The big problem with Vintage Fairs, unless you have a personal recommendation, is that you never know what to expect unless, of course, you have been there before.
Avril and I made the journey to Sutton Coldfield Town Hall on the East of Birmingham to visit the Sutton Vintage Arts Fair held last Sunday, 27 November 2011. We were promised 70+ stalls selling vintage fashion as well as furniture, arts, crafts and, of course, festive gifts.
Posted in Vintage Fairs
Tagged art, bazaar, christmas, clothing, crafts, Fashion, furniture, gifts, retro, stalls, Sutton Coldfield, vintage, vintage fair
Part 1 of this series is here
Part 2 of this series is here
Back in the 40s, 50s and 60s knitting was a way of life for many women and much of what was worn was knitted.
Partly this was because it was cheaper to knit an item than to buy it, but partly, too, it was to ‘put a little of oneself’ into the garment. This was particularly so for clothes intended for husbands and family and, of course, for babywear. Even today personally knitted items, like all craftwork, are much appreciated as gifts. Continue reading
Part 1 of this series is here
Part 3 of this series is here
Back in the 40s, 50s and 60s so much of what was worn was knitted and today the inclusion of even a small knitted item of clothing represents one of the best ways to get that top-to-toe, authentic vintage look.
For us now, knitting patterns are a major source of both inspiration and guidance but for the most part the knitting patterns once found every week in woman’s magazines have disappeared. However, technology has come to our rescue and one of the best sources of patterns and knitting inspiration is the internet on which there is an apparently limitless wealth of knitting and craft websites. Add to this the fact that much of that information is free for the taking and you have another wonderful resource. Continue reading
Part 2 of this series is here
Part 3 of this series is here
One thing that typified the 1960s (and for that matter the 1940s and 50s) was the sheer quantity and quality of the knitted clothing worn by men, women and children alike. Almost everyone had some knitted item and they were an inexpensive way to produce clothing and also show off creative designs.
And, since little in reality changes over the years, the ability to create knitted clothes these days is an easy, pleasant and relatively quick way to get that authentic vintage look, as well as being a good way to express individuality.
But, of course, times do change and today it’s not every girl who learns to knit at her mother’s knee. However, even if your knitting is a subject in development, there is still a lot you can do. In fact, it’s often more useful to be able to produce just simple hats, scarves and jumpers. For just these items there is a seemingly endless supply of patterns that can be made up using any number of colours and styles so it’s hard not to find something useful you can wear.
But saying this misses the point. Part of the fun of vintage fashion is being able to change the colour or the style on a whim to get just the look you want and being able to quickly knit a hat or top gives you a big advantage over having to search the shops. In addition knitting allows you to make an item in whatever size you want and so dispenses with that awful problem of having to find something your size or, worse, finding that they have just sold out. Continue reading
Rockabilly is the term coined to cover the new fusion of rock and roll and country music that spread through America and then to the UK in the early years of the 1950s. It’s a handy term, too, to cover the fashion of 1950s and into the early years of the 1960s decade.
Continue reading
Part 1 Introduction
Part 2 Tie-Dye
Part 3 The Military Look
It’s often the accessories, not the clothes, that make the style and last week we looked at Britain and the Military Look. But that’s only half the story; at the same time Britain, like most other countries, was influenced by the hippie movement taking place in the USA.
This movement was based on a disaffection with the values and direction of society and wanted to see a return to traditional and older, seemingly more secure, values. Thus, the three overriding considerations for the hippie look were:
1. Make it yourself. Anything that could be home produced, like bead necklaces, simple metal finger rings, tie-dyed scarves or body painted artwork was extensively used and innovated. It was all the better if these were revived ancient or medieval art forms.
2. There was great respect for ethnic art forms that were hand produced rather than mass produced and these were sourced from wherever they could be found. In America, the art of the native Americans was valued while in Britain we looked towards the middle East and North Africa choosing leather work for belts and fastening and handmade bracelets along with all manner of jewellery as well as looking into our own past.
3. There was respect, too, for quality second-hand items. People spent time searching for used clothing that was both unusual and of good quality and virtually anything could be worn with anything else. I remember a girlfriend who had a very old but genuine fur coat which she wore throughout the year with anything, no matter how hot it was!
Part 1 Introduction
Part 2 Tie-Dye
Part 4 Hippie Accessories
Tie-dying, covered in last weeks post, was one way to create your own individual look but, in the late 60s, something much more military and unexpected appeared.
The Portobello Road in London’s Notting Hill district was (and is) famous for it’s street market and, in the middle years of the 1960s, it hosted a stall selling all manner of ex-government military uniforms. The stall, owned by John Paul and Ian Fisk, later expanded to a shop nearby called ‘I Was Lord Kitchener’s Valet’ managed by Robert Orbach. The name of the shop was chosen to conjure up images of Edwardian clothing.
Posted in Fashion
Tagged 1960s, 60s, clothes, clothing, colours, dress, fad, hair, hippy, information, kitchener, men' fashions, military, portobello, sgt pepper, sixties, styles
Part 1 Introduction
Part 3 The Military Look
Part 4 Hippie Accessories
Last week’s post was a short history of how and why hippy fashions developed but now we look at individual facets of hippy fashion and hippy ideas to see how the look was created.
All fashion is a restatement of what has gone before, there is nothing new, and hippy fashion exploited this to the full. Many old crafts were resurrected, artistically changed and put to work decorating the mix of Victorian (and older) styles and ideas which form the basis of hippy clothing. It was a colourful time, a time of rustic charm and harmony in complete contrast to the period that had gone before and nowhere was this more obvious than in the process of tie-dying.
Posted in Fashion
Tagged 1960s, 60s, beads, clothes, clothing, colours, dress, fad, flower power, hair, hairstyles, hippy, information, kaftan, men' fashions, sixties, styles, tie dye, women's fashions
