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

A few Winter warmers

Winter is staying with a vengeance unfortunately and I tell you it's hard for a girl to keep up  an appearance in a blizzard! During this time of the year I still try to look as glam as possible, but this isn't always easy! Especially when you forget sensible walking shoes whilst working in London in the snow as to which I did a few weeks ago when it decided to pelt down! Dolly shoes are just not acceptable in this weather as I found out. It's so strange to see that some girls go out with next to nothing on still, I have to be wrapped up in my thermals and strap a hot water bottle to me before I even attempt to go out!
I found myself going against everything I've ever said about jeans as they turned out to be the most practical of all of my clothes it seemed, sometimes you have to let yourself go a bit, you can still dress your jeans up though! Well I tried anyway.
However don't listen to me ladies, you can still look glamorous and not seventy years before your time like me hobbling along.
At the moment in high street stores such as New Look, River Island etc there are some lovely forties and fifties inspired coats that look great with a pencil skirt and brogues.

This one is a fab retro inspired coat my dad pointed out to me in New Look today and I thought it would look great teamed with a circle skirt or dress and some great wedges (make sure they cover your toes otherwise they might turn into icicles) You can jazz it up with vintage accessories such as a thermoset brooch and gloves and before you know it you've got an outfit that looks truly gorgeous without having to spend a fortune and you'll look a million dollars.

Another reason to hate winter is because stockings aren't always the best option, the thickest tights possible have been my option when I've been wearing skirts recently, I would love to wear my stockings in the winter but I want some warmth at least, but black opaque tights can look rather sweet I think, at least it makes you look cosy! Team them with woolen pencil skirts and you will be almost feel like its a heatwave!
As for hair styles I've opted for up do's and head scarfs, because I find trying to curl my hair in this weather just doesn't seem to happen, as soon as I step outside the door, it just drops out! So up do's with forties styled victory rolls look devine. But if you're in a rush ladies you can create a quick and easy forties do rag in the blink of an eye with a lovely vintage scarf which you can pick up in charity, vintage and antique shops for mere pennies.

The only thing you will have to style is your fringe and I've found recently that I am able to do this without using heated rollers and simply just twisting and rolling it with my fingers to see what looks good.  See what you can do ladies if you are in a hurry, if it goes well it only takes a few moments so you can spend more time on your make up or choosing your outfit.

If a headscarf isn't for you then there's the trusty beret if you wanted to give your hair a go with curlers, these look adorable with any winter coat but remember to keep it pinned to your hair with grips or you may be having to chase it down the road at some point.

How lovely does this lady look! You can either buy a beret from high street stores or a vintage but if you're feeling really brave have a look for some vintage patterns and try knitting your own, you can have your own colours and have something truly original!
For shoes if you do go out in trousers ( if you still want that vintage look go for some repro forties styled high waisted ones from Hey day ) and boots are a good option which will keep your feet nice and toasty and dry. Or some brogues which honestly don't make you look like a school teacher, well that's what I tell myself, you can get them from most stores and in different colours so why not try something a bit different?
To match your high waisted trousers make sure you wrap up in a nice thick sweater. Vintage ones are lovely and you can get some bargains as I did with a pastel green cashmere pin up sweater off eBay. If not try Rocket originals for vintage inspired sweaters

 The lovely Fleur De Guerre in her Heyday forties trousers and Rocket sweater.

See you can look fabulous even in the winter, don't fret ladies there is always a way to look gorgeous. I do wish though sometimes that I would listen to my own advice, maybe that's my new years resolution hey folks!
Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx