Lady Jardin on VintageBrighton.com

 

 Bit delayed, but I recently had the honour of being featured on VintageBrighton.com, our local hub for all things Vintage related and one of my most visited sites when looking up forthcoming events and shop reviews.

 

Please follow the link below if you fancy having a read :)

 

VintageBrighton.com

 

 

Thank you to the lovely Jo-Ann Fortune for letting me be a part of VintageBrighton.com, and a huge thank you to all me loyal followers and fellow bloggers for sticking with me and following me along my journey into all things Vintage, Crafty and Creative!

 

Much Love from Brighton,

 

L.J.

xxx



Vintage Nation - Brighton Racecourse

Rather delayed, but The Mister and I got papped while at the Vintage Nation event held up at the windy, and very cold racecourse. Having to keep the posts rather short for the moment due to crappy hands again, please excuse! The majority of the day was spent indoors due to the blistering cold weather we had, and sadly only 5 classic cars turned up with us in the end, but there was plenty to keep us warm and busy on the inside, including shopping shopping shopping, a bit of dancing and at least the one ginger beer at Crabbie's, yum yum!

The lovely Mat from Southern Retro took a few snaps of us shivering outside with Tilly Triumph, which then appeared here on VintageBrighton.com:

And appearing for the first time ever on here, let me introduce you to my Mister. That jacket was a labour of love and has taken many years of car shows and collecting of patches to put together. You will find him wearing this at most classic car shows, including the big grin on his face! Tilly is his pride and joy, and the other woman in our relationship ;)

I do hope they put this on again next year, but perhaps a little later in the season, and with the upstairs floor used for something so it's not so weather dependant. Would recommend it though for a rummage around the stalls!

Much love from Brighton,

L.J.

xxx

Vintage Hair Lounge visit Harlem Hair, Hove

On Monday, I joined the girls for an afternoon being models for a training session run by the amazingly talented Gloria and Sharon of Vintage Hair Lounge, at Harlem Hair in Hove.

The team spent a busy afternoon curling our hair into beautiful vintage styles, some of us receiving 1940's pin curls, 50's victory rolls or 60's beehives. I had no idea how many layers went into making these styles the proper way, it was incredible to watch them all slowly building up. Now I truely understand why girls used to say they couldn't come out, they had to do their hair! 4 hours later, with make up done and hair perfetly in place, we went downstairs for a little photoshoot with photographer Scott Chalmers.

Here's the first picture they've posted up so far :)

As soon as they've finished loading all the other girls, I will share them all with you, you have to see their hair!! Jaw dropping stuff I tell you!

Hair - Anna Lewis

Make-Up - Molly Dickie

Dress - Oh! So Vintage, Isle of Wight

Cardi - Made by Me!

Bracelet - Antiques Fair, Rottingdean

Harlem Hair will be offering Vintage hair styling in the future, so next time you are planning a night out in Brighton, I would thoroughly recommend you go pay them a visit. I have been waiting for somewhere in town to start doing this, and my prayers have finally been answered! I'm sure I'll be visiting them again, can't wait to see next time's creation :)

Jenny Mearns of Frantic about Frances was also having her hair done on the day and she had THE most amazing Beehive. Being all dressed up at 5pm and nothing to do, we had to go for cocktails with the boys after! It would have been silly not to ;) hehe. Naughty Naughty, drinking on a school night!

 

I even managed to sleep with a headscarf on and keep the front up the next day! That hair was rrock solid, perfect for a windy day at the seaside.

Much Love from Brighton,

L.J.

xxx

Shimmy Shakin' what Mama gave me!

First off, I want to say a massive thank you for all your lovely comments on last week's posts. I was actually really nervous and felt a bit shy after posting those pictures up. Wasn't sure how you were going to take it! But you have said nothing but kind words, in a week where I really had to overcome my bum and thigh complex, because I was about to bear all to a rather larger audience than I'm used to!

And also welcome to my new followers! I promise, there will be some un-burlesquey and more crafty posts to come. And I have finally hit, and gone past my personal target of 75 :) woop woop! This means I need to get organised and run a long overdue Give-away! More details on that later this week!

Last Sunday I was very lucky to take part in the Brighton Boutique Charity Fashion show, being held at Oceana on the seafront. Jenny Mearns, the brains behind the super cute pin-up lingerie shop Frantic about Frances asked me to open up her show on the day (she's a brave girl, she'd never even seen me perform before...but then not many have! Must make more effort....). Aaaanywho's....we met last year at the Vintagebrighton.com's 1st Birthday, and I have kept my eyes peeled on Jenny's site since, and watched the collection grow into the amazingly kitch cute line it is now!

She made me an outfit, even picked out the music, and I had about 10 days to make up a routine in ready for the show on the Sunday, yikes! However, many frantic email back and forth leading up to the event, we had a last minute run through when we arrived and then spent the morning getting our hair done, faces painted, and panties positioned.

Here's a sneak preview from behind the scenes, with the models just having gotten into their outfits, how cute are they?

Needless to say I was exceptionally nervous. I haven't done one of these shows since the Royal Wedding themed one last year, and that was only to a crowd of 20 people, this one was to 200+ *gulp*

So how did it go? Apart from having horrible visions of falling off the stage straight into someones lap, legs feeling like they were about to melt away, it was actually extremely liberating!! I had such an amaazing time, and now I remember why I did it last time! The stage was super narrow...it was a catwalk, but I'm proud to report I got through it, no one was hurt during the perfomance (apart form my parasol which is now looking a little worse for wear), and no nipple tassles came flying off. Hurray!!

So here are some piccies taken by the lovely photographers from the day:

Backstage, seconds before going on. love those bows on the front of the corset!!

And in chronological order .....If you switch through them quite quick, it might look like a movie....it's worth a try anyway : P

Photography by Patrick Le Garsmeur

Photography by Patrick Le Garsmeur

Photography by Patrick Le Garsmeur

Photography by Malcolm Tam

I'm looking forward to helping Jenny again in the future, and if any of you are in Brighton this Saturday, make sure you head down to the Mesmerist, she's going to be holding a sample sale of all those lovely knickers!!

 Much Love from Brighton

 L.J.

xxx

Thrifting for a new home

As you know, we recently moved across town to the Kemp Town/Queens Park area of Brighton, the Mister and my first flat together. As you can imagine, there has been a lot of ruthless sorting, tears and tantrums in the process of unpacking, but after quite some time, we are now slowly getting there and seeing the benefit.

Both the Mister and I are great hoarders, and find it very very difficult to part with anything (even silly mini-golf scorecards from our holidays!) so I've been having fun moving bits about and playing tetris in our new basement flat. 

It is quite dark, so I've been on a mission to buy lights and lampshades to make it feel more cosy. 

I am now addicted to all things thirfting. I cannot pass a charity shop, antique centre or flea market without having to pop in and have a quick rummage. And this also meant learning to resist temptation to buy anything and everything, and to have a rather flexible shopping list but a very strict budget. Nothing is allowed to be over £45, unless it is that extra super special something I've had my eye on for a while. No Emma....RESIST!!

So on our way home this afternoon after a weekend with some friends in their lovely new home in South London, we popped into my favourite Antiques Centre in Lewes. I have wanted a chair for the bedroom since we first moved in, but had a pretty particular idea in my head, and have been trying to stick to a red yellow orange kind of theme. The Mister kept pointing out various options not to my picky likings, and as we were about to leave, he picked up a blanket and underneath was hidden our new bedroom chair!! 

In a gloriously bright yellow and orange textured wool, and only £30 to boot! I was one happy bunny and went skipping back to the car, with the Mister trying to avoid knocking anything over in the shop. 

This will be my new sewing and repairs corner of the Den. The Misters Mum passed on the sewing box to me after finding another one while they were clearing out his Grandma's old house. The hat box serves as a handy storage box for some bits and bobs for my sewing machine, picked up while on Holiday this summer on the IOW for £5. The sewing machine fits quite nicely on the windowsill, and now I just need to take my old radio to get fixed, it stopped working after the move :( but luckily I have a specialist in Vintage Radios around the corner from work so am taking it in this week.

I also picked up a few bits and bobs for my improvised dressing table as we have no room in the bedroom for one. Consisting of The Misters Mum's old chest of G-Plan drawers, and an old mirror I picked up when I first moved out. The Basset and the jar in the back are today's new additions from Lewes for a couple of quid each, the art deco perfume bottle was last years Birthday present, and I found the green clock in the flea market on Upper Gardener Street a few weeks back. It still works, but the ticking is annoyingly loud and keeps me up at night, so I have to hide it in my drawers to shut the thing up....which sort of defeats the object of having an alarm clock really! But I like it, its pretty :)

The Misters side of the bed. Various suitcases picked up over the years. We now have too many and have had to hide them under the bed, behind the door, and on top of a wardrobe, as well as stacking them up next to his chest of drawers. I told you we are hoarders. I cannot resist and a bargain is too good. All picked up at car boots and charity shops for a fraction of a price sold at antiques fairs. The chest of drawers came from the Brighton Flea Market around the corner from the flat, for a £5! They were going to get rid of it if no one bought it because it had a few dinks...it still works, it's not broken, so why chuck it on the skip? Mine now!

We're still in the process of sorting through our mess, but if you wanted, I could give you a little peak at the living room? We managed to pick up the most gorgeous 1930's Sofa that turns into a chaise longues, which I spotted in the Friday-Ad for £30. I do love those bargains!

Much Love from Brighton

L.J.

xxx 

VintageBrighton.com's very 1st Birthday

First off:

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO VINTAGE BRIGHTON!!

The beautiful Jo-Ann Fortune, who has been running VintageBrighton's website and spreading her love of all things vintage, organised a Birthday party/Networking event for us fellow lovers of vintage. Held at the Iron Duke in Hove, I knew by reading down the list of names on the invites that it would be a winner, and that I had to be there. 

For those of you who have not come across VintageBrighton's website before, here is what Jo-Ann has to say about it:

'Celebrating the South Coast’s thriving vintage scene, VintageBrighton.com is an essential resource for all vintage-lovers in Brighton and beyond.

As well as a vintage shop directory and vintage events listings, to help you plan shopping trips and fun times, blog posts and features also provide inspiration, information and intrigue on the styles of the past.

Established and managed by Brighton-based journalist, editor and vintage-lover Jo-ann Fortune, VintageBrighton.com is fed by a small team of talented local writers, photographers and other creative types.''

I was glad to see a face I recognised as soon as I walked through the front door. Mat Keller, of Southern Retro fame, introduced me to stunningly beautiful Lauren Early, who, like myself, has sat for Matt before. (Currently in discussions with poor old Matt to have my shoot re done for the website! hehe)

I have to admit I was quite nervous when I turned up, knowing only Mat, and never having actually met Jo-Ann in the flesh before, but everyone I met was truly lovely. Lots of business cards were exchanged, as well as a lot of chit chatting about all things vintage. I definitely picked up quite a lot of helpful hints and tips so thank you ladies and gents!

L-R - (Mr Fortune, the lovely host of the night Jo-Ann Fortune, Lauren Early, Jessie Jumbles and Mat Keller)

To celebrate it's 1st Birthday, there was also a vintage-themed Raffle, with prizes including a £25 voucher to spend at Beyond Retro, a years subscription to Vintage Explorer magazine, and £50 worth of china for hire from locally based Roses All Over, amongst a few other prizes....and lucky me won:

The Mister was actually quite chuffed when I brought them home, he's been flicking through Look and Learn Book for Boys ever since, and I've been having a giggle at the stories in the girls annual too!

Jo-Ann's latest work has been writing features for Vintage Explorer, a new magazine aimed at those with a love of all things Vintage. Because of this, she was given a stash of copies to pass around, and I swiftly bagged my copy up ready to read on the way home. What a treat! 

I have been waiting for a quality vintage magazine (other than the Chap of course ;) ) to come out for god know's how long. Having been a little disappointed in Vintage Life magazine (I'm sorry, but I just can't afford to pay that amount for a magazine, and although it is a very pretty magazine in itself, it doesn't deliver quite what I'm after, and I am always left a feeling a little let down after the initial excitement.), Vintage Explorer does not disappoint! Filled to the brim with interesting and informative articles, featuring local auction details and insights, hints and tips, and one of the best things of all, a full directory of all major vintage events happening across the UK! No longer shall I miss out on an event and only find out about it 3 days later!

Although I was given this copy for free, I will definitely be waiting outside the local newsagent for my next copy as soon as it comes out! It is so nice to finally have a vintage magazine that doesn't just focus on 'the look' but actually goes into the history, the designers, lifestyles, and home furnishings. I think the only thing this magazine might be missing is a Classic Car section, but then that's just me ;)

And if you are now hungry for a copy of your own, and happen to be local, go ask Jo-Ann very nicely, and she MIGHT, MIGHT have a few spare copies knocking around. But if you are interested, let me know and I will try nabbing a few more copies myself to pass on to you all. You too will be addicted real soon!

Actually got my hands on a copy of Vintage Explorer and couldn't wait to get it home for a read...

As this was a Vintage Networking event, I knew others would be making quite an effort, so I managed to find this hat at the Upper Gardener Street Market yesterday for £2!!! It is an original 40s Harrod's hat, and although two of the feathers are looking a little worse for wear, I think it still has quite a bit of life left in it.

I think this is how you are meant to wear this style of hat, but to be honest with you, I'm not 100% certain, so please let me know if it's upside down, back to front, inside out etc. There doesn't seem to be any way of fastening this hat to your head, so I just used 2 bobby pins either side to hold it tight. Tips much appreciated! Should I perhaps sew some elastic into it?!

Much Love from Brighton,

This is what I came home to last night, a full pack at the Den!

L.J.

xxx