And she's back in the game...

Well, I'm still in a lot of pain! But I've decided that it's time to cowboy up and just get on with things :)  After a lovely relaxing weekend that was mostly spent drinking tea (gin) in the garden, I finally finished my curtain dress project.

I love it. I really really love it! Other than taking some measurements from another dress of similar fit, it was done with no pattern and just my brain going 'errrr, what next?' It's a super-light cotton and will be perfect for summer.  It was vaguely 20s inspired in shape, although I don't think the fabric / pattern is 20s at all.  But yes, I think it's going to get a lot of wear :)

The only problem with not doing a pattern is, how am I going to make another one?!

Jen xxxx

(Belated) Weekend Round-up, and the Sew and Save dress premiere!

I've been meaning to write this post for a couple of days but, in all honesty, I've just been too too tired!  After work I've been turning over the garden to prepare some vegetable plots - there's going to be a lot of digging for victory happening this summer :)


So anyway, on Saturday my friend Bob and I went to the March Into the 40s event.  And it was super fun! It started fairly early in the afternoon with some short films about WW2; I may have squeed slightly at the land girl part - they're a bit of an obsession of mine at the moment!  And there were lindy hop classes, where I'm proud to say neither of us fell over or broke the other's toes.  The dance in the evening was also great fun, although the only song we danced to was the Hokey Cokey :) - at these smaller events the dance floor tends to be filled with amazing dancers so I feel a bit more self-conscious.  But the good news is Dave the Spiv, who hosted the event, is trying to set up some dance classes so soon we'll be stepping with the best of them.


Lola Lamour also did a couple of sets, and she's just a total cupcake.  If you've never seen her, here she is singing my favourite song!





But of course, the star of the night was my Sew and Save dress.  Well, not quite.  But I was immensely proud of it.  And here it finally is in all its glory:

Bob was in Navigator dress... ironic considering the amount of times he started driving the wrong way!

Overall, the night was fab.  I managed not to spend any money on the stalls, the gin was cheap, and I found myself doing a couple of victory roll tutorials for some girls I got talking to (as well as swapping tips on setting lotions and how to wash your stockings!).  Thoroughly looking forward both to the next dance event and next year's march.

What did y'all get up to this weekend?

Jen xxxx

Summer Inspiration

Hi everyone, hope you're all having lovely starts to the week!

Now, I was *hoping* that I'd be able to proudly show off my new 'Sew and Save' dress this evening... but alas, I still have to finish the neck trim and hem the bottom.  I'm feeling very pleased with it though!

So instead, here's some lovely summer outfit inspiration.  As I said, I'm off to Malta at the end of May for a family wedding, and I'm determined to only pack beautiful vintage / vintage inspired outfits.  Especially because my grandma will be there and we love chatting fashion and sewing... she still likes to talk about seeing me get off the train last summer, and how I looked like a filmstar!  I didn't, I'd been on a train for 6 hours in late August, but what a lovely thing to say :)

I love this little nautical inspired number... supercute!

[Image from here]

I would wear all of these dresses... but my absolute favourite has to be the green one with the cherries on

[Image from here]

Bows! And ruffles!

[Image from here]

I've been thinking about needing a new swimsuit too (any excuse to go shopping!)

[Image from here]

Maybe a Jane Russell-esque swimsuit will help me hook a Robert Mitchum-esque chap!

[Image from here]

Yep, definitely feeling the need for summer now!

Jen xxxx

Weekend Round-up: Cambridge Vintage Fair and not much else!

Hello lovelies, hope you've all had fabulous weekends!


As the post title says, this weekend I headed off to Cambridge with some friends to check out Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair.  There was more than a little excitement involved, as I'd been to the last couple and had always come away with some fab dresses and skirts.  This time around, I sadly didn't find much at all.  There wasn't a lot of 30s/40s stuff (the things that were there were beautiful! but also way more than I could afford this month, sadface), but I picked up some supercute commemorative coronation hairpins from 1953.  I'll put photos of those up soon, but I bought some for my sister too and don't want to completely ruin the surprise :)


The fair always has a lovely tea and cupcake shop, but we've never actually sat down and sampled the goods before so we made damn sure it happened this time.  It was so yummy, the carrot cupcakes were to die for!

I think the best part was that you got to choose your own china!  I'm a sucker for old mismatched china, and there was so much of it!

This is us enjoying our mid-shopping sit down :)  At the beautiful-but-expensive stall, a lady came up to tell me how nice it was to see someone actually dressed vintage at the fair, which was lovely and made me beam.  The fact that my blouse is from Topshop and the skirt's homemade will be overlooked right now...  And check out Amy's polka-dot dress, I squealed when I saw it, it's absolutely darling and I'm so envious of it!

As I spent very little at the fair, I treated myself in wider Cambridge to some yummy biscuits from Crabtree and Evelyn, rose perfume from Cath Kidston and of course the obligatory girly shopping cocktail.  A lovely way to cheer up what had been a most dreadful week.  Can't wait til Judy comes back into town again!  

And as for today? I've been super relaxed... homemade soup, Casablanca and The Thin Man were all that concerned me.  Heaven!

Jen xxxx

Show and Tell

Very quick update before I run back out to work again!


So here's what I did with my me-time Sunday... I made a skirt!

I'm pretty proud of this little cutie, it's the first sewing project that a) I've completed in a day and b) had no help with whatsoever. Squee!  It's from the Sew and Save book, which I highly recommend.  The only thing I'd do differently next time is make it in a fabric with more drape.  And also make it a lot smaller lol, think I'll be taking it in again at the weekend!

The cardi is made by moi also, it's from the Stitch n Bitch book and was the first cardi I ever made.  Obviously, the wonkiness is totally intentional and part of the pattern (I've come along a lot since!).

This outfit's had a lot of compliments today, I was pleased as punch to tell everyone it was almost entirely handmade.  Shoes are vintage '40s from my favourite Vintage V, and the t-shirt's from, umm, Topshop... That's Meg the Bicycle in the background too!

Have you made anything you're really excited about recently?

Jen xxxx

The Great Fur Debate: Am I Faking It?

So, I've noticed a bit of a storm around certain blogs regarding what people view as acceptable or unacceptable to wrap our bodies in.  Solanah especially has been particularly brave in putting her views across and, whether you agree or not, you've got to admire her courage for facing down everyone who has blasted her.  Anyway, there was a little occurrence over the weekend that got me thinking about fur, so I thought I'd put my two cents in.


A little bit of background before I get started: I've been vegetarian for almost 23 years, ever since I was 4.  Dead things gross me out; I have a phobia of taxidermy, could never cook meat for any of my lovers, and when the vet recommended I give my cat some chicken I instantly went out and bought a box of disposable latex gloves so I didn't have to physically touch meat.  I have owned, and still do own, leather shoes even though I don't particularly like the idea of where they came from.  For environmental and welfare reasons, I've dabbled in veganism although brie is always my downfall!


So you can see, I'm really not down with the dead animal thing.


I wore fur once.  At the Wansford 40s dance last September, I got talking to a lady in the bathroom and asked her if her stole was vintage.  She explained it wasn't, but it had been humanely culled as part of a typical agricultural process; she'd seen it hanging up and her husband lovingly turned it into a stole for her.  So it wasn't farmed for fur, and was going to be killed anyway.   She asked me to hold it while she went to the loo, and it lasted long enough round my neck for me to take a picture:

By this point I was freaking out at the idea of having a dead thing round my neck, and with great relief gave it back to its owner.

This weekend, I went home and in my absent-mindedness completely forgot to take a coat with me.  Raiding the cupboard under the stairs, I came across a coat I had bought at uni and completely swooned at it.  When I bought it, I never wore it because it suddenly occurred to me that it might be real fur.  But the mamma bear and I conducted a series of experiments (burning, wetting, stroking, ripping the lining to see the back of the fabric) and came to the conclusion that it was indeed a fake.  I'm 98% sure it's not real fur... and that other 2% is the same worried part of me that panics every time I eat a veggie burger in case someone's put real meat in it.

So, check it out!

I've now got to wondering though... would I still wear it if it was real fur?  I've stopped criticising people who wear *vintage* fur - it's been long since killed - although in Britain today there is absolutely no need for new fur, other than fashion, and I will never, ever agree with killing things just to look nice.  However, I never ever saw myself as being someone who would even wear old old fur.  It just wasn't me, and the thought of it made me feel kind of queasy.  But I love this coat.  It's warm, it's pretty and it feels like it was made for me.  So maybe it's bad, but I kind of don't want to know if that 98% of me is wrong.  And that's going to take a lot of getting used to.  I might even change my mind in a day or two and retire it back to the cupboard under the stairs.

So what are your thoughts on fur?  Would you wear it?  What do you think of people who do?  Do you see a difference between vintage and new fur?  

Hedna's Vintage Nightclub and fangirl happiness!

Hey chaps!

So last night Bob and I headed over to Hedna's Vintage Nightclub at The Stables in Milton Keynes.  I was so so excited about seeing Katy Carr and then getting my swing on.  And of course, before we went my housemate took a couple of photos :)

Hehe, we wanted to do a very 'formal' pose, and then show off our dancing skills :)

So then we were on our way!  It was lovely when we got there, everyone was all dressed up and there was a photographer wandering round (when the photos are up I'll link them).  

Katy Carr was first on and she was brilliant.  She played 'Lili Marlene' which is one of my favourites, and loads more but I'm on a time limited internet here :)

ANYWAY.  The main point of my story!  After Katy had played, Bob and I headed out for a cigarette, but first I went to tell Katy how fab I thought she was, and get a photo because that's how much of a fangirl geek I am...  She was pretty much the nicest person I've ever met and took us into her dressing room and made us coffees and gave us cake and we spent ages talking about Swimbridge (a tiny village in Devon that I love, and in fact is how I discovered Katy because she'd played at the village hall there!).  So yep, my night was pretty much made :)

Squee!

Hedna's overall was fab, the music was great and everyone looked lovely.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that at the next one there's more room to dance!!

Weekend Review: What I Ate, Wore and Saw!

So this weekend involved spending time with a lot of lovely people, doing lots of lovely things and eating lots of lovely food!

On Friday night, I went to Jimmy Spices with my (now ex) housemate and another friend.  It's a new all-you-can-eat buffet of Indian, Italian, Chinese and Thai food. Yum yum yum! In fact, this is how happy the dessert area made me:

Hehe, happy pudding face :)  I'm a bit known for how much I love my food.  In fact, my housemates refer to me frequently as 'Jenny Two Dinners'.  So this place was exactly what I needed!

On Saturday morning, after a calamitous attempt to catch a bus (missed the first one by a minute, and just before the second one turned up I realised I'd left my cashcard, cigarettes and phone at home!), I took a trip to Vintage V.  This is a new shop opened in a nearby village dedicated to the 40s and it's brilliant!  Of course, such a trip deserves a special outfit:

Hat: Vintage V

Cardi and Cameo: Presents from Mamma

Dress: Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair

The shopping trip didn't disappoint, and I came home with an awesome outfit for my day out on Sunday :)

So Sunday... wow.  The mamma bear and I had tickets to go see Swan Lake in Cambridge.  It was absolutely beautiful, I was completely blown away.  Ballet is just so so my favourite thing right now.  And before the show, we went to the Jamie Oliver restaurant.  Oh boy!  It was sooo tasty.  I had a glass of Prosecco and berry puree to start, followed by pumpkin pasta, and topped off with the tastiest chocolate, raspberry and amaretto brownie.  I must find a recipe for those.  And, of course, here's some pictures...

Geek!  I'm so bad at this posing lark...

Attempting to get a close-up of my new favourite hat :)

Dress and hat from Vintage V

And some photos from Jamie's...

Mmmm drinkies

Such a beautiful building!

Between us, the mamma bear and I have almost 50 years of being vegetarian.

So why she took a picture of the meat counter, I have no idea...

Hope you all had a super weekend whatever you got up to!  I must get catching up on all the essays I didn't do... oops!

Love Jen xxxx

And I'm back...

Well.

In all honesty, the last couple of months have been insane. So many uni deadlines and work has been ridiculously busy with planning a recycled fashion show - which made me cry with pride when I saw all the young people coming off stage in their amazing charity shop and 'trashion' ensembles!  Some days I've not had time to eat, let alone craft or read or blog.  But... this time tomorrow all my uni work will be done for the year!  Today I squeezed three days' worth of work into one afternoon and am feeling immensely proud of myself :)

So why did I have so much work to do today?  That's because I played hooky yesterday and had the most amazing day out at the Ramsey 1940s weekend!

It was the best day. Ever.  There were reenactments of every kind, from military set ups to Anderson shelters to handwashing.  My friend Bob and I enjoyed cups of tea in the field refreshments tent, spent ages trying on hats (actually, I tried on hats, Bob just looked nervous everytime I asked him if he thought it would go with my dress) and wandered round having a generally wonderful time.  I could have spent so much money, there were so many beautiful dresses.  But alas, payday was a week away and if I wanted to feed the cat / myself for the next week then I had to be sensible.  I still managed to acquire a snood, the most amazing hat, beautiful gloves and a darling cherry brooch though!

Here's what I wore to wander round the day's events:

Excuse the crazy face. My mamma bear took the picture when we visited.  She's lovely, but obviously incredibly biased and does not tell me when a photo makes me look like I'm auditioning for 'Mad Woman of the Year'.

The main reason for the visit home was because we had to get changed for the evening - a 1940s hangar dance, complete with Opus One big band!  There was a professional photographer there, so we had actual proper photos taken:

 

Natural born posers, eh?  Bob's a total military geek, he's rocking the RAF uniform here :)  That's also my new hat and gloves.  Once bought, fabulous things must be worn immediately.

The evening was probably one of the best nights I've ever had. Everyone was dressed up and looked amazing, and I saw some of the best dancing I've ever seen.  Bob and I are already resolved to practice our steps before the next dance!  The band were amazing, and I got to dance to 'In the Mood', which is probably one of my favourite songs of all time.  I developed a total schoolgirl crush on a trombone player... I did get a smile, but I think that was probably through fear. Or he was laughing at the drool on my collar.  Anyway.  I think I now have a fetish for old-school US army uniforms. 

The next dance is at the end of September... I can't wait!  And, with uni out the way, I can focus on pulling together some awesome outfits.

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend!

Love Jen xxxx

Cupcakes for Breakfast!

Last night I went for drinks with a very nice chap. Who brought me... cupcakes. Not just any cupcakes, Candycake cupcakes. Which gave him at least another 150 brownie points on top of the million and forty seven I've already given him. Lol.

So this morning, I had cupcakes for breakfast!

I don't think it shows... but there were sparkles!

I bought this dress in Manchester when I accidentally ended up there the other week. It's perfect for picnics but sadly I have to go to work!

Hope everyone is having a lovely week

Jen xxxx

When I Get Sad, I Stop Being Sad and Be a Sailor Instead

Okay. I'm not actually particularly sad, but I liked the way it sounded...

I'm going out in a bit to eat lots of yummy Indian food with some people from work.  I tried on many many outfits then thought, 'sod it. I want to be a sailor.' So here it is :)

This is one of the dresses I picked up in Cambridge last month, it's so pretty!

Check also the necklace.  I saw it in topshop and absolutely HAD to buy it.  Sewing machine cuteness!

Hope everyone else is having a lovely start to the week.

Jen xxxx

Summing up, and some nice things too...

Well. The past few weeks have been entirely eventful. Bag stolen. Mild nervous breakdowns thanks to the huuuuge amount of work I've been doing/avoiding. Cameron becoming prime minister. All just thoroughly too depressing.

Then! I found some beautiful dresses, started reading some lovely books and listened to Mahler's 5th Symphony on repeat. And I gave up smoking. Everything is okay again. Maybe. If I can just get some uni work done...  So let me forget about those 4,000 words that are due in next Friday and think about something else instead.

I picked up an awesome book in a charity shop in Cambridge - '1939: The Last Season' by Anne de Courcy.  It mixes stories of the final party season of the thirties with the political issues as we headed right into the middle of World War 2 (parties and politics are two of my favouritest things).  I'm not even halfway through it yet, but it's got some fantastic quotes (matched up here with some pictures, just because, well, I like pictures!)

"...for a young woman of the upper classes, adult life began with a curtsey."

(image from here)

"Two good subjects if you are stuck for conversation are ghosts and the royal family."

(image from here)

Apparently, the advertising for a car called the Lancaster really was 'At 50 m.p.h. you can knit comfortably'.  That is so my type of car! (I gave up trying to find a picture of the actual car - my car distinction extends to "it's red"...)

(image from here)

Finally, apparently my sister not only has been reading this blog but also enjoying it (thanks panda!).  So for her, here's some outfit pictures from when I felt particularly lovely over the last few weeks.

Me feeling a little Miss Marple-y. Actually, this happens quite a lot.

My hair makes me happy here :)

Yep, I liked this outfit a lot...

No outfit in this picture. Actually, no clothes except a towel. But Lilycat's just about the cutest thing ever.

Other exciting things have included some amazing acquisitions from various shopping trips to Cambridge, which will hopefully be posted as soon as I can access some passable photographic equipment, and some true visual treats.  But that's another story for another day!

Jen xxxx

Jeans!

I don't much like wearing jeans.  Skinny ones are too 'scenester' for my taste, and baggy ones just too casual.  They're good for slopping round the house in, and pretty much the only time I wear them in public is when I'm working at the young people's bike project (grease on my favourite skirts? no thanks!).  Then finally, I found not one but TWO pairs of high waisted lovelies in town and my heart skipped a beat.  My wonderful mama bear treated me to them and now here they are in all their beautiful glory :)

I'm still not so good at this posing lark, and self-consciousness means they all got taken during my morning cigarette as there were guaranteed no housemates interrupting - smoking is bad kids, don't do it!

Anyway, I'm off to work (on a Saturday, this is a human rights issue I feel) and then tonight I'm going to see Lou Reed! Man, I'm so excited.  Most likely I'll spend all day planning my outfit... I think the awesome new hat has to come into it somewhere :) Hope everyone has a lovely Saturday!

Jen xxx