VINTAGE PRINTS & TEXTILES

I've just added a few pieces featuring beautiful prints to my vintage clothing shop on ebay! Prints are the ideal way to instantly freshen up and brighten your outfit, a printed shirt under dungarees is a great festival look, a statement printed dress for weddings or summer parties is always a winner, and an interesting print on a blouse tucked in to shorts is fantastic for summer. A great print adds a splash of colour and interest to your wardrobe, whether it's tropical, gingham, abstract, painterly, polka dot, there are so many brilliant ones out there!

Vintage prints are the most quirky, kitsch and fun of them all. Here are a few:

Tropical Palm Leaf and Parrot Print, circa 80s/90s on cotton festival sun dress, Size M, £18 & free postage

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Safari Lion, Deer & Tree Print in a painterly watercolour style, circa 80s on a slouchy button up shirt, Size M, £12 & free postage

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Jungle Palm Leaf Print, circa 80s on a slouchy loose fit tee, Freesize, £8 & free postage

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Gingham Print, circa 70s on a cropped tie front blouse with cute collar tips, Size S/M, £9 & Free Postage

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Floral & Circle Psychedelic Print, circa 70s on a button up blouse, Size UK 6/8, £12 & Free Postage

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 50's Print, indulgy.com

 50s Novelty Fruit Print, LaConchaVintage

SATURDAY SISTER VINTAGE... My Faves

Here are a few of my favourite pieces taken from my brand new vintage clothing shop, Saturday Sister Vintage. All items are handpicked by me, because I love them and I'd wear them. Each item is on trend and priced fairly and affordably. I've sourced each piece from across the UK and across the world, some of them have come all the way from Asia! I'm passionate about vintage clothing, I believe it's better for the environment, better quality  and more special and unique than any mass produced garments could ever be, plus it's often much cheaper to buy vintage too - a no brainer.

Here are my favourite five newly arrived vintage pieces:

80s Yellow Abstract Print Button Up Blouse, S/M- £12 & Free Postage

Check out this incredible blouse, handmade, so it's completely unique! It can be worn tucked in to a high waist or tucked out, and cinched in with a belt. It's perfect for summer and adding a bold bright splash of sunny yellow to denim shorts, skirts, jeans... The abstract painterly/modern art print make it trend focused, and it can be dressed up easily with luxe fabrics and a statement necklace

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60s/70s Leather Strappy Mary Jane Block Heel Sandals, UK 4.5- £15 & Free Postage

Sweet vintage sandals, perfect with a 70s maxi dress or 90s strappy dress for summer days out, festivals and nights out. Super cute

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50's Style Vintage Cotton Handmade Sun Dress with Kitsch Illustrated Food Print! UK 8/10- £14 & Free Postage

Beautiful and unique dress cut in a 1950s style, with a cute food ingredients print. Absolutely perfect for summer!

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80s/Early 90s High Waisted Denim Cut Off Shorts, UK 14 - £14 & Free Postage!

Fantastic vintage shorts in a muted burgundy/maroon pallette with a super flattering high waist. Perfect with a band tee and Dr Martens. I really love the colours and stripe design on these

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Beautfil 70s Vintage Cameo Brooch, £6 & Free Postage

Gorgeous vintage classic, perfect pinned on to the collar of a blouse or attached to a chain as a pendant 

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Bunny Bissoux, I Love You

I've loved artist/writer/costume maker/general all round cool gal Bunny Bissoux for a good 8 or more years now. I imagine I found out about her via some strange coincidence - I think it involved discovering her details in a toy machine plastic dispender container, as part of an art show in Brighton.

She makes really amazing costumes, she illustrates stuff, she makes zines, she has a super bitchin' Big Cartel shop selling deadstock playing cards. She moved to Japan from the UK. All this scores large points on my 'you're so cool I love you' radar.

Fast Food Outfits, Hotdog Dress and Coat, Handmade From Mixed Fabrics, Bunny Bissoux, 2007

Purikura Hontou Vol.II Zine, includes mini colour poster, Bunny Bissoux

'Tokyo' Sticker Set, Bunny Bissoux x Lazy Oaf, www.bunnyboissoux.bigcartel..com

Powder Pink Magic 2 x Pin Badge Set, www.bunnybissoux.bigcartel.com

For more info on Bunny, including commissioned work, visit her website:
http://www.bunnybissouxart.com/

And check out her Big Cartel shoppe:
http://www.bunnybissoux.bigcartel.com/

GLASSES OF NOTE

1) Cobain
2) Lolita
3) Reading glasses (I've meant to get the lenses of these replaced with prescription ones for about 5 years)
4) My Reality Bites phase
5) Glam rock from Amsterdam

SO HAPPY TOGETHER: COORDINATES

I would like to discuss the notion of the two piece - an idea championed by Topshop this season. The concept is a matching two piece combo which can consist of top and skirt/shorts/trousers etc. The suit is an example of a matching two piece, but it lacks the novelty value of the new two piece and therefore won't be included.

When I first saw this trend for coordinating I felt shocked - it was perverse. It went against everything fashion subculture stood for. You've planned your outfit to match? It's so prim, conservative, twee. How awful!  The two piece was to be found in charity shops, hung on a double hanger. I would always want one part of the two piece, such as the jacket that went with the skirt, but no way did I want that awful skirt! But, they would never sell me only one half, so I would either have to have both or leave both. They only play in a team.

It took me a matter of days to creep in to this trend and look at it with objective eyes. It's actually deeply rebellious and subversive. I've often given the advice ''never match your shoes with your bag'' and similarly ''don't coordinate your outfit, it looks too polished and considered''. But what could be more unconsidered than buying an already constructed outfit? Scrap what I thought before...from here on in, I'll be matched. The best coords are those with 1950's/60's inspired abstract or graphic prints. The shapes that work are the ones that subscribe to the 'show your legs and cover your top or cover your legs and show your top' rule. 

All images: Topshop

Above I have collected my favourite two-pieces from Topshop's current range. They're beautiful and chic. The value for money is another obvious bonus. You can get two pieces for as cheap as one, and let's face it, they don't always have to be worn together. If you're having an 'off' day and you're feeling a bit too sleepy to challenge opinions, the seperate pieces will still work individually. It would be tempting to trick the outfits in to thinking you'll always wear them together, before you buy them - and then seperate them as soon as you get home, but I think this would be a big mistake.

In your less fashionable circle of acquaintances you may be seen as some kind of loser for wearing matching clothes. But this is the beauty and joy of coords! Two pieces are no longer only to be found inside granny shops in strange seaside towns, and soon your friends will realise. So, to continue a well loved and may I also say, practical, outfit solution, I will be seeking out a matching shirt and skirt combo in all charity shops I come across. Hello, sweet subversion. 

Back to the start of the two piece:

80's Orange Aztec Print 2 Piece - babushakas clothing at Asos Marketplace  
60's Lilac/Purple Wedding 2 Piece - LizziesVintageFinds at Etsy
70's Crop Top/Trouser 2 Piece - madam popoff vintage at Asos Marketplace
80's Rosey Floral 2 Piece - VINTAGE STYLE ME at Asos Marketplace
70's Black/Red Flora and Fruit 2 Piece - LizziesVintageFinds at Etsy
90's Floral 2 Piece - ArsenicKitty at Etsy
90's Leopard Print Morgan 2 Piece - THERAVENSWRITINGDESK at Etsy
Polka Dot 2 Piece - House Of Jam at Etsy
60's Watercolour Floral 2 Piece - Sandra at Etsy

LUSTS OF THE DAY: A-MORIR

I have a slight fetish for sunglasses, apparently. I didn't choose it, it chose me. A quick look in to my 'top draw' (aka. draw of junk/jewels and sentimentals) reveals a staggering collection of sunglasses and glasses...ranging from the novelty to the everyday, that I've accidentally collected over years. Similarly, I seem to have a fetish for novelty t-shirts, but that's a different story. So, you can imagine my delight on discovering this range of sunglasses by A-MORIR. I'm a huge sucker for embellishment, kitsch and bad taste. Fortunatly they tick all boxes. Here are my favourites...

I mean really, could they get any better? No. And the above frames are pretty tame compared to some of the designs on offer. Each pair is made by hand, to order, with customisation options available. Therefore the hefty price tag of  around £250 a pair is justified...kind of.  A-Morir creator and designer Kerin Rose Weinberg says she's inspired by 'her time spent studying classical music as a child combined with her lifelong love of rock and roll'. Furthermore, Weinberg cites music from the 1920's, 1970's and the 1990's as inspiration for the spring/summer collection. Wow...I'm in love.

1) Bootsy ($275.00), 2) Dio ($350.00), 3) Cass ($400.00), 4) Simone ($350.00), 5) Lena ($320.00), 6) Betty ($280.00)

Why I would recommend Hunstanton to anyone

Hunstanton is a seaside town situated in Norfolkshire. It is often called 'Sunny Hunny' by residents and by me. It offers an array of tacky gifts in the many sea-front sounvenir shops and there's also this weird truck/ship that functions like a car on solid ground but transforms in to a boat once in water. Have a good time all the time.