A Whistles hand-me down

There are many emotionally significant benefits to having a sister - love, support, advice, understanding, comfort...a whole plethora of wonderfulness. There are also fashion benefits, otherwise known as hand-me-downs.

Just this past weekend, my lovely sister bestowed on me two dresses from Monsoon and Gap and this gorgeous skirt from Whistles. All in perfect condition, hardly worn and now hanging happily in my wardrobe.

Floral Whistles skirt worn with a jumper from one of the
original Autograph ranges at M&S. It's so old, it pre-dates
my decade-long relationship with my husband!

As much as I'd love to be wearing the skirt with bare
legs & a t-shirt, at least the freezing weather allows me
to wear my gorgeous pink Exeter coat.

Pink & floral teamed with a bit of leopard print!

A close-up of the print...& a Lola Rose ring

The Clarks Yarra boots...which are always on my feet

Exeter part 2 - the pink coat

The pink coat. What can I say?! It's very special. I looked at it one day, tried to show some financial restraint and ended up going back to the shop the next day, trying it and buying it!

When a vintage coat fits perfectly, you know you have to walk out of the shop with it...especially when it costs a bargain £37! You'd struggle to get a run-of-the-mill Topshop number for anywhere near that price.

Just casually looking at the blossom on the tree...

It was bought from Relevant by Lady Lace in Exeter. If you love vintage and are ever in that part of the world, you have to visit the shop. It's a treasure-trove of beautifully selected vintage pieces.

This coat is my new favourite item of clothing. I may even be looking forward to the cold snap this weekend so I can wear it!

Quite a subtle pink and mustard colour combination...
for a grey day in Exeter!

I love the two little pockets, such a lovely detail.

And found in one of the pockets...

And in the other.

My vintage, mustard crocheted dress - which I was very pleased
I could finally fit into again...if I held my belly in!

Two Nights in Exeter

Mr W and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary last week...and the ten year anniversary of our first meeting. Neither of us tend to be 'Mr & Mrs Wine & Roses' but it was a special anniversary, so we arranged to celebrate it on our first weekend away together since Laney May was born. She happily toddled off to her grandparents for the weekend and I don't think even noticed our absence!

We headed to Exeter for two nights. Neither of us had been before and we wanted to do a city break, somewhere new, but not travel too far. I'm not going to be an Exeter tourist guide or ramble too much, other than to say it was delightful! We stayed in a gorgeous hotel called The Magdalen Chapter - I don't have a bad word to say about it. It wasn't cheap but I think it's great value for money.

And I discovered one of the best vintage shops EVER in Relevant by Lady Lace. An amazing selection, a really beautiful shop, 1940s music playing in the background, and really good pricing. It was divine. I bought a dress, a matching blouse and skirt (shown here) and a coat...and that was showing restraint!

I'll do another post soon on the coat. It's a good 'un!

But this is our first full day in the Exeter sunshine...I'm wearing what Mr W calls my 'clown coat'. He's not a fan.

My 'clown coat' is from Sara Berman, bought once for a
massive discount at London Fashion Weekend.

Holding my new coat from Relevant by Lady Lace...wrapped in brown
paper & string. I spent the day in my amazingly comfortable
Yarra boots from Clarks Originals.

The turquoise skirt is a recent purchase from Vintage Hart
(in Crystal Palace). It's vintage St Michael from M&S...
which I love! The black & white polka dot blouse is from Zara.

Frocking Fabulous for affordable vintage

I just caught up on last week’s Lily Allen documentary about setting up ‘Lucy in Disguise' (which I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed and thought she seemed great company!) and it reminded me that months ago I had an email from a neighbour of a good friend who has an online vintage clothes store and I haven’t yet blogged about it.

I love vintage clothes shopping. When you find a second hand piece of clothing that you love, that fits you and you can afford, it feels like a little shopping karma has come your way...it’s a real treat!

Sometimes the vintage shopping fairy has bitten me instead of rewarding me. I remember being in a vintage store in New York a few years ago and getting flattered into buying a dress that apparently only I had fitted into since they had got it in stock. It felt like a sign that the dress was for me. I got it home and checked the label and saw that my special vintage purchase was actually just a Zara dress! And to rub salt into the wound, on my first day back in London I saw a woman wearing my ‘one of a kind’ vintage dress. So it wasn’t even vintage frikkin Zara!

Vintage can be fraught with pitfalls...buying high street rather than vintage being just one of them. Over-pricing is another. I remember going to a vintage fair near Brick Lane in London and turning into my mum muttering ‘HOW MUCH?!”. Ludicrous sums of money for clothes that would struggle to make pence in a charity shop.

Which brings me back to my friend’s neighbour's online vintage shop ‘Frocking Fabulous’.

 

There's a lovely selection of vintage clothing and it’s all reasonably priced. Dresses tend to be around £30-£50...though you can get some dresses for £19. There is a great selection of coats – lots of fake furs, some aviator jackets and wool winter coats – and a few handbags too.

I think that it’s also possible to go and see stock in the flesh...but you'd need to double check before turning up on their doorstep!

So reasonably priced vintage...without a Zara number in sight!

Instant Vintage Fashion Tip

It’s time for October’s fashion tip of the month. My brother and his lovely girlfriend Laura live in Bath and Laura told me about an amazing shop called Instant Vintage. It stocks clothing that is inspired by vintage designs but at prices that won’t make you choke!

I love vintage but the prices that some stores charge is astronomical, particularly in London. Often you’re being charged £50 for a summer dress that may be vintage but it’s also seen better days. When I was growing up we would go to jumble sales and pick up bags of clothes for a quid...so much ‘vintage’ stock these days belongs back in the jumble sales!

There are some vintage stores that I think make a huge effort to get the stock right - this sounds pretentious but they have a ‘well-edited’ selection (sorry!) - and don’t charge a fortune. One of my favourites is Marshmallow Mountain in Kingly Court, just next to Carnaby Street. I always find something I would love to buy.

Anyway, ‘Instant Vintage’ gets around the difficulty of trying to get ‘vintage’ in your size and in good condition. All sizes are available and it’s brand spanking new! The dresses are my favourite items on the site, though the jewellery from the Danish designer Lisbeth Dahl is also lovely.

And the reason I’m including it on Edna is that it’s also fully up and running for online retail (hurrah!) and delivers...so you don’t have to be lucky enough to live in beautiful Bath to shop there.

Emily ballerina dress - £30

Anise navy dress - £55

Diva dress - £55

Flapper dress - £48

Emma dress - £48

Teardrop bracelet - £14.95

Stretchy glass acorn bracelet - £14.50

Bow corsage - £5