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The Vintage Show at Norwich Fashion Week

This city I live in is pretty neat. It has heaps of home grown talent in the field of fashion, and to totally indulge and celebrate that fact, there is this kinda pretty cool thing; Norwich Fashion Week! A brilliant week of events, parties, exhibitions and, natch, catwalk shows taking place in the city so everyone who enjoys fashion can come together to do some real big SWOONING. Norwich is abundant with skilled fashion designers, makers, tailors, photographers, stylists, retailers and hair and make up artists, so, there’s a huge pool of talent that teams up to create something really damn good. This year I was involved in a few projects; I, of course showcased some ridiculously pretty vintage dresses from my store in The Vintage Show, I presented a video for Wex Photographic, and, in a more personal project, I teamed up with my good friend Karen to curate a cute and quirky exhibition. ‘A Portrait Of Vintage’ is an adorable gallery installation of vintage dresses and accessories, and we’re pretty pleased with how it came out and the reaction it’s received, hurrah! There’s heaps going on for Norwich Fashion Week and this year it is mostly taking place at the superb and very huge venue of Open; a brilliant destination. Sunday was all about The Vintage Show; prep and rehearsal in the day and then a boomingly impressive show in the evening. I think it was way bigger and better than last year; the space, the layout, the stadium-worthy screen with a live feed and, a whopping loud 70’s soundtrack as the models walked. Ace. In the daytime I worked with Wex Photographic to talk about the show in a cute video, but also to chat on camera with Fashion Photographer Paul Bayfield who was there with 6 lucky Wex competition winners who got to hang with him for the day and learn the ropes of catwalk snapping! A whole heap of fun! Here’s my dresses on the catwalk, super cute right? All available in my online store, but obvs, with vintage, you gotta be fast otherwise somebody else might grab the dress you love, waaah!

Superb show, big thumbs up to all involved.

Brilliant images by kind permission of Paul Bayfield.

 

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How To Find Artistic Inspiration At Any Time

I really appreciate other people’s artwork. I know how important it is to study the success of others if you want to find your own, and success doesn’t have to mean becoming rich and famous, y’know! It can just be looking at something you’ve made any being super proud. Sometimes it can be hard to find inspiration, especially when your mind is busy with too many other things. But here’s how I find inspiration when I’m struggling….

Get Outside – It’s difficult to be creative if you’re shut in your bedroom or lounging about at home. Sometimes you can find inspiration online, but other times you need to leave the house. Going out can help to refresh your mind and open you up to new ideas. You can go to a museum, gallery or library to find something to inspire you, I do this as often as possible and write heaps of blog posts about exhibitions that inspire me. It’s great sitting in front of a painting, photograph, artifact or sculpture with a notebook or drawing pad and doing whatever comes to mind. But you don’t have to go anywhere in particular. You could just walk around and see what you find that inspires you, it really is ALL around you!

Go Shopping for Some Art – I think it’s important to surround yourself with art if you want to feel inspired more often. It doesn’t have to cost much to buy something to put on your wall or a book or poetry to read. And if you don’t have much money at all, it’s always possible to find things for free. Your can order things online using stores like Cordair Art, or you could go out and find somewhere that sells things you love. Art can be many different things too. It could be a handmade item you pick up at a market stall. The important thing is that someone has put their creativity into it, and it inspires you to do the same.

 

Use Other Media – You don’t have to stick to the medium you work with when you’re looking for inspiration. If you want to draw or paint, reading a book could help to inspire you. Watching a TV show or movie might get you thinking about something you want to do. Listening to music could help you visualize a new concept or give you some inspirational words, music is a massive inspiration for me. So, don’t limit yourself to only using one medium for inspiration, keep trying new ideas, it makes for so much more fun!

Look at Your Own Work – Sometimes we start things and then put them down and never look at them again. Or we finish a piece but then put it in the back of a drawer, so easily done! Going back to your finished and unfinished pieces is an ace way to be creative. You might pick up something you’ve started again, or it might inspire you to begin a new project…. so many creative adventures to have!

I get it, finding inspiration can be hard, but you really have to consciously look for it, be reday and willing to be inspired and it will come to you, just wait and see!

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Pretty, Pretty Pictures

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So, we ALL love Instagram right? Surely? I totes adore it! So much more pretty than all the other social media streams, and it feels more instant and more satisfying than all the others; no pesky links to click on to reach an article, no faff, just simply things to look at! And you get a real sense of a person from seeing what their eyes see, what they choose to share with you. I have my own Instagram, which I use for this blog; showing my home life, days out, cats and all the little things that make my eyes happy, and now, I FINALLY set one up for my online shop Prim! Oooof! Really don’t know what took me so darn long! It’s the perfect place for you to see regular and easy updates on newly added vintage stock, close-up details of special items, and, some plainly gratuitous inspiration in the form of my favorite vintage dress wearers, my famous muses looking brilliant in vintage dresses…. I mean, it’s just gonna be a plethora, a delight of vintage dresses! Please do join me there and I’ll follow you back! Let’s share pretty pictures!

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Planning The Perfect Vintage Wedding

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Vintage is always gonna be a big favorite theme for a wedding because it offers just soooo many possibilities. With plenty of decades to choose from, you can add that vintage and retro feel to every aspect of your big fancy day. With so many suppliers out there, it’s easier than ever to create the vintage wedding of your dreams. Some super good ideas to get that perfect look?….

Looking back – Deciding which decade you want to inspire your big day is an important first step. Maybe there’s a period of time that you’ve always been inspired by or forever adored. Look at movies and fashion from that time period to help get your ideas a go-go! Or, look at your grandparents wedding photographs, I adore the idea of using that as true inspiration. You may decide to recreate the look they had on their big day, which adds even more, sentiment to the occasion, gorgeous! Each decade will have a very particular look and feel so always go for the one that attracts you instantly. Popular time periods many brides choose are 1920’s or 1950’s as they are so distinctive.

How vintage do you want to go? – Consider how profoundly you want to include your vintage theme. It’s totally a personal thang, and there’s no right or wrong way of incorporating it. You may wanna have a more modern day with a few select vintage decor pieces, or maybe you want it to spread across every aspect of the event. Look at how other couples have included vintage time periods into their wedding for some ace inspiration.

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Invitations – This is the very first glimpse your guests will get as to what you have in store for the day. So, they need to look pretty special. Vintage wedding invites come in such a huge array of sizes, colours and designs to choose from. Do lots of research into old-fashioned lettering and images or, use old tickets or postcards for inspiration. Whichever design you go for, the vintage theme can continue throughout your wedding stationery. So choose something that you love and won’t get bored of. 

The Dress – Vintage wedding dresses can often be difficult to find in a spotless condition and in your size. Thankfully the internet is full of boutiques and online suppliers of both vintage and reproduction dresses. Think about the fashion of the period you have chosen as this will help you decide on an suitable length and style, the dress is totaaly A BIG DEAL for your day! For instance, 1920’s dresses were heavily beaded, shorter and loosely fitted. Whereas a beautiful 1950’s dress can be more feminine and frothy….so many contrasting options to look gorgeous in!

Decorative touches – Create a vintage mood by using appropriate decor at your venue. Old suitcases, books and chandeliers are beautiful touches, as are old lace tablecloths and  china teapots. Keep checking in on charity shops and online for unique pieces that will transport your guests back into another time, these little elements make it become perfect.

That’s just a few teeny tips to get you started on your day of magic and LOVE! Research is the start and it’s so much fun, and it makes the day feel authentic so do plenty of it! Also, get creative and don’t be afraid of mixing the old with the new to really give the day your own personality! Hurrah for love! 

 

 

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Scream Queen Dream

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So, Scream Queens on E4, isn’t really aimed at me, surely I’m out way of their target age range, but, have you SEEN it? Oooof! I watched the first episode thinking it would just be a cute bit of easy breezy telly on a winters night, and, by gosh, waaah, I was hooked, it’s a dream to watch, it’s like candy floss for the eyes; a swanky pastel fash fest! Now, I ain’t seen styling as superb as this since Sex and The city, and that’s sayin’ somethin! It totally blows me away every episode, such saccharine sweet goodness in every look. It’s kitsch, it’s tongue in cheek, it’s hilariously written and it’s so overly styled it’s like watching a preened My Little Pony winning a show jump; SUBLIME. The set too, is impeccable, I gasp when I watch it. I adore trash TV like this, great escapism from my sofa with my kitty on my lap and hearts in my eyeballs. The look of this show is utterly faultless. I have one MAJOR bone to pick with it though, it massively mocks the issues of girls and eating disorders, which is ridiculously irresponsible, seriously NOT GOOD. The characters are seen eating cotton wool balls for lunch and appear sat at a dinner table eating thin air with knives and forks, frequent references are also made to dieting and making yourself sick. It’s more than crazy that they include this in a show which has an enormous young following. I mean, I totally get that this show is satirical, it parodies the genre, the style and the intelligence of shallow college girls, but the eating disorder thing, that’s satire gone crazy. Maybe girls these days respond more to the fear of ridicule than anything else so the writers feel the inclusion of stuff like this is a good way to educate girls on eating and body issues, I can’t figure it out. But the rest of the show is just SO damn good I can only hope they have a good intention behind their reason to mock eating issues. I’m stumped. But, still, pretty show, very, very pretty.

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