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!

Maternity leopard print!

I'm experiencing the joy of a long weekend...which has meant spending today with my mum and sister, hitting the shops of Cardiff. I love Cardiff...it's such a great city and the shopping just gets better and better. There's now so much choice and every time I come up, new shops have opened (including a huge Urban Outfitters since I was last here).

Today I debuted one of my purchases from London Fashion Weekend (the brilliant discount shopping event in London, which follows fashion week...I blogged about it when I went with my sister back in September and went to the recent one in February).

It's a leopard print maxi dress bought from 'Never Fully Dressed', which sells lots of gorgeous and easy to wear chiffon dresses.

The high, slightly empire line fit means it's perfect to accommodate growing baby bump but will also be fine post-pregnancy.

I also love the length - if you're under 5ft 5" so many maxi-dresses can end up billowing around your toes and are not hugely practical on a day-to-day basis. But it's also not in the danger midi-zone, which I know is very fashionable right now but can be difficult to pull off.

And there's always room for a bit of leopard print in your life...even when pregnant! In fact, I love it even more because it's feels a bit anti-maternity wear!



I love this long skull necklace which I bought from
London Fashion Weekend last September...
but I can't remember the designer!


The rest of the outfit is an Asos bomber jacket which is years old, Asos studded boots, my beloved Sonia Rykiel for H&M gilet (or as Mr W has started calling it 'that bloody gilet'), and a Max C handbag (I won't share where my black undergarments are from as that really isn't interesting!)

Whimsical t-shirts

A bit of a late lust item of the week (I think it may even be lust item of the fortnight!). Sorry for being slack with Edna...a stinking cold, combined with pregnancy and work has meant I've either been working or sleeping and not much else!

This week I've been lusting after t-shirts from Uniqlo. They have a new range with the designers Antoni & Alison which isn't my cup of tea at all...but whilst checking out that range, I came across these little beauties from a designer called Franche Lippee.

It's the quirky, whimsical detailing that I love...and the fact that for some of them you would have to look really closely to notice, so it's almost like your little secret.

I haven't seem them in the flesh but I am hoping that they'll be made of a lightweight cotton which I would wear loose, tucked into some fitted, straight leg trousers (or skinnies), brogues and a blazer...maybe with my long, gold skull necklace!

Now I'm back off to bed with a bottle of cough medicine!

Ready for flowers

Florals make me a little nervous. I'd honestly struggle to think of very much floral in my entire wardrobe. It's such a fine line between floral patterns that are flattering and those that have slipped into old lady territory. And I’ve mentioned before that my look can sometimes stray into 'nan out for an afternoon tea', so adding florals into the mix could spell fashion (and potentially marital!) disaster.

You do spot younger women everywhere in London sporting ironic old lady looks; I’m not a fan of any look that is ironic and may require an explanation! I think if you’re 18 and/or stunningly beautiful you can wear what you like, for most other women our ideal is usually to choose clothing that is flattering and makes us feel good.

But, season after season, the florals on the high street get better and more diverse. There is a huge amount of choice and I’m starting to feel that space may be made in my wardrobe...and marriage...for some floral without risking doubling my age.

These are some of my favourites but I could honestly have doubled the selection...there is a lot out there and a lot to love!

Oasis bardot print tie back dress - £45

Topshop cream floral print bell sleeve blouse - £45

Asos Marios Schwab fairtrade floral tattoo digital print scarf - £40
 

Dorothy Perkins floral print dress - £38

Office strap up floral sandal - £40

O&O floral mesh dress - £48

Dorothy Perkins coral stripe border print vest - £19.99 

Laden Showroom vintage spray tea dress - £47

Topshop taupe floral print balcony bra - £18 (matching knickers available)

Accessorize floral printed ipad case - £28 (admittedly I'd need to actually buy an ipad first but still, lovely case for my non-existent gadget!)

Spring Monsoon

A bit of a dress domination tonight as Monsoon has so many great frocks for spring/summer...these are just some of my favourites. 

I don’t know whether it’s because it has been sunny today in London but I feel much more ready to embrace spring clothing and have been looking at all the new stock on the high street imagining warmer days.

It makes me excited to think about shedding the layers and wearing light-weight summer dresses. I’ve blogged before about Monsoon and my mixed feeling about it...lots that is very frumpy, too many dowdy patterns and unnecessary flourishes!

But there are quite a few gems amongst it all...especially in the Monsoon Fusion range. My favourite is the polka dot, ruffled number which would work with a blazer and even some brogues but also for a summer party with heels and some jewellery...and maybe a tan if you’re lucky! 

Roll on double digit temperatures!

Summer maxi dress - £95

Picnic check dress - £50

Dainty ditsy dress - £38

Fusion phoenix maxi dress - £65

   

Fusion jailbird dress - £55

Peony dress - £65

Jacintha print dress - £85

Aphra sleeveless embroidered yoke dress - £60

Demi dress - £85

Elba spot dress - £95

Emily frill sleeve dress - £55

And a bit of an indulgence but utterly gorgeous, the Marlin embellished kip dress - £150

Cakes & Vintage Plates

I love afternoon tea. I can get ludicrously excited about a suite of cakes on offer! And an entire afternoon dedicated to the pleasure of drinking tea and eating cakes is heaven indeed.

This afternoon I hosted my own little afternoon tea party with a few friends. A while ago Mr W bought me a vintage cake stand and I decided it needed an airing. You can spend a fortune on vintage cake stands...even though mine was a present, I was with Mr W when he bought it and it was an absolute bargain.

The junk/antique shop near my house has started selling them. The owner said that he gets given so many old mismatched plates which no one ever buys, so he thought it was a good idea to drill holes in them and then sell them with the fittings for making a cake stand. So you can choose from a selection of plates and create your own, buy the fittings...and voila...a vintage cake stand for £8.95!

And this was today's spread...baked by my fair hand, except the coffee and walnut cup cakes made by my lovely friend Lisa. I made an orange and chocolate drizzle cake which in my years of baking was probably the best cake I've ever made...delicious!

So no fashion today, Edna readers, just cakes and vintage plates!

 

The slab of cake at the front which
looks like a burnt brick is actually the
delicious orange & chocolate drizzle cake!

Sorting out spots

A quick blog tonight as I've been getting zen-like at my first pregnancy yoga class and have not long got home...and my bed is now calling me!

Sometimes you use a product that works so well on your skin that you just have to share the little gem with others. I've always had difficult skin - very sensitive, oily but also dry in places and prone to eczema...and the odd bout of acne. A handful, to say the least!

Pregnancy has just made these usual problems worse...the most visible has been the growing spot situation on my chin...every morning, even more would appear.

Years ago I saw a GP who said it was excessive bacteria on my chin (sorry if you're trying to eat or it's a bit early in the morning for bacterial chat!) and prescribed a tonic to help sort it out.

But now I wanted to use something that was a little gentler and less hard-core chemicals going into my system.

And this is what I tried and it has worked miracles!

Vichy Normadern Purifying

Astrigent Toner - £10.21

It has cleared up my chin in the space of a week. I know toners get slated for not really doing anything but this one has been incredible. I just apply twice a day with cotton wool...and inflamation and angry spots have disappeared.

So if your skin is suffering a bit and spots are becoming the bane of your face...I would definitely recommend it.

And Boots has a 3-2 across all skincare at the moment, so it wouldn't even be full price!

p.s. I promise Vichy has not paid me to promote this product...I doubt they even know of my existence!!