Fashion We Wore - Celebrating 70 Years of Everyday Style & Society in Britain

I spied this publication while grocery shopping this weekend, and after the customary leaf through the one at the front, I nabbed one from the back to take home with me. 'Fashion We Wore' is a souvenir book priced at £4.99 and published by Yours Magazine, normally the preserve of bizarre household tips, short stories about duck ponds, and pictures of people's chocolate-smeared grandchildren.


The book however is an excellent record of real British fashion from WWII - now, although the focus is most definitely on the 1940s and 50s. A few pages are dedicated to a timeline charting fashion across the eras with a couple of truly awful 1970s - 80s oufits pictured, but the bulk of the book is made up of lovely old mid-century photographs submitted by the elderly readers of Yours Magazine. Because of this there are not many pictures from before 1940 as most of that generation has passed, but the few that are included from the 1910s - 1930s are real gems, especially the bridal ones.


Each picture includes a small reminiscence about the clothes and the setting of the picture, and it really is wonderful to gain a glimpse into the lives and wardrobes of everyday British women. I especially enjoyed the ones where the clothes were homemade to keep up with the latest fashions, and the pride conveyed in the contributors' stories.


The book also contains features on style icons from actresses to princesses, fashion advertising of the time, and has special sections devoted to vintage beachwear, wedding gowns, outerwear, children's clothing, accessories and make-do-and-mend! I think it'd be great inspiration for vintage sewers or those who like to replicate an authentic vintage look, and it really is fantastic to see precious family memories of the past brought to life through the marvellous pictures of people's outfits.


I got mine in Tesco, you should be able to find it in any good newsagent or supermarket!

Retro Fruit Jewellery!

After posting about them here I decided to make more than shoe clips from my polymer clay fruits, so this week I made a necklace, bracelet and two brooches which can also be pinned to shoes. The post on my shoe-making adventures is coming soon! I also made another necklace for my friend Steff's birthday.


I formed the fruits from polymer clay in solid base colours, then hand painted and varnished them.


Here is a picture of my face, wearing the necklace and my Cramps t-shirt.

The red and black beads and the tiny yellow separator beads are glass, the little turquoise ones are plastic, and I added silver plated clasps.

Vintage finds, March - April!

Here are my vintage finds for the last few weeks!

I though I'd already posted this, but it seems not...


Atomic print ice bucket, £14.99 from Roewood Collectables on eBay, they have some really nice things and have their own website too. I first saw this bucket on Fiona of Notorious Kitsch's blog, Straight Talking Mama, but nobody else bid on it so it is mine! Thanks for the recommendation, Fiona!


Another necklace for my uranium glass collection, £3.99, Oxfam. This must be very old as it is a pale green and fluoresces in sunlight, meaning the uranium content is high, indicating an early piece. It could do with restringing, as someone has threaded it on white household string at some point!


Cute vintage saucer, 75p, second hand shop.


Isn't the print sweet? I'd love to know more about it, unfortunately it is unmarked.


Dressing table tray, 99p, charity shop.


1950s cocktail print shot glasses, £6, Affleck's Palace.


I'd intended them to be a gift but couldn't part with them in the end!


Pink tureen, £4.50, charity shop.

Today, I took Scamp to the vet to get some antibiotics for a dental cyst. Here he is zonked out on painkillers, the cyst is visible as a lump under his eye, aww...


...and on the way home, I spied this beauty stuffed between some bits of wood and an old sofa waiting to be thrown out.


This Victorian antique mirror! According to our old friend Wikipedia, the rococo revival period was 1820-1870, so I can date my mirror to the mid 19th century. (Incidentally, what's the name of the period before Victorian? I always thought it was Georgian, but the monarch preceding Victoria was William IV. Confusing!)

It could do with that horrible white gloss paint being stripped off and restoring to gold (some of the original gilt is visible on the back), and at some point someone has pulled off the backboard so the silvering of the mirror glass has some visible scratches, but I don't think they're too detrimental to it. It's 26" high and original/restored pieces like it go for hundreds of pounds, so I think getting it for nothing from a rubbish heap is pretty lucky :)

What's for dinner?

A massive vegan pizza!


Fresh dough and garlicky tomato sauce, olives, mushrooms, onions, capers, spicy tofu bits and Sunblush tomatoes, topped with Cheezly melting mozzarella style fake cheese and fresh basil. Mmm!

Outfit & Jumble Sale Goodies

On Saturday morning I met my friend Ciana for a jumble sale at a local retirement home. Here is what I wore:


Jeans - Freddies of Pinewood
Red leopard cardigan - eBay
Red leopard belt - New Look
Red leopard pumps - Tesco
Cowboy print headscarf - Cath Kidston


Here's a closeup of my jewellery - 50s fruit necklace from my friend Steff, celluloid pink bunny brooch (40s?) from ebay.

Here are a couple of my finds from the jumble sale:


1930s vase/small planter, 30p.


1950s drinking glasses, 50p. (They're the same size, the photograph makes the front one look bigger!)