Vintage Market: Milan

Outside the Duomo Di Milano

  My friends and I recently returned home from an amazing trip to Italy. We got to experience all the beautiful and breathtaking sights that Verona had to offer, as well as Florence, which can only be described as a city full of energy and romance. I know it sounds cheesy but it's so true. We finally rounded off the trip by staying in the very vogue city of Milan for a few days, before getting our plane back to sunny Scotland. Yeah right.

While my friends and I were wandering around central Milan, checking out the shopping, as well as running back and forward to the street vendors selling slushy drinks, we managed to stumble across a vintage market hidden away off the side of the Piazza del Duomo:

A hair-raising amount of hat pins

Pearl necklaces galore! With adorable hand mirrors to check how they looked on

Vintage clip-on earrings 

Would have bought this in a heartbeat if I thought I could get it home to Scotland safely.
And if I had a record player...

Sneaky candid shots of friends getting into the market spirit!

I ended up buying a cute pair of vintage earrings that according to the lady whose stall it was, originated in Austria in the 1960's! I bought them straight away as I remembered I had bought a similarly styled bracelet with a hidden watch from a vintage shop in Edinburgh a while back that they would match perfectly with, and I was right! 

Very pleased that we came across this vintage outdoor market in our last few days in Italy, as I got to bring home a unique souvenir, and it was a great way to round off a fantastic trip.

Time Warp Wives - A Documentary

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I came across this documentary when it was first broadcast on T.V a couple of years back. Ironically I was busy telling my mum about my new found interest in vintage fashion when it came on. Coincidence, I think not! Anyway, I was totally engrossed in the program, I couldn't believe that these women, of all different ages, were managing to live their day to day lives in their own vintage way.

Time Warp Wives

(I don't own any rights to this video, just posting as fan for other potential fans to watch.)

Each of the three women had fallen in love with a bygone era that they feel they have more of an affinity with than the modern world, and so decided to live like they might have in those era's in terms of fashion, home décor, as well as adopting old fashioned morals. As an admirer of all things 40's and 50's I could totally relate in my own way, just maybe not on the same scale.

Personally I was impressed that these woman had the confidence to walk around in vintage clothing all day everyday, that they don't care what's in fashion or what's not because they are doing their own thing and that makes them happy, and that's all that matters. 

I think that's the message I took away from this program, is that these are three women who dare to live their lives that little bit differently, and have the confidence to stand out from everyone else. It also shows all you vintage wallflowers out there (myself included) that there are other people out there that are interested in vintage styling, and don't do it half-heartedly either! So there is no reason why should downplay your vintage fashion choices, or feel like they are too bold or too "out there". If it makes you happy go for it!

That was my take on the documentary anyway. Basically I really enjoyed watching it, I think it's an interesting insight in to people's lives that have a great love of the vintage eras, and I've watched it more times than I can count. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Retro TV Heaven

I don't know about everyone else, but to me January is probably the dullest month of the year. Everyone is a little bit short of money, and the weather, though pretty to look at when it's snowing, is pretty dreary. So, I thought this was the perfect time to post about some vintage inspired programs I've been watching for the past couple of years to keep you entertained.

The reason I love watching vintage inspired shows, apart from the show being good itself, is because it's a great way of picking up tips, whether it be for fashion or home. In a way it's better to watch vintage inspired shows instead of the authentic ones, especially if you're just beginning to get interested in vintage styling. The reason being is that it gives you the knowledge and confidence that other people are managing to style themselves in a vintage fashion nowadays, and it's not as "out there" as you may think. Some of my choices may seem a bit obvious, but I found out about most of them through other people, not discovering them on my own, so maybe there are a few of you out there that have missed them too. 

1. Mad Men

( Image found on www.rewindvintage.co.uk)

Definitely an obvious choice for those of you that already watch it, but for those of you who don't here's a little bit of information on the show. Mad Men is an American period drama set in the 1960's, with the lives of the characters revolving around the fictional advertising company Sterling Cooper, situated on Madison Avenue in New York City. The plot focuses on the fast-paced, ever-changing environment of Sterling Cooper, as well as the interconnected lives of the characters, both in and out of the office. As a result, it regularly depicts the changing moods and social mores of 1960's America. Not only is it a great show to watch for inspiration on vintage fashions, it also gives you an insight into what life was like in mid-century America, including everything from the struggle for racial equality, to the everyday lives of bored (but beautifully dressed) suburban housewives. 

The show has received critical acclaim, particularly for its historical authenticity, visual style and costume design, and has gone on to win many awards, including 15 Emmy's and four Golden Globes. In other words, it's worth a watch! 

Mad Men has ran for 5 seasons since 2007, and is due to release a 6th on April 7th 2013.

2. The Hour

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Popularly referred to as "The British Mad Men", The Hour is a series that starts off in June 1956, centering around a new current-affairs show, called "The Hour", which is being launched by the BBC, at the time of the Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression or the Second Arab-Israeli War. As I've not watched a lot of this show yet, I can't say too much about it, but I'm pretty hooked so far. The first series can be slow in places, but it definitely has parts that draw you in, and makes you want to keep watching. 

In comparison to Mad Men, it's definitely not as glitzy and glamorous, but it has its own British quirkiness, which is just as appealing. The same can be said for the fashion and styling choices for the show, but that definitely comes with it's advantages. As the styles are not as glamorous, it makes the outfits on the show much more wearable for during the day, and also a lot easier to source similarly styled outfits. 

Only on its second season, The Hour is still a fairly new show, but it definitely seems to grow and become more sophisticated as it progresses. The fashions portrayed are easy to style and fabulous for day wear, the musical score is fantastic, and the relationship between Freddy and his best friend Bel, two of the leading characters, is just downright adorable.

3. Kirstie's Vintage Home

(Image found on www.telegraph.co.uk)

Find episodes here

Loved this show as soon as I saw it advertised, and I hadn't even seen a single episode yet! Kirstie Allsopp looks to the past for inspiration on how to rescue homeowners from their cluttered and unloved houses, and transforms them into beautiful, vintage homes.

I really enjoy watching this program, as its a little different from the norm, and you can take away a lot of hints and tips to try for yourself. I highly recommend, and with the first episode featuring a couple living in Portobello, Edinburgh, how could it not be a great program!

Retr-oh you shouldn't have!

First of all I'd like to apologise for the lack of posting over the holidays, due to my laptop breaking down. But now all is fixed and well and I'm back with many new ideas for a brand spanking new year! But before all of that I'd like to do a quick post about some of the fantastic vintage inspired gifts I received from friends and family over the holidays.

I've only been vocal about my interests in vintage fashion for a little while now, so it means a lot to me that those nearest and dearest went to the trouble of finding gifts related to an interest of mine which, in all honesty, can be quite a task to buy for if you're not in to it yourself. Here's some of the pictures I've taken for you to look at:

One of the presents I received from my lovely boyfriend . It's a great little book full of pictures of the 50 most iconic outfits from one of fashion's most influential decades. It also has a lot of information on the people that made each look so famous,  from Grace Kelly to Sophia Loren.

Beautiful jewellery from my big sister. Love the bracelet, will go well with so many vintage-style evening dresses. And  the ornamental hair slide will go great in a page boy style!

Amazing Cath Kidson Hand & Nail set from the best friend, no one can deny that Kidson brought chintz -flowery patterns popular in the 50's- roaring back into fashion. Can't wait to try it out! 

Beautiful presents from my little bro. I'd been throwing random hints here and there about needing a compact mirror, you know, to adjust my red lippy while out and about, and I couldn't have chosen a more fabulous one myself. Also,  one of my favourite Benefit Products ever, "Finding Mr. Bright" filled with everything you need for a luminous complexion.

Beautiful hair flowers given to me by one of my flatmates, can't wait to try these with all different pin-up styles for my burlesque dance class, hehe.

Thank you to everyone for all the presents I received over the holidays, they are all gorgeous! I know January isn't exactly the month for splashing out, but if you have a birthday coming up or just want to beat the winter blues with a little "pick me up" present to yourself, hopefully this will keep you inspired!

Santa Baby...

The days are shorter, and the nights are most definitely colder. However tis the season to be jolly, and with Christmas just around the corner, I thought I would share a few vintage treats I have been eyeing up over the past few months, to help you chase away the winter blues. If you want to look ravishingly retro for Christmas day, or need ideas on how to spend your Christmas cash then take a look at my Christmas wish list below. 

1. Grace Dress in Dark Green (£110) Vivien of Holloway

2. The Milena Grosgain Vintage Evening Purse (Approx. £62) Pinup Girl Clothing

3. Besame Classic Colour Lipstick (£22) What Katie Did

4. Black Glamour Corselette (£68.50) What Katie Did

5. 1950's Red Denim Jeans (£75) Vivien of Holloway

6. Why Not - Compact Mirror (£10.99) Amazon

7. Erin Wiggle Dress in Red Stretch Bengaline (Approx. £60) Pinup Girl Clothing

8. Red Flower Hairclip (£14) Vivien of Holloway

These of course are just a selection of what each respective website has to offer for glamorous gifts this season, so feel free to use my wish list as a starting point or ideas board in order to create your own perfectly vintage look this Christmas. I will be posting more vintage inspired ideas for the festive season in the near future, but for now good luck with all your present buying, and remember to wrap up warm, 'cause baby it's cold outside. OK I'll stop.

"I'd like to kiss you, but I just washed my hair."

Bette Davis had her priorities right. As did all of the vintage icons. From Rita Hayworth to Elizabeth Taylor, famous film actresses were always making statements with their hairstyles. And luckily for us vintage lovers that's exactly what vintage hairstyles do, they make a statement. Hairstyles like the 'Fake Bob' and 'Victory Rolls' were symbols of the eras they were created in, and even today people instantly recognize them as vintage or retro. However, it was apparent to me right from the start of my vintage make-over that these hairstyles aren't exactly easy, at least not with a little help.

So, I did a lot of research on vintage styling, watched loads of hair tutorials, searched through a lot of books, until I came across an absolute winner. "Vintage Hair Styling: retro styles with step-by-step techniques". Let me just say, as someone who had no clue where to start with styling my hair in general, never mind vintage hairstyles, this book has become an absolute must. It's easy to follow, covers all the basics in loads of detail, and basically just has a lot of fabulous pictures of women with gorgeous hair.

What's best about this book is that it covers popular styles from the 30's all the way through to the 60's, so if you aren't sure about what era you love the most yet, you get the chance to try out loads of different styles to see which ones suit you best!

The reason I decided to post/rave about this book is because it's a great resource for vintage hair styling, especially if you're just beginning to style your look differently and don't really know where to start. You can buy it here, then all you'll have to do is start using the "I'm washing my hair" excuse to avoid guys you don't want to go out with. Sorted.

And as an extra treat here are some of my favourite pics from the book that I've scanned, enjoy!

Photo from "Vintage Hairstyling" by Lauren Rennells, page 66

Photo from "Vintage Hairstyling" by Lauren Rennells, page 72

Photo from "Vintage Hairstyling" by Lauren Rennells,  page  106

Front cover of "Vintage Hairstyling" by Lauren Rennells

Also, I think this book would make a fabulous Christmas present for any vintage lover, whether it be for a loved one, or a little treat for yourself. However I will be posting more about gift ideas for the perfect vintage Christmas in my next post so get your holiday spirit on!

From The Top

First of all I'd like to say hi and welcome to The Vintage Wallflower! This is my first post, so I'd like to give you all an idea of why I started the blog, a bit about myself, and where I intend to take things from here. 

So, for a couple of years now I have fantasised about having a complete vintage transformation, but I have so far shied away from putting my ideas in to practice as much as I'd want. The reason? Put simply, I haven't had the confidence or self assurance to pull off a style that, I think, requires quite a bit of bravado.

However, it is for these reasons that made me want to start writing this blog in the first place. I originally intended it to be an online diary, to track my progress throughout my make-over, to write down everything I learn about vintage styling, which in turn would hopefully help to build up my confidence with my new look. Then I realised, what if there are other people out there who have the same insecurities about diving into a completely different style as I do? What if there are other vintage wallflowers out there who know exactly what vintage look they want to go for, but maybe have no idea where to start? 

So instead of an online diary, I decided to make a progressive blog that goes through all of my successes and failures from the very start, and hopefully I can pass on all of the hints, tips, do's and don't's I learn along the way!

This is me on admittedly a good day. As in, on a daily basis I usually just wear jeans and a jumper (it's Scotland it's freezing ok!?) But because I knew I was taking a photo for the blog I panicked and made an effort (you would too don't lie). While my look isn't particularly vintage at all, it's where I'm starting from, and that's what I wanted to show you guys. 

But what I've come to realize about vintage style is that it's not something you have to conform to, it's something you create just for you. So it doesn't really matter where you feel you are starting from, you can take it wherever you want, it's just having the confidence and know-how behind all your lovely ideas that will make it happen. Considering I've been interested in vintage styling for a few years now, you can also tell from the photo it doesn't happen overnight, so don't go out panic buying, have fun building up your new vintage wardrobe/make-up collection, as I am currently trying to do.

You're probably wondering at this point where I am actually going to take this blog, and I can tell you that even though I haven't put much into practice yet, I have been doing my homework, and I've built up quite a bit of knowledge on vintage styling. So from this post onward I intend to write about some pretty exciting stuff, which will include updates about my ever changing look, vintage styling book reviews, vintage boutique reviews/interviews, hair/make-up tutorials, as well as my newly acquired hobby, burlesque dancing! I know, not exactly something you would imagine someone with not much confidence to try, but it's actually where my confidence started to grow, so I thought it would be a perfect feature on a blog all about helping vintage wallflowers learn how to blossom in to their very own vintage vixen.

So if you feel like learning along with me, and making your everyday life that little bit more glamorous, then keep reading, and I'll keep you posted!