Orange Lips VS Turquoise Skirt

Good evening to you all, especially you, yeah you.

I went out for some dinner this evening with my two favourite housemates and now I am very full of chorizo and halloumi and BURGER. Oh Bungalows And Bears you are good. Now before I take to the sofa with said housemates and ice cream to watch Made In Chelsea (what larks we have) and Game of Thrones I thought I'd do a little outfit post.

Terrible face coming up, but in a pencil skirt, one must do a booty shot. 

Coat: Debenhams

Bag: Flea Market

Top: Matalan

Skirt: Matalan

Stockings: Primark

Shoes: New Look

Showcasing my brand new Model's Own "Orangeade" lipstick. It is part of a limited edition range called Hyper Bright Matte, priced at a very reasonable £6. Also, I washed my hair for the first time in approximately one whole week. I didn't want to load it with hairspray so just did a little side quiff and backcombed the rest a little. 

Well well, now to indulge in some slovenly sofa action. Keep your eyes peeled for new arrivals on my ASOS Marketplace this weekend by the way, got some very lovely pieces to share with you.

x

Dressing Up Box

Too often my housemate Lucy and I find ourselves in pyjamas on the sofa chilling with the boys. Now, as much as we love the other housemates and various terrible yet brilliant reality TV shows, we thought we'd treat ourselves to a mid week cocktail at The Forum.

I'd just been for my first run as part of Sheffield Running Club and I felt incredible afterwards, I never knew 6 miles could feel so easy! The serotonin had a fabulous effect on me and I was dancing like a dweeb in my car along to The Black Keys. Anyway. I've been wanting to get all dressed up for a while, so here we go - oh but please excuse the flash accentuating my rather large behind...

Dress: Pearl Lowe for Peacocks

Mink: eBay

Shoes: Primark

Hat: eBay

Earrings: Topshop

This evening raised a slight issue for me though. I immediately narrowed my options for cocktail venues. "Well, I can't go to XYZ looking like this." I said. Do you ever become self conscious about your strong vintage (or other)  outfits and styling? I never really have before, but I struggled a little tonight. Perhaps it was because I felt I was showing up Lucy who was looking pretty cool and casual in high waisted denim. Hmm. Food for thought. 

x

SALE O'CLOCK

Please visit  ASOS Marketplace to browse the mid-season sale, but especially my shop. Thanks. 

SHAMELESS

GO HERE>>> https://marketplace.asos.com/boutique/pretty-used-things

Thanks blogger lovvies.

xxx

Lovely's Vintage

Not too long ago, Lovely's Vintage had a birthday (hurrah!) and to celebrate, they had a one day only 50% sale. Now I've come across Lovely's before, but have never had the dollar to get the stunning stuff I wanted, namely quirky 50s and 60s dresses just like the one I purchased below! After the outfit post, please scroll down and check out my top three items currently in the shop.

This is a neon-meets-pastel 60s softly quilted coat dress. I imagine a woman of the home would do her domestic duties looking hella cool in this number. However I have styled it with a waist cinching belt from my Nannan's wardrobe, some Primark earrings, a pair of white loafer heels from New Look and my new most barganious bag* of all time that cost me 2 FREAKIN' EUROS! Long live Waterlooplein flea market.

*I'm aware the bag doesn't really...uh..go with the outfit. But..I wanted to show off the purchase.

My current favourite items in the shop are listed below...

This blazer is INCREDIBLE. Beats all the high street versions hands down. See it HERE.

I've gone all 60s on you all, but who can blame me? Look at this dress! Absolutely gorgeous. See it here. 

This 70s maxi screams glamour, the peach silky fabric will make you feel all Abigail's Party. See it here.

Amsterdam

This week I went to Amsterdam with some very BADASS ladies and we had a whale of a time. Here is a little summary of my time away as well as some brief write ups on the flea markets and the vintage shops I visited. First things first, outfit post. 

Skirt: Topshop Maternity (!)

Jacket: Charity shop

Shoes: New Look

T-shirt: H&M

Sunglasses: ASOS

Bag: River Island

Waterlooplein flea market was very high on my list of things to visit, so I went renegade for a morning to rummage through piles and rails of clothing and accessories. Table tops of 5euro dresses, 7euro jumpers and shellsuits were fantastic for those with patience and other higher end vintage sellers had better stock for not much more money. Still a hell of a lot cheaper than England! There were ridiculous amounts of stuff I could have taken home with me, I just didn't have a big enough suitcase.

By this area, on your way back towards the Dam square, there are a few retro shops such as the one below. However, I felt these were overpriced and lacked diverse, good quality stock. There is one exception - Retro et Chic which sold beautiful Victoriana and antique clothing and accessories. I didn't manage to get a photo of this shop as I couldn't find it again! 

The Nine Streets is an area straddling the three main canals of Amsterdam behind the Palace. It is brimming with curious, trendy and quirky boutiques selling all sorts. Of course I was there for the vintage. Before I get there  - and the quality of these photos is awful but the sun was bright and I felt dead cheeky so did it in a rush! This opticians stocked new prescription glasses based on vintage frame designs. You had to ring the doorbell to enter and I just daren't! But really incredible specs, in fact the dutch do glasses very well indeed.

Here we reach my highlight of Amsterdam. The jewel in the Nine Streets crown. Laura Dols Vintage.

This shop doesn't stock vats of 80s naff polyester drivel OH NO. This shop has rails and rails of 40s, 50s and 60s frocks that are beautifully mended, cleaned and railed according to size and then colour. I was in there for ages! I could have taken photos of everything, but these two dresses stood out for me.

1950s dress

1940s dress - I was going to buy this as a birthday present to myself, but it was too big. Sob.

Vintage and repro linen too.

Love a good showgirl outfit!

My only other real "vintage" moment to share with you are my friend Kate's Victory Rolls. She has a short blonde bob so struggled to do much in the way of retro hair before, but I had a go and am quite pleased with how they came out! First attempt styling somebody else's hair and it came out OK I reckon!

Well I don't have much else to share with you I'm afraid! Apart from that we had an awesome time and I would recommend Amsterdam to EVERYBODY. There are so many "types" of holiday you can have there and I will definitely go again. This is a farewell photo of us all looking a bit drunk. xxx

The problem with vintage is...

I reckon we've all been here, but those who buy vintage may have been here moreso.

The problem with vintage is when you find a dress you love, it's 9/10 times, one of a kind. Now this comes with a whole bunch of pros but God damn if not being a size X/Y  isn't a huge con. So I'm in COW in Sheffield and I find this dress...

I fall in dress love. I adore houndstooth and the contrasting floral pattern is just amazing. I've never seen anything like it and it reminds me of the S/S12 Preen collection and Mary Katrantzou's quirky designs. Naturally, the dress is not in my size. I mean, I'm not a big girl (anymore) but I'm certainly not a skinny thing and size 12 is still a bit far off for me, especially with these babies *gestures at bosom*. 

But I still bought it. And I tried it on loads with various types of control underwear. Still no joy. Cue very embarrassing photos...

My thinking is that I will fit into it one day. Am I right in thinking we've all been there? Especially with vintage, because the beauty (and the problem) is, I will probably never find this dress ever again. 

Gina x

Oh I wish wish wish!

I have only just found out that this very day is the LAST day for your chance to win £100 gift voucher to spend at Vintage repro experts,  HeyDay. Even though I'm in the midst of a thousand boring admin things, I'm stopping and damn well telling you all what I would buy if I won.

 

This Fleur dress, modelled by it's namesake Fleur De Guerre of Diary Of A Vintage Girl fame, is a classic vintage day dress. Being a curvy girl, the wrap dress is my friend! I love a cinched waist. However, the only problem I have here is which print to choose from. I would hands down go for English Rose on White but if there is only limited stock (shock horror!) I would be incredibly happy with English Rose on Black too - heh. 

It also means I could go out and buy some new heels, as this dress cries out for some. Oh and look at the pockets! I love pockets on dresses. 

Fingers crossed I win!

Love x

Giveaway Winner

After adding up all of my lovely retweets and blog comments to a round 20, I used a method of fairness, the random number generator!

So Miss Emma off of posting on my blog, you are comment/retweet number 14! Please see the comment I left you below to claim your prize. You shall be Styled Vintage!

Thank you to everyone, especially all of my new followers.
G x