How to mix vintage and high street

To bag two trends with one item get yourself a pair of leopard print leggings.  Printed leggings are everywhere at the moment, as is leopard print.  They are a great statement piece that can be worn day or night.

A great daytime look is to team the leggings with a washed out tee and a cute over sized cardigan.  Print clashing is all about confidence.  I wore this look with some fur lined ankle boots and finished it off with a knitted headband and vintage Chanel handbag.  (Leggings - topshop, tee - h&m, cardigan - vintage, bag - vintage, boots - red or dead, headband - topshop)

All it takes to transform that look for the evening is to add some colour pop heels and a slick of red lipstick.  you could also add some draped beads or a clutch.  (shoes - topshop, lipstick - maybelline 530 fatal red)

A trend that looks set to stay is the cropped or tie front blouses.  I like the ditsy floral prints of summer however they can sometimes look out of place in your winter wardrobe.  Here are a couple of ideas to incorporate them in easy ways.  

I live in cut off Levis.  I love the contrast of bare arms and thick warm leggings.  If I was going out for a coffee  I would probably add a chunky knit scarf and possibly some mid length gloves depending on how cold it was.  (Shorts - vintage Levis, top - urban outfitters, boots - schuh, leggings - zara)

Too cold for just a scarf?  Add a printed over shirt for an extra dimension without getting too hot.  (Shirts - all saints)

For a wintery day pop on a cable knit cardigan over your tie-top.  This keeps you cosy whilst showing off the tie detailing.  I like a bit of colour matching with the fur of the boot but a bright colour would lift the outfit too.  

I always stack on some pretty rings and shove some earrings in before going out just to finish off an outfit.  I love vintage rings as they don't turn your fingers green, however the high street does some great, cheap vintage-a-likes too so mix them up to get more for your money.  (Eyeliner - maxfactor, foundation - bobby brown, mascara - maybelline volumizer, lipstick lipstick - maybelline 530 fatal red, rings - mixture of vintage, h&m, azendi and tiffany, earrings - vintage)

Shopping Vintage Part 1

 The BoutiqueVintage guide to: Shopping Vintage

Here is a jargon free, ten-step guide to getting the complete vintage look at a fraction of the price.  This guide wont tell you to get up at a ridiculous time in the morning, it also wont advise you to attend every car boot sale within a seventy mile radius or use a lead based paint on your face for that authentic porcelain skinned look, it will however suggest ways to re-vamp your wardrobe without spending a fortune.  The aim is to help you find some beautiful, original pieces along the way!

1) Raid your relative’s wardrobes

With their consent obviously, but this can be a great way to get started with a vintage look.  By the time I started to get really interested in vintage fashion my parents had thrown out most of their old clothes, only a few survivors remained which I pounced on and claimed as my own.  That old pair of Levis your mum has will look great cut down into shorts worn over a pair of patterned tights, with some brogues and an oversized jumper for the perfect autumn look.  Tie your dad’s old shirts up at the waist and team with some statement leggings and colour pop heels for drinks in town.  The key is to put your own spin on classic pieces.  

2) Let your imagination do the talking 

OK so that old full-length skirt of your nan’s might not seem that inspiring now, but if you just look past the cut and look at the colour and pattern the possibilities are endless.  Why not cut it into a cute skater style skirt and wear it with an off the shoulder printed tee and some cute ankle boots; or keep it long but wear it belted on the waist with a cropped bandeau top and a beaded clutch for an effortless day to evening look.  If you use a little bit of imagination when looking at vintage pieces you can create a truly unique but current look.   

3) Mix it up 

Some people may not agree with me on this one, but I am a firm believer of mixing high street with vintage to keep your look on trend but original.  Just as most would never wear top to toe Topshop, I wouldn’t wear a full vintage outfit.  I think that a little era mixing creates a nice balance however trying to get everything vintage can lead to a cluttered, confusing look rather than a well thought out stylish ensemble.  My favourite look for autumn so far has been a pair of super skinny spray on black Levis jeans with pair of cute fur lined wedge heels from Topshop, an eighties tan cropped blouse and one of my oversized seventies mohair cardigans; top this off with a printed bandana and a leather satchel and this look will take you to work, shopping, out for dinner or wherever else you please!

 4) Don’t be a charity shop snob

If you look at shopping in charity shops as a way of getting your statement pieces for the season at a fraction of the high street cost then you will start to see every item in there in a whole new light.  As we have already learnt, if you use a little bit of imagination you can pick up some great pieces and style them up to suit different occasions.  Most charity shops will block by style or colour sometimes both, which is even better.  As long as you don’t go in with a concrete idea of your dream piece then you will generally find some lovely bits.  Look out for branded items, they will always be good quality and last that little bit longer.  Make sure that you leave enough time to go to a couple of different charity shops and spend a little while looking through the rails.  Sometimes you need to put in a little effort to get the most out of it but it is definitely worth it to get the right piece.  The best thing about charity shops is they don’t have any rules on seasonality.  They will have shorts, coats, knitwear and dresses in all at the same time.  So if you spot the perfect winter coat in June, pick it up. Vintage never goes out of style.  

 5) Customise your way to cutting edge

One of the most important things I have realised is that customising is key.  This can be anything from cutting some jeans down into shorts, to making a skirt out of some old material.  I have customised almost all of my vintage pieces in one way or another.  The easiest way to customise is to cut it up.  Whether it’s cutting dresses shorter, taking the arms off of a denim shirt or cropping a blouse.  It’s the easiest way to instantly update a piece and make it your own.  I’m also quite fond of replacing the buttons on an item; you can pick up vintage buttons just about anywhere, and if you don’t want vintage then pop into John Lewis and visit their haberdashery, they have jars of cute mixed buttons that brighten up anything.  I recently replaced the buttons on one of my 80’s floral playsuits with some pretty, brightly coloured ones.  I had so many compliments on it I’ve now done the same with all of them.  It doesn’t have to be playsuits, it works with cardigans, skirts, shoes, you name it.  Just make sure the buttons you choose fit into the existing button hole.  A popular customisation at the moment is studs.  Its bang on trend and will instantly add a rocky edge to any piece of clothing. Distress some bleached denim cut offs and glue on some silver studs down one side or around the pocket for a quick and easy outfit update.  In short, you don’t have to be a whiz on the sewing machine to update your clothes.

.........Next instalment soon!

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OMG!!!!!!

my nan popped by my stall last week and said she had been clearing our her wardrobes and had a little present for me...BEST PRESENT EVER?! I have loved this bag ever since I can remember.  I have been trying it on along with all of her jewellery since I was about 5.  I love you nan! x

photos galore!

I haven’t put any pictures up here yet of what it is I do on my market!  Enjoy!

first day at school

I had my first proper market day on Tuesday and after all of the stresses and worries and problems it was AMAZING!  I literally have never enjoyed anything more (sorry Sam) it was vibrant and buzzy and fast paced…there literally was never a dull moment.  It was over all too soon and I was gutted when I realised that I had to wait another whole week before I got to be there again.  Setting up the stall was harder than I had anticipated as those boards are frikkin heavy and so big that you definitely cant lift them alone.  Luckily I had the trusty boyfriend and his rather lovely mum there to help out.  Sam’s mum runs a stall two days a week so her advice and experience has been pretty much invaluable.  We lugged the boards about for a bit and went through several different sizes before I found two that were perfect.  I opted for a hessian cover as I have brown package labels and crates as props and it all seemed to match quite nicely.  Another thing I hadn’t thought of was how high up the power point is, too high, as it turns out.  That was another job for Sam to compete with.  The rule of the market is that your stall should be ready to trade by 10am latest so we got there at just after 8am and started to set up straight away.  Its surprising how long you can spend fussing over the way a rope is tied or how your hessian is laying.  We were eventually done by about 9.45am which I was pretty happy with.  What struck me was how quiet the market was while everyone was setting up.  I had assumed it was going to be loud and brash with people throwing apples about and shouting “two fer a paaand” but it was completely different.  It was as if people were not only preparing their stalls for the days trade but also themselves.  It was peaceful and there was a sense of contentment in getting their stalls perfect.  The only real noise was from a guy selling records who was switching between reggae, Elvis Presley and what sounded like the entire dirty dancing soundtrack.  This all changed when tourists started wandering around the market, as soon as the first person stepped foot into the square it was like the market burst into life, as this is a Cambridge market there is strictly no shouting or touting for business but there was cheerful banter, music, the sounds of the sewing machines and smoothie makers and chat between traders.  I loved it.  As I said, I had Sam there but everyone was so friendly and we had so many people visiting us we shouldn’t have worried about any first day nerves, I had this dread about being “the new girl” but there was no sense of cliques or groups, everyone was there for one purpose and there was definitely a feel of all being on the same team.  When 4pm came around I couldn’t believe where the day had gone, it was all a whirl of meeting new people, tweaking the layout and chatting to people about vintage, I couldn’t have wished for a better start.  I cant wait to get back on there, the only thing I was upset about was having to go back to my day job!

confrontation station

Ok so I know I haven’t blogged in ages, this is purely down to my day job taking up my whole life.  As I’ve previously mentioned, I work as a retail manager full time and also run a market stall selling vintage clothing every Tuesday.  Due to this I spend a LOT of time interacting with the public and one thing I have noticed is how quickly people will turn when they don’t get their own way.  I don’t know if it’s the colder weather or the approaching threat of Christmas that has made people so confrontational, but yesterday I had a man literally shout in my face and punch over two displays because I wouldn’t give him student discount without seeing his student card.  Before this he had been perfectly nice, we had chatted as I showed him through our range of new stock, we had joked when I tripped over trying to carry him 8 pairs of jeans, we had bonded over our dislike of stale coffee, in fact by the time it got to the payment I was pretty sure I had made a new best friend.  As I was putting the transaction through he noticed the sign saying “20% student discount with valid student ID” (please note the part about a valid student ID) and so he asked “can I have the student discount?” “of course” I replied, “can I just see your student card” that was my fatal mistake.  How could I possibly have the audacity to request some form of proof that he was in fact a student? Why on earth would I need to see that he had just told me that he was a student, why would he ask for the 20% discount otherwise?  What sort of moron was I? What was I thinking!? This torrent of abuse came so suddenly that I was actually too shocked to speak for a second and as I was recovering myself he then demanded to see the manager.  To this I replied I was the manager and I would need to see some sort of ID card with an expiry date to prove that he was studying.  Well, not only did he not believe that I was the manager, he also started shouting “don’t shop here! They rip you off!” great.  Anyway, security were called, he shouted and swore some more, punched two innocent bystanders (my display racks) and was dragged out.  When security asked me how this came about all I could say was that I honestly didn’t know and that I had just asked for a student card.  They laughed and just said “its crazy what people will do for some money off” I can honestly say I have never caused such a scene and cant imagine a situation that would compel me to do so.  Yet people do.  They shout at cashiers when they cant give them a refund, they bitch at bus drivers for getting stuck in traffic and they look down on hairdressers for providing a service.  Once a customer randomly asked me what 30% off £67 was and when I couldn’t answer straight away they laughed, patted me on the arm and said “never mind sweetheart, at least you’re good at folding jeans” I could never bring myself to treat another person like that and so I ask again, is it the cold weather or the approaching threat of Christmas that has made people so confrontational? Whatever it is, next time somebody asks for student discount, I’m getting security in just in case.