Bright Young Twins

The Dreaming

2012-03-06T20:42:00.000Z

Hi all,

I've been really awful with posting lately because of a number of issues. My laptop broke, I've been uninspired but mostly because recently I've felt really unconfident about my appearance. I realise that this paragraph may seem like compliment fishing but I'd just like to be honest and express how I feel. Plus the key to my confidence has always been within (which has its positives and negatives).

I've had some troubled skin on my face and its completely wrecked my confidence recently. Despite how many people tell me that I'm making mountains out of mole hills (ironic ha), I've felt really down about it. Before this came around I felt pretty when walking down a street and until very recently I felt like covering my head with a scarf.

So despite the fact that all my favourite hairstyles are marcel waves, raised quiffs etc. I decided to cut in a fringe.

I feel brand new and a hundred times better.

Anywho this post wasn't meant to be about me wallowing. My haircut reminds me of the style I had when I ripped off Kate Bush at age sixteen. It was red, big and fringed. The lot. Thus I've been thinking about my obsession with her recently.

(Source)

Its a common trait in a vintage lady to have some sort of alternative past and I'm no different. I went through the different colours of the rainbow hair stage, the indie kid stage (absolutely scandalous at my dodgy East London comprehensive) and even that awful metal/goth/emo stage. And yet I can understand where those influences came from. Listening to The Strokes came from my Dad, dying my hair came from my Mum and the other awful stuff came from friends. I have no idea where my love of Kate Bush came from. I think I saw her performing 'Wuthering Heights' on an old Top of the Pops episode and I just 'got it'.

(source)

I have no idea why I've never discussed how much she influences myself and my style before. Her spirit and women like her never cease to inspire me. In a world where women are sold as passive sexual images rather than for their art or their work, the non-compromisers are those that I feel really connected to. I have so much admiration for someone that says fuck the push up bra. I'm doing interpretative dance.

Although I can't say that I wear a lot of lycra, I love her hair, the glitter, the stage outfits and those dreamy lazy clothes she wore around the release of 'The Kick Inside'.

I didn't really mean to get all deep on you, but its funny what a hair cut can do. Here's some Kate Bush inspired moves for your viewing PLEASURE!

Thrifted silk blouse : Charity shop

Silk 1930s night gown: Snooper's Paradise

Necklace: a present

Hair flowers: a tree!

Aimee xxx

P.s. Care to share an unlikely style icon?

Berlin Diary: Harriett's Holiday Snaps!

2012-02-22T16:13:00.000Z

Hello Ladies! As you may be aware from a previous post I opted to spend this

New Year and my 21st birthday over in Berlin with my good friends Anna and Beau!

I thought I would share my holiday photos with you, even if they are distinctly non

vintage.. as well... there's more to me than clothes (sometimes!).

I also have to apologise for the range in quality of the pictures as they are from a selection
of cameras. On a recent whim to get back in touch with my love of photography I have been
using my film camera a lot more often so most of the exciting pictures still waiting to be
developed. Once I have got round to it I am sure I will share them with you to!

Every morning of my trip started with coffee at home in my cardigan.

And a Delicious breakfast of Avocado, rye bread and vegan sausage

and rocket salad.

This is the only outfit snap I managed to take on the whole trip!

On my First day I wore:

Head Scarf: 1930s black lace veil

Blouse: 1980s Silk

Skirt: Edwardian Petticoat

Gloves: 1940s Leather

Shoes & Tights: Matalan

On the 31st it was time to celebrate! Our New years eve kicked off

with fireworks off the balcony.

As well as a party with the nearest and dearest. This is the beautiful

Anna in her early 50s Canadian mink coat. In the background is Julia

and Will, my other partners in crime for the trip.

Just before midnight we headed out to the park to set off more fireworks.

Here's are ammunition all ready to go.

The Beautiful Julia out side the planetarium with the biggest sparkler I have

ever seen. That's a bottle of champagne on the path.

Here's Anna drinking the champagne from a mug.

When midnight struck things got a bit wild. I have honestly never

seen anything like it, hundreds of incredibly drunk people shooting

fireworks in every direction.

The gang all stopped to take photographic evidence.

The Guys at the end of the path had the best ones.

At the end of the night I was so happy I was actually glowing. After positively

the shittiest year of my life so far, the start of 2012 could not have been more magical.

This is me with Beau and Will, the nicest fellas in town. As I feel that I should

write something about vintage fashion, my Great Grandmother knitted the

scarf I am wearing in the 60s whilst she was in the loony bin.

I spent a lot of the trip just wondering around getting to know the city

better. Here is the obligatory sulking under an umbrella in Berlin

photo! (see here). I am wearing Anna's fur coat, and a pink 30s

piano shawl to keep the rain off.

This is me and most hosts taking a stroll through the U-bahn, on the way to

Kreuzberg to see our dear friend Mark from Wood Pigeon play a show.

After Anna and I would do our best to sell merchandise in incredibly

broken German.

Here's me outside the after show in my 50's mink and goatskin Harrods

coat. I don't wear it a whole lot as the 50s is not really my era but by

god it is warm.

When we got home Anna and I promised to watch the new episodes

of Ab Fab with Mark, but we may have just fallen asleep.

The Next day I did some Skyping to friends back in London, before

heading out to the New National Gallery and the German Film Museum

both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately as an avid film

fan I didn't find the film museum as informative as I had hoped,

however I understand most people don't obsess over the history

of cinema quite as much as I do. However the New National Gallery

was spectacular, they had a rather interesting exhibition on the Fluxus

movement.

Speaking of works of art I saw this painted on the side of a super market

in Prenzlauer Berg and almost died of happiness

On my birthday Anna took me for a walk to a fancy pants magazine

store, where I found copies of Lula! I swelled with pride. If you are a new

reader and don't know about my connection with the magazine check

it out here! We also went out for a wonderful dinner and then got stupid

drunk at Dr Pong and Neu Bar. But I was far to intoxicated for me to

share those images with you all.

At the end of the trip the lovely Anna Beau and Mark took me to a

laser show! Now I had no idea what this was before hand, so to

fill you in they shoot a bunch of lights through a smoke screen at

a big dome and play Enya for an hour whilst you gasp with joy.

Laser Show!!!!!

On my last night we went for a wonderful curry at a restaurant

just round the corner from the apartment. Here I am doing my

best Charles Dickens character impersonation. I'm no one in

particular, just a lady with a candle.

On the way hope I asked Anna to pose seductively on the bonnet of

this car. This is what she did

Oh my God I love Berlin so much, I can't wait for my next adventure there!

Harriett xx

Harriett Featured in Vogue!

2012-02-09T17:10:00.000Z

A few weeks ago when taking a stroll down Brick Lane with my parents

I was stopped by a Photographer from UK Vogue and asked to contribute to

their street style page for February. I'm really happy with how the images turned

out so I thought I'd share my outfit with you guys. I was going for my usual

eccentric Edwardian style, but tried to keep things a bit casual with simple

makeup. I hope you like!

1930s Wax flower hat: Rokit

1940s Fox fur: Charity Shop

1940s Riding Jacket: Charity Shop

1950s Leather Bag: Belonged to my Granddad

Edwardian Skirt: Spitalfields Antiques Market

1930s Umbrella: Spitalfields Antiques Market

1980s Boots: Rokit

Harriett x

See the Vogue feature here!

Snow pun intended!

2012-02-05T19:52:00.000Z

Okay, so if you don't live in London, even most of England you won't know that we can't cope with snow. It snows about two or three times a year and everything is canceled. However, I still get that little kid feeling. Today I visited my Nan (who totally reads this blog, HI NAN) with my family and played in the snow with my sister.

I'm wearing

1950's cape - Charity shop

Mittens - Charity shop

Palazo pants - Primark

1930's Bakelite hair piece - Spitalfields Antique market

1960's earrings - Charity shop

And a massive pair of Hunter wellies which you can't see!

I threw my hair up and plaited a bit of it. Edwardian meets sixties/ lazy hickedy pickedy nonsense.

Tomorrow I start a costuming and researching internship. I'm really excited, but also nervous that the buses won't cope in the snow!

GOT YA!

Warm wishes,
Aimee xx

The Boys are Back in Town!

2012-01-26T18:31:00.000Z

Hi all, forgotten about us? We should hope not! We've been travelling and have been caught under a pile of uni work for the last month or so. We really feel a bit guilty about not posting, which is silly as we bet you've had better things to do than reading our ramblings.

Thank you for all your kind New Years messages. We sincerely meant everything we said and hope your 2012 is 24/7 fabulous.

Today we took a stroll from the flat to the antiques market and thought we'd share some outfits with you guys.

Harriett wears:

1930's topper - present from Aimee via etsy

1940's Edwardian style blouse - 'Beyond Retro'

Edwardian undershirt - 'Memory' in Berlin

Edwardian skirt - present from Aimee via Spitalfields antique market

1940's muff/bag - 'Snoopers paradise' Brighton

Aimee wears:

1930's collar - Spitalfield sunday market stole from Harriett

Thrifted silk shirt - Charity shop

Slip - a vintage hand me down from my mum!

Silk peach flower - Charity shop

Palazzo pants - Primark

Jewellery - various ex-boyfriends

We're really glad to be back and promise to line something up the next time we have a big break!

Lots of Love

Aimee and Harriett

xxx

P.s. We really like Thin Lizzy.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T20:26:00.001Z

Happy New Year to all our fabulous readers, family and friends.

This year has really been full of suprises. Its been surreal, fabulous, sometimes sad but constantly challenging and exciting. We feel that this is the year that our little blog has started to morph into what we want it to be and we're so glad to have such supportive followers.

We've partied hard, cried, danced, moved, traveled, met some wonderful new people, modeled, hosted an event, appeared in major magazines and partied a bit more. We can't wait to get started on 2012.

We have this thing that we call 'girl love'. Its when instead of bitching or 'girl hating' (like the world around us often encourages to do) we try to support and spread the 'girl love'.

Thank you for your support and big 'girl love' to you all.

Aimee and Harriett xxxx

P.s. Kisses to our male readers.....all two(?) of you.

Readers, Can you help me??

2011-12-26T11:43:00.000Z

ANITA BERBER(1899- 1928)

I hope you have all had the most wonderful Christmas full of the three

key festive ingredients. Family, friends and food!

On December 29th I will be jetting off to Berlin for the forth time this

year. I love this city so much so I couldn't imagine a more fitting place to

celebrate the new year and my birthday on the 5th of January. I will be

conducting this trip in full Weimar Republic style emulating the most

eccentric cabaret star of the period Anita Berber. For those of you who

aren't familiar with her antics Anita was often sited walking around hotel

lobbies naked apart from a sable fur and a silver locket full of cocaine. She

also had a pet monkey, but I think I'll stick with my mouse.

My Plans for the trip involve a lot of drinking, record shopping and a fair

bit of culture, I have plans to revisit the Bauhaus museum as well as the new

national gallery. I was wondering if any of you wonderful readers have any

advise for me on things I simply cannot miss! I know I have been to the city

so many times now but I really just don't want to miss out on anything

special there is too see.

Also if we have any readers in Berlin who would like to meet up for a coffee

or show me a part of their city I would love to meet you ladies so get in touch!

Lots of seasonal love and kisses

Harriett xx

500 Followers! Thank you!

2011-12-18T17:04:00.001Z

Aimee and I are so friggin chuffed to have 500 + followers! Thank you so much for

reading all our drivel. It's our dream to one day get you all together in the same room

and give you each the biggest hug.

Last night we went out to celebrate this milestone as well as helping out our friend

Carla by hosting the Hackney Working Girls Club Christmas do! We wore showgirl

outfits teamed with big 60s eye makeup. I defiantly overindulged on Christmas

spirit and am feeling rather worse for it today.

So want to thank you again for all you lovely comments, we read and appreciate

every last one.. Some have even been known to make us a bit teary!

Please do keep following and I hope you will enjoy reading the blog for many more

months to come.

Harriett xx

The Chap Ball 2011

2011-12-14T00:23:00.000Z

Hello all!

So we've been away a bit recently as we've both started new jobs, have university deadlines and tis the season to be stupidly busy. So, a little while ago we went to 'The Chap Ball' and had ourselves a fabulously drunken time. We were joined by our lovely new friend Sophie who we met at the sale and social a few months ago.

Excuse the kitchen photos - bah dark evenings.

Harriett had a little outfit disaster with a pesky 30's gown. But what can't be saved by a 30's showgirl outfit?! Not much I say. Harriett found it in a charity shop maybe a year ago. It was also owned by one of Frank Zappa's backing singers in another life. Worn with vintage feathers and a lovely 30's headpiece she bought in Sweden.

Sophie wore a gorgeous velvet 50's gown from eBay and gorgeous 30's shoes she bought from our recent trip to Lewes.

I wore my new (to me) 30's 'Ginger Rogers' dress which I bought from American eBay. I think its an original theatre costume as it has a number in it and the date '1932' written inside. I love it so, it was so damaged when I bought it and I spent so long sewing sequins onto it!

(By Hanson Leatherby)

To the bar!

We tore up the dancefloor with Jenny and Fleur.

And then done some more drinking, dancing and shameless flirting.

Cheers to Hanson Leatherby (check out his amazing photography here) and Andrew for the photos and Andrea for looking after us.

Bring on more parties I say.

Love Aimee xx

We now have a Tumblr!

2011-12-06T18:25:00.000Z

Hi all!

If you follow us on facebook you may already know that we now have a tumblr! It occurred to us that we'd really like a good medium to share all the fabulous vintage photos that inspire us and all the quick snaps of us that don't make the blog. We thought the tumblr bandwagon was perfect for this.

Some of the images we've uploaded....

All we need now is some followers ;)

http://brightyoungtwins.tumblr.com

Love Aimee xx

P.s. I'm really new to tumblr and if anyone has any favourites do recommend!

Harrietts Exciting News: Lula Magazine.

2011-11-28T19:00:00.000Z

Hello Ladies! A little while ago Aimee mentioned that I had some exciting news.

I was a little anxious to share it at the time but now I am finally ready to tell you

all that I am now working for Lula ! To those of you who aren't already familiar

Lula is a magazine which caters to ladies of the world who love style, music, art

and make believe! It's style is ethereal and dreamy, using high fashion to create

playful, often vintage inspired looks. For now I am interning in the publishing

office helping piece the spring/summer issue together, which is such valuable

experience to me as a journalism student. I have also been assisting on shoots

helping the stylists and aiding the editor and photographer to insure everything

runs as smoothly as possible!

I can't wait to let you know how the next few weeks go, but for now I will leave

you with some of my favourite images from past Lula editorials.

Lots of love

Harriett xx

Wedding Bells!

2011-11-25T16:40:00.001Z

Hello ladies! I wrote this post for the lovely casey while she has some time off. Welcome to the blog Casey's readers and a welcome back to everyone else!

So I have a confession. I have started collecting Antique wedding dresses and accessories and started wafting round my apartment in them like Miss Havisham. I dont have a fiance, although I was until a few months ago dangerously close. However this hasn't dampened my enthusiasm and obsession with the romance of weddings. I thought it would be fun to share with you my little collection today, maybe any of you out there who are planning their special days will leave with a little inspiration, and those of us who aren't... well we can

just keep playing dress up!

This Thursday when taking our weekly stroll around Spitafields Antique Market in east London, I stumbled upon this beautiful 30's veil and gloves set in their original box. I simply couldn't resist! The Lace is so fine and in amazing condition, I am wearing it in the first picture with a 20's deco beaded belt as a head dress. The gloves are pure silk with 3 peal buttons each, although the fingers are a little to long for my child like hands.

Inside this box, lives the most special vintage garment in my wardrobe. An original

20's ivory silk wedding dress. Purchased from Oxford street this would have been a

very expensive item in its day!

Unfortunately it is far to delicate to display on a hanger. It is in need of some

urgent repairs to the shoulder seams, however the beading is so beautiful I

just had to share!

This is the dresses original belt, but i prefer to wear it as a head band.

This beautiful head dress came with the wedding gown, but I don't think they were

originally created to be worn together. The leaves are made of a silver foil, attached

with wire to the band of which drapes the most delicate pink netting.

This is my 30's silk wedding dress, that I picked up for a snip due to the staining on the back.

I just fell in love with the sailor collar, net inlay and row of covered buttons.

And heres me prancing around in it, like most of us used to in our mothers at around 8

years old. I sadly never grew out of it! Next on my list is a 20's wax flower head dress,

and a pair of silk wedding shoes!

Thanks so much for reading, I hope you all enjoyed a peek into my little wedding

obsessed world!

Harriett xx

Hair tutorial: Lazy Pincurls

2011-11-21T15:31:00.003Z

Hello fabulous ladies! This is my post which has been featured on the lovely 'Casey's elegant musings'. If you've come from there, welcome to our blog! But for our regulars, as previously requested here's my tutorial on 'Lazy pincurls'.

I'm lazy!

I get often asked how I do my hair and for years I set my hair into traditional long winded patterns. Then after a hectic night of swing dancing I invented 'lazy pincurls'. A loose seductive set that will take ten minutes setting and five minutes brushing.

You will need:

Setting lotion ( I use 'Lottabody')

Bobby pins

A hair brush

I like to set my hair dry. I find my hair is too thick to dry in a set.

The fringe will be set into a marcel wave type look. For this, take a large section of the hair, spray on setting lotion and brush through.

Backcomb the roots of the front.. Then wrap round your finger to form the pincurl, roll it down to your head and secure with bobby pins. The front curl should sit raised as shown below.

Here's the next pincurl. The laziness of this set is really due to the large quantities of hair I'm using. For all the other non fringe curls, spray with lotion, brush through and pin to the head.

Both sides of the head's curls should be facing the front of the face until the parting forms at the back.

Do the same with the other side.

Not including the front, there are only twelve pincurls around my head.

Six rows of two and the fringe.

E.g. Curls facing the front until the parting.

Bish, bash, bosh!

Time to go to bed or leave it be for a few hours.

Nice sleep? Now take out the pins!

I can't say there's a big secret about the brushing! Basically if you've set it well the (ahem) hard work is done. You merely need to brush out every curl and brush the curls to form a beautiful cloud of hair. Brush forward to your face and hairspray.

Here's the finished result!

Good hair day without any effort! Hope you enjoyed my post. Lets get Lazy!

Loves of love

Aimee

Seriously sussex.

2011-11-13T21:07:00.001Z

Hey lovely ladies,

So we haven't been posting a lot recently as we spent a long weekend in Sussex. It was sososo lovely to get out of London and its stresses. Sometimes the only thing to do is to leave problems at home. For those of you who haven't read our previous posts, instead of paying London prices we often decided to take a trip to Lewes and Brighton to do some shopping.

First stop was Lewes where we met up with our lovely new friend Sophie (hi Sophie!). We plundered round Lewes together buying hats, prints, dresses and shoes and then hit up the pub.

The next day we went to Brighton town.

Record hunter Harriett.

Our favorite!

We then went to Kens in the lanes with Harriett's fabulous family. I love Kens it sells lots of fry ups and everything has a vegan alternative. Yum.

Harriett and her ma.

Harriett's family are amazing. We spent a lot of time in her Grandparent's new swish hot tub and sauna. We are now considering putting our pennies away so in a million years we can have a hot tub too!

Her records.

Harriett and her brother Thom.

We then headed back to Lewes to attend bonfire night. For those of you that don't know Lewes, its the most quiet little antique village but for bonfire night everyone goes a bit mad.

The procession!

One of the many many bonfire societies.

I've never seen anything like Lewes bonfire! I normally find that bonfire night is a little disappointing but it was absolutely amazing and went on for hours.

The yobs!
There are so many different societies who all have their own identitys, some dress up as pirates or Edwardians. The young societies dress plainly but bring lots of very loud fire crackers which deafened me and Harriett for a good two days!

The next day we went back to home via Lewes.

Harriett wears

40s boater - Lewes antique shop

40's hunting jacket - charity shop

40's smock - Lewes antique shop

Victorian skirt - Lewes antique shop

Vintage mary janes - charity shop

Harriett wore a bag that she purchased for a friend in Lewes. Its an amazing 30's military bag which came with original bandages.

It even has the name of the owner inside. We salute you E. Giles!

I'm wearing

40's hunting jacket - a present from Harriett

50's silk shirt - Lewes antique shop

20's dress - Lewes antique shop

Edwardian style boots - John Lewis

Thifted belt - charity shop
Necklace - a present from an old friend

The absolutely beautiful hats Harriett bought from 'May's antiques' in Lewes.

Victorian topper with a bird.

Victorian mourning bonnet.

I also bought a beautiful 40's blouse and a Christmas present for Harriett at 'May's antiques'. But you'll just have to wait for outfit posts!

In other news I no longer work for the retro lingerie company that I used to. However I do have a fabulous new job at Lush and I'm much happier and excited to be there! Harriett also has some exciting news but I'll leave her to tell you that!

Lots of love.
Aimee xx

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T16:57:00.002Z

Happy Halloween to all our readers! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
This year Aimee and I went as two of Jack the rippers unlucky victims and paraded around the east end!

I must apologise for not getting this post up for Monday but we had some very
sad news which put a bit of a dampener on the days activities. My darling little pet mouse past on to a better place. Most of you didn't get the pleasure of meeting him, but I can assure you he was an absolute rascal. Rest in peace milky you will be missed!

Harriett xx

A ball of a time!

2011-10-24T21:47:00.002+01:00

So in January I made a new years resolution to start swing dancing. I started in February and haven't looked back since! Its one of my favorite things to do and I'm completely addicted! On Saturday I performed with all the lovely dancers from Dalston swing patrol at the 'performance ball'.

Along with Harriett and our gorgeous friend Ruth we primped, curled and powered all the lovely Dalston ladies.

Me at 'Camp fabulous'.

I'm wearing a early forties dress that I borrowed from Harriett.

All this glamour (plus two other ladies!) took us about four hours and they all looked amazing!

As a (errr) special treat to you all, here's a video of me dancing with my (very patient!) partner Luke and all the other fabulous dancers. Try not to concentrate on all my mistakes! We're second from left at the front.

If anyone was thinking about taking up swing dancing - I seriously urge you to! Its an amazing hobby, I'm fitter than ever and I've met so many wonderful people.

Enjoy all!

Love Aimee xx

Lots of thanks to my teachers and Melissa, Jamie, Anna, Luke for all their kind help and everyone else for being so damn fabulous!

Spitalfields Street Style and Sunday Sale and Social!

2011-10-19T12:45:00.000+01:00

Sundays is the one day a week I refuse to do anything productive, instead spending

my day cycling round the various markets in the east end, visiting friends at work

and buying ridiculous amounts of flowers on Columbia road. This Sunday I was

photographed wondering by Spitalfields market for the blog KaipaParazz.

I wore....

1930s Dress: Camden Antiques Market

1930s Jaeger Jumper: Charity Shop

1940s Basket: Charity Shop

1940s Shoes: Charity Shop

1930s Fur stole: Portobello Antiques Market.

I hope everyone else had a lovely weekend! I have something very excited

planned for this coming Sunday, I will be selling my glad rags at the

Sunday Sale & Social with the wonderful ladies of the Vintage Mafia ! If you

are in London do come by and say hello!

Harriett x

Who wears short shorts?

2011-10-16T23:06:00.000+01:00

Whats cuter than a 1950's bustier? Two 1950's bustiers!

Last Saturday we headed down to fabulous 'Blitz Party'. We decided that last it would probably be the last time we could wear such scandalous outfits before they have to be put in the box for next summer.

I found these two bustiers on a stall at Spitalfields market and I had to treat Harriett to one for her birthday. They had to be taken in quite a lot - the previous owner must of had one hell of a rack! They're identical apart from Harriett's has green stripes and mine has orange stripes.

My shorts are from ASOS while Harriett's are 40's little boys shorts from Lewes. I'm also wearing fishnets from 'What Katie did' (oooh Matron!).

We're also wearing Harriett's vintage silk flowers from various charity shops and flea markets.

This is our gorgeous friend and host Andria who manages to spoil us all evening while a room of drooling men form a orderly line to hit on her.

Thank you to the lovely people at 'Blitz Party' for having us. Thank you to our lovely friend Andrew for taking these photos and kindly editing them too!

Lots of love

Aimee

xxx

Party Hard

2011-10-11T20:00:00.000+01:00

A few moons ago we found ourselves swanning around 'Die Freche Muse'. An event that promises a 'irreverent, decadent, sexually ambivalent & dissolute.' time in a speak easy in Dalston.

We had a fun time at 'Die Freche Muse', although we found the night perhaps a little pretentious. I'm all up for vintage nights but '1920's and 30's' wear 'strictly enforced' always throws me a little. Especially when there was minimal authentic clothing anyway.

Harriett wore her beautiful 30's showgirl outfit with vintage feathers and I wore a 30's slinky gown with Harriett's lovely 30's headpiece.

We really enjoyed the entertainment. Fabulous drag acts resembling Greta Garbo and this lovely lady.

The drinks were also super cheap (always a plus!). Unfortunately there was a distinct lack of men as usual apart from the ones dragged along by a female friend celebrating a birthday.

All photos taken and kindly used with permission of Sin Bozkurt.

Would we go again? Yes. Is £10 (advanced) a bit on the steep side? Perhaps, but what club isn't £10 these days.

Lots of love Aimee xx

My New Bike.

2011-10-02T15:54:00.000+01:00

40's tweed trousers, 40's riding jacket, 30's bag, blouse and fur all from charity shops.

This is Betty she is a 1956 New Hudson and I think we are in love. The wonderful street

style photographer Anne Berknecker photographed me out for a Sunday stroll down Columbia road last weekend, before I rode around terrorising the streets of Hackney

with my less then agile cycling. Anne is also responsible for this picture that she

took last winter which ended up in a full page spread in German Grazia! So thanks

again to her, and wish my little bike luck as she may be going to Holland soon to a

vintage bike show to get all her gears in tip top order.

Harriett x

It's like a heatwave!

2011-09-29T12:06:00.000+01:00

Listen to this as you read!

London has over the last couple of days been experiencing a mini heat wave!

It was 28 degrees on Wednesday and taking this information on board I

thought it would be a great idea to wear my favourite felt hat and rayon

dress combo. I can assure you I was boiling. Aimee and I decided to make

the most of the weather and take a stroll around my local area in a quest for

pints of cold cider and a bench in the shade.

We went and bought the most amazing raspberry vegan cheese cake from

Gossip Cafe on Broadway Market. We sat down and ate it outside the

Cat & Mutton which is a really lovely pub if you can manage to get a seat!

After gorging ourselves on cake and petting the most adorable puppy ever we

decided to wonder into the City Farm which is opposite my new flat. Its a

community run organisation which helps locals to experience farming, bee

keeping, gardening and other such pursuits right in the heart of London! As

a country girl at heart I love this place, you can find me here every morning

around 11 talking to the pigs.

I wore my favourite early 40s day dress that I got on my work bonus at Rokit.

The print of the fabric is really what makes it so special, if you look really

closely you can see the spiderwebs behind the roses. The dress is hand made,

and I have a black dress that I wore on our trip to Berlin which appears to

be cut from the very same pattern. Perhaps I shall blog about them soon.

would be so fun to try and find the pattern that they were both made from

and make a third!

Here's a close up of my 20's peach hat that I picked up from a charity shop

about a year ago for £17. It is by far my number 1 hat. And I have a lot of

hats, so this one is pretty special to me!

Back at the flat we relaxed on my terrace and began the notorious '3 Hour Knit',
but more on that another day! Look at Aimee's lovely shoes! I believe these are
her early 50s heels from Brighton. Her fan she picked up from a charity shop to
cool herself down in dance class! Its made of wooden lacquer and is covered in
the cutest hand painted flowers

She also wore her amazing primark palazzo pants with a silk blouse 40s
bangles and 50s shell necklace. I don't know about you guys but I am
seriously into this outfit. Its got some sort of tropical beach holiday in
Indonesia vibe. I'm sure a few of you will get what I mean!

I'll leave you with this picture, excuse my face this taken post three pints of

cider and 4 hours of burning heat. It was such a lovely day, I can't say I am looking

forward to Autumn weather anymore! All of our love, I hope everyone is well

even if the sun isn't shinning where you are!

Harriett xx

Tea time!

2011-09-22T21:54:00.002+01:00

Bonjour readers!

We were lucky enough to recieve 'The Vintage Tea party book' by the very glamourous Angel Adore. So, we thought we'd have a little trip to our favourite caffe on Church street to come up with our hard hitting (ahem) opinion.

This aesthetically pleasing book will certainly have you drooling over a huge range of reciepes. (Most of them were not suitable for Vegans so unfortunately we were not able to make them in their true glory).

Our favorite part of the book was the gorgeous illustrations featuring bunny girls and foxy ladies. The book also includes beautifully illustrated invitations which can be photocopied and sent to your loved ones.

The book is divided into brunch, afternoon, evening and style section. The style section includes 'how to's for three fabulous hairstyles including 'the poodle' which is one of my personal favorites.

We'll certainly be giving the cocktails a try!

Rather than the retro aficionado this book is the perfect present for that girl that says 'I love retro, but I've never been brave enough/ don't know where to start'. Do you know that girl? If so it can be found here for a mere £14!

Drool.

I'm wearing

1930's day dress: 'Beyond Retro'

1940's fur and hat: Stolen from Harriett

Harriett wears

1940's hat: 'To be worn again'

1940's fur, gloves and day dress: Various charity shops

We haven't been blogging a lot as Harriett has moved into her fabulous new flat in Hackney. She's putting together a 1930's boudoir with an Asian theme. Its already delicious and you're going to love it!

Lots of love, Aimee xx

Brighton, for Health and Pleasure!

2011-09-12T15:37:00.002+01:00

On Sunday evening Aimee came to visit me at my parents house in the sleepy Sussex countryside. We listened to my new record player and chatted into the dead of night.

When Monday morning came we decided to go on a trip to Brighton eat some

breakfast at our favourite cafe Kens, shop for some vintage, and cuddle up

under an umbrella.

The weather started off lovely so we sat down outside on the balcony.

Aimee wore the flower corsage from the 40s gown I bought her for her birthday

pinned in her hair. The stole is mine, it's a fox named after her as once upon a time

she had flaming red locks. Her hair was arranged in curls on top of her head, a style

we first tried out on me for Blitz club many moons ago, and will one day prepare

a tutorial for!

However it soon became a bit chilly so we moved inside to order our food, I had

a 'facon' (veggie bacon) and avocado panni. Nom nom nom.

Aimee opted for the Vegetarian breakfast roll. I'm sure you can tell from the

look on her face that she was pretty excited to tuck in.

After we finished eating it was time to make ourselves presentable again.

Lipstick and baked beans all over your face? Not a good look. Aimee picked up

this beautiful compact from a charity shop in London the other day. I love the

gold detailing on the enamel and scalloped edging.

Here's what I wore, a 20s silk scarf and 30s inspired blouse from a charity shop.

I don't wear this shade of lipstick very often, but Aimee seems to really like it on me.

My hair is set in a 'long 20s' style I have been experimenting with of late, what do

you guys think?

Shopping time!!! Do you know a man who would fit this suit? If so contact Aimee immediately! This was taken in the attic of SnoopersParadise, check out Aimee's

new Palazzo pants from... Primark! What a steal! we both have a pair, and are

seriously considering buying up our sizes in bulk for when they inevitably fall apart.

Here Aimee has teamed them with her faithful Fred Perry's and one of my 50s basket

bags. After Snoopers we headed down the lanes to Hope Harlequin Wolf & Gypsy

To Be Worn Again and North Lanes Flea Market in search of some bargains!

I bought this adorable print from the flea market, the one on the left is Aimee, the

one on the right me! Paid a little to much for it at £10 but I just couldn't say no.

My new 30's felt hat, from to be worn again, sorry I cropped my face out, it

was a no makeup day! I have so many hats, yet very few that are practical for day

to day wear like this one.

20s beading panel! I spent all of last night meticulously securing the lose

beads so I can attach it to a simple black frock.

This 30s romper was so unique I couldn't pass it up, its made of the most delicate
white silk with adorable elasticated leg openings. I have elaborate plans of
embellishing it with some of my original glass beading to create a show girl inspired
outfit!

This Silhouette was a true bargain at £1, it is not the most impressive example I

have ever seen, but its crudeness is somewhat charming. It is labeled on the back

as being made in 1937.

This delicate Victorian Bonnet has been fast tracked into my top 3 favourite hats.

I fell in love with everything about it especially the long strips of lace and delicate

powder blue silk.

It was then post shopping coffee time. You can see Aimee's hair in more detail here

she's also slung on my 40s hunting jacket to keep her cosy. I am always too hot and

this lady is always too cold!

I do love a soya latte. Aimee bought the most beautiful 30s floral night dress and

chiffon bed jacket that she wore out this Saturday to the Ric Rac Club. So do check

back so see how it looks, it may be my new favourite outfit of hers!

We salute you goodbye! Unfortunately we didn't ride this scooter home, it was back

into the rather un-vintage car I borrowed from my older brother. I will be staying

in London for the weekend with the lovely Jess and Aimee so I am sure we will be

sharing our adventures there soon.

All my love

Harriett x

Berlin: Heart Break Hotel.

2011-09-06T22:48:00.003+01:00

As you know I recently just got back from a stay in Berlin

with my wonderful friends and possibly the cutest husband

and wife team ever Anna and Beau. As I have recently gone

through quite a bad experience I need a little rest and relaxation

in a city that I hold so close to my heart. It wasn't really

a holiday filled with fashion adventures like the last, this time was

more focused around talking and cuddling with the lovely people

around me. But I still managed to take a few photographs to share

with all you sweet ladies!

On the first day I accompanied Anna to help hang some

of her beautiful silk screen prints that she created with

her graphic design partner Katrin at the druck festival. The

gallery space was in an abandoned swimming pool in Mitte.

Here you can see us arranging the frames in a space which I

think was originally one of the changing rooms.

Anna's work focused on found vintage photographs

layered under typography which highlighted an

unpleasant side of the person in the image. My favourite
was the one of the couple that reads 'friends with benefits'!

This is the lovely Anna Coe with her friend Anna Moe!

We were roped into hanging some other artists prints

by the lady who was running the huge art show all alone

so we happily pitched in. She seemed to have a lot on her plate!

Anna has kindly given me a couple of her prints to adorn

the walls of my new apartment (that I have yet to find!).

On the right you can see Anna Moe's wonderful work,

like all the other artists in the show she is a very

talented lady. Please check out her website here for a

closer look.

On Friday Berlin reached a shocking 34 degrees, so

where better to go then the beer garden in Tiergarten!

Anna recently made a 'no beer' pact with her dear friend

Amelia, unfortunately I persuaded her to break this sacred

oath, for the day and enjoy a large glass in the sunshine.

I had a pretzel and a cider, no matter how much I try

I cannot seem to develop the taste for beer.

After the beer garden Anna took me to this wonderful

Korean restaurant where I ate myself silly. I believe

this was her second beer of the day... scandalous

behaviour!

Here's me and my homemade ice tea!

In the evening Anna and Beaus wonderful friend

Mark flew in from Canada to play a show at this old

water tower in the south of the city. There was even

free pasta. I really love pasta. I am considering a

career in music to receive more of it for free.

But If you would like to listen to some seriously good

music created by someone who doesn't do it solely

to get his hand on free food, then check out

Wood Pigeon!

Mark and I before the show.

My other gracious host Beau.

Later on in the week Anna took some time off

her busy schedule to show me around the city,

where I spotted this charming painting by a bike shop.

Check out Anna's wonderful fur hat.

For lunch we went to a adorable vegan/vegetarian cafe

in Kreutzberg called Sing Black Bird and had the most

delicious tofu salad bowls. The menus were pasted

inside these little vintage books.

The cafes decor was perfect from the wild flower

table decorations to the mounted plates on the wall.

The Rest of my trip was spent sitting on Anna's balcony,

eating avocado, and getting a bit squiffy with these
beautiful women.

Ok now the really exciting Vintage related bit!

What I bought!

1920s vintage stocking repair kit and 1940s shell
earrings/dress clips, both from an antiques store
next to Anna's apartment.

This late 40s dress is a present for Aimee,

I am sure she will show you a picture of her in it

soon! I picked it up from one of my favourite

Berlin haunts Memory.

A little 30s tapestry bag from the same antiques

store as the earrings.

This Edwardian cotton blouse also came from

the antiques store, and for 5 euro it might have

been the bargain of the trip.

Early plastic hair comb and 30s shades.. both also from

Memory!

Anna took me to this antique warehouse/ flea market

which was a little out of the way, where I found these

amazing original 20s beads for 2 euro! They are all glass

and on their original thread, looks like they have fallen

off a beautiful gown, but soon I shall attach them to another!

I also got my hands on the most amazing 30s hat a

beautiful 40's powder pink jacket, a 40s hounds tooth

coat, a wonderful umbrella and the most beautiful 20s stockings

I have ever seen, But I shall reveal those to you all at a later date....

All my love, till next time!

Harriett xx

Outfit Post: Pokerdot Palazzo Pants.

2011-08-30T14:48:00.003+01:00

Hello dear sweet readers, I am alive and well, and as you may of read currently

in Berlin visiting my friends Anna and Beau, finding some well needed headspace

and time to evaluate my difficult situation! In time I will explain to you all what

has happened, and why my life has taken such an unexpected turn, but for now I am

going to leave you with an outfit post I took a few weeks ago back in London.

I got these trousers from Zara with a credit voucher from my great aunt. Although

I have developed a mild phobia of high street stores I was pleasantly surprised to

find these palazzo pants had such a flattering cut. My only complaint is the bizarre

sizing, an extra small is a good 3 inches to large in the waist! Damn my weirdly

shaped body.

The blouse is a pyjama top from the Cath Kidston sale. I just fell in love with the ditzy floral print and lace trimming. You can't see so well in these photos but it also has the cutest mother of pearl buttons which make it seem that little bit more authentic.

If any of you are as clumsy as me, you will know that sometimes wearing the real vintage deal can land you in some sticky and often un repairable situations, ripped shoulder seam when trying to reach that top shelf, black coffee spilt down your favourite cream 30s blouse? Repo fashion offers a great alternative to risking damaging your vintage collection.

However if you tend to be a little bit of an authentic vintage snob like myself, there I admitted it... to me nothing beats the romanticism of the original garment,

wearing repo can pose a bit of a challenge. My problem is I just can't style modern clothing as easily to create the look I desire. So to reach a happy medium when wearing repo I tend to shove on a bunch of original accessories to add a little balance. In this case I went a bit bakelite mad.

( I would like to point out I would never consider myself 'more vintage'

than another, just because I like to wear the real deal, I have read a lot of debates on line about this attitude and I think it kinda sucks. My desire to wear original pieces just comes down to what I feel most comfortable in. The Vintage community is made up of all different people from all walks of life who like to wear varying degrees of vintage, and that what makes it so exciting!)

I hope everyone is doing well, and enjoyed this rambling post!

Best wishes and kisses from Berlin.

Harriett x

Rocky and Rachy

2011-08-24T16:15:00.002+01:00

Hello readers! So I'm greeting you today with some photos from my new camera which I was given for my birthday. I've never had such a fancy camera so it may take a little getting used to. Harriett has jumped on to a plane to Berlin as she's had a bit of a rough time recently. She'll probably want to write about this more herself but for now I'd like to tell you that for the time being she will be living in London instead of Canada.

So with Harriett leaving me to fend for myself I've been spending some time with some old friends. Rachy is one of my oldest standing friends that I still speak to and see regular despite her living miles away at uni most of the time. A few days ago, we went to have tea together at the new local fancy tea shop.

Rachy wore a Cath Kidston dress for our little outing.

I wore a 50's dress that Harriett bought from 'Old Touch' in Sweden.

I bought this for Rachel as a Christmas present years ago, I was so happy to see her wear it!

This is me today. I've spent most of the day applying for internships, watching old movies and hanging out with Rocky my fabulous Cairn Terrier. I really love dogs, especially small scuffy ones! Rocky has such a loving nature, its hard to resist spoiling him!

My shirt is from Oasis and my skirt was thrifted in a charity shop in Sweden.

I'm wearing my early 50's peeptoes again!

I was really happy my hair set today. I call this look 'Lazy pin curls' and I've been thinking making a tutorial on it. Any interest?

Here's some of my best bangles. My collection is getting ridiculous now, but when I find them in charity shops I just can't resist picking them up. These are my favorites which are a collection of bakelite, lucite, ivory and wood. My favorite is the green one which isn't very old at all but is hand painted and has the lady's name inside. I also love the carved ivory bangle which Jess gave to my for my recent birthday.

Its a real shame Rocky can't come dancing with me tonight.

Lots of love, Aimee xx

Columbia Road Flower Market.

2011-08-18T15:11:00.002+01:00

Aimee and Myself have appeared on the style blog Rioetc !

We were taking a stole down Columbia Road Flower Market

in the pouring rain when we were snapped a few weeks ago.

The flowers in our arms were free, a gift from a stall holder

for being the 'loveliest ladies' he'd seen all day!

1940s Hat: Jess's

1950s Jacket: Charity Shop

1930's Blouse: To be worn again

1930's Bag: Charity Shop

Trousers: Topshop

Cardigan: Charity Shop

1950's Blouse: Reading Festival

1950's Skirt: Gift from me

1950's Bag: Antique shop

Shoes: Scholl

Harriett x

Park Picnics and Seaside Spitfires.

2011-08-15T20:11:00.000+01:00

Greetings darling readers.

Aimee here, updating you on our usual frivolities! The past week saw me getting one year older and not a year wiser. Fortunately last year I decided I'd never again reveal my age! Start young I say! I was lucky enough to have Harriett stay with me in my family home in the East London suburbs. I've never been one for large birthdays, I'm rather quiet and its all a little too much attention. But I've been lucky enough to have a simple birthday with Harriett followed by a night on the town with Jess too.

After a delicious breakfast of our favorite avocado on toast, Harriett presented me this beautifully wrapped gift. It was a divine and rare floor length early 1940's dress with pronounced shoulders and a low bust line. Its so wonderful to have such a dress, those 40's glamorous dresses seem to be getting rarer and rarer now. I of course decided to wear it all day, even to the park!

Haha, here's Harriett doing a pose outside my area's local...(hmmm how should put this gracefully)..Cat house! A steam house that opens at ten o'clock at night...interesting.

Me reaching for my cider of course. In my new dress with the flower corsage that it came with. I decided to not reveal too much yet as I'll probably wear it to one of the vintage events this winter. It needs a post in its full glory!

Our picnic!
Me and Harriett are in love with bacon crispies. Mmmm delicious vegan bacon flavored oddities.

I don't know why I'm not smiling I had such a lovely day! We were also joined by my friend Rachy who was suffering an awful hangover at the time.

Gorgeous Harriett in her 1930's peach dress which she bought in a charity shop in Sweden.

A few days later I went to visit Harriett at her family home in Pevensey Bay. After many girly chats, sausage dog petting and pizza eating; we went to 'Airborne' in Eastbourne. Airborne is a annual free weekend event where lots of (normally elderly) people go and watch planes on the scenic Eastbourne seafront. It includes a lot of old wartime fighter planes too.

I wore a 1940's (£2.99!) hat that I bought from a charity shop that very day, with my 50's dress also from a charity shop and my new late 40's early 50's peeptoes that I bought from Snooper's Paradise on our trip to Brighton.

Gorgeous Harriett wearing a 50's skirt from Camden passage. A Cath Kidston Pajama top which looks so wonderful as a 40's style blouse and original bakelite bangles.

Some of the 40's war time fighter planes.

We done a lot of clapping and saluting!

After we headed off to Lewes, I bought a 50's silk blouse and Harriett bought a beautiful 30's ballgown that is in need of some TLC to restore it to it's former glory.

Lots of love Aimee xx

Berlin Diary: Day 5 and 6

2011-08-13T22:41:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone, its Jess here invading the girls blog, and about to update you on all the strange happenings of days 5 and 6 of our adventures in Berlin.

(ed. it's been a while since our trip, but Jess has been a busy lady so I decided to post now or never!)

We woke up early once again to make another couple of antiques markets that we had heard about, we had high hopes for these, and couldnt wait to get stuck in. Before any of this though the girls were in need of a serious coffee. So we stopped off at this little coffee shop and brought the best coffee Aimee has ever tasted! (I dont drink coffee, whereas Aimee is pretty passionate about it)

I look seriously grumpy here, I am not, its apparently just my face. Aimee looks adorable in all her florals.

Me and Missus Henderson, revitalised after her coffee

See... I told you

This was the entrance to the market, flowers were so cheap in Berlin

I'm not sure whats going on here!

We saw all of these lovely old game machines, arnt they pretty, my favourite is the one on the left which is a miniture shooting gallery.

Here's a close up.

Harriet was super excited as she managed to find a vegan rhubarb pie, look at her chuffed little grin!

Is'nt this 1930's dress gorgeous? It's a lovely black crepe with original which she found in Spitalfield's Thursday antique market. It looks so lovely on her.

A snapshot of some of the market.

Aimee, having a little antique market shimmy. I think the locals enjoyed it...

The furniture was so cheap, I could have made my house into a palace if only the airplane would accept all my excess luggage.

Walking back from the market to get some food, we were all very hungry by this point not having had any breakfast. I am sporting my new found fox friend and Aimee is sporting the new expression for spring summer. Do it.

We made a name for him but alas, I am afraid that i have forgotton it now

He needs a name, he's quite the personality.

Him and Aimee commenced in a little chat on the platform.

Here we are on the U bahn, pretty exciting stuff.

We went to a lovely little mexican for lunch, Harriet and I opted for a midday margarita which was insanly strong, we ended up swaying back to the apartment. I love this picture of H, doesnt she look adorable?

Here is Aimee's magnificent lunch, Berlin knows how to do a good mexican!

It was at this point, unfortunatly, that a rather odd fellow decided to talk at us, it was all polite chit chat till he dropped in that he thought we were sexy, (his wife was sat next him).

We were so freaked out untill thankfully he finally decided to leave.

At which point Harriet stated...

'Do people think because we wear hats, that we are some sort of sexual deviants?!'

A sexy mumma that we walked past, none of us were prepared to have our picture taken with her,

Harriet: 'Is that a skirt or a sarong?'

Aimee: 'What's sarong with you?'

*giggles*

Aimee: 'I cant take credit for that... I was quoting Timone and Pumba'

We all went back to the apartment for a rest and a bit of a freshen up, (I was feeling a little woosy from that Margarita and Harriet was feeling very tired) Aimee and I were desperate to go and see the film museum though so we kissed goodbye to a sleeping Harriet and set off to find our Marline Dietrich fortune...

It didnt start quite as planned...

But we got there in the end! I felt like we were in a cross between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Clockwork Orange, its just like another world... full of films, my kinda place. Unfortunately photos are banned in the museum, boo! There was a section on Louise Brooks, I pretty much love her. I would suggest watching 'Diary of a Lost Girl' for those of you who haven't seen it. Through the Dietrich exhibition we discovered Marline's wardrobe, we were pretty envious as we spied all the elaborate dresses.

Me and Aimee missing Harriett and suprised we made it out without her! Later on we decided to go out with a bang and rounded ourselves off to 'White Trash'.

'White Trash' serves delicious American dinner style food whilst you watch live bands. We've been told that this club is rather touristy but we had a great time and recommend it! They also serve delicious cocktails!

Mmmm!

To grand ol' Berlin!

White Trash has some amazing pinball machines and we spent a little too much time playing them!

We partied far into the next morning, we jived, rejected strange men who suspiciously lurked near our drinks and landed ourselves in a cab. After a troublesome car journey we found ourselves back at 'Neu! bar' again and spent hours drinking with our dear barman friend Noah. Aimee was a little worse for wear after all this dancing so after complaints we chucked the little bore into bed at about six. Whilst me and Harriett thought that playing on park swings was better than sleeping.

The following day saw us leaving lovely Anna, Beau and dear Berlin. Now let me tell you it was as eventful as the rest of the trip. We shoved a pairs of large sunglasses on our faces to conceal a shared lack of sleep and a god awful hangover. We ate breakfast, packed our bags and got ourselves on a hot train to the airport, which wasn't the remedy for a hangover. This perfectly horrid train lead Harriett to be sick on the train and left me and Aimee panicing about getting her home. Fortunately after a lot of water and a walk she was well enough to send our bags off to blighty. However when I reached into my handbag for my passport was not there! The horror! This lead to us ripping apart our overweight suitcase to find the passport which left me in a fit of stress fuelled tears.

Fortunately we all arrived home safely and everything was normal, until we looked into the suitcase. Everything was opened moisturisers exploded and Aimee's fancy undergarments had mysteriously disappeared. Is there a German baggage handling knicker sniffer? Or will it all inconspicuously turn up on eBay?

Of course the holiday couldn't have ended without a bit of drama and we had an amazing time regardless. I can't wait for our trip across the pond next year!

Jessica xx

My new etsy shop!

2011-08-09T21:59:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately my trip to visit Harriett by the seaside got postponed due to rioting (shakes fist) and I found myself at a bit of a loose end. So I decided to start listing items for my new etsy shop! I'm listing items from mine and Harriett's personal collections to fund my trip to see her in Canada next year. So I thought I'd cheekily share with you some of the items and offer followers 10% until next Wednesday. Just follow the blog and send me the code 'follower' on etsy.

1940's fruit hat with union label in perfect condition.

1960's mod dress with original belt.

1950's baby blue hat with gorgeous flowers

1950's purple floral dress with pretty bodice.

There's a more items already listed and I'm listing more throughout the week! And just for the reference if you don't already use etsy you really should. Its a lot fairer on the buyer and seller than eBay.

Aimee xx

A present from Elsa!

2011-08-08T19:28:00.000+01:00

Hello all, we've been terribly busy since our last post. It was my birthday and me and Harriett have been living in each other's pockets in anticipation of her leaving next week. So if you're wondering if we'd dropped off the planet, think again!

So I don't want to embarrass my darling friend, but me and Elsa have become penpals over the last few months. She kindly sent me this magazine made in 1943 a little while ago from my favorite vintage Stockholm shop, 'Old touch'. I just had to ask my darling friend Erika to translate it for me so I could share.

Swedish Magazine – Damernas Värld (Ladies World – one of the biggest women’s magazines in Sweden)

Nr 14 1943 Prize for a single copy: 30 öre (1 öre makes a Swedish krona) In Finland: 3,50 Finish marks
Karin Bernadotte (First wife to a great-uncle of our king) and other famous mothers on children’s clothing.
The woman on the cover is the variety show star Ester Estery.

Red Title: What we will purchase this spring?
What? That is the question every woman asks with a more or less sad look on clothing card and budget, as the air gets milder and

the winds of vanity is blowing spring like and tempting. We have let the question to be answered by four of the country’s most fashionable/clothing knowledgeable ladies, and here are the answers in both words and pictures!

Upper paragraph: Mrs Göta Garden will in time for spring get two nice coats: a swagger in an oat flour coloured fabric with a brown ripshatt (ed: a former type of cotton) and a navy blue coat with white dots in an elegant cutting/pattern. Mrs. Garden’s walking outfit is of a golden coloured handicraft fabric, and the dress, an old gray which now is dyed navy blue, became as new with the little white jabot.
Paragraph in the bottom right corner: Madame Lou-Lou will dress in blue. The flattering coat is in navy blue, and to it Madame will wear a small hat with pink roses. The dress is of checked blue and white sidelong. It is sawn in a simple and flattering pattern with a wide, bell shaped coat at the bottom.

Upper Right corner: Mrs. Célie Brunius is keeping herself to the black and strict, a dress with funny drapings and a chic black suite. Two blouses in pale pastel colours is also part of the designs that Mrs. Brunius has obtained this spring.

Bottom left corner: Mrs. Marja Bratt has let three equally beautiful as useful designs be made: a linen suite of black moiré with white tulle, a light gray flannel suite with white piqué collar and metal stars instead of buttons, and a delightful evening dress in cornflower blue chiffon with a enormously wide skirt.

Headline: Blouses for spring and summer.
Upper right corner: DV 491 Flattering and original blouse in checked flannel. It is cut diagonally and with a wide kimono sleeve. Notice the dickey which is attached as a decoration on the blouse. Pattern after measurement. 1:85 plus postage.
DV 492 We have seen many blouses at the catwalk in the same material as this one: silk and lace which has been saved from old garments. Pattern after measurement. 1:85 plus postage.
Bottom right corner: DV 489. The material of this blouse model is a patterned wash silk which has an amusing collar with a knotted wide scarf of the fabric. Long sleeves, weakly creased by the wide edges at the wrists. Pattern after measurement. 1:85 plus postage.
DV 490 It fits perfectly for this chic blouse to the summer suite if one has small pieces of leftover silk in suitable colours. It has short sleeves and a sport collar and small nacre buttons. Pattern after measurement. 1:85 plus postage.

Page Six and Seven
Headline: Focus on the tunic
First paragraph center page 6: Who wouldn’t like an afternoon dress made at one of Stockholm’s distinguished studios - can’t be anyone who wouldn’t wish for that. Choose which model you like the most and send a letter to the editorial staff of Ladies world before the 12th of April. The model who receives the most votes will become the wishing model of the week and the writer of the first correct answer will win the dress. Mark the envelope “This weeks wishing model”.
DV444: Simple but attractive afternoon dress. The wide waist continues in a richly creased (piece of fabric) down the side. The rest of the dress is smooth with long tight sleeves.
DV445: Another flattering model with amusingly arranged bodice. The long sleeves continue in a lace on the bodice both at the front and back. Either buttons or zip to the waist at the back. Thin belt tied to a bow in the back..DV446: This original model has a plated apron attached a bit under the waist. DV447: A description of the dress which has a bell shaped skirt.

DV448: An elegant model with long creased apron/skirt.DV449: A delightful youthful model with embroidery on collar and pockets in a unique execution.

This page consists of a question segment on the right where the readers can send in questions to a Mrs. Eva. One is not allowed to ask personal questions, only matters regarding clothes. One reader is asking a question regarding an outfit for a wedding she is attending. The reader is a bit large and don’t know what to wear. The outfits on the bottom of the page are suggestions from Mrs. Eva to the reader.

Thank you so much for this beautiful magazine Elsa and thank you for translating Erika. You went beyond kindness! Hope you enjoyed the post, love Aimee xx

P.s. I will write about this in more depth later but I'm currently listing a lot of clothes in my etsy shop.