Haworth 1940s Weekend 2012

I spent this weekend walking up and down very steep cobbled hills in the lovely Yorkshire village of Haworth, which was holding its annual 1940s weekend. The whole village is decked out in Union Jack bunting and sandbags, the residents decorate the outside of their homes and the charity shops bring out all the vintage treasures they have been stockpiling! Vintage cars, military vehicles and wartime reconstructions lined the streets providing plenty for us to look at.

I had organised a trip over for several ladies on the Saturday, and although they all enjoyed it and found some great vintage buys, it was very stressful. The crowds were enormous, it was like a city shopping street on Christmas eve, except worse because nobody was in a rush to be anywhere. My sister also had her daughter in a pram, and found it very difficult to get around. I didn't get a chance to take any pictures that day, because if I had stopped to extract the camera from my bag I would have been knocked over, and the scrums in the vintage shops were shocking, there were elbows and snatching hands everywhere!

Today (Sunday) was a far more leisurely affair, the village was still busy but the crowd seemed more courteous and far less jam-packed. I risked taking the dog with me, and despite an incident with an unfriendly Jack Russell and my poor Scamp getting exhausted from walking up and down hills (he is fifteen, after all) we had a good day, he didn't get stepped on by anybody and enjoyed a picnic in the park with us.

Here is what I wore today, my new jumper knitted by my mum from a 1940s pattern. You can buy this pattern from Bex at Subversive Lesbian Anarchic Femme, available here in her etsy shop, although my mum sized it up, made the sleeves in the rib rather than cherry motif as the cherries took forever to knit, and omitted the collar.

Here's another pic of the outfit, with some chaps dressed as members of the Home Guard. Why am I doing that with my face, you ask? Well, the guy on the left of the picture is squeezing my bottom. That's why. How rude!

 

This duo were playing on the bandstand in the park, she sang a lovely rendition of La Vie en Rose.

Now, onto the vintage purchases! There was so much to choose from. Haworth has two gorgeous permanent vintage shops, loaded with *actual* quality vintage and antique clothing and accessories, not the 80s tat that shops in the city pretend is vintage. There was also a vintage fair in the church hall, and several curio and charity shops in the village which were loaded with lovely items.

 

Lovely teal mini suitcase!

I have been looking for a small suitcase or train case for ages, to store bits and bobs in at home and for when I go away for a few days or to stay at my boyfriend's at Christmas. This one is in great condition and such a pretty colour!

The lining looks good too! Inside is a pair of fully fashioned stockings I got in one of the charity shops. They are Aristoc Harmony which are quite late (I'm guessing 60s?) but were apparently some of the best ones made prior to the hosiery industry's takeover by ghastly crepey brown tights in the 70s.

1930s Uranium glass dish and spoon from the hospice shop

Another piece for my uranium glass collection!

1950s folding coolie sun hat! This is a flat shape with a popper so it can be easily packed in a holiday bag, made from some sort of straw or string, which folds into a cute cone-shaped sun bonnet.

Babycham deer!

A Babycham plastic fawn! I have eight Babycham glasses and collect fawns too, so he fits in with two collections. This is about 6" high and cost just a few pounds due to the damage on his ear. I saw one of the 4" ones in worse condition priced at £35 in Manchester the other week.

WWII Navy Sweetheart Pin

WWII Navy sweetheart pin. This is about an inch high in total. It is pretty grubby but is made from enamelled silver, it just needs a good clean!

On the way home we were behind this tiny old car! The right wheel was rather wobbly, the window flapped open whenever they turned a corner and it could only manage 20mph due to the hills.

Here is the bad part about this weekend...

Arghhhh horrendous sunburn! It's just on my right forearm and there is a touch of it on the back of my neck, this happened during the ten minutes of bright sunshine we got during the day - time to break out te factor 50 sunscreen for every day, I think. So sore and itchy!

Tiki drinks and vintage trinkets

I've been horribly ill for the last week, so haven't been up to much. I managed to drag myself out on Tuesday though, my friend Honor was in Manchester, I hadn't seen her for two years so we went out for lunch, a little shopping and a couple of drinks together. We ate at Dough Pizza Kitchen, I can recommend it very highly. Prices aren't cheap but aren't too bad (£30 for a bottle of wine, two pizzas and one item from the nibbles menu) and they do dairy free, vegan, and gluten free options alongside an inventive choice of pizzas, pastas and salads, plus vegan options on their desserts menu!


Here we are at Hula in Manchester, I'm drinking a Sweet Leilani - possibly the most delicious drink ever to pass my lips, it is a symphony of coconut, lychee, rose petal and elderflower. Mmmmmm. I brought home the decorative carnation, here it is on my sideboard.


We had a mooch round Manchester institution Affleck's Palace and I picked up these lovely yellow polka dot gloves and a rather large rhinestone brooch.


These are my other recent acquisitions, a load more vintage glassware for my uranium glass collection. I've got nowhere left to put it all!

Autumn/Winter wardrobe plan - completed items!

As promised, here are some pictures of the things I've already completed from my Autumn (and Winter) colour plan, which I designed to be a capsule wardrobe of things that match, which should also match stuff I already have and pull into regular use some pieces in my wardrobe that didn't really go with anything.


Pinafore skirt - made by me from a self-drafted pattern
Sweater - knitted by my mum from a 40s pattern
Shoes - Irregular Choice (gift from Aerospace Boyfriend)
Cherry Jewellery - Classic Hardware at Rockers England (gift from Aerospace Boyfriend)


Here's a better view of the skirt fabric and the buttons. It uses black, ruby and teal from my colour plan, along with a neutral brown.


I've now made three of these pinafore skirts - I really want to show you the yellow one I showed a sneak preview of in the post linked above, but the fabric is such a loose weave that I have now ripped the side seam twice, meaning I'm either going to have to wait until I drop a dress size to fix it, or make another one with a slightly larger hip measurement as it obviously can't cope with being pulled tight when I bend over. Curse you, ample derriere!


Everything as before, except boots from Alternative Footwear and skirt made in a black, ruby and white tartan.


Here is the jewellery I already have which fits in with the colour plan, and I can also include all my neutral diamanté and pearl pieces.


These are some lovely new bits which fit in with the scheme - two tropical hairclips made my Miss Tiki, who I met when we both had stalls at the Cheshire Go-Cats Rockabilly Meetup, which was great fun. You can find her trading on facebook here in the Ooh La La vintage swap and sell group, she doesn't have an online store yet but her things are definitely worth seeking out! We swapped for these, she took one of my teardrop shaped fascinators in teal with a cherry and cream orchid decoration.


My little octopus! His name is Osgood, I love him.


Clip - MissTiki
Sweater - Tesco, this is another A/W plan buy, I'll show it you properly when I've finished the skirt it's going to go with!
Red bandana - Rockers England
Navy swallows scarf - Primark, comes in a 2-pack with a cream and brown one with horses on it.


This is the fabric for the next pinafore skirt I'm making, teal with a tiny ticked cream stripe through it. It's more teal than in the picture, my camera/lighting gave it an orange cast for some reason. The butterscotch colour is the lining, another colour from my plan, and the buttons look like little waffles!

There's no place like home...

There's no place like home... there's no place like home... but who'd want to stay home when you could go out wearing these shoes and delight the eyes of everyone you meet?


These beauties are my latest purchase, an exclusive to Schuh by Red or Dead. They were sold out in their Manchester store, as I imagine they are up and down the country due to their squeal-inducing desirability, so I bought them online with free delivery after trying on the plain black leather version instore for fit. The glitter version is in manmade materials so suitable for discerning vegan tootsies, and is available in shimmering silver too.


I love the shape of the heel, which is quite reminiscent of curvy 1940s styles. I plan to get lots of wear from these as being ruby coloured they also fit in with my Autumn wardrobe plan, some pieces from which I have completed and will be showing you all soon!

This week I also picked up the cherry print duvet cover and pillowcases pictured above, they're lovely and from Tesco.

Rebellion Punk Festival 2011 - (drunken) Pictures!

Last weekend we headed off to sunny Blackpool for our annual holiday to Rebellion Punk Festival (formerly Wasted... and before that it was Holidays in the Sun, I've been going for ten years but this was Paul's 3rd). First, let's get the shopping out of the way!

On the condition that I didn't get anything else all weekend, Paul bought me this Lux De Ville 'Sin City Motor Tote' handbag from my friend Kathy, whose shop Rockers had a stall at the festival. I may just love this thing more than life itself.


Plus it has a leopard satin lining, and room inside for all my gubbins.


We also got a record each, mine is an album of NOFX rarities and Paul's (his first vinyl, aww!) is a Tenpole Tudor album. Pure 80s punk cheese... the singer, Ed Tudor Pole, is a descendant of Henry VIII and used to present The Crystal Maze on TV, he took over from Richard O' Brien of Rocky Horror fame. Best game show ever? Quite possibly... plus they both had fabulous taste in frock coats.


We also found out a local artist has done a painting of us! Her name is Corrine Streetly, this picture of us at the 2009 festival is for sale for £1000... good lord.


A couple of band pics... punk rock Überlord Jello Biafra!!! He was amazing, and his band The Guantanamo School of Medicine were great.


Stza Crack, of Choking Victim and Leftöver Crack... bands I love from my past, definitely not vintage or one for those of you with delicate little ears.


Things got more drunken as the weekend progressed... Paul, Fiona, my Paul.


Me with the paintings of us! I also got the Mad Sin t-shirt, they played on the Friday night and my friend Sally is the bassist's girlfriend and runs the merch stand. This is the first year I've ever been able to squeeze into a girly fit t-shirt... go weight loss!


Here I am posing in our hotel room so you can see my hair (day 3, brushed out my curly set and backcombed it) and makeup.


Here I am with Gemma, she is one of my best friends but we only see each other every few months since she moved away. I miss her.


The Pauls enjoy a lunch break...


Ridiculous posing... our friends Ciana and Steve, Lee and Alessia, myself, and the Pauls.


This is what four days of late nights, cider (that's the fizzy kind with alcohol, America) and a diet of fried potato products will do to you.

October's Vintage Purchases!

Only a small amount of vintage shopping has been done this month, because I am poor.

The first two things; more fawns for my collection! This one is a double bud vase from the 1940s - 50s.



I'm not sure about this one - it was made in Japan and from the paint and styling I'm guessing it's 1950s, but I think it might actually be a Christmas decoration or some sort of advertising display? The log is hollow as if you're meant to use it as a vase, but the way the ceramic was moulded leaves a big hole in the base so it's not watertight. It also has that flat bit on the log where I imagine a sticker or logo is meant to go. I love it anyway!



This was this month's only charity shop purchase. I love the charity shops near me, I can usually find something great whenever I go in! These plates are 1930s I think, and have a few paint chips, but at 99p for the four I couldn't let them stay there. They almost go with my Nanna's cake stand, perfect for if I ever get round to having anybody round for tea and sandwiches (or booze and cake, either way is fine).




These aren't vintage, but the simple T-bar dolly style means they can be worn with lots of outfits from just about any vintage era, and they're practical now the weather is getting colder and wetter. £12, Peacock's stores nationwide, also in charcoal.



I also got the Miss L. Fire 'Sylvie' shoes I mentioned in my Imaginary Wardrobe Overhaul post last week. They were £23.50 which is about half the price Miss L. Fire shoes usually are, so I snapped them up despite the fact I'm not going to be able to wear them for six months. They're really cute and comfortable, although the colours differ slightly from the picture, I suspect because of glare from the seller's insanely pink background. The straw which looks coral is actually a natural beige colour, and the soles are not white but a lovely eau-de-nil minty green. Still some available in a few sizes on ebay!