The New Vintage Look at Proud Cabaret

Once again I apologise for lack of posting, I have been ridiculously busy organising something rather exciting! So I hope you will all let me off when you see the reasons why!

Between my friend Sarah and myself, we've been putting together what we hope will be the start of something a little bit amazing.
The New Vintage look! A vintage inspired charity evening full of fashion, fun and frightfully good music and burlesque! Tuesday 10th April at the renowned Proud Cabaret in the heart of London.

Personally I've wanted to do this show for a good couple of years now and finally the time has come.
The New Vintage look is a fashion evening showcasing some of the best 1940s and 50s reproduction clothing companies from the UK, Sweden, and USA, these include the amazing Bernie Dexter, Vintage suits by Mary, Collectif, Heyday vintage, Miss Fortune, Lady K Loves,Playful Promises, Outerlimitz, Stockings and Romance, the Pretty dress company, Miss Bamboo,Miss Candy floss, Oh Sew Vintage, Boo boo Kitty Couture and Scarlett's Vintage attire, wowee what a selection we have for all you lovely ladies out there!
These fabulous companies will be showcased in a catwalk where the gorgeous models will also be wearing Bow and Crossbones jewellery and Razorblaid Mermade jewellery!

As well as the show, there will be burlesque from the outstanding Tempest Rose, cabaret from Alex the Mind reader and Daisy Bourne - hoop artiste

To finish the night off we will have one of the UK's top bands on the Rockin Scene - Knocksville, who have toured with Imelda May and also recently played in Europe, so remember to bring your dancing shoes because these guys will have you on your feet!

If you fancy grabbing yourself a bargain then we'll have something right up your street, a charity auction! Lots of companies have given us great prizes including two pairs of Miss L fire shoes, a dress from Tara Starlet, a hair and make up voucher from The Vanity Box, a manicure voucher from Minnie Moons as well a whole lot more, so we're hoping you'll all dig deep and help raise lots more money!

All money raised is going to the Royal Brompton and Harefield Charity to help fund a neonatal incubator to treat seriously ill babies with heart and lung defects. This charity is a very personal one to me for close members of my family have been treated there and we want to say thank you for all their support! 

Tickets are £12 and are available from

http://www.wegottickets.com/event/159146  

When you buy a ticket you will be entered into a competition to win a pinup photo shoot worth over £250! 

So what are you waiting for, please show your support with us on Tuesday 10th April and make it a night to remember!

Check our website www.thenewvintagelook.co.uk
facebook.com/thenewvintagelook
twitter: @newvintagelook
Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx

So I like to show off

Yes I do, I love to show off, so I thought I would show you lovely lot my work I've been doing at uni, as final year has taken over and I have lost the will to live but I like to think the work I've done makes up for it. I've decided that for my final year I'm going to play to my strengths and create work that suits my style and my interests because even though I love love LOVEEEE mainstream fashion, it just isn't me, as some of you would probably be able to tell!

So for my first project of final year I had to choose a brand to create an accessories range for, I chose the burlesque and cabaret club, Madame Jojo's, I worked together with my lovely friend Sarah and together we came up with a burlesque inspired bra range!

I  thought by using a club it was something a bit different to the normal handbag accessory range and it gave me something a bit more exciting to explore and I could use the excuse of 'research' to go out and have some fun!

Here are some of the images that I styled for it, I did a still life and model shoot, hope you like them!

 

My two favourite shots and what  a fantastic model, Shell Diablo, photography by 

Eddy Shaw and hair by Verity of the Vanity Box, amazing!

 We were lucky enough to shoot at the Dollhouse in Bishop gate, London, such 

a fabulous little club hidden away in the city, I must go there on a night out because
it's such an intimate venue with some great original features such as Victorian tiling, wowee!

Here are some of my still life shots that was shot at uni:

So these are some of my faves, I could have put loads up but I thought I'd choose my best because you don't want to see it all either,

I think I'm starting to like styling again so I'm not sure if this is the career path I want to go down but I think I'd like to do it on the side because I think I'm better at the more retro, styling than mainstream
I would love to hear any comments and opinions you've got!

I do apologise  for the naffness of this post, I've not got much writing inspiration but don't worry it'll come to me!

Until Next Time 

Toodle Pip

xxx

Champagne in a tea cup... Well it can only be the Vintage Patisserie

At the end of last year and beginning of this year I bagged myself a placement at the fabulous Vintage Patisserie: Angel Adoree and her tremendous team turn dreams into realities with their vintage tea parties they put on in and around the London area. During my time there I did a lot of researching and bits and bobs here and there towards the then up and coming Vintage Tea party book and I learnt a lot about myself and about the Vintage Patisserie and all in all had a top notch time!
A lot of time had passed and before I knew it I saw plugs for the book being released on Amazon and I was pleasantly surprised when I got an invite through the door a few weeks back saying that I had been invited to Angel's Vintage Tea party book launch, even though I was stuck in the middle of nowhere in deepest darkest Lowestoft, I made sure that I managed to get my backside down to London for the party of the season!

I wish all invites looked like this!

 I wasn't really sure of what to wear as this was my first launch party (oh I felt all grown up!)  so I decided on something simple yet glam, a vintage black velvet pencil skirt and a peach embroidered blouse with heels, unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of my outfit because I was in too much of a rush!  (my feet felt like they were likely to drop off after getting back to my friends). But I trundled along to 93 feet east in Brick Lane and was greeted by one of the ladies from the Patisserie straight away.

Lauren and another beaut from the Patisserie

As I wandered around I was glad to see friendly faces who I'd worked with all those months ago and also saw other faces I recognised such as Gizzi Erskine, the TV presenter and chef and the Vintage Socialite Fleur De Guerre. The girls from the Patisserie were gliding round keeping the guests happy and making sure our cups were full of Champagne or Gin, yum yum  I was more than happy sipping taking the enchanting atmosphere in. I got talking to the lovely Gerado of Vintage Victory, what a super Gent! and looking very dapper I must say! By the looks of it everyone was having the time of their lives,women walking around with Victory Rolls in their hair and Angel was kept busy socialising with everyone, which must have took a long while because it was absolutely packed!!

There was a 40s style french swing band on who really got the crowd going and there were some great Lindy hoppers dancing along, this was Lindy hop at it's best, I'm not usually a big fan of it but I was in aw of it! This really livened the party up and everyone was dancing their socks off, it really was the perfect Vintage tea party.

 These two were fantastic, I really enjoyed watching them! I'd love to give it a go but I think I'd end up tripping over my feet, I'll stick to jiving I think!

I didn't stay too long but had a grand time when I was there and it was really great to see Angel and her ladies again, I do miss them all very much, so I'm hoping when I graduate she will have me back!
I even managed to wangle a goodie bag and it sure as hell lived up to it's name!

Look at all the goodies I got!! I was getting a bit low on stocking and nail polish so I was more than happy with these!

A little chocolate, it didn't last long trust me, it looked too good to eat!!

The book and goodie bag!!

Lookie look!! Angel mentioned me in the book for helping out! I feel honoured!

This really made me smile, I have to say!

I managed to have a look at the book when I was on the tube and it is truly an amazing book, there has been so much thought and effort into it, it's beautiful, the design, the recipes, everything about it, I can't wait to read it properly and try out (well attempt) some of the recipes, ha me and cooking, I should be so lucky!!
So if you've not picked a copy up yet, buy one because it is worth every penny!

Angel and the ladies of the Vintage Patisserie

Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx

Victory Rolls... The happy shopper version

So after my last post I had a comment asking if I could give any tips on how to do Victory rolls so I thought I'd quickly put some images together and give you a how to! because to be honest I'm not sure how I learn, I just practised one day and voila there we had it, Victory rolls... Bettina style! Now they're not perfected in any way yet but I think this will give you a rough idea of how I do them and you may be able to figure it out a bit better then I showed you!!

So here we go!! Excuse the really poor quality images and the person in the images wearing very little make up and Afro hair... It is a Wednesday and I have washed my hair!  But anyway...

I don't think it matters on where your parting is in your hair, I've had a side parting since I was about 12 years old because personally I do not think a centre one suits me but victory rolls often work really well with a centre parting and it is easier when it comes to sectioning your hair off because you get an even amount on each side...

Start by getting a small section of hair (enough to make quite a thick roll out of it!)

Then get a comb and back comb near the roots of the section so it makes it stand out a bit more,

make sure you smooth it all out before or after you've done your roll because otherwise you look
like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards and that is not a good look!

Next get the end of the section of the hair and roll it into a circle... If you're having trouble with this you can spray it a bit with hairspray so it all stays in place when you're rolling it. Once you have rolled the end into a circle, keep rolling it towards your head like you word a pin curl so then it looks like a barrel against your scalp. (Everyone now Roooolllll outtt thhheee barrrellll... no just me? )

 Grip it in place with Kirby Grips, you can try to hide them so it looks like it's standing up all by itself but if that's too fiddly just clip it in anywhere so it stays in place

And if any of that made sense it should look something like this!

Basically you have to do exactly the same on the other side but when it comes to Sectioning it make sure its around the same amount of hair as the other roll because when it comes to rolling it it could look uneven and ruin the whole Do!

Rolling the second one may take a few attempts to make sure it looks even and right compared to the other, but luckily you've got the other side of your head to look at to even them out!

And this is what the rolls should look like! Given they are a bit scruffy but you get the idea I hope?

Now if you have a fringe you could always leave it but I think this often ruins the hair style so why not try rolling your fringe too?

You don't necessarily have to have a fringe to be able to roll it, just make sure you section a small part of your hair before you start this whooole process

You do the fringe roll pretty much similar to the others but I don't tend to back comb mine, I used to have to do it with heated rollers or tongs but I've got the hang of doing it without these now, if you are still a bit wary you can just roll it with your tongs and then clip it in place with a grip

I tend to do mine at a diagonal angle because I think it shapes my face better but you can do it horizontal so you've got a Bettie Page Esq style fringe, I find it looks more forties then a diagonal fringe so I tend to stay away from it because I'm more of a fifties gal.

Try curling the rest of your hair with tongs or rollers to glam it up more or you can clip the rest of the hair up also for a easy up do!

But ta da here is what you should end up with!!

All in all this took me around 5 minutes to do, not bad really considering I've only

just got the hang of it! This may take you a bit longer at first but once you've got the hang of it you'll be able to do it easy peasy, but be prepared to have aching arms because you will get them and after all practise does make perfect!!

Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx



What a Hurly burly Time

Last Tuesday evening a friend and I took a trip up to London to our first "official" burlesque show, I have always seen little snippets of some burlesque shows at weekenders such as Hemsby and the Rhythm Riot however never stuck around to see the whole shbang generally because I always thought that five minutes of  boobs is enough for me, but I was in need of a night out as Chatham does fairly grind me down ,so with tickets at a bargain price of a mere £10 I couldn't really turn down a night out for that kind of money. So off we went to see Miss Polly Rae's Hurly Burly Show at the Garrack Theatre in Charing Cross.

Directed by William Baker this was a magnificent modern take on the kitsch kooky performance of Burlesque, helping it hit the mainstream that little bit more it  was open to women and men of all ages and looking at the crowd there was just as many women as men so this wasn't your average strip show. At first I have to admit I did feel slightly uncomfortable because I hadn't really seen this many women in so little before and it was all slightly crude but it was all fits and giggles and I realised I was being silly and soon got into it! I loved the fact that all the women were slightly different and weren't your average "pin up" so they weren't all with pin curls and cats eyes but just a gaggle of girls that knew how to dance.

What was I to expect, was it just girls taking their kit off through the show or would there be Shakespeare with extra twirling tassels. Well I'd have to say a bit of both! Of course all the ladies were rather good at slowly stripping the stockings off but there was humour and stylishly thought out themes such as western, police women and school girl... Sounds like a perverts dream come true but no it had class if a school girl can have class?

Each routine had a cleverly put together dance with songs to match such as Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, The Pet Shop Boy's it's a sin and their own self written tunes! And if those women were too much for you then there was a swooning crooner Spencer Day who certainly lightened my evening up, how he managed to control himself with all those beauts is beyond me, He worked his magic while the girls were changing for the next sketch and we girls were more than happy to sit there and drool.

Miss Polly Rae oozed confidence and sophistication and completely stole the show (and so she should as it was her show!) A petite scarlet vixen with a dazzling voice which was a little bit nice but a lot of Naughtiness. She had charm, she had class and she had the crowd in the palm of her hand as well as her Hurly Burly Girls .

With rhinestone encrusted outfits that if you blink you'll miss it, it was a show Dita Von Teese would be proud of, using companies such as Agent Provocateur and What Katie Did to name but a couple, for how scantily dressed the girls were it could have been easily misinterpreted for sleazy but no, thanks to the amount of teasing there was very little time to think about the strip!

This performance made me think that women are using this as a way of empowerment, something that makes them feel good and glamorous about themselves and damn right with burlesque work shops popping up all over the country this show made all the women in the audience think Yes I can do that,I can add a bit of bump and grind into my everyday life! Because that's what it got me thinking but as I have as much class as a plant pot and have two left feet I don't think I'll be stripping my draws off anytime soon, only  when it's time to put my pajamas on. A fab night out that made me proud to be a woman!

Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx

Photos by Chris Jackson curtesey of Google ;)

The Stampede of Sparking Stilettos on the Horizon

How on earth have I never heard of London Burlesque week? I honestly believe myself when I tell others that I'm a hermit and never venture outside the four walls of my bombsite of which I call my bedroom, its either this or I have  been walking around in a complete daze for the past few years, to be honest both of these sound true and those who know me, I'm sure you'll all agree!

To the matter at hand, London has a burlesque week???? This is purely amazing like I said I had never heard of it until last night when I typed in Burlesque into google because I was researching for my Dissertation (yes the dreaded essay has begun!) and I imagine it to be somewhat similar to London Fashion Week? Surely women aren't shaking their thangg down a catwalk to some bump and grind are they? 

 When I checked out the website it all seemed very exciting and, there was glitz, there was sparkle, the was the shades of romanticised red what more could draw me in!?

London Burlesque week is run by a gent named Chaz Royal who uses the yearly event to raise the profile of Burlesque in the mainstream which to be honest if you don't know about burlesque in today's day and age then you really have been sleeping in a cave somewhere. It was previously ran as London Burlesque festival and it shows bombshell beauties from around the globe strutting their stuff and titillating their tassels, it seems there really is something for everyone with newcomers of Burlesque getting to try out the waters and even "Boylesk" yes men's interpretation at suave clubs such as Madame Jojo's.

It does make me wonder whether the change of name reflects on London Fashion Week and another way of showing it in the mainstream fashion industry,this is only my thoughts though, it could be a load of old rubbish for all I know. But London Burlesque Week is something I want to be a part of, so I've dropped an email to Chaz Royal himself to see if I can get my hands dirty there (not literally I imagine to be get my hands glittered!) if not I'm planning on buying a ticket for one of the events to get an idea of what it's really all like at London Burlesque Week, it'd be great if I could go because I could do a bit of self advertising there myself  and you never know where it might lead. So if I do expect a review of somekind in the future months.

Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx

Too many shoes not enough time

Now Christmas is over and done with, what comes next, oh yes January sales! You can't have a Christmas break without spending a fortune in the sales, well with me I just need an excuse to go spend money and now I can say that I'm well and truly broke but I have some glam new shoes to keep me happy for a little while anyway. When I was 'oop north recently visiting my fella we decided to do a bit of shopping and I got in a right sulk because I couldn't find any nice shoes for New Years Eve night so there I was huffing and puffing, I wanted a lovely pair to go with my dress I was wearing, I didn't really want flats because that's all I seem to live in so I thought I'd brave it and look for some heels.

My luck was in when I went into Barratts which was my last port of call when I'd had enough of hunting and finding zilch, I first went to the sale rail as anyone who knows me I am a bit of a cheapskate! I found some gorgeous black lace heels and in my size

As I went to try these on my man pointed out a pair that would certainly make my feet shine! Could I afford both pairs? Well you only live once so I tried these beauties on too

I needed a gold pair to go with my green and gold dress and these matched a treat! I managed to stay in them the majority of the night until I wanted to dance then the flats came on!

Go on the Barratts website and check these stunners out. At good prices too even if I myself a cheapskate does say so!
So no more shoes now for me, well maybe until I can afford these from Marks and Spencer...

mmmm I'd better start doing the lottery!

Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx