Vinter Warmers

So here in England we all go really excited when, last month, we were all told that the "weather would stay warm till November!"

BEST NEWS EVER!

Well guess what... they lied. It's bloody freezing here!

In my last post I said that I have no inspiration for any posts and what not but this toe curlingly cold weather has given me the idea to do a post about vintage winter style and where to buy the best and most affordable vinter (no I'm not trying to do a German accent it's a mix between vintage and winter... I just made it up) wear.

However I have a feeling it will take me a bally long time because my internet provider doesn't care about me anymore as my current lack of internet would suggest. You'll be luck if you ever get to this post to be honest.

Anyway, I'll stop digressing and get on with it shall I...

 I don't know about any of you but when I think Vintage and Winter the three main things that spring to mind are wool, fur and hats, I love all three of those things but unless you can dress like these women here being vintage in winter can sometimes end up looking like grannies closet in winter and unless your grannie was Audrey Hepburn I don't think that's what we want.

I find that whem buying my vinter warmers it's best to get vintage inspired clothing or repo clothing because unless you've got the money to be buying the best its difficult to find true vintage winter clothes that are in good wearable quality.

Places such as eBay, Lindybop, Collectif, Vivien of Holloway, Hell Bunny and Asos.com are great for vintage repo and vintage style clothing that doesn't cost the earth (psst Collectif have an amazing sale on right now).

However this season my favorite cheap shop Primark have some amazing vintage style pieces that are great for winter, take a look....

 I'm definitely buying that coat!

When you put your vinter outfits together remember accessorizing is important to put those finishing vintage touches in place. A brooch on you cardigan/jumper, a beret or fur hat and small dainty (but warm) gloves always pull and outfit together nicely.

I know you'll all look georgus this coming season so till next time,
Laura Lou x   

Outfit Post: Beamish

It wouldn't be a Bank Holiday without a trip to Beamish!

Well that might not be true for everyone but it is to me.

So I bet you can guess where I went last Bank Holiday Monday... that's right Beamish.

I decided to dig deep in my draws (get your minds out the gutter!) and pull out some old items I haven't worn in a long time and this is what I came up with.

Top - H&M

Belt - Off a Lindy Bop Dress

Skirt - eBay

Petticoat - eBay

I chose neutral coloured makeup with a small beehive hairdo. This is the day I sprayed perfume in my eye, hence the watery look.

Sadly I don't have a picture of my whole outfit where my hair isn't in my face so you'll just have to put with with only seeing half my beauty :p

Till next time folks,

Laura Lou x

Sheffield: What I wore day 3

The last day of out trip was a sad one as it signified the return to the gray North and the return to work... but I did wear a cute outfit so it wasn't all that bad :p

 

Cardigan - H&M

Top - Primark

Skirt - Primark

I wore flip flops on my feet because after two days of wearing naff shoes I had the most enormous blisters  on my little toes... I still have the scars.

This guy didn't look too bad either, in fact he looked pretty damn fine.

On our way home we stopped at Hardwick Hall, as ever with the National Trust no photos could be taken inside but I did get plenty outside.

Take a look...

With this big old tree outside it reminded me a little of Downton Abbey.

Till next time folks,

Laura Lou x

Sheffield: What I Wore Day 2

On the second day of our trip we took a wonder into the town center.

Once again the hot sun was out and it was a beautiful day...I chose to wear a petticoat, a decision I later came to regret. Boy was I warm!

Here's what I wore

Dress - lindy-bop.com

Petticoat - eBay

Shoes - Primark

I have to say out of all the Lindy bop dresses I won this one is my most favourite.

I couldn't go anywhere in it without some one stopping me to compliment it or without hearing some one say something about it was I walked past.

The best thing is that Lindy Bop not have it in 2 other colours... guess what I'm getting!

Once again I couldn't be bothered to sit and pin curl properly so a quick curl was all the hair got.

Excuse the mess, it's the misters, my side was spick and span(ish)

Check out my sunburn.

I was lobster red in that area for a few days, lesson learned!

Till next time folks,

Laura Lou x

Sheffield: What I Wore Day 1

A few weeks ago my mister and I took a little trip to Sheffield... not the most exotic of places but I must say I enjoyed it immensely.

The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky the whole 4 days we were there which meant summer outfits came out to play! (they went straight back in upon returning to cold and rather gloomy Shields however)

On our first day we took a trip to the zoo and got a wee bit sunburned oops!

 Anyhoo here's what I wore.

Trousers - ASOS

Vest Top - George

Kimono - A Gift

Shoes - Primark

I adored wearing this outfit I felt so pretty in it until a little girl stood on the back on my trousers with her muddy shoe, then I just felt a bit of a scruff :/

For such a relaxed outfit I felt simple hair and makeup were in order... plus I couldn't be bothered sit and pin curl.

All in all it was the perfect day out made better by this guy...The monkey... scroll down

He's so darn cute!

Till next time Folks,

Laura Lou x

Outfit Post: Mixing Your Seasons

So it's September and the start of the erratic weather in Britain.

One moment it's hot then one moment it's cold! It is till important to dress fro the weather though, but I hear you ask, how can you when you don't know from one moment to the next if it will snow, rain or be as hot as the desert?

The only thing to do is mix and match your winter and summer wardrobes like I have.

Skirt- eBay

Jumper- H&M

Petticoat- eBay

Shoes- Primark

Bag- Primark

Skirts and jumpers are my new favorite thing, if I owned more of them I would wear that combo a lot more often.

 

 

I really liked the colour combination of this outfit, not too bright and not too dull.

It also looks snazzy in black and white ;)

Aren't we romantic?

Till next time Folks,

Laura Lou x

Dreamboats and Petticoats

There are no dreamboats in this post however there is a petticoat. My very first petticoat!
I've always stayed away from petticoats because 1: I have always liked the natural fall of a swing dress/skirt and 2: I wasn't sure if I'd look stupid in one or not.
It turns out I don't though so I shall be wearing them a lot more often *bank account cries*.

This petticoat wasn't a bank breaker, I went onto my favorite internet shopping sight, yes eBay, and managed to find it for only £10.99 with free p&p!

Here's the outfit I wore it with.

Yes all the photos are in black and white again so I shall tell you the colours.

Red gingham Gypsy top (Primark years ago) and a vintage blue gingham circle skirt.

Also my pin curls turned out particularly well that day, I was rather pleased with myself.

Till next time folks,

Laura Lou x

Just Starting Out

It can be intimidating when you try something different like changing your style.

I should know as thats how I felt when I first decided to give up on the hopeless fashions of today and dress the way I admired other women for dressing.

Vintage.

I was worried people wouldn't appreciate the way I had decided to dressed and that I would get odd looks from passers by in the street. But as it turns out people generally like to see someone all dressed up in pin curls and a swing dress and apart from the one off jealous glares off some females it gets a lot of good attention and so will you.

I've written up a helpful little guide to start you on your new style adventure.

When I first started dressing vintage I needed all the help I could get, I didn't ever think I'd be able to successfully pin curl my hair or achieve the prefect eyeliner flick but thanks to the help of makeup/hair tutorials and vintage blogs I did.

Before you do anything you need to decide your era. Are you a 1920s flapper? A 1930s film star? A 1940s

    Land Girl? A 1950s Pin up? Or something completely beyond?

I'm a 1950s girl through and through and always will be, I have tampered with other styles but I always come back to the circle skirts and swing dresses of that era.

Once you have decided your era things become a bit easier, you know what you are looking for in terms of tutorials and what to copy.

Clothes:

Try experimenting with the clothes you have first. Turn them from modern day into vintage with a few adjustment or by adding a few accessories to see what works for you.

Reproduction clothing is great, there are a lot of sites online that sell repo/rockabilly/pinup clothing all depending on what you want. You'll feel beautiful and confident  in what you are wearing instead of worrying if you've paired the right vintage skirt with the right top and so on.

I didn't start wearing true vintage until I was confident in my style. You may be the same or you may feel confident enough to go straight into it. Either way its cool, all that matters is that you feel comfortable and beautiful in what you are wearing.

Makeup:

It can be a tricky thing to perfect but practice makes perfect.

You don't have to spend a fortune on products either, I don't.

In fact I find that most times high street products work just as well (and some times better) as high priced designer ones.

I found that tutorials on youtube and blogs the best way to practice my makeup and technique but once I was confident in what I was doing I started adding my own little bits and bobs into the mix.

                                      Hair:

There are so many different vintage hairstyles it's hard to choose which one to try first.

I want to say

try something simple first but, if you've never done them before, non of them are really that simple.

Don't let that deter you though. As with the makeup practice makes perfect! There are so many tutorials and blog posts available on the internet so make full use of them and get practicing.

Here is a list of links that helped me when I first started out and if you want more go to my links

page. 

Pin Curl tutorial part 1

 Pin Curl tutorial part 2

Victory Roll tutorial

Brows

Hair and Makeup 

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, I'll be as helpful as I can (email on contact page)

Also sorry about the awful formatting, can't seam to fix it :/

         I hope this has been a help to you ladies.

Till next time,

Laura Lou x

Crossing the Line

Every once in a while you find that vintage dress that crosses the line between being classic vintage and just plain old lady.

For me this is that dress.

It's a 'vintage' (can't be any older than 20 years) Debenhams original.

With the help of cloche hat though it converted nicely into a late 20's early 30s outfit.

Though it was such a warm day I just couldn't keep a woolen hat on could I? so it swiftly came off after these photos were taken.

The print and the material literally just scream 'old lady!' you can hear it coming from my wardrobe during the night. Having said that though I do rather love it.

Till next time folks,

Laura Lou x