We'll Meet Again (Vera Lynn, Johnny Cash), Remembrance Sunday

Cath Kidston Cuties!

I'm a huge fan of Cath Kidston. I don't think there is a room in my house that doesn't have something from this store to brighten it up and make me smile. Over the past couple of years the brand has moved from strength to strength, opening a flagship London store as well as smaller shops in most major cities in the UK. One of the most popular parts of the Cath Kidston collection is now the dress range. The explosion in interest in Cath Kidston dresses began with the bird and toadstool dresses last year and has been followed up with new prints this year.

Here are my favourite dresses, bags, nightwear and homeware pieces from the Autumn collection...

Vintage By The Sea

Last weekend saw the return of Wayne Hemingway's 'Vintage By The Sea' festival. Taking place in the charming but often forgotten Northern seaside town of Morecambe, this was the second year in a row that Vintage has returned to the bay. The festival is centred around the grand, art deco hotel, The Midland along side the beautiful unrestored theatre The Winter Gardens and the unique 'Platform' pub, housed in Morecambe's old railway station.

It usually takes around an hour and a half to get to Morecambe from Liverpool but at weekends the traffic is horrendous. The main route to Morecambe takes drivers directly through Lancaster and in total, it took around 3 hours for us to make our way to the festival (and even more to find a precious parking space once we arrived!). Anyway, the long journey to Morecambe was worthwhile and we had a wonderful day at the seaside!

I've been to two of the Hemingway's festival's before -Vintage at Goodwood and last year's 'By The Sea' event- and I have come to expect a lot from these wonderful ventures. This year, no doubt encouraged by the beautiful weather, the festival drew a spectacular crowd of sightseers. The entire promenade was packed for at least half a mile with day trippers enjoying the vintage fairground, free live music and homemade food.

We made our way from the prom over to The Platform pub for a rustic cheese and red onion marmalade sandwich and a cider from the London Bus Bar. I didn't expect to be sitting on the grass in the sunshine in September but it was just beautiful! While we ate, we watched jive dance lessons taking place outside the pub before making our way into the venue to visit the vintage fair. I was surprised to see that photographer Ged Clegg had taken a picture of me on my way in! Doesn't the girl in yellow (in front of me) look fabulous?

There wasn't much time but I managed to have a good rummage around the vintage stalls and I bagged a couple of little gems. A 1950s stripe shirt dress and a black straw and bamboo bag! I could have easily spent a lot more money in there so it's probably just as well that they were closing at 4pm!

After the vintage market we headed over to browse the craft fair inside The Midland Hotel. Inside the foyer was a vintage DJ spinning tracks from the 1930s and 40s and a bar serving Pimms! We squeezed our way into the craft fair and watched ladies making hand printed aprons, customising old clothes with applique, printing Morecambe themed posters and creating handmade hair flowers, it was lovely! Next year, I will make sure we get there earlier so I have time to get involved with some vintage handicrafts!

Outside of The Midland was a vintage car show with a focus on 3-wheelers! I've never seen these cars before! I also got to pose with some beautiful 1940s and 50s cars and enjoyed watching the owners dressed up to perfectly compliment their vehicles!

We took a ride on the vintage ferris wheel, ate ice cream from my favourite vintage ice cream van, browsed an old fashioned book shop and took a walk along the pier to buy a good old fashioned chip butty. I can't wait for the next festival!

I wore my Tatyana dress to Vintage By The Sea. It's a fabulous dress with the most beautiful neckline, as you can see. I bought it in Nashville (30% off!) and it is authentically mid century, duplicated from a dress that actress Shirlee Teggee wore in 1949. It's made from a stretch cotton and has a metal zipper, authentic to the era. It really fits and feels like a vintage dress and made me feel fabulous all day. I wore it with my Office peep toe shoes, repro cats eye glasses and a vintage 1950s wicker and lucite handbag from Flashback Boutique in Memphis.

Wednesday Wants -20th Century Foxy

I'm a big fan of 20th Century Foxy designs and I wore my 'Trudy Scrumptious Day Dress' to death on my recent trip to the States. Their dresses fit like a dream, are extremely well made and because they aren't quite as  popular (yet!) as similarly priced brands like Vivien of Holloway or Collectif, it is extremely unlikely that you will bump into another gal wearing the same thing at an event (nightmare, no?).

 

I always have a wish list as long as my arm for this website but here are a few of current favourites. The fuchsia and grey dress is perfect for Autumn/Winter parties all the way through to Christmas. The fabric reminds me of a Pinup Girl Dress I've had my eye on for the last year but with the added bonus of the cover up.

The green dress is just perfect for Autumn accessorised with a pair of Mary-Janes, victory rolls and curls. The candy stripe shirt dress and red 40s dress just scream 'Christmas' to me although they could be worn tall year round (how cute would the striped dress be for a summer picnic?).

The blue summer dress appears to be the same shape as my Trudy Srumptious dress but with a super cute tea-time print featuring little kettles, daisies and spoons. I can't really justify spending so much on a summer dress at this point in the year so I just hope they bring it back next spring time!

Have you bought anything from 20th Century Foxy? I'd love to see your pictures!

Buy direct from 20th Century Foxy here... http://www.20thcenturyfoxy.com/en/index/a1 

Beale Street Beauty

Beale Street attracts tourists in droves. All day, every day bars blast the Blues into the streets and come nightfall, it becomes difficult to move, with hordes of revellers queuing to get onto the street past the police cordons and burly doormen. The atmosphere is laid back, the people friendly and the beer, super-sized.

My very favourite place on Beale Street, without a doubt, is A.Schwab, the most spectacular nostalgia store, museum, soda fountain and ice cream parlour, you will have the good fortune to stumble upon in Memphis. I love everything about this place, the original windows and facade, the wooden floorboards and the wonderful selection of cute tablecloths, toys, shirts and cigar box guitars. The best bit though, is the ice cream parlour and soda fountain, complete with candy coloured tablecloths, striped paper straws and 'create your own' soda fountain.

I went back to A. Schwabs twice. I couldn't leave Memphis without trying the ice cream could I? I also scooped a green floral 30s style tablecloth to remind me of our visit. Next time I'm in memphis, this place will be top of my Beale Street list!

One thing I find that Beale Street -a street in the city that gave birth to rockabilly via Sun Studios- is sometimes lacking, is good old fashioned rock n roll. Modern and old school Blues can be found in abundance throughout the bars along the street, pop and soul are a mainstay of the karaoke but you will have to weave your way through the crowds to the very bottom of Beale Street to hear the music made famous by the Million Dollar Quartet at Jerry Lee Lewis' Cafe and Honky Tonk.  Admittedly, this place can be cheesier than a Papa John's pizza at times and at some point during the night, someone is fairly likely to don an Elvis jumpsuit circa 1976 but there are moments of genius, particularly if you manage to catch one of Jason James' shows.

At this end of the street you will also come across 2 beautiful theatre venues -The New Daisy and the Daisy. During the week, these venues look derelict in the day time but in the evening at weekends the beautiful facades becomes home to a cocktail and beer bar and a make shift stage area for open air performances from blues bands and DJs. I couldn't resist a little spin in my 1950s 20th Century Foxy dress!

Have you been to a city with some hidden gems? I'd love to hear about them!

Taking Care of Business

As part of the big trip to Tennessee and as an Elvis Presley fan, a trip to Gracelands was clearly in order. I've been to Gracelands before and of course, the house stays the same but there is much more to Gracelands than just the estate itself. Around the edge of Gracelands, owned by EP enterprises is a collection of museums (housing his outfits, planes, cars -including the pink Cadillac- and more), a variety of shops and a handful of diners including 'Rockabilly's Cafe'.

We started the day with tour of the mansion itself, walking up those famous steps and through the front door into what is, by today's rock star standards, a modest, comfortable, personal family home with more than touch of extravagant 70s kitsch!

With my plane, obviously.

Vivien of Holloway at Gracelands, Memphis

I have been a huge fan of Vivien of Holloway for some years now. It's the first repro-vintage brand that  I discovered, back when the shop was over a motorcycle shop at the back of Camden market. Since then the brand has gone from strength to strength and it's very easy to see why! Unlike some of the other authentic reproduction brands, Holloway have a relatively quick turnover of new prints and styles so there is always something new for vintage fans to covet (my poor bank account!). 

I've tried a few different styles of Viv dresses over recent years but the style that fills my wardrobe (like many other fans) is the halter neck circle dress. For those who are yet to sample the delights of Vivien of Holloway, you need to know your waist size and order according to that. If you shop in store, I would recommend going at least one size (maybe two depending on the fabric) up from your modern sizing. The circle dresses are cut to finish perfectly with a standard length petticoat, zip at the back and have a boned and shaped bodice for a super flattering fit that you really won't get from a lot of cheaper vintage brands.

Now, many people reserve these dresses for special occasions but I will generally take any opportunity to wear a pretty dress. I've worn my dresses to theme parks, for days out in the country, shopping in the city and of course, for weddings! Back in February, I was lucky enough to win a picture competition on Viv's fan page and I put my winnings to work on a couple of new Viv dresses -a cherry halter dress and (daringly for me!) a leopard wiggle dress. I recently wore the white cherry halter neck circle dress for my mum's wedding in Memphis and I thought I'd take the opportunity to show this gorgeous dress off in a wonderful location!

At the chapel at Gracelands

Gracelands

Outside Gracelands -fan graffiti!

Sun Studios

Sun studios