It's like a heatwave!

Listen to this as you read!

London has over the last couple of days been experiencing a mini heat wave! 

It was 28 degrees on Wednesday and taking this information on board I 

thought it would be a great idea to wear my favourite felt hat and rayon

 dress combo. I can assure you I was boiling. Aimee and I decided to make

 the most of the weather and take a stroll around my local area in a quest for

 pints of cold cider and a bench in the shade.

We went and bought the most amazing raspberry vegan cheese cake from

 Gossip Cafe on Broadway Market. We sat down and ate it outside the

 Cat & Mutton which is a really lovely pub if you can manage to get a seat!

After gorging ourselves on cake and petting the most adorable puppy ever we 

decided to wonder into the City Farm which is opposite my new flat. Its a 

community run organisation which helps locals to experience farming, bee 

keeping, gardening and other such pursuits right in the heart of London! As

 a country girl at heart I love this place, you can find me here every morning 

around 11 talking to the pigs.

I wore my favourite early 40s day dress that I got on my work bonus at Rokit.

 The print of the fabric is really what makes it so special, if you look really 

closely you can see the spiderwebs behind the roses. The dress is hand made, 

and I have a black dress that I wore on our trip to Berlin which appears to 

be cut from the very same pattern. Perhaps I shall blog about them soon. 

would be so fun to try and find the pattern that they were both made from

 and make a third!

Here's a close up of my 20's peach hat that I picked up from a charity shop

about a year ago for £17. It is by far my number 1 hat. And I have a lot of

hats, so this one is pretty special to me! 

Back at the flat we relaxed on my terrace and began the notorious '3 Hour Knit', 
but more on that another day! Look at Aimee's lovely shoes! I believe these are
 her early 50s heels from Brighton. Her fan she picked up from a charity shop to 
cool herself down in dance class! Its made of wooden lacquer and is covered in
 the cutest hand painted flowers 

She also wore her amazing primark palazzo pants  with a silk blouse 40s 
bangles and 50s shell necklace. I don't know about you guys but I am 
seriously into this outfit. Its got some sort of tropical beach holiday in
Indonesia vibe. I'm sure a few of you will get what I mean!

I'll leave you with this picture, excuse my face this taken post three pints of

cider and 4 hours of burning heat. It was such a lovely day, I can't say I am looking 

forward to Autumn weather anymore! All of our love, I hope everyone is well 

even if the sun isn't shinning where you are! 

Harriett xx

Tea time!

Bonjour readers! 

We were lucky enough to recieve 'The Vintage Tea party book' by the very glamourous Angel Adore. So, we thought we'd have a little trip to our favourite caffe on Church street to come up with our hard hitting (ahem) opinion. 

This aesthetically pleasing book will certainly have you drooling over a huge range of reciepes. (Most of them were not suitable for Vegans so unfortunately we were not able to make them in their true glory). 

Our favorite part of the book was the gorgeous illustrations featuring bunny girls and foxy ladies. The book also includes beautifully illustrated invitations which can be photocopied and sent to your loved ones.

The book is divided into brunch, afternoon, evening and style section.  The style section includes 'how to's for three fabulous hairstyles including 'the poodle' which is one of my personal favorites. 

We'll certainly be giving the cocktails a try!

Rather than the retro aficionado this book is the perfect present for that girl that says 'I love retro, but I've never been brave enough/ don't know where to start'. Do you know that girl? If so it can be found here for a mere £14!

Drool.

I'm wearing

1930's day dress: 'Beyond Retro' 

1940's fur and hat: Stolen from Harriett

Harriett wears 

1940's hat: 'To be worn again'

1940's fur, gloves and day dress: Various charity shops 

We haven't been blogging a lot as Harriett has moved into her fabulous new flat in Hackney. She's putting together a 1930's boudoir with an Asian theme. Its already delicious and you're going to love it! 

Lots of love, Aimee xx

Brighton, for Health and Pleasure!

On Sunday evening Aimee came to visit me at my parents house in the sleepy Sussex countryside. We listened to my new record player and chatted into the dead of night. 

When Monday morning came we decided to go on a trip to Brighton eat some

 breakfast at our favourite cafe Kens, shop for some vintage, and cuddle up 

under an umbrella. 

The weather started off lovely so we sat down outside on the balcony.

 Aimee wore the flower corsage from the 40s gown I bought her for her birthday

 pinned in her hair. The stole is mine, it's a fox named after her as once upon a time 

she had flaming red locks. Her hair was arranged in curls on top of her head, a style

 we first tried out on me for Blitz club many moons ago, and will one day prepare

a tutorial for!

However it soon became a bit chilly so we moved inside to order our food, I had 

a 'facon' (veggie bacon) and avocado panni. Nom nom nom.

Aimee opted for the Vegetarian breakfast roll. I'm sure you can tell from the 

look on her face that she was pretty excited to tuck in.

After we finished eating it was time to make ourselves presentable again. 

Lipstick and baked beans all over your face? Not a good look. Aimee picked up 

this beautiful compact from a charity shop in London the other day. I love the

 gold detailing on the enamel and scalloped edging.

Here's what I wore, a 20s silk scarf and 30s inspired blouse from a charity shop.

  I don't wear this shade of lipstick very often, but Aimee seems to really like it on me. 

My hair is set in a 'long 20s' style I have been experimenting with of late, what do 

you guys think? 

Shopping time!!! Do you know a man who would fit this suit? If so contact Aimee immediately! This was taken in the attic of SnoopersParadise, check out Aimee's 

new Palazzo pants from... Primark! What a steal! we both have a pair, and are 

seriously considering buying up our sizes in bulk for when they inevitably fall apart. 

Here Aimee has teamed them with her faithful Fred Perry's and one of my 50s basket 

bags. After Snoopers we headed down the lanes to Hope Harlequin Wolf & Gypsy

 To Be Worn Again and  North Lanes Flea Market in search of some bargains!

I bought this adorable print from the flea market, the one on the left is Aimee, the 

one on the right me! Paid a little to much for it at £10 but I just couldn't say no. 

My new 30's felt hat, from to be worn again, sorry I cropped my face out, it 

was a no makeup day! I have so many hats, yet very few that are practical for day 

to day wear like this one. 

20s beading panel! I spent all of last night meticulously securing the lose

 beads so I can attach it to a simple black frock.

This 30s romper was so unique I couldn't pass it up, its made of the most delicate 
white silk with adorable elasticated leg openings. I have elaborate plans of 
embellishing it with some of my original glass beading to create a show girl inspired
 outfit! 

This Silhouette was a true bargain at £1, it is not the most impressive example I 

have ever seen, but its crudeness is somewhat charming. It is labeled on the back

 as being made in 1937. 

This delicate Victorian Bonnet has been fast tracked into my top 3 favourite hats.

 I fell in love with everything about it especially the long strips of lace and delicate

 powder blue silk.

 

It was then post shopping coffee time. You can see Aimee's hair in more detail here 

she's also slung on my 40s hunting jacket to keep her cosy. I am always too hot and 

this lady is always too cold! 

I do love a soya latte. Aimee bought the most beautiful 30s floral night dress and 

chiffon bed jacket that she wore out this Saturday to the Ric Rac Club. So do check

 back so see how it looks, it may be my new favourite outfit of hers!

We salute you goodbye! Unfortunately we didn't ride this scooter home, it was back

into the rather un-vintage car  I borrowed from my older brother. I will be staying

in London for the weekend with the lovely Jess and Aimee so I am sure we will be

sharing our adventures there soon. 

All my love

Harriett x

Berlin: Heart Break Hotel.

As you know I recently just got back from a stay in Berlin

with my wonderful friends and possibly the cutest husband

and wife team ever Anna and Beau. As I have recently gone

through quite a bad experience I need a little rest and relaxation

in a city that I hold so close to my heart. It wasn't really

a holiday filled with fashion adventures like the last, this time was

more focused around talking and cuddling with the lovely people

around me. But I still managed to take a few photographs to share 

with all you sweet ladies!

On the first day I accompanied Anna to help hang some

 of her beautiful silk screen prints that she created with 

her graphic design partner Katrin at the druck festival. The 

gallery space was in an abandoned swimming pool in Mitte.

 Here you can see us arranging the frames in a space which I 

think was originally one of  the changing rooms.

Anna's work focused on found vintage photographs

  layered under typography which highlighted an

unpleasant side of the person in the image. My favourite 
was the one of the couple that reads 'friends with benefits'!

This is the lovely Anna Coe with her friend Anna Moe!

We were roped into hanging some other artists prints

by the lady who was running the huge art show all alone

 so we happily pitched in. She seemed to have a lot on her plate! 

Anna has kindly given me a couple of her prints to adorn 

the walls of my new apartment (that I have yet to find!).

On the right you can see Anna Moe's wonderful work, 

like all the other artists in the show she is a very 

talented lady. Please check out her website here for a 

closer look. 

On Friday Berlin reached a shocking 34 degrees, so

where better to go then the beer garden in Tiergarten!

 

Anna recently made a 'no beer' pact with her dear friend

Amelia, unfortunately I persuaded her to break this sacred 

oath, for the day and enjoy a large glass in the sunshine. 

I had a pretzel and a cider, no matter how much I try

I cannot seem to develop the taste for beer. 

After the beer garden Anna took me to this wonderful

Korean restaurant where I ate myself silly. I believe

this was her second beer of the day... scandalous 

behaviour! 

Here's me and my homemade ice tea!

In the evening Anna and Beaus wonderful friend

Mark flew in from Canada to play a show at this old

water tower in the south of the city. There was even 

free pasta. I really love pasta. I am considering a 

career in music to receive more of it for free. 

But If you would like to listen to some seriously good 

music created by someone who doesn't do it solely

to get his hand on free food, then check out

Wood Pigeon!

Mark and I before the show.

 My other gracious host Beau.

Later on in the week Anna took some time off

her busy schedule to show me around the city,

where I spotted this charming painting by a bike shop.

  

Check out Anna's wonderful fur hat.

  

For lunch we went to a adorable vegan/vegetarian cafe

in Kreutzberg called Sing Black Bird and had the most

delicious tofu salad bowls. The menus were pasted 

inside these little vintage books. 

 The cafes decor was perfect from the wild flower

table decorations to the mounted plates on the wall.

The Rest of my trip was spent sitting on Anna's balcony,

eating avocado, and getting a bit squiffy with these 
beautiful women.

Ok now the really exciting Vintage related bit! 

What I bought!

1920s vintage stocking repair kit and 1940s shell
earrings/dress clips, both from an antiques store
next to Anna's apartment. 

This late 40s dress is a present for Aimee,

I am sure she will show you a picture of her in it

soon! I picked it up from one of my favourite

Berlin haunts Memory.

A little 30s tapestry bag from the same antiques

store as the earrings. 

This Edwardian cotton blouse also came from

the antiques store, and for 5 euro it might have 

been the bargain of the trip. 

Early plastic hair comb and 30s shades.. both also from

Memory! 

Anna took me to this antique warehouse/ flea market

which was a little out of the way, where I found these

amazing original 20s beads for 2 euro! They are all glass

and on their original thread, looks like they have fallen

off a beautiful gown, but soon I shall attach them to another!

I also got my hands on the most amazing 30s hat a

beautiful 40's powder pink jacket, a 40s hounds tooth

coat, a wonderful umbrella and the most beautiful 20s stockings

 I have ever seen, But I shall reveal those to you all at a later date....

All my love, till next time!

Harriett xx