Jukebox Jive Show and outfit post

Hi Y'all

We are a bit excited here at Heyday towers as we are trading this weekend and for a change we don't need to be away from home!  It is the Jukebox Jive weekend near Heathrow. Even though it is the very first one, Katy, the organiser seems to have pulled out all the stops - there are rows and rows of classic cars, bands, food, jukeboxes (well, naturally), music, and lots of shopping to be had. Do come along and visit if you can! Rocket Originals will be there as will Home Sweet Homestyle and Lipstick and Curls.  All of them are great friends so there will be a fair amount of catching up going on in the quiet moments.

Even though the word "Jukebox" makes one think of the 50s, all the traders there will have other decades for sale too, so if you are a 40s buff, there will still be plenty for you to dribble over. In fact, Jukeboxes have been around for longer than we tend to think anyway.

And now onto the pictures....!

I am making the most of the mildly warm weather and, wearing skirts and dresses before it becomes unbearable

This is one of our Olivia blouses teamed with a waistcoat knitted by a friend's Mother.  The big egg shaped tree behind me always amazes me, since I never actually see the gardener trim it (we have a shared garden, so it is not OUR own gardener btw)

The skirt is again the one from our wartime suit. It is getting good use right now!

And the shoes are old ones from Remix in the states.  WARNING: do not to click on the link if you are trying to save money!

I hope to meet some of you at the show, do come and introduce yourself if you pop by.

Bling Bits and Dancing

Last Thursday Mr Wolf and I went with a bunch of dancing friends to the International Ballroom Dance Championships at the historic Royal Albert Hall. It was the 59th (!) year it was held there.

First up - what does one wear? It is absolutely impossible to arrive overdressed at such an event, unless you happen to have a barrel of swarzkofski crystals and oystrich feathers you can dunk yourself into. A lot of people come straight from work, so the audience is just in "whatever". But me, well, I am, (as you might be aware) never KNOWINGLY under-dressed. To bridge the comfort + dressy gap I decided to glam up one of my Mary dresses with a couple of bling bits (bought in the States, not vintage). They are just brooches, and in a flash of inspiration I picked up two, not just one, to act as dress clips.

The effect was really very good, considering three ladies stopped me to ask where I got my outfit! Now, I know the dress is my design and all, but really, the effect of two cheap modern pins would work the same on any plain dress. Perfect for desk-to-date days and light weight holiday packing too.

The event, which was compared by a friend of mine (name dropper me!) Karen Hardy of Strictly Come Dancing fame was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. And that was just the outfits! Of course, they are not vintage - but "vintage" includes being obsessed with a darn good dress. Which I am.

Of course I took about a gazillion photos, and here are just a few. (sorry, some are a bit fuzzy, they moved a bit fast for my camera at a distance in the dark)

Weee!...Cinderella moment

Stunning colours in the heats

This lady was one of my faves of the latin finals, probably mostly because of her Marilyn-esque hair

This Danish couple won the Professional Ballroom division. And she got my vote for best dressed too.

If you have a young daughter I bet she would LOVE this type of event. Maybe not this particular one as it is long and runs late, although there was one tweeny in our row who was completely transfixed.

The men though, well, as nice as they are, I do prefer mine a bit rougher and hairier. Just as well huh?

Rocket Girl

Hello all you lovelies out there
Last weekend we were trading at the Hemsby Rock and Roll Weekender  and I just gotta say - weekenders tire me out! Oh man, I always start the week like death warmed up!  It might be the 3 days standing and talking, it might be the early dash to the Hemsby car boot on the Sunday, or it might just be that this is the last in a long run of events/trips/outings and it has taken a toll.

Fellow stallholders, Rocket Originals were there as always, and I treated myself to a couple of their jumpers for my early autumn wardrobe.  This is the first one to show you - The lovely Red with Ivory jumper.  Now, being a big busted girl (and "big" is a, ah-hem... polite understatement) you would think that a high neck sweater would make me look even more dumpy/frumpy and made of 95% boobage. But I have discovered that as long as it isn't chocker-high neck, and if the colour on the shoulders is lighter than the rest of the body, it actually does me some favours! I happen to be very narrow in the shoulders, so much so that I have learnt  never to buy shoulder bags with two straps as I can never keep the second strap on.  So the shoulder widening illusion created by the lighter colour, combined with the darker colour over the boobs balances me out.
The skirt I am wearing is the one from Heyday's Wartime suit.  I have found it invaluable in this warm but autumn weather - so easy to wear, doesn't crease, comfy, and, you know.. slims and skims the lumpy bits. I imagine it will be just as useful in springtime with or without the jacket.



So, back to telling you about Rocket Originals...I also  picked up a bit of HOT shoe news for you, Rocket are about to bring out their "Nancy" sandal (above) in a lovely dark green. Ohhhh! - can't wait! This shoe has got to be their comfiest yet and as I completely thrashed my white pair this summer, I have also picked up the red pair too as you can see. Already having two colours of the same shoe won't stop me as being a red head I have lots of outfits that will go with green shoes. Indeed, florals always seem to go well with green - Mother Nature being the queen goddess of design and all that!


Back soon with more vintage adventures,
Shona

I'm back, with Shoes

Ohh I know, I have been away ages! It is one of those things that once you get out of the habit, it is hard to get back into, like exercise, and eating spinach, or doing your accounts. These last few months have been really busy at Heyday Central and I have been super head-down-locked-into-work mode. But, since you know a bit about me already, you will likely know that it will be SHOE NEWS that brings me back!

My birthday has been and gone (getting older is just one of the things I have been doing!) and Mr Wolf took the hint (written in big letters on his notepad) and bought me these for my birthday from Miss L Fire

He really does love me!

Sadly, by the time my birthday came around and I got them onto my feet I found they were a touch too small for me. I might have done it if they were leather, but raffia just wouldn't have given enough. And by then they had sold out of the size 6s.  Argghh! Shoe birthday anguish!

So, I ended up with these, which I am just as happy with! They are so comfy to walk in, and I had been lusting after them since I saw Yesterday Girl in them at the Chap Olympics.

Aren't they stunners? I confess I have taken the top flower off, so I am left with a tidy cute bow that is a bit more "me". Being a make do and mend girl I have saved the flower to put onto another pair of shoes when needed. I like doing stuff like that

So, now that I am back, I have to let you know that I have a wee give-away coming up, as well as lots of interesting bits of news.  In the meantime, if anyone has a pair of Honolulu Red size 6s to sell then I am buying!

New glasses from Dead Man's Spex

I know why the weather has been so wet recently here in London - it is because I have new Sunglasses!

These were received in the mail just the other day after been promptly fitted out with my prescription by Darren at Dead Mans Spex.

I meet Darren at Hemsby twice a year and once at Twinwood in August (I LOVE Twinwood).

I think I love the case even more than the glasses. Do I use it or keep it safe so it stays pristine forEVER?

Thanks for my new Glasses Darren
(Hoping for sun now)

Shona xx

PS: I won't leave it so long between posts next time - promise
PPS: I have a give away coming up so stay tuned! It's a good 'un

Daffodils and Dresses

A couple of weekends ago Wolf and I headed off to our local park for a quick walk. The blossoms were all in full regalia and we were thrilled to see that someone clever had planted a swirling scroll of Daffodils around one corner of it. These ones were out quite late compared to others but the combination of Daffs and Blossoms was a very happy one!

Thank you clever gardener person, you really made my day.

My outfit that day was a dress I had bought dead stock. It didn't have a label on it, but it did have a paper size tag sewn in the collar, so it was evident it had never been washed until it got to me! It fits me so well that people think I made it for myself. (Thank you little old lady who was a mad shopper but didn't wear everything)

Teamed with a hair flower pinned on as decoration for a bit of flippant-ness

and little square earrings that are a change from my usual flowery earlobes.

Cute buttons

Later the same night I struggled to sleep, so was flipping through my Sears catalog books for inspiration in the wee early hours... and what did I find?

Yes, that is MY dress on the bottom right! Whooo hooo!! Now if I ever have unlimited time and money I want to travel the US piecing together the whole catalog. Oh yes!

I hope you are finding some reasons to feel happy today wherever you are.

Shona xx

I fell off the treadmill

Hello again!!

I am sorry I have neglected you all for so long. I fell off the treadmill!  Nothing bad happened, no catastrophe to blame my slackness on. Not even anything exciting to whisk me away from you all.... nope...nothing but I the fact that I have been worn out, feeling poorly, not sleeping well, having appointments about my dodgy knees and completely full up from just keeping up. So without really intending to I fell off from Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, and even REAL people for nearly 6 whole weeks! I haven't even done any sewing, or turned out my summer wardrobe, or watched the rest of the Mad Men series one (I am far behind!). I have barely called my mother. In fact, March? What March? I think I missed it.

What I have been doing is looking after myself, which is a very valuable thing to do. I had to get to 38 before I learnt how. Yet even when things feel at a standstill, life does slowly tick over, so this is a wee update:

I have nearly completed a 6 week beginners course at Burlesque Baby. 

So THAT is how you walk!? Who knew?  And I can tell you, it is a walk that will get you noticed and possibly (hopefully) given free things. I am thinking: Lamborghini, diamonds and champagne, though I will think myself lucky if I get a cuppa tea and a bus ride. Now, I am not planning on becoming a burlesque star, and not even sure I will get my puppies out even in the next block of classes, but my inner Dolly Parton is loving it. As the song goes..."well, hello, Dolly... It's so nice to have you back where you belong". A bit of strutting about goes a long way.

That delectable gymnast above is my teacher, the lovely and gorgeous Ruby Deshabille (pic shamelessly nicked from her facebook page). Ruby, when do we get that stockings off trick in class? (hmmm, on second thoughts, I might not survive the process, having suffocated myself with my own boobs. Maybe not then.)

I've been working away on various projects, one of which started to bear fruit yesterday on a photo shoot with Gordon Ayres. He is REALLY good. Here is a wee taster, including a neighbourhood cat, though it doesn't give nought away yet (heh heh). The model here is the lovely Gemma from Bake do and Mend. 

The rest of everything has been varied...knitting a 30s twinset, off to a masked ball, admiring the daffodils, lapping up Boardwalk Empire and trolling the Hammersmith vintage fair. Even just getting down to work with the doors open and the birds a-larking in the trees has been fab. With spring finally here I have got some bounce back, just like Dolly here.

Yeah HA!