheer desperation & the sporting of some decidedly drabtastic attire I can't wait to get back into some fabulous & fun outfits again.

Peace & love,
Jem
xXx

Lady Gaga borrows my wig...

2011-06-09T00:22:00.003+01:00

I'd love it if Lady G popped around to have a good old rummage in my drawers (fnar fnar) & wardrobes.

I'm sure that I have one or two things that she'd love to wear...

like my latex Welsh guard's jacket & super heroine hotpants combo from House of Harlot for instance.

Yup, I can deffo see her rocking that!

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Peace &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; love,&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-06-05T23:46:00.002+01:00

The Sunday morning haul...

Vintage 60s Pyrosil coffee percolator.

Vintage 50s/60s curtain- & bedding fabrics.

Early 90s knitting book.

Today's super bargains...

A DAY Birger et Mikkelsen top for 50p and this funky turquoise suede fringe bag for £1.50...

It is by a brand called dean and the bag is still available to buy from their website for a whopping $175.

I LOVE car boot sale bargains!

Hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend :)

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Back in the frame briefly

2011-06-05T02:37:00.004+01:00

Hi folks,

hope everyone is doing grand?!

My (by now month long) spring clean, has turned into a "life laundry" of epic proportions but more of that later.

I'm bonkers tired after an arduous twelve hour shift at Ye Olde spit-and-sawdust,
my poor knees & feet are killing me.

Best crawl into bed while I'm still physically able to do so ;)

Today's Ensemble:

Vintage 50s gents tux blazer (car boot sale)
Lace top (car boot sale)
Jersey top worn as skirt (car boot sale)
Pedal pushers ( car boot sale)
Biker boots (car boot sale)
Ankh necklace & Grumpy Suns earrings (DIYed)
Sun & hoop belt (car boot sale)
Tibetan prayer bangle (pressie)
Vintage slave bangle (car boot sale)
Retro sunnies (market)

Peace & love,
Jem
xXx

This week I've...

2011-05-26T01:28:00.001+01:00

...enjoyed a great play...

...continued my insanely cumbersome house clean...

...re-jazzed my compy corner & become addicted to fresh mint tea...

Hope everyone is feeling happy & healthy!

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Yes, I am the hobo hoover woman!

2011-05-18T01:24:00.001+01:00

As I've been doing battle with the mighty dust rats,

my outfits of late have been very unexciting to say the least.

I can't wait until the spring clean is all finished cause I've got a few outfits that I'm longing to wear.

Still haven't had the opportunity to "test-drive" all the 70s attire from the eBay joblot that I won the other week and I've also got a rather splendid sequin jumper that I bought from last weeks car boot sale that I can't wait to wear.

Here's a round up of outfits from May last year...

xXx

Haggard hands & car booty looty

2011-05-17T01:34:00.004+01:00

Hi folks,

more spring cleaning malarkey for me today,
I'm almost finished with the living room, thank gawd!

Eventhough I've meticulously hoovered in every corner & wiped down every inch of wall it doesn't take long for yet more dust to appear on the furniture, argh!

I'm glad I'm not OCD about this cause I'd have no hands left after a week :(

That's the real bugger when it comes to cleaning, you get desert grade dry hands.

I won't wear rubber gloves and as a result I've now got the hand skin of a seventy-year-old.

Never mind, I'll just have to treat my hands to a little oil massage when I find the time.

This is what our livingroom looks like now...

A little closer look of the fabrics...

In last weeks cleaning related post I told you about how I was slimming down the bulk of our bookshelves.
All those books that were just taking up shelf space where dispatched to a friend of ours and we are now left with a (by my standards) a Feng Shui'd set up, one that is not groaning under the dead weight of tatty sci-fi novels from the seventies or crapola from the charity shop free-bee-book-box.
Like I said in the last post, it is still cluttered but that's just me, I like it that way!
Atleast now it won't take half a day to locate a book, when one springs to mind :)

I've made some tweaks on my compy too today, changed to firefox cause I wasn't able to comment on my fave blogs and it was telling me to get rid of cookies...whaaa?!
I can comment now but everything else seems to have gone a bit odd...not sure?
I'll have to ask the expert when he gets back from work tomorrow, hubby knows these sort of things, where as I am fresh out of the cave when it comes to technological matters.
The picture above is of some dainty glasses that I bought from the car boot sale yesterday,
I'm cleaning the bar cabinet tomorrow so hopefully I'll be able to squeeze them in there.
I also got this 60s needlework book yesterday & I'll leave you with some of its pictures...

Fab, I especially love that first jumper.

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Pleats Me!?

2011-05-15T17:03:00.005+01:00

Hi folks,

Recently I have spotted quite a few girls wearing pleated skirts here in London & when I asked my “High Street & glossy magazine” mad friend at work she said that they are a hot trend for spring/summer 2011.

I really like clothing with tactile textures and I think pleats are a fun way of injecting a bit of excitement in to an outfit.

I’ve got a number of pleated skirts myself but I haven’t worn them in ages, however after spotting a few fabulous street style ensembles this week, I decided to dig one out & have a go at styling some outfits around it...

I suppose quite a few folk would lump the pleated skirt in the same category as the polyester day dress i.e. classic granny attire but I personally think it holds a lot of styling potential...

1. Wicca tie-dye blouse

2. Scrunch textured top

3. Guess tiger print top

4. Vintage 70s Victorian style blouse

I bought this embellished Indian top from the car boot sale...

The great thing about a skirt with an elasticised waistband, is that you can instantly tranform it in to a top, dress or even an unusual cape-dress...

Here are a three more ensembles from ages ago in which I encorporated pleated skirts...

Will you be wearing a pleated skirt this summer?

Hope you've all had a fabulous weekend!

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

The High Priestess of Hoarding

2011-05-10T21:08:00.006+01:00

Another day of hardcore spring-cleaning comes to an end & I'm not even half finished yet, sheesh!

The living room winter curtains where so frigging dusty that I almost developed instantaneous pneumoconiosis when taking them down :(

They've now been washed and line-dried.
Hubby and I shook the hell out of them before folding them up & putting them away until next winter.

I also tackled the bookshelves today and weeded out heaps of old & random books.

I'm the high priestess of hoarding and I do find it very hard to part with things & throw stuff away but there comes a time when you've just got to STOP!.

We've got a mate who sells old books on a market stall & I think he'll be chuffed to bits with some free stock.
Today's post cleaning ensemble:

Another vintage 70s frock from the wonderful joblot that I won on eBay last week.

Vintage 70s St Michael raffia & leather wedges (charity shop)

Vintage 70s leather patchwork bag (charity shop)

Handmade Kenyan belt (car boot sale)

Vintage 80s sunnies (eBay)

Tibetan prayer bangle (pressie)

Metal tassle earring (DIYed)

It was quite windy today, perfect winter curtain drying weather :)

A cheeky gust, went straight up my skirt!

The dress is labelled Nierlinks -London, not a name I'm familiar with.

The print is gorgeous!

The books & stuff that won't be going back on the shelves...

I came across a gay comic mag called 'Handjobs'...

quite how that ended up in our bookshelf is a bit of a mystery.

The shelves are still cluttered but no where near as much as before.

Here's my small collection of cat ornaments...

I weeded out so many books that I actually had some space over for my smelly stuff...

I haven't bought a bottle of perfume for years as I usually get some for Christmas.

My mum buys a lot of stuff from Yves Rocher, so most of these are from there.

Truth be told, I only use perfume when I go to work, so a bottle last me ages.

I also tried to cut down on the number of knick-knacks that I put up on the shelves too but I wasn't quite as successful in doing that.

Ocht, you can't win them all ;)

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Seventies ensemble & kitchen blitz

2011-05-09T21:03:00.008+01:00

Hiya folks,

I woke up at 4am this morning with a feeling of arresting urgency...

spring cleaning time has arrived!

I loaded up with Ecover cleaning fluid & sponge scourers on our last trip to groTesco,

so I had no excuse to stay in bed until the shops opened.

I spent the entire morning in the kitchen scrubbing, washing & wiping every single bit of kit it homes.

I'll finish it off tomorrow before making a start on the livingroom...

dusting the bookshelves & hoovering behind big lumps of furniture,

oh no...my back is aching at the mere thought of it!

In the afternoon I put on one of the 70s get-ups from the wonderful joblot that I scored on eBay last week:

Vintage 70s maxi skirt & waistcoat top by Dorothy Perkins (eBay)

Straw hat (car boot sale)

Pierre Cardin sandals (charity shop)

Grumpy Suns earrings (DIYed)

Metal bangles (car boot sale & pressie)

I really love this set, it is in immaculate condition but you have to remember to hold on to the skirt whilst walking up stairs though, I almost tripped over twice ;)

The print is lovely...

This is our kitchen after my cleaning blitz of this morning...

The reason to why it takes a donkey's age to clean our house is because we've got so many knick-knacks all over the place.

I've been after a polystyrene head since I bought this Akha hill tribe headdress from a charity shop last June & I finally came across one for £2 at the car boot sale a couple of weeks ago.

I was toying with the idea of spray-painting it gold or perhaps pulling a colourful nylon stocking over it.

I also bagged this small fake cactus for 50p ;)

I need to re-cover the kitchen cabinet doors, these were done a few years ago using inexpensive PVC fabric & good old gaffar tape.

We also have an old sofa in the kitchen that I cover up with cheap fabrics from the market.

This lovely Indian cushion cover was only 50p from the car boot sale...

I can't wait to get cracking on those bookshelves tomorrow, all that wonderful dusting to be done ;)

Hope you lovely peeps have had a splendid Monday!

Peace & love

Jem

xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-05-08T21:50:00.002+01:00

Hiya folks,

hope you've all had a grand weekend :)

Here are some of today's car boot sale purchases...

Vintage bag: 50p

Heavily beaded top: £2

Vintage 80s blouse top: £2

Vintage 70s maxi dress: £1

Vintage 70s maxi dress from Richard Shops: £1

Designer sunnies: £1

Total spend: £7.50

Take care peeps.
Peace & love,
Jem
xXx

I LOVE eBay!

2011-05-06T02:02:00.006+01:00

On Tuesday morning whilst doing a bit of "research" on eBay, a listing for a small joblot of 70s dresses & skirts caught my eye.
I know, I know...
I really shouldn't be buying anymore but this lot just seemed too good not to have a punt at.
The photos weren't great, something which puts a lot of people off and the fact that the auction finished around noon time probably worked in my favour cause lo & behold my bid came out on top ;)
Luckily the seller & I both work in central London so today I went along to her workplace & picked up my "winnings".
The seller was a really lovely woman and she told me that she'd rocked these garments herself back in the 70s.
Since then she'd kept them boxed away in her loft but she now felt that it was time for her to let them go.
As we said our goodbyes I detected a little tremble of melancholy in her voice as she said;
-Please take good care of them.
I most certainly will!
I couldn't wait to get home & try them all on...they are FABULOUS!
I feel really honoured to have met the previous owner in person too.
Here are the pics from the eBay auction...

...just wait until you see them all styled up!
I'm hyper excited about this one folks but it will have to wait a few days cause I'm working over the weekend...again!
Not long now though, only eight weeks until the boss hands over the lease....
can't bloody wait ;)

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Strike a pose

2011-05-04T22:50:00.002+01:00

When I look back at earlier pics from when I first started documenting my outfits, something soon becomes very apparent to me...I had fun doing them!

After a few clicks I’d go into hyper silly mode, striking allsorts of madcap poses.

When I compare these pics with the ones that I post now, there is nowhere near as much silliness involved and this saddens me somewhat.

Therefore I’ve promised myself to inject a little more fun & nuttiness into any future outfit pics, cause I think the blogosphere needs more of that.

A couple of wonderful dames that offer up more zany poses than you can shake a stick at can be found on two of my favourite blogs namely Misfits Vintage and HELGA von TROLLOP, these gals know how it should be done!

Here are a selection of poses from my blogging past…

So from now on there will be less pics of the hands on hips variety, hopefully ;)
xXx

Stå som åsnan mellan två hötappar

2011-05-02T16:47:00.003+01:00

The title today is a Swedish saying that roughly translates to

"standing like a donkey inbetween two bales of hay",

this describes someone who, in the face of choice finds it very hard to make their mind up...

someone just like me ;)

I've spent most of the day going through bags stuffed with vintage clothing trying to decide what to part with & what to keep...

Oh, it's ever so hard!

Today's Ensemble:

Vintage 60s Penelope Peep sundress (eBay)

Vintage 80s St Michael cardigan (car boot sale)

Vintage 60s T-bar heels (car boot sale)

Tights (market)

Vintage 70s patchwork bag (car boot sale)

Vintage 80s sunnies (eBay)

Tibetan prayer bangle (pressie)

I love the quirky print on this dress, I'm such a five-year-old at heart.

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY & eBay bargain dress

2011-05-01T22:03:00.004+01:00

I'm absolutely cream-crackared after what has been two helluva hectic weeks.

I overslept this morning so by the time I hit the car boot sale it was already in full swing.

Being late always makes me wonder if I missed out on any early bird gems...

did I tell you that I suffer quite badly from car boot sale OCD?

Never mind, I did score these pleated leather beauties for a squid, so mustn't grumble really ;)

My vintage dealer friend was there too & had a bagful of vintage dresses in the back of her van for me to peruse...huzzah!

There were a few that I fancied but I'm trying to exercise restraint when it comes to buying at the mo, I really have to concentrate more on selling rather than perpetually buying.

However I couldn't resist this fabulous frock by 'Vera Mont'...

I also scored this vintage maxi dress on eBay last week..

Only £3.40 including P&P, bargainous!

I'm shuffling off to bed now, my weary bones are in desperate need a rest.

Back on the FROCKTASIA case again tomorrow, I'm hoping to get some stuff listed on eBay this week too.

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Welcome to fucked up Britain...

2011-05-01T18:17:00.000+01:00

...take a seat and we will arrest you in due course!

Yesterday's Ensemble:

Mini dress (car boot sale)

Che Tee (market)

Lace underskirt (market)

Tights (market)

Demonia heels (car boot sale)

Anachy earrings (market)

Tibetan prayer bangle (pressie)

Retro sunnies (market)

DIYed necklace (made by moi)

Vintage 50s gents hat (car boot sale)

xXx

My new project - FROCKTASIA

2011-04-26T19:11:00.001+01:00

Today I've been working (hard) on setting up an etsy shop & a new blog too.
My brand spanking new blog is called FROCKTASIA & will eventually become my primary one.
I feel like 'Calamity Jem's Vintage Vaudeville' has run its course and that it's time for something new.
I have so many different ideas whizzing around in my head at the moment and I feel quite excited about it all.
I'll be spending the evening knee-deep in vintage frockery cause I need to pick out the first lot of fabulousness to go in the shop...decisions, decisions ;)
Today's Ensemble:

Crazee huge-ass harem pants (market)
Textured top (charity shop)
Pierre Cardin sandals (charity shop)
Vintage 50s gents hat (market)
Owl pendant (car boot sale)
Tibetan prayer bangle (pressie)

Take care peeps!

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

The frocks will fly!

2011-04-25T21:33:00.002+01:00

Hey peeps,
hope you've all had a nice Easter break :)
I'm still a bit pooped so this will be another quickie post.
I just found out that a friend of ours might need somewhere to live soon and as we can certainly do with the money, hubby suggested we'd take him in as a lodger.
This means that I will have to clear out one of the rooms & squeeze all my stuff into one room :(
Dear o' dear, I'm not sure if that is even possible!?
Anyway this definitely means that I'll have to treat my plans to start selling again with some urgency.
I've set up an etsy account & I've already got an eBay one from when I used to be a full-time seller some years ago.
When I spoke to my vintage dealer friend the other week, I asked her which market in London she reckoned would be the best one for me to try out as a seller, she said Portobello.
I'll have to do a bit more research into that though but first I'll put my efforts into getting things off the ground with etsy & eBay.
ALAS THE TIME IS NIGH TO BID MY BELOVED FROCKS GOODBYE!
Today's Ensemble:

Vintage 50s cropped blouse jacket (charity shop)

Vintage Austrian dirndl dress (eBay)

Vintage 80s pleated polka dot skirt (car boot sale)

Vintage 70s Jonelle sunnies (car boot sale)

Vintage 70s sandals (pressie)

Faux-pearl bracelet (market)

Necklace (pressie)

Thanks for all the lovely comments of late, they make me very happy :)

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-04-25T02:17:00.006+01:00

I’m still recovering from an extremely busy spell at work…

the TWO St. George’s Day Do’s in particular where very trying and almost did me in.

I’ll do a proper post later on but for now I’ll just show you what I managed to bag at yesterday’s car boot sale…

I simply can't resist pretty roses!

I might have a stab at making teacup candles out of these cause I really need to start thinking about pressies to give to my work colleagues when it all comes to an end in June.

I don't smoke but I'm sure that I can think up a prettier purpose for this large & very heavy vintage ashtray.

Next up two fabulously quirk-tastic prints, yay!
Firstly a 70s mystic mushroom print ;)

...and then an awesome Australian print!
One of my favourite buys of yesterday was this unopened pack of hand printed Australian place mats.

I was very excited when I came across a lady who was selling lots of gorgeous colourful sari fabrics...

When we stayed in Kuala Lumpur for one night, we visited the night market in Little India and as you can imagine there were stalls galore with cracking fabrics on offer but I actually didn't buy anything as I was too busy taking in the atmosphere of it all.

I took quite a few pics & I will do a post about it in the near future, I loved it.

Luckily for me the car boot sales that I frequent are quite good for finding Indian clothing & fabrics though.

I was over the moon to find this yesterday…

When I was on holiday I was eyeing up a few of these patchwork wall hanging/throws but they were actually quite expensive in Malaysia so I didn’t buy one in the end.

Speaking of holidays & India, guess who's back on the blog-block?!

Vintage Vixen, HUZZAH!

...and she's looking more gorgeous & bronzed than ever, WOW!

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Savour the flavour

2011-04-22T03:54:00.003+01:00

I'm almost done in after a mega busy day at work.

Where do people find all this money to spend on drink?

I'd be sick if I had to pay £12.90 for three pints of lager or worse still £8.50 for a 50ml shot of malt whisky.

However not only are people seemingly more than happy to pay that sort of cash once, the crazee peeps keep on coming back for more.

One guy spent almost £50 on a round of ten 'Jägerbombs'...one of those mental down the hatch drinks that fulfil no other purpose than to get the drinker disgustingly intoxicated.

I've never been that big on shots like that, they just seem pretty pointless, no savouring involved & not much pleasure either if these people's grimacing faces after downing them are anything to go by.

The only drink that I actually miss, being teetotal, is a heart warming single malt scotch whisky called Laphroaig.

There have been occasions when I have served someone a Laphroaig and they've knocked it back like a shot...that level of disrespect for "The Water of Life" almost makes me cry.

I found these pics in a folder within a folder on my desktop, I can't believe it's been almost two years already since these photos were taken, maybe it's high time for me to give my compy a bit of a long overdue spring clean too, eh ;)

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

"Wonder Woman" brings the inside outside...

2011-04-20T18:33:00.004+01:00

Yay, yet more great weather today.

The neighbour's cat is loving it...

I am too :)

In the summer (weather permitting) our balcony becomes our dining/living room.

I tart it up with a few scattered rugs & inexpensive fabrics on sunny days...

We had our al fresco premiere this evening, it was lovely bar the frigging noise from the Easter funfair in the park..."scream if you want to go faster".

When hubby came home this afternoon I was busy scrubbing down the chairs on the balcony and he teasingly commented that he was happy to see that I'd dressed appropriately for the task & that my outfit reminded him of Wonder Woman.

Today's Ensemble:

Monsoon top (charity shop)

Drape detail skirt (car boot sale)

A plethora of colourful necklaces (pressies)

80s Pierre Cardin sandals (charity shop)

Grumpy Suns earrings (DIYed)

Tibetan prayer bangle (pressie)

I'm mentally trying to prepare myself for the real ale drenched mayhem that is St. George's Day, my boss has decided that we are marking the occasion twice this year as it will be his final one before giving up the licence.

I wish you all a fantastic Easter break, relax & enjoy!

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift

2011-04-19T23:07:00.005+01:00

There's been some pretty stunning "free entertainment" to behold in the sky over the past few nights, in the shape of some rather spectacular cloud formations as the sun was setting...

...and of course the utterly spendid full moon of last night...

There's something about a full moon that makes me think of old Hammer Horror movies.

I'm half expecting some manly beast i.e. Christopher Lee in his prime to jump out of the shaddows and ravage me...

If I was to star in a retro Hammer Horror movie then this beautiful vintage 60s Quad dress would not look out of place.

Especially when teamed with this charming little cameo brooch/necklace that my friend at work gave me.

My sister won this dress on eBay & had it sent to me.

What a lovely thing to do, eh!

Cheers sis, you are a star :)

It fits like a dream too...

It definitely scores high in the 'alluring wench' stakes...

Quad is one of my absolute favourite vintage labels.
Here are my other Quad pieces...

The black velvet cape is very Hammer Horror-esque too, muhahaha!

I must have been a very good gal of late cause not only did I receive a bombdiggity dress & a cute cameo brooch, another friend at work bought me these fab marzipan fruits at Selfridges food hall as well...

I've actually eaten half of what was in the box already, I LOVE marzipan in a big way but I'm saving these ones for the weekend.

Easter already, TIME, it seems is wearing jet fuelled roller skates...it'll be Christmas before you know it ;)

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Bluebell on the balcony

2011-04-19T18:16:00.002+01:00

Today I've been spending a lot of time on the balcony.

As it has been another corker of a spring day I decided to handwash my silk scarves and hang them out on the line, they were dry in minutes...

The bluebells are blooming in garden below & the neighbours big ginger cat is lounging in the lush unkempt grass.

After tackling some domestic duties this morning I kicked back on a rug just watching the scarves flutter in the breeze...this is what it's all about!

Hubby came home bringing beer, yay!

For anyone who may not know, I am teetotal.

I am absolutely thrilled that groTesco have started to sell non-alcoholic wheat beer cause I am sick to the backteeth with Kaliber & Becks Blue and just in time for summer too, huzzah!

Today's bluebell inspired ensemble:

Vintage 50s dress (vintage dealer friend)

Pale green tights (market)

Vintage 50s heels (vintage market stall)

Headdress (mesh material from a fabric shop)

Tibetan prayer bangle (pressie)

Sea horse necklace (car boot sale)

Micro key earrings (market)

Japanese sun fan (pressie from our lovely friends Kaori & Adam in Japan)

Some close-ups of the mesh headdress...

Hope the sun is shining where you are :)

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Gipsy Queen

2011-04-19T01:17:00.003+01:00

I remember watching the video clip for Madonna's 'La Isla Bonita' as a kid & being totally entralled with that amazing flamenco dress...

When mum & I went to Majorca on holiday in the 80s I spotted a red & black lace flamenco style dress in a shop close to the hotel.

Needless to say I spent the rest of that holiday pleading with my mum to let me have it but she thought it was too risqué for a tween.

I was gutted cause in my head I was already strutting my stuff at the school disco wearing that spectacular red & black lacy crescendo of a frock.

It was not to be however.

The day before we went back home, mum sneaked out and got me another dress that she deemed more suitable for my age & for wearing at a Swedish backwater village schooldisco.

I can see what I'm thinking in this photo...

-"Mum, stop saying that I look CUTE!"

Sadly I don't actually have this dress anymore, it has vamoosed from my life.

I think I may have lent it to someone & never got it back, argh!

I do have several other senorita-esque frocks though, like this zesty yellow polka dot ruffle creation...

Or this lace & cross-stitch embellished ruffle one...

No lace or ruffle collar on this one but I get Portugese azulejo vibes from the cross-stitch pattern...

This next one is really more of a peasant style dress, the roses remind me of a Russian shawl print...

...as do the floral print on this sheer maxi dress...

This dress is fantastic cause it's made from a very lightweight fabric, which makes it ideal to wear on a balmy summers evening when you still want to cover up a little to keep those pesky mossies from drinking you dry.

Is anyone else tapping into the latin vibe this summer?

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Shine on

2011-04-18T18:15:00.001+01:00

More glorious sunshine in the big shitty today, spring is definitely beginning to make its enthusiastic march into summer, I rejoice!

This also means that it's high time to begin the mammoth spring cleaning effort.

First on the list is to get the balcony ready to be enjoyed,

cause I've already put my cosmic order in for a fabulously sunny summer ;)

Today's Ensemble:

River Island gunmetal leather skirt (car boot sale)

Vintage 60s top (eBay)

Chinese satin jacket (car boot sale)

Terra Plana boots (charity shop)

Tights (market)

Vintage 70s binocular case (car boot sale)

Vintage 80s sunnies (eBay)

Tibetan prayer bangle (pressie)

DIYed metal tassle earring (made myself)

Necklace (pressie)

Close-up for the fabric & print geeks ;)

Hope the sun is shining where you are!

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

A fabulous frock by the fashion gardener

2011-04-18T01:25:00.005+01:00

I've had my brightly coloured rose print maxi dress for a few years now but it wasn't until today that I actually did some research into its label.

I bought it from a local charity shop for less than a fiver but it turns out it could be worth a fair bit more than that, not that I'm planning to sell it.

I found this info on the web:

"Ken Scott was a Parsons graduate, a fabric and apparel designer, and "an expatriate American who built a business and a reputation in Italy." He 'became known for his luxurious floral print fabrics in ready-to-wear, sportswear, accessories and interior design. His floral prints and artistic talents evolved in the late 1960s to a look the designer called "hippie gypsy." Among his more celebrated clients were Jacqueline Onassis, Carroll Baker, Monica Vitti and Audrey Hepburn."

He was obviously a powerhouse when it came to punchy colour combos & bold prints.

Ken Scott passed away in 1991 but the label was relaunched in 2005 and you can find some of the modern designs on YOOX.com.
Needless to say I prefer vintage...

"Ken was doing psychedelic colorings before anyone even knew what psychedelic was all about," said a Manhattan fashion illustrator in a 1968 interview in Time magazine. "Nobody dares to put color next to color the way he does."

I love everything about this dress, the viviacious colours, the bold print & the unusual fabric...

It's PERFECTISSIMO!

A close-up for any fabric nerds like myself ;)

It's so lightweight & airy, no wonder it has become my number one holiday dress.

Here's the Ken Scott frock & me on holiday in Thailand last year...

...and again in Thailand & Malaysia this year...

It rocks my world!

So that's yet another designer added to my eBay search list.

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

The only way is up...

2011-04-15T03:41:00.004+01:00

One of the best days we had on Langkawi was when we visited the Telaga Tujuh waterfall & rock pools and also walked up to the Seven Wells peak.

The first stop was below the actual waterfall...

After climbing some more stairs you got to the rock pools at the top of the waterfall where you could go for a dip, which I did after we returned from our little trek to the peak of Seven Wells.

Natures own waterslides, wehey, so much fun...

I have to say that was really impressed with the very well maintained jungle trail.
It was a fairly gentle climb until about ten minutes from the top, after that you had to hang onto ropes that had been put alongside the path.
The jungle canopy was simply stunning...

I don't remember the path up to the top of Ben Nevis being this well signposted,
I was half expecting to find a fast food outlet around the next ficus tree ;)

We made it, huzzah!

Hubby is making the steep bit of the trail look ridiculously easy...show off!
Only seconds before I had been clinging on for dear life to the very same bit of rope.
It was a lot steeper towards the very top but I didn't fancy bringing my camera out at that point.
It has to be said that my beloved hubby is a bit of a "mountain goat" though, being a proper Highlander and all that, so this was no real biggie for him.

We kept our eyes peeled for giant spiders, scorpions & funny looking birds like the ones illustrated on the trail map but alas saw none of the above.
We did see some really beautiful electric blue butterflies & other creepy crawlies though.
I also clocked some very interesting mushrooms, tree fungi & strange looking fruit from various trees.
Next time we go I'm definitely bringing a local flora & fauna book.
Peace & love peeps,
Jem
xXx

Holiday wardrobe part 2

2011-04-13T23:30:00.001+01:00

Three things I'm very glad I packed for my holiday besides sun protection factor 50, mossie repellent & pants were...

I brought two packets of Indian bindis, four tie-dye silk scarves and two groovy vintage gents ties with me and I had so much fun wearing them.

Hubby started calling me "Little Axl" after awhile ;)

I did a "test run" of my holiday wardrobe the evening before we left...

I managed to pack way too much this year too but I prefer to have too much rather than too little.

If I was backpacking for six months then obviously I'd have to seriously rethink this policy ;)

It's nice to have the choice though, even if admittedly some of the pieces only got worn once.

I'm so glad that I brought quite a few pairs of trousers, not only cause it's much easier to go trekking in the jungle wearing trousers rather than a maxi dress but also cause the mosquitoes absolutely loved me and I had to cover up in the evenings to prevent myself from being sucked dry.

We used a whole bottle of mossie repellent in the first week alone and I still managed to get over forty bites.

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Random Captures

2011-04-13T20:05:00.002+01:00

A plethora of photos that I snapped on our holiday...

Bored yet?!

There's much more to come...

Muhahaha ;)

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

The Birds and the Bees...well almost!

2011-04-13T13:17:00.001+01:00

Here's the last installment of wildlife photos snapped by me during our holiday on Koh Lipe & Langkawi.

This cockrel spent a lot of time tarting himself up & absolutely loved having his picture taken (a bit like myself really) a very fetching fellow I think you'll agree.

The cows & bulls are just casually tied up with a bit of flimsy string but some of them are not tied up at all.

Some more feathered friends...

There were loads of Mynah birds on Langkawi.

This was my best capture & believe you me I made many attempts.

This little fellow landed on our balcony at the Meritus Pelangi Resort I have no idea what kind of bird this is but I really like its oilslick coloured feathers & the intensely red eyes though.

A Muscovy duck...

Hornbill bird spotted in a park in Kuah Langkawi...

I saw two massive monitor lizards on Langkawi but unfortunately they were way too fast for me to snap.

On both occassions my camera was in my bag & by the time I'd got it out,

they'd scurried well away into the undergrowth.

The lesson to be learnt here is of course that if you want to take pictures of wildlife keep your camera primed at all times, I'm still learning ;)

Gecko's are slightly easier to capture...

I spotted this lizard outside our cabana but he was quite camera shy & darted off as soon as I moved forward to snap him.

There were loads of these cute white geckos on Koh Lipe.

This gecko had found a nice warm place to bed up for the night.

At the Mutiara Burau Bay resort we spotted loads of of different kind of lizards, this particular one was hanging around outside our cabana for almost an hour digging for insects & "sunbathing".

This little fellow became our second rescue subject of the holiday after he flew straight into the pool and couldn't get back out again.

We scooped him up with the aid of a flip-flop and he stayed there until his wings had dried out again, then he went on his merry little way.

So there you go, my holiday 2011 wildlife pics!

I still have a plethora of other holiday snaps to show you, that I'll post over the next few days.

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

Monkeys & horny toads

2011-04-13T00:26:00.012+01:00

As I'm not a big fan of lying on the beach all day,
Langkawi turned out to be the perfect island for me.

Don't get me wrong there are Bounty advert worthy beaches aplenty but thankfully
there are also some excellent & very accessible jungle trekking trails.

Prior to going I had read this on the net:

"Two species of primate can be found in Langkawi. One is the ubiquitous Long-tailed or Crab-eating Macaque, Macaca fascicularis, common throughout Malaysia. The other is the Dusky Leaf Monkey or Spectacled Langur, Presbytis obscurus. Grey-black in colour, this species is easily recognised by the white rings around the eyes, which give the animal a constantly startled expression.

During the day, the large social groups split up into smaller groups of less than 10 individuals which the visitor can easily see foraging in the lower branches of the forest canopy. In the late afternoon they may also come to ground level in forest clearings to feed on the young, tender leaf shoots which make up their diet. As with other species of Langur, the young have bright orange-brown fur."

As I only managed to photograph Macaque monkeys feeding on top of a rubbish heap last year I was determined to get some better captures this time around.
I was very encouraged by seeing signs like these dotted about the place...

We went on a jungle trekking trip but all the monkeys we saw where too high up in the trees for me to get any good pictures of them.

I have to admit that I did return to the resort feeling just a little despondent, however while we were sitting by the pool enjoying a pre-dinner drink a male dusky leaf monkey came and perched nearby.

Before long we were surrounded by a whole troop of monkeys, sitting on the roof of the restaurant and swinging from the poolside palm trees.

It was a surreal but totally amazing experience & I got some stunning captures to boot.

The following day the same troop of monkeys visited the cabana we were staying in.
Eventhough the room at the Mutiara Burau Bay resort was a bit like stepping into an 80s version of a Bulgarian Butlins its surroundings more than made up for any lack of frills.

I also spotted a Macaque scoping out a bin...lunch?

When we moved to our last stop on Langkawi, the much more deluxe Meritus Pelangi Resort we hired a car to explore the other side of the island.
Whilst on or drive we spotted some more Macaque monkeys just chilling by the roadside.

Little baby monkey, so cute!

The strangest monkey spot occured in Kuala Lumpur though.

We'd just walked through the amazing Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve which is situated in the heart of Kuala Lumpur when hubby spotted a lone monkey sitting on top of the gate that we had to pass though to leave the park. When hubby opened the gate the monkey climbed down off the gate and onto hubby's shoulders.

He was very interested in our city map & he seemed more than happy to pose for a few snaps with us.

I adored the feeling of his tiny monkey fingers & toes on my skin, so gentle.

I just wish I'd had some nuts or fruit with me.

Never in my wildest dreams did I dare hope to get quite so up-close & personal with a monkey,

especially in a huge big metropolis like KL, surreal!

Whilst on the subject of the surreal...

I believe we might have just caught the end of the toad breeding season on Koh Lipe when we arrived,

I've never heard such a racket ;)

Peace & love folks,

Jem

xXx

LOVE cats & dogs

2011-04-12T21:56:00.006+01:00

Returning after our first evening stroll along the beach on Koh Lipe we came across four adorable puppies hanging around outside our hotel, I almost died, they were so cute...

In the morning they were still there but then their mummy had joined them.

Usually my devotion is equally divided between cats & dogs but these puppies really stole my heart.

There were many dogs on Koh Lipe and it seemed that they had divided the beach into small territorial patches.

The beach strip outside Sita Resort where we stayed belonged to this adorable family.

Daddy dog was also hanging around but I didn't get a good pic of him.

One night during our stay a distressed yelping outside awaked us.

We went out to investigate & found that mummy dog had gone up the steepish stairs to the upper pool area and that two of her puppies had followed her up but were unable to get back down again.
We carried them back down to the beach, pet rescue stylee!

It's a dog's life?

I think that if I was to be reincarnated as a dog, I'd like to be a Koh Lipe one.

This cheeky wee pup, liked my Havaianas a lot.

So much so he actually stole one of them from outside our door and brought it down to the beach with him.

Puppy play fighting...

Some more of Koh Lipe's dog population...

I want a puppy!

On the morning we were leaving Koh Lipe I found this little bundle of joy lurking underneath the breakfast table...

Purr-fect I think you'll agree!

Langkawi was much more a cat island...

This little fellow fell in love with my hat!

Hello there, fancy sharing some of that nosh your eating?

Almost all the cat's on Lankawi had stumped or deformed tails, I'm not sure why?

Some of the cat's on Koh Lipe seemed to have "normal" tails.

I googled "cat crooked tail" and came across this:

"Most cats in Southeast Asia have crooked tails as if they have been broken.

I once asked a local vet about it. He said that it was genetic and recounted a Malaysian legend, which purported to explain the phenomenon. A Malaysian princess hadn’t wanted to wear her ring while swimming so she had put it on the cat’s tail and then tied a knot in the tail to prevent it sliding off."

Are you looking at me?

Definitely post cat fight, this one...

Cool cat, just chilling...

Next up cheeky monkeys and shagging toads ;)

Peace & love

Jem

xXx

I left my soul there, down by the sea

2011-04-12T17:56:00.001+01:00

As a rule I'm not an early riser but for some reason this ceased to be the case while I was on holiday.

I even managed to get out of bed before hubby and stranger still, I was (almost) as bright as a button when I did.

I think that it may have been the promise of a stunning morning sky that had me darting out of bed before the birds had even started their dawn chorus.

In my opinion there are very few things that top a gorgeous sunrise or sunset.

I sat spellbound on the beach, loving every moment...

In the evening I'd traipse down to the beach again to take in the spectacular evening sky.

DIVINE...

I took a shed load of photos and I'll be posting more of them over the next few days.

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

It's been a while

2011-04-11T21:18:00.003+01:00

Hey peeps,

Hope you are all doing well?!

Yesterday we returned home after an eagerly anticipated vacation abroad.

We visited two amazing islands, namely Langkawi in Malaysia & Koh Lipe in Thailand.

I’ll tell you more about what we got up to in another post but first I thought I’d showcase my holiday clobber...

Butterfly cut-out Tee

Harem pants

Handmade Kenyan belt

Ankh necklace

Jazz-dance shoes

80s sunnies

Butterfly cut-out Tee

Indian pants

Handmade Kenyan belt

Floppy straw hat

Tassle necklace

Grumpy suns earrings

Brass & silver bangles

Havaianas

80s sunnies

M&S sequin embellished cut-out detail dress

Handmade Kenyan belt

Grumpy suns earrings

Brass & silver bangles

Crochet headband

80s sunnies

Sequinned top

Crochet detail lounge pants

Handmade Kenyan belt

Ankh necklace

Grumpy suns earrings

Brass & silver bangles

Crochet headband

80s sunnies

80s Pierre Cardin sandals

Vintage Hawaiian bikini top that was a pressie from the fabulous HELGA von TROLLOP

Lounge pants

Day-glo waistcoat top

Floppy straw hat with silk scarf tie

Harem jumpsuit

Crochet jumper

Handmade Kenyan belt

Brass & silver bangles

Ankh necklace

80s Pierre Cardin sandals

70s sunnies

Silk scarf

Floral silk kimono

Slip dress

Havaianas

Moschino denim jacket

60s Ken Scott maxi dress

Indian sari wrap

Ankh necklace

Brass & silver bangles

Indian sari pants

Ethnic stripe top

Floppy straw hat with silk scarf tie

80s sunnies

Indian sari chiffon pants

Tie-dye effect silk top

80s Pierre Cardin sandals

Ankh necklace

Handpainted leather earrings

Brass & silver bangles

Silk scarf

Harem pants

DKNY top

Handmade Kenyan belt

Floppy straw hat with silk scarf

80s sunnies

My trusty camera bag (I took thousands of pics)

Harem jumpsuit

Black bra

Handmade Kenyan belt

80s Pierre Cardin sandals

Tibetan prayer bangle

Batik tie

Eye of Horus brooch

Home dyed shorts

Fiorucci top

Bikini top

Tibetan bangle

Floppy straw hat with silk scarf tie

Monisola Omotoso dress

Silk lounge pants

80s Pierre Cardin sandals

Moschino denim jacket

Silk scarf

Tibetan prayer bangle

Brass & silver bangles

Ankh necklace

60s Ken Scott maxi dress

DIYed necklace

Silk scarf

Brass & silver bangles

80s Pierre Cardin sandals

Same as above but with my Moschino denim jacket.

DIYed marabou trim chiffon top

Harem jumpsuit

Ankh necklace

80s Pierre Cardin sandals

Brass & silver bangles

Grumpy suns earrings

Frigging funktastic vintage Hawaiian bikini courtesy of HELGA von TROLLOP

80s sarong & sunnies

Floppy staw hat with silk scarf tie

Pink Soda sheer top

Harem jumpsuit

7os gents tie

80s Pierre Cardin sandals

Handmade Kenyan belt

Tibetan prayer bangle

Brass & silver bangles

Home dyed shorts

Fiorucci top

Bikini top

Floppy staw hat with silk scarf

Hotel robe, how much did I want to pack this "by mistake"...LOVED that print!

Tiered silk cami

70s maxi skirt

Silk scarf

Ankh necklace

Tibetan prayer bangle

Hotel slippers

60s Ken Scott maxi dress

Indian sari wrap

Tassle necklace

Tibetan prayer bangle

Hotel slippers

Same as above minus the slippers ;)

Cut-out butterfly detail Tee

Harem pants

Handmade Kenyan belt

Silk scarf

Tibetan prayer bangle

80s Jazz-dance shoes

Black gents socks

Same outfit as above but with the addition of the cutest ever monkey ;)

I fell in love instantly!

We saw loads of monkeys in Malaysia but more of that in my next post.

Take care folks!

xXx

Peekaboo peeps!

2011-03-14T22:33:00.002Z

With the problemos seemingly queuing up outside the door, I decided it was time to put the blog on the backburner for a while until things calmed down a bit, will they ever?!

To be absolutely honest it wasn’t just that I didn’t have time for it but over the past few months other interests have been drawing me in & absorbing my spare time.

There are so many devastating things happening in the world right now and I feel like I want to keep my eye on the ball rather than doing my customary escapology act from reality.

Hubby & I have started working on a political project together and I am thrilled to say that I am slowly but surely shedding my slacktivist skin.

I was told a few weeks back that my employer is selling up and shipping out & that I will be unemployed as of June.

I have to admit that I wasn’t entirely surprised or even upset by the news.

I’ve been working there for over four years, so things were starting to feel like they would have to come to an end anyway.

I guess you could say that my boss made the ‘moving on’ decision for me.

I’ve not started looking for another job yet but I do realize that in the harsh light of today’s job market I probably should have started looking as soon as I was told...but as always I am procrastinating.

I’ve been toying with the idea of doing my own thing again and I am currently researching different alternatives.

Before I started the job that I am in now I earned a crust by selling vintage clothing on eBay.

After two years of almost staring myself blind on a screen, working on average 50 hours a week and getting what felt like very little for the serious effort involved, I dropped everything and went out to work for The Man!

It felt amazing for a while, being able to switch off completely when I finished work & having a guaranteed income every week.

I also realized how much I had missed interacting with people face to face & having workmates again was a real buzz.

I’m not sure if eBay is where I’ll end up, after all there are plenty more places to sell ones stuff on-line nowadays.

Another major arse-ache when it comes to working for yourself is the fact that you have to provide your own fallback & make sure you are able to survive the dry-spells.

Once it gets a little bit warmer I am going to test the waters with a few of London’s markets, at the moment I’m thinking Spittalfields, Camden & Portobello.

I'm also thinking that I may list some of my fancier frocks on etsy, I've never sold on there before so I'm not sure if it's worth a stab?

If anyone has any suggestions or advise, please don’t be shy, I’m grateful for any constructive input.

I will only be posting intermittently from now on cause I need more time to pursue my other interests.
However I don’t want to drop the blog altogether; it has been my special retreat for many years now.

I’ve hooked up with some rather splendiferous individuals through this medium & I hope we will remain blog pals even if I'm not very active on the blog scene anymore ;)

Love you all!

Today's Ensemble:

Wallis fringed sweater ( car boot sale)

Indian pants (car boot sale)

Handmade Kenyan belt (car boot sale)

Handmade Kenyan earrings (car boot sale)

DIYed necklace (made myself)

Chiffon headscarf (car boot sale)

Bangles (car boot sale & pressie)

Boots (car boot sale)

Australian bag (car boot sale)

Here follows a selection of fabby things that I've picked up over the past few weeks:

I bought these funky cherub lamps at yesterday's car boot sale...

Two Midwinter sideplates: £1

Wade trinket dish: 50p

Retro patterned tray: £1

I came across this amazing cut paper art picture in a local charity shop...

Trader Vics salt & pepper shakers: £1

These were also snapped up from yesterday's car boot sale...

Three handmade Kenyan leather & brass belts for a mere £2...bargain!

Take care peeps & keep safe wherever you are.

Hope to see you soon :)

Peace & love,

Jem

xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-02-27T20:52:00.002Z

Hey peeps,

hope you've had a pleasant weekend?!

Just a super duper quick one today.

Here are some of my purchases from this morning's car boot sale...

Yet another vintage vanity case; this one cost me £2.

A pair of brand new Havaianas for 50p, BARGAIN!

Two more storage jars at 50p each; I'm building up a fair collection of these now ;)

My favourite find today was this old picture...

My beloved hubby is a Highlander, so I thought this would tickle him.
***
I've been to the top of Ben Nevis once, back in 1997 & on my way up there I bumped into one of my teachers from Sweden, very random..
talk about small world!

Take care luvs,

Jem

xXx

Thank you!

2011-02-25T03:32:00.002Z

Sorry, I'm too tired to even think today.

My relative’s operation went well, so big thanks to you lovely peeps who expressed goodwill as regards to that, it means a lot.

I'm a great believer that even the smallest positive thought will help nudge things in the right direction.

I’m not religious as such but I do believe in the power of positive & healing energy.

So THANK YOU very much!

I’ll leave you with some pics from my arty-farty folder…

Take care luvs,

Jem

xXx

Freak On A Leash

2011-02-23T17:24:00.002Z

It's been another day of tremendous levels of anxiety at the Mcletchie household...
I feel emotionally drained and I think that is reflected in my choice of attire!

Today's Ensemble:

Satin blouse (charity shop)

Tux trousers (car boot sale)

Textured sleeveless top (charity shop)

Venezuelan cowboy boots (charity shop)

Metal collar tips (car boot sale)

Tragedy mask necklace (DIYed)

CND/peace symbol necklace (car boot sale)

Sleeve holders (car boot sale)

Wig (PAK cosmetics)

Yet more proof that I don't believe in ironing ;)

xXx

Restless dress-up

2011-02-23T03:47:00.001Z

Hi peeps,

I was very relieved to read on Vix’s blog that Helga & G are OK, thank goodness for that!

I’m very restless & anxious still though cause a very close relative will be undergoing a big operation in a few hours time.

Whenever I’m anxious, insomnia without fail ensues, so I’ve been going through a few storage bags full of clothing.

The sort-out turned into a bit of a dress-up session cause I found a couple of things that tickled my imagination.

I remember buying these mottled harem style pants from the car boot sale last year for 25p but I'm ashamed to say that I'd quite forgotten all about them.

Alarm bells should be going off in my head right now (but I fear I am deaf to them)...

YOU'VE GOT TOO MUCH STUFF, BIATCH!

I really have to start selling on eBay again...REALLY!

Knitted cropped top (pressie)

Sheer lurex stripe blouse (market)

Harem style pants (car boot sale)

Vintage 50s faux-fur booties (vintage market)

Velvet devore scarf worn as sash belt (car boot sale)

Black cami top (market)

Vintage mini bag (car boot sale)

Floppy straw hat (car boot sale)

Tragedy mask necklace (DIYed)

I also found these lace & tassel trim pants that I've had for a donkey's age.

I bought them in the H&M winter sale back in 2000 when I still occasionally frequented High Street clothing chains.

I loved them so much I quite literally wore them to death that year.

The only reason I've kept them was cause it was my intention to make a copy of them but just never got around to it, maybe in the next ten years, eh!?

SHAMEFUL!

They actually had a black lining when I bought them but I removed this in order to make the pattern of the lace more of a feature.

It has to be said that these pants are a little threadbare in the junky trunk region but you can get away with wearing them with a long tunic like this lovely thing...

Fringe trim lace pants (H&M)

Indian embellished silk tunic (car boot sale)

Vintage marabou feathered jacket (eBay)

Demonia heels (car boot sale)

Floppy straw hat (car boot sale)

Tragedy mask necklace (DIYed)
Maybe it was my gloomy mood or yesterday's terrible events that compelled me to make this necklace from one of the many masks that I bought from the car boot sale a few weeks back...

My heart goes out to all the people of Christchurch.

Lot's of love,

Jem

xXx

Helga & G

2011-02-22T20:25:00.002Z

I just wanted to add mine & hubby’s voice into the sea of concern for our beloved queen of quirk HELGA von TROLLOP & her dapper beau G.

I was very saddened this morning when my hubby told me that Christchurch had yet again been hit by a devastating earthquake.

We have some more friends that live in Christchurch so anxiety levels have been on an all-time high today, we now know that our other friends came out of the nightmare unscathed thankfully but I won’t rest easily until I know that all is well with darling Helga & G too.

I hope with all my heart that you are all safe & sound!

Our thoughts are with you.

Jem & Mark

xXx

Zig Zig Zig Zag

2011-02-22T18:18:00.000Z

If I had to choose one "word" to describe this week so far it would be...

BLEURGH!

The cold I've had for over two weeks is still hanging on with a steely-death-grip & now I've got a frigging cold sore to boot :(

Spring sweet spring...where art thou?

Today's Ensemble:

Country & Eastern jacket (car boot sale)

Corduroy gaucho pants (market)

Cami top (market)

Vintage boots (vintage dealer friend)

Leather belt (pressie)

Vintage mock-croc bag (car boot sale)

African wood bangle (car boot sale)

Silver coloured bangle (car boot sale)

Belly-dancing belt worn as necklace (car boot sale)

The jacket was a £1 bargain from last Sunday's car boot sale, I really love the print!

The belly-dancing belt, that I'm wearing as a necklace was only 50p from another car boot sale.

Beige corduroy, how very 70s...

I feel like I should be teaching an arts class or something ;)

This is an ensemble from February two years ago...

So from 80s rock chick to 70s art teacher...whatever next!?

Take care luvs,

Jem

xXx

Tick Tock Living

2011-02-22T02:48:00.000Z

xXx

I’ve got good jeans

2011-02-21T17:50:00.003Z

Hey peeps,

Any regular visitors to this blog will know of my deep-seated dislike of jeans.

The main reason to this aversion is quite simply the sheer abundance of jeans clad legs that I see everyday.

Personally I actually prefer sticking out like a sore thumb to blending in & contrary to popular belief this is not cause I’m some sort of a rabid MeMeMe-o-manic that demands people’s attention,

I'm just not comfortable with feeling like ‘Big Brother’ dressed me this morning!

HOWEVER...

A few months back I bagged a pair of brand new ‘French Connection’ skinny jeans from the car boot sale & guess what, I have actually been wearing them!

So am I finally conforming with the grey mass swell?
OR...
Am I loosing my quirky edge?

OR...

Am I taking a holiday from my usually unusual style?

N’ah, I’m just re-introducing a long exiled garment back into my wardrobe and if they gel with my otherwise oddball style standards, I might even let them stay there for a bit ;)

Today's Ensemble:

Vintage mohair jacket (eBay)

French Connection jeans (car boot sale)

Vintage boots (car boot sale)

Textured top (car boot sale)

Lurex cami (car boot sale)

Vintage leather belt (pressie)

Vintage bangles (pressies & car boot sale)

Vintage pewter necklace (pressie)

Woven bag (car boot sale)

Another one of my mohair eBay bargains arrived this morning...

I was amazed that there were no other bidders for this jacket cause it's really lovely & such a fabulous bargain at only £3.69 including P&P.

The jacket has a gorgeously woven texture & is fabulously mottled in colour,

it reminds me of an Aztec- or Navajo style pattern.

Whilst on the subject of woven, I've spotted a few girls carrying ethnic woven bags of late, so I thought I'd share my own little collection...

...all of which ~~unsurprisingly I guess~~ have been bought from car boot sales.

The top one cost me 50p and the other two were £1 each.

CAR BOOT SALES...RULE!

Peace & love y'all...
Jem
xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-02-20T18:15:00.003Z

It was really damp & cold this morning, so I only managed a quick scoot round the boot sale today.

I've got an annoyingly persistent cold so I wasn't in the mood for any prolonged rummaging at all.

Here's what I bagged...

More crockery, I've had to retire all our old stuff, to make room for all my recent purchases.

I love a BIG cuppa, so these will come in very handy...

They were only 50p each and they are unused.

I found the same ones on eBay for £6 each (incl. P&P).

I couldn't resist buying this retro cocktail tray cause we already have one in a larger size that I bought from a charity shop some years ago...

Lastly, more African print attire...

I have plans for this one, a reconstruction is definitely on the cards but not tonight...

I'm hitting the hay early in an attempt to sleep away this annoying cold,

I hope I wake up feeling sprightly & healthy tomorrow :)

Hope you have all had a fabulous weekend!

Take care luvs,

Jem

xXx

An Alien Light

2011-02-17T00:28:00.000Z

My husband's Razer gaming mouse packed in a few days ago but instead of just binning it,

he decided to get all creative.

I bought this alien figurine from the car boot sale ages ago and hubby has been keeping it by his compy, together with a plethora of other "little gifts" ~~bits of kitschy tat~~ that I've brought home for him.

We've even given this little green dude a name...

'The Feng Shui Master' or simply 'FENG'.

Hubby salvaged the still working innards of the Razer mouse & used that

to fashion 'FENG' into this funky little light...

I think he looks wicked!

Like something you might find in Cyberdog in Camden.

So what do you think , are we alone in the universe ;)

xXx

Please sir, can I have some mohair?

2011-02-16T21:58:00.006Z

The brushed mohair jacket that I won on eBay a few days ago arrived this morning.

I was so pleased with it, I simply had to pop it on straight away!

Today's Ensemble:

Plaid brushed mohair jacket (eBay)

M&S lace top (car boot sale)

Just Togs jodhpurs (car boot sale)

Vintage boots (pressie)

Vintage felt hat (charity shop)

Vintage sunnies (market)

Vintage clip-on earrings (charity shop)

Vintage waspie belt (car boot sale)

Vintage YSL bag + chunky chain strap (car boot sale)

Leather driving gloves (pressie)

The jacket was £5.56 including P&P and it is in immaculate condition.

I love the colours, they remind me of a heather & bracken covered highland hillside in the autumn.

I'm getting a lot of wear out of this hat at the moment,
it was bought last year from a local charity shop that has now sadly closed down :(

The vintage YSL bag was a car boot sale bargain, I think I paid £2 or £3 for it.

It didn't come with a shoulder strap, so I added this chunky gold coloured chain that I bought for 50p at another car boot sale.

This is what got me started on my hunt for brushed mohair...

These funky jackets are all from the Dior A/W 2010 collection.

When I am looking for something I usually start by searching through Google images.

This is a great way to gather information on more obscure labels that you then can search for on eBay.
A quick Googling of 'Mohair Coat/Jacket' turned up some very familiar faces.

What an impeccable style these three fabulous women have...

An introduction may be unnesessary but just in case...
it is of course my darling friend Vix in the middle, wearing her amazing Scottish brushed mohair coat, that she scored for less than a tenner at a charity shop & to the right we have the lovely Sharon who bought her fabby jacket from the 'All Aboard' charity shop for £10.

The girl to the left, is unknown to me but she does have a blog, I've just stupidly missplaced the link for it.

I love her unique style, there is something rather Grace Jones-esque about that funky hat & as for the jacket... totally AMAZING!

I'm still watching a few mohair garments on eBay...so watch this space ;)

I can now add my new jacket & the below poncho to my collection of...

...quirky vintage mohair knitwear...

I love Mohair!

xXx

From Carnaby Street to the Alps in a few clickety-clicks

2011-02-15T03:17:00.004Z

Hey peeps,

besides going mad for mohair on eBay,

I have also bid home a couple of vintage dresses in the past week or so.

For some unknown reason the UK based seller had listed this dress so that the auction finished at 4am, when most sensible people are still wrapped up in their duvets.

Not surprisingly I was the only bidder & got this pretty vintage 60s London Mob frock for £4.98 including P&P.

I now have two dresses by this label...huzzah!

Swinging it, a bit like in the 60s...

I'm always on the lookout for dirndl dresses but I actually came across this one when I was scanning eBay for Russian scarves.

It had been listed as 'Vintage Russian smock style dress'.

It has been taken up quite a bit, so it's bum-skimmingly short on me...

...but modesty is quickly restored if you team it with a cute vintage cotton petticoat, like so ;)

At a mere £6.20 including P&P, I simply couldn't resist adding this to my dirndl dress collection,
I do have a few...

The hills are alive & all that lieblings!

Now please let me be nosey or else I'll post a vlog of me yodeling whilst eating sauerkraut tomorrow,

I wish I could, what a party trick,eh...

What was the last thing you bought on eBay?

Take care lovelies,

Tschüß!

xXx

OMG, she's wearing a cotton candy coat!

2011-02-14T17:26:00.000Z

Sunny again today but still rather chilly, so I decided to wrap up in this powder pink fun fur that I bought from the car boot sale some time ago for £2.

I actually had one just like this when I was ten years old.

I pestered my mum for ages to buy it for me from the catalogue and she eventually caved in,

I remember feeling like a right swell wearing it ;)

Wish I had some pics from back then, it would be funny to do a 'Then' & 'Now' style comparison.

Today's Ensemble:

Vintage 80s fun fur (car boot sale)

Sequinned leggings (pressie)

Top made from African fabric (car boot sale)

Obi belt (car boot sale)

Demonia heels (car boot sale)

Bangles galore (magazine free-bee & car boot sale)

Vintage 80s sunnies (eBay)

A parcel arrived this morning containing this lovely mohair poncho that I won on eBay last week...

I've got a thing for mohair at the moment ;)

I won a mohair mix plaid granny jacket the other day, I hope it arrives tomorrow.

Take care peepskis!

xXx

Colour kick & car booty looty

2011-02-13T21:28:00.003Z

We’ve had a very dreich day here in London.
Had to do something to brighten it up,

so I put on some colourful clobber...

I soldiered on down to the car boot sale this morning, to see what I could find.

I suppose it will not come as too much of a surprise that I did not return home empty handed…
do I ever?!

Today's hoard...

The chap selling the mint green vanity case wanted a fiver for it but I haggled him down to £3.

The other day I was looking for a Russian shawl on eBay but couldn't find any to fit my budget,

so needless to say I was overjoyed when I found this one for a bargaintastic £2...

I also love the sack weave Woodstock top,

that will be interesting to style.

I also snapped up yet another YSL suit for a song...

More, more, more fabrics too...

Over the moon with the African print fabric & over 5 metres for only £2,

amazingly cheap!

I simply couldn't resist this kitschy little house...

...and another craft book!

I've been on the hunt for a casserole dish for ages & today I found a cracker...

It's in pristine condition.

I'm going to make a yummy parsnip casserole tomorrow :)

Today's Ensemble:

Striped top (made myself)

Knitted armwarmers (made by my lovely mum-in-law)

Indian sari pants (car boot sale)

Moccasins (car boot sale)

Horse brass necklace (made myself)

Scarf (pressie)

Brass bangles (pressie & car boot sale)

***

Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend & feel ready to take on the week ahead!

Take care lieblings,

Byeeeeeeeeee

xXx

Printastico L.A.M.B.

2011-02-11T02:42:00.003Z

When I saw these garments from the latest L.A.M.B. collection I almost wet my pants in excitement...

I salute you, Gwen Stefani for using these amazing bold printed fabrics.

I've waxed lyrical about African prints & fabrics on this blog before:

I've just died and gone to fabric heaven!

I've even managed a few outfit posts featuring fabulous African attire...

Both the tops above where bought from car boot sales,

I think I paid £1 for the one on the left & £2 for the other one and this cute dress was £4 from a market...

Here are a couple of snapshots of my African clothing collection so far :)

I'm still to wear some of these but no doubt (hehe) I will this summer especially after being inspired by Gwen Stefani's colourful creations ;)

I also have a thing for African warrior masks.

Here's a necklace that I made last year incorporating a 50p wooden mask picked up from the car boot sale...

The Masai blanket underneath was an eBay bargain.

Here's another DIY I did ages ago...

Whilst perusing eBay earlier I came across this stunning vintage African inspired dress...

The auction doesn't end until Saturday night, so there's still time to snap this beauty up & before you ask...

No, I'm not on commision, I just wanted to make you lovely ladies aware of a cracker of a dress :)

Anyone else enamoured with the L.A.M.B. collection?

Would you wear African prints?

Almost weekend again my lieblings, huzzah ;)

Tschüß!

xXx

Daydreaming

2011-02-09T21:33:00.004Z

Hey peeps,
hope all's well with you?!
We had another cracker of a day here in the big smoke :)
Yesterday after reading my fabulous friend Vintage Vixen's blog post,
I started daydreaming about road trips.
Ever since I was a teen I've dreamt about riding a Harley-Davidson through the Arizona desert.
My brother (who is twelve years older than me) has always been into motorcycles,
so I had my first ride on the back of a beast at a very tender age indeed.
I've never learnt to ride one myself which is a pity cause I find riding at the back very exhilarating so I'd imagine that actually being in charge of "the beast" would be an absolutely amazing feeling.
My road trip daydreaming continued today & led me to peruse a site called 'Motorcycle Roads' for the best part of an hour.
I think it may have influenced my choice of attire a little as well, what do you think?!
***
Today’s Ensemble:

Vintage suede motorcycle waistcoat (market)
Devore top (charity shop)
Suede A-line skirt (car boot sale)
Tights (market)
Vintage Amanda Smith felt hat (charity shop)
Suede tassle platform boots (charity shop)
Vintage mock-croc bag (car boot sale)
Vintage sunnies (market)
Silver coloured bangles (car boot sale & pressie)
Vintage carved ambergris necklace (pressie)

Arizona here I come :)
In my dreams anyway!

All I need now is a beast and the $17,945.00 plus to pay for it...
and, um, I need to learn how to ride it too...och!
Nice dream anyway :)

Here are the garments that make up today's outfit & what I paid for them...

...and here's today's mugshot:

I’ve have always had annoyingly fair eyebrows and when I don’t dye them for a while it actually looks as if I don’t have any eyebrows at all.
I’ve been far too busy to dye them of late, so at the moment I'm just filling them in with a liner, which can be a bit hit & miss, especially when I'm bluearsing around in the morning.
So some days I look like a real life version of a Picassohead :)

Take care my lieblings,
Tschüß!

xXx

Recycle & save

2011-02-08T20:59:00.003Z

It felt like the first day of spring today :)

The council had their annual 'community clear-up',
when they take away any bulky items that you want to get rid of.

Our balcony is now a little less cluttered.

I have to admit that I was rather surprised to see that instead of collecting the items in one of those huge caged vans & driving them off to a tip shop, they just put the stuff straight into a crusher lorry, which I thought was a real waste cause when I walked to the shops this morning I spotted some pretty good furniture that would have been perfect for someone moving into their first gaffe but obviously the council thinks it's better to line a landfill rather than provide someone with a cheap furniture option.

Whatever happened to the 'Being Green' agenda?

Too costly in these times of austerity perhaps?

Although you would have thought recycling would be the cheaper alternative.

Today's Ensemble:

Vintage 80s leather jacket (eBay)

River Island leather skirt (car boot sale)

Heritage 1981 lace ruffle top (car boot sale)

Vintage 80s lace cami top (pressie)

Steve Madden boots (car boot sale)

Tights (market)

Happy Suns earrings (pressie)

Bangles (car boot sale & pressies)

Carved ambergris necklace (pressie)

Vintage 80s sunnies (eBay)

Yesterday I ended up perusing the French Connection Sale on their website...

I'm not even sure how I ended up there?!

Anyway I was completely flabbergasted at the difference between the original & sale prices.

The 'Sadie Stripe Dress' is reduced by by £95,

I can only imagine how bleeding gutted you would be if you had bought this garment at full price.
I still wouldn't pay £35 for it though.
It tickles me when I buy tagged things at the car boot sale cause for me paying more than a few pounds for an item of clothing is almost unheard of.

The River Island leather skirt I'm wearing today for instance was tagged at £19.99 & I paid £1 for it.

The Heritage 1981 top is marked up for $22.90 (approximately £14) & I paid 50p for it.

Now that's what I call a saving & more importantly (in my book) is that buying stuff from a car boot sale is a very GREEN option & I'm also endorsing the little guy by putting pennies back into their pockets rather than adding to the already bloated bank accounts of corporations.

Today's trimmings...

Today's shaggy hairdo...

Hope the sun has been shining on you too today lieblings,

Tschüß!

xXx

Hawaiian Trippic

2011-02-08T02:50:00.003Z

It's very cold here & I can't fall asleep :(

So I thought I'd post some pics of clobber that make me happy...

I want to be that girl under the palm tree being serenaded by her beau.

My mum rocked this padded gilet back in the late 70s & early 80s,

I admired it a lot back then & I am so glad she kept hold of it.

I found this funky halter top in a charity shop...

It looks awesome teamed with a pair of flared trousers, strappy sandals, floppy hat & huge-ass sunnies, yay!

These funky polyester pants were picked up from a car boot sale...

I reckon they were probably part of a set at one point cause there is no labels on the trousers,

just loops for hanging them up.

I imagine that the shirt that went with it was one of those rather skinny affairs with a huge pointy collar...

I can definitely see that working :)

Guess what, I'm feeling warmer already...

so I'm just going to refill 'Gino Giraffe' ~~the hotwater bottle~~ & pop back into bed.

Tschüß lieblings!

xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-02-06T23:38:00.008Z

Hey folks,

hope you've all had a fab weekend?!

Here follows today's car boot sale bounty...

I found this hard plastic pineapple in amongst loads of old make-up & empty perfume bottles.

The bottom part is filled with dusting powder & the top part holds a bright pink powder puff,

it's unused but I think it's quite old, so I bought it for display purposes only....
KITSCH-TASTIC!

As the seller was doing three items for £1, I picked up this cute heart shaped blue glass spray bottle & an empty Lourdes holy water bottle too...

It was quite busy at today's car boot sale and even if it was rather windy, it was still pleasantly mild.

The pro-booters were out in force but there were also a fair few blue-mooners there today.

Sometimes I feel sorry for the people that have come to make a few bob on their unwanted knick-knacks cause if they end up next to a professional seller, they just don't stand a chance.

They start by asking for pounds but are soon forced to drop to pennies just to shift their stuff as the dude next door hollers...

-"Three items for a £1 ere, come & ave a look, we don't charge for lookin' "...

It's the fierce car boot sale market forces at play!

I love haggling but like most people I didn't at first.

I think what got me onto it was watching the pro-hagglers do their stuff and almost always getting the desired result in the end...

I mean don't get me wrong, there have been a few occassions when I've heard a seller telling a haggler to 'FUCK OFF' for being cheeky but it's not happened to me....yet!

Sadler teapot: £2

Biscuit jar: 50p

Royal Doulton Moonstone sugar bowl: 25p

I was quite lucky on the old crookery front today...

Midwinter Cameo pattern soup bowls: 50p

Keele Street 'Talk of the town' sugar bowl: 25p

Utensils holder: 50p

....but wait, there's more ;)

Tams England soup mugs: 50p

Hornsey Heirloom holders: £1

...and last, pottery wise that is, I got this beauty...

Tintagel Cornwall studio pottery vase: £1.50

One of the stalls homed an antique dealer who was off loading the stuff that had been gathering dust in the shop.

She had a whole bagful of horse brasses and I found quite a few that I liked.

There was a label stating £1 or two for £1.50 but I managed to haggle down the price to £5 for this lot...

I can feel another horse brass necklace DIY session coming on...
I love the Fagin & Scrooge ones, hehe!

On another bric-a-brac stall I got a bagful of hand crafted earrings from the Isle of Wight...

all for a super duper bargainous 50p...
now that is quite literally cheaper than chips!

When I was looking at this top, I could feel someones eyes fixed upon me,
willing me to put it down again...

....but at only £1, I just couldn't, SORRY!

It's usually either sparkly or brightly coloured things that catch my eye and prompt me to elbow or wedge my way in to a table to have a look or rummage.

When I spotted this colourful childrens rucksack on a table that was almost completely obscured by a mass of rummaging people, I simply had to get in amongst the swarm & grab it...

It cost me £1, worth it?

I think so :)

Another thing that I have been very lucky with of late is fabrics & today was no different...

Vintage 50s curtain: £1

Three pieces of Indian sari fabric: £3

I've got allsorts of ideas spinning around my head as regards to what to make from all these fabulous fabrics.

I hope to get a day with my old sewing machine soon.

Have a great week y'all & take care!

xXx

High Street Vs. My Wardrobe

2011-02-04T08:46:00.003Z

When I got home from work last night I had a quick nosey around eBay and came across this auction for a funky crochet skirt.

It is my guess that this skirt was originally lined but that the canny & creative seller removed the lining to make the skirt an overall more appealing & alluring garment.

I’ve used this trick myself many times, especially with lined lace dresses, I actually did a post a while back about it:

' From sad rag to glad rag in five minutes '

Apparently crochet will be all the rage for summer and a quick scan on the Topshop website seems to confirm this forecast.

I spied a dress on said website for £65 which I personally think is horrendously expensive, especially when you consider the poor individual that made it…I wouldn’t mind so much if I knew that at least half of that £65 went to the workers rather than the already stinking rich whip cracker.

I shall refrain from letting this post get too enmeshed with my morality…
horses for courses and all that malarkey, eh.

I don’t shop on the High Street for several reasons, my principles are but one of several.

Any road, as I was perusing the net, a thought came to me…

What if I was to pit the current 'High Street Trends' against my own wardrobe?

Just dive in there & see if I could pull out an alternative?

As it was the 'crochet' that started all of this off, I could think of no better place to start...

Topshop £65

I know my alternative looks nothing like the dress above but I actually prefer it.

This was bought from a car boot sale some time ago & believe I paid £1 for it.

I think it's actually an insanely long skirt but it works fine as a dress too.

Oh, yes we do like a bit of shapeshifting & multitasking clobber on this blog so we do ;)

Speaking of which...here are a few more things that I wanted to share with you before I move onto the next item...

The snood is actually a crochet skirt that I found on a £1 rail in a charity shop.

The ponchlet is a crochet mini skirt from a car boot sale and the beach & lace dresses both originally had linings that I removed.

The mesh dress was another £1 rail charity shop bargain, they are out there folks, you just have to hunt them down :)

Right, let's move on...next up is navajo inspired knitwear...

Topshop £60

Charity shop £1

I bought this amazing cardigan years ago, I love it!

More Navajo inspiration now in the shape of this 'coatigan'...

Topshop £75

Last year I came across this huge mens brushed cotton shirt at the car boot sale,

it's reversible but I prefer the printed side obviously :)

I haggled it down to £3...

This looks a bit like a night shirt to me...

Topshop £28

I much prefer my version & it was £27 cheaper too, ha!

Floral print is a must-have every spring/summer in my opinion and my personal favourite is romantic cabbage rose print.

Sheer fabric seems to be another "hot" trend for the coming "warmer" (hopefully) months...

Miss Selfridge £38

I got a couple of these 'Tammy Girl' blouses for £1 from a car boot sale.

It looks really fab when teamed with these 80s Claude Montana trousers, talk about wide!

A couple of years ago I scored a brand new Topshop leather biker jacket from a car boot sale for £2, I gave it to a friend as a birthday pressie and she was over the moon with it.

I prefer buying vintage leather to new, I like the lived in look.

Topshop £140

This 80s baby cost me only £3 from a car boot sale, it may not have any tassles on it but it has a rather fetching emblem thingy on the back & I can always tassle the outfit up with my amazing suede tassle platform boots that I purchased from a charity shop for a mere £4...

I had to include atleast a couple of dresses in this "High Steet Vs. My Wardrobe" game cause to be fair dresses are my frivolous passion...

Miss Selfridge £60

The above dress is nice but it doesn't have a patch on my vintage 70s Berkertex/Mayfair in my opinion.

I bought this dress on eBay years ago for less than £10 and it has been a firm favourite ever since...

Last but by no means least...two devil red frocks!

To the left you've got a £36 Miss Selfridge number...

...and to the right a fabulously 80s ruche extravaganza by Travilla that I bought on eBay for less than £10 a few years ago...YOWZA!

There you go folks...so how do you think I did?

xXx

The Urban Turban Tie

2011-02-02T19:28:00.003Z

Hubby bought a new toy on eBay the other day, a dinky video camera for documenting our future adventures ;)

He wanted to try it out, so I suggested we'd make a little how-to vid for my blog.

Last week one of my ensembles incorporated a headscarf or as I like to call them an 'urban turban tie' and the fabulous Jan who writes the blog Serendipity asked how I created the scarf effect...

so here's my how-to, I hope it's helpful ;)

There is literally a bottomless ocean of how-to's like this on YouTube & some are way better than my one but as this is just our first stab at using the new toy and only my second crack (fnar fnar) at editing video,
I think I can be excused for any shortcomings, eh ;)

xXx

You've Got to Unpick-a-Pocket or Two

2011-02-01T23:39:00.004Z

Hey lovely peeps,

I just wanted to share a quick revamp that I did this evening,

namely transforming a girl's brocade robe into a ladies bed jacket...

I picked this up from the car boot sale last Sunday.

It's from 'Zara Home' & it's labelled age 6-7.

This revamp was pish easy and took less than half an hour to complete...

It's well worth scanning the children's clothing rail at charity shops.

I once bought a girl's fun fur coat for £1 and stuck some ornate glass Bimini buttons on it to make it look more grown up, the sleeves were obviously quite short but wearing it teamed with long opera gloves looked really glam!

By attaching the belt to the sides you can tie it both to the front & back.

Voilà!

Ready to be worn again!

Whilst perusing a wellknown fashion site earlier, I learned that 'Orientalism' is going to be a "hot trend" for S/S 2011, so I guess you could say that this is my 'car boot sale chic' take on it :)

Here's how the pro's do it...

This is from the S/S 2011 Louis Vuitton (Marc Jacobs) collection...

It made me think of a dress-up session that I had back in 2008, where I used a sequin boobtube as a belt...

...and here's another outfit from yonks ago,
this particular boobtube later became my DIY sequin sock boot spats :)

I've got a small collection of these boobtubes, most of which have been bought for a song.

You can usually get them quite cheap on eBay too.

That's all folks!

xXx

Fringed & feathered

2011-02-01T16:03:00.000Z

Today's Ensemble:

Vintage 70s maxi dress (eBay)

Vintage 70s suede waistcoat (vintage dealer)

Vintage 80s fringe suede jacket (charity shop)

Leather boots (market)

Necklace (pressie)

Vintage 80s felt hat (charity shop)

xXx

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

2011-01-31T16:10:00.005Z

Today's Ensemble:

Indian embroidered tunic top (car boot sale)

Benetton suede waistcoat (charity shop)

Max Mara shorts (market)

Striped tights (pressie)

Terra Plana booties (charity shop)

Felt hat (Myrorna)

Vintage 70s sunnies (eBay)

Metal bangles (car boot sale & pressie)

Grumpy Suns earrings (DIYed)

Coin embellished bag (car boot sale)

I bought this fuchsia pink felt hat for under £3 from my favourite charity shop in Sweden...

This stunning Indian tunic top was another bargain buy from yesterday's car boot sale, it only cost me 50p...

These booties are by Terra Plana but I bought them in a charity shop for £2.99...

It has been gloriously sunny here today, can't help smiling from ear to ear...FABULOUS!

xXx

Vintage dress scores

2011-01-31T01:22:00.003Z

I've been lucky enough bag a few more fabulous frocks of late.

The first two I bought from the car boot sale last Sunday.

I've been buying clothing from this particular seller for over five years now and she always gives me a cracking deal.

When I was perusing her stall last week, she said that she had a bag of vintage stuff in the back of her car that she thought I might like & in that conjecture she was spot on!

In the bag I found this stunning ornately beaded 50s wiggle dress & after seeing the tag on the dress I was sure she'd ask a tenner for it, however I was very pleasantly surprised to get it for a mere £4, BARGAIN or what?!

I also found this amazing 80s ballgown...

I know it's totally bonkers but I only paid £4 for that too, what a lovely seller!

I have also I procured two dresses from eBay.
I have this long list of vintage labels that I've written down over the years & every now and again I'll sit down with said list & have a good old eBay search and last time I did this I found a couple of beauties.
The first one was this funky 70s maxi by Laura Lee...

I paid £7.50 including P&P for it.
The only reason to why I know of this label is because I bought another dress on eBay several years ago...

Another vintage label on my list is 'Blanes' & I was thrilled to bits to get this beauty for £10.70 including P&P...

It's quite rare to find a Blanes frock on eBay for less than £20+ so I was really happy to bag this one.
I have two other Blanes dresses in my vintage dress collection, a black velvet one that I bought from a market for a fiver and this gorgeous lace confection...

I have had so many people wanting to buy this dress off me but I can't bring myself to part with it.
Have a lovely week peeps & take care ;)
xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-01-30T23:56:00.001Z

This is what I bagged at today's car boot sale...

...and all for a mere £10 :)

xXx

Dreadful crows feet & detracting creases

2011-01-26T18:01:00.003Z

Today I woke up with what can only be described as a ‘wrung-out dishrag visage’.

I put some slap on but it merely accentuated the problem…the only effective remedy would have been a ‘duvet day’ but alas no such luck for me.

I spent so much time trying to camouflage my weary looking features, so when it came to getting dressed I just grabbed a few things out of the wardrobe, flung them on & darted out the door.

It was only after I’d left the house that I realized just quite how creased my clothes were…never mind…no doubt this would have gone some way to detract from the
‘TIREDNESS’
that is written all over my face in bold, underlined capital letters!

Today's Ensemble:

Max Mara shorts (market)

Mayerline shirt blouse (market)

Vintage 80s mohair cardigan (market)

River Island belt (car boot sale)

Leaf necklace (car boot sale)

Three metal bangles (pressie & car boot sale)

Tights (market)

Scarf wrap (car boot sale)

Suede boots (charity shop)

Maybe it’s not just me feeling like I’m sleepwalking through January?

xXx

Great Chieftan o' the Puddin-race!

2011-01-25T18:48:00.005Z

Hey peeps,

I had a few minutes to take some pics today
...so here's...

Today's Ensemble:

Vintage 70s shirt blouse (charity shop)

Warehouse Chinese brocade top & skirt set (charity shop)

Leather trousers (car boot sale)

Copycatwalk DIY belt (made myself)

Vintage horse brass necklace (made myself)

Indian earrings (market)
Metal bangles (pressie & car boot sale)

Vintage metal collar tips (car boot sale)

Ranch boots (market)

I love these fabulous earrings, this is what one of those hands-free thingamajigs should look like in my opinion ;)

'Tis Burns Nicht de nicht, so I'm off to hunt down a haggis...of the vegetarian variety ;)

xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-01-23T19:29:00.002Z

Hey peeps!

I hope things are fine & dandy with you all :)

Hopefully I'll be able to do a proper blog update later on this week,

until then I'll just quickly show you some of today's car boot sale hoard...

This cream is available to buy from Holland & Barrett for £7.39 but I'd NEVER pay that,

main reason being that £7.39 is over an hours wages for me.

This is why I shun the high street and favour local markets & car boot sales,
shopping like this gives me more bits & pieces for my pennies, huzzah!

xXx

I'm spread thin

2011-01-16T18:45:00.002Z

Hello again,

I hope everyone is doing alright :)

Another week has swished past like a rocket!

I'm working flat out at the moment, that's why I'm so quiet...appologies...I haven't forgotten about you all & I am still enjoying your fabulous blogs when I get a rare minute to myself.

I was off today & managed to squeese in a quick trip down to the car boot sale before getting wired into the domestic duties.

It was very busy with buyers today & a couple of scuffles broke out at the 50p man's stall...

it was really rather hillarious...och, PEOPLE!

This is some of what I managed to bag, plus some stuff from last Sunday too...

This week's fave ensemble:

Revamped vintage granny dress (car boot sale)

Vintage Austrian waistcoat (charity shop)

Black full slip dress (car boot sale)

Pendant necklace (eBay)

Granny-lace up boots (Barratts)

Tights (pressie)

I'm sorry folks but that is all I've got time for I'm afraid.

Have a lovely week & take care.

See you next Sunday!

xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-01-09T20:57:00.001Z

Here's some of today's booty bounty...

I also got some lovely Indian shawls, an Indian tunic dress, a couple of vintage frocks, a pair of funky harem pants & a Moroccan djellaba style robe but they are all being washed so no pics at the mo ;)
See you next Sunday peeps, have a lovely week!
xXx

Time and tide wait for no (wo)man

2011-01-09T18:49:00.001Z

Hey folks & friends,

I'm sorry but I'm having to put my blogging on the backburner for a while as there are one or two things demanding my undivided attention at the moment.

So until further notice, I'll be blogging on Sundays only.

I'll still be lurking around the blogosphere & catching up on your blogs when time allows me...

so BLOG ON chicks!

I went to the car boot sale this morning but I haven't had time to take any pics of what I bought (maybe later) so instead I give you...

My fave ensemble of the week:

Vintage 80s scrunch texture dress (car boot sale)

DIYed web top (made from a scarf)

Leather belt (car boot sale)

Over the knee boots (car boot sale)

St. Christopher pendant earrings (DIYed)

Lilac tights (pressie)

Wooden bangles (Glamour magazine free-bee)

Vintage 80s caterpillar bangle (pressie)

Kilt-pins (haberdashery)

DIYed ENDGAME bag

I'll try to do a quick 'CAR BOOTY LOOTY' post later :)
xXx

CAR BOOTY LOOTY

2011-01-02T21:54:00.004Z

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope that everyone has managed to kick any residual party related aches & pains to the curb.

First car boot sale of 2011 today & this is what I bagged...

Vintage 50s glass jug & tumblers

Vintage 70s Johnson Brothers
Engadine pattern coffee pot

Vintage 'Diamond China' tea set

Vintage 70s kitschtastic keepsake plate

Six leather belts

Vintage 70s salad set

I got this salad set partly cause I really loved the inscription at the front of the box, it reads:
"All my love Vie, Happy Birthday from Mabel"
but I also bought it cause it reminded me of a salad set that I spotted in one of the vintage mailorder catalogues that I got for Christmas...

I promise that I will do a longer post on these catalogues; they are so much fun to flick through :)

The biggest bargain today were the leather belts at only 50p each but my favourite buy was the glass jug & tumblers.
A very good start to my car boot sale year I think.
Take care peeps & thanks for all the lovely comments you've left, they are all much appreciated :)
xXx

You shall go to the ball!

2010-12-31T02:39:00.003Z

A lot of you fabulous folks will be attending New Years Eve parties later on...not me, I'm working.

However this has never stopped me from pushing the boat out when it comes to dressing up for the occasion and why the heck should it!

I'm lucky enough to work in a place that does not adhere to a dress code as such, so I can rock up wearing just about anything...Ok, ok, maybe not nipple tassles & a G-string made of dental floss then.

This is one of the main reasons to why I've lasted there for so long,
it's a laid back place without too many shitty-death rules.

So before I head off to work later I will attempt to hunt down the most flamboyantly glitzy number in my wardrobe & team it with lashings of war paint, YAY!

For those of you who are going to a NYE shindig & haven't as yet decided what to wear, I thought that I'd highlight a couple of my dress revamps from earlier this year.
Who knows, you too may have a dress in your wardrobe, that with a wee sprinkling of DIY magic can be transformed into the perfect party frock?!
The best thing about these two revamps is that they can be done in about an hour or so...
leaving you plenty of time to sip away at your pre-party vino whilst tarting yourself up,
getting ready for a rip-roaring night on the tiles!
Bead LBD

60 Minute Makeover Dress

Have a lovely evening whatever you get up to & keep safe!
I wish all of you a happy, healthy & peaceful 2011.
Lots of love,
Jennie
xXx

Treasure Trove

2010-12-28T22:33:00.000Z

I've had a cracking year at the car boot sales;

here follows a small list of my favourite finds of 2010...

Lovely vintage 50s dress

Vintage 50s petit-point vanity set

Stripper heels

Vintage cut-glass dresser set

Vintage Colclough tea set

Vintage 50s wool dress

Vintage Brexton pic-nic set

Hermes silk scarf

Vintage Japanese wicker sewing basket

BBC costume drama outfits

DAKS kilt suit

NEW ROCK boots

Vintage dresser set

Vintage T-bar heels

Vintage 50s jacket

Vintage fabric & fur lot

I wonder what treasures shall be found over the coming year?

xXx

The return of Vixen & inspiring India

2010-12-28T20:05:00.001Z

Today's Ensemble:

Indian cotton dress (car boot sale)
Hobbs scarlet silk slip dress (car boot sale)
Tights (market)
Vintage cummerbund (car boot sale)
Leather belt (charity shop)
Sheepskin & suede slippers (car boot sale)
Coin armband (car boot sale)
Balinese earrings that I was given by my fabulous blog buddy
Vintage Vixen who has just recently returned from her three week holiday in Goa...YAY :)

I bought this fabulous book from a charity shop last week...

Very inspiring...

You can also buy it on Amazon should anybody be interested :)

xXx

Cavalcade of clobber

2010-12-28T17:13:00.003Z

It's time for another yearly outfit round-up, here are my twelve faves...

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

CalamityJem's year in outfits...

It's been fun!

xXx