Vintage Schmintage....

It is my dream to live in a vintage world. I would like to wear full skirted dresses, spend the day baking cakes and finish it off with a martini and a glam dinner party.....this is what is was like surely...?!!

Sadly every morning I wake to find myself living in the 21st century in a tiny flat in Shoreditch, having to rush to get ready, spend the day fixing coffee machines and look after the young kids (see previous blogs), then rushing home to drink a bottle of red to take the edge off.

Not quite the same!

However...there are many people who feel the same and today I would like to showcase a few people who I have met recently that help to bring a little bit of vintage into our lives....

The Traditional Vintage Flower Company is just gorgeous...not only do they supply the prettiest flowers I think I have seen but the lovely Clare is also on hand to help with any kind of event and provide table settings, vintage gifts and lots more....bloody lovely

Next we are on to vintage crockery....now when I finally get married (hint hint boyo) I will have each table decked out in vintage crockery as it is simply divine.

I am trying to build up my own collection but failing miserably....so when I saw these guys my heart leapt...!!

The Vintage Affair is possibly one of the most beautiful websites ever....there collection is second to none and prices are very reasonable. The only downside is that they don't supply London....weep!!

And finally....possibly my favourite place to get cake in London...Cafe Vintage.

Based in Mountgrove Road N5 it is simply divine and makes the best wheat free brownies I have ever had. But...lets be honest the best bit about it is being able to browse through vintage while you eat cake while you drink tea...OH MY GOD...it is like dying and going to heaven.

Guys I love you all and here are the website links....enjoy

Cafe Vintage
The Vintage Affair
Traditional Vintage Flower Company

Vintage Heroine - Judy Garland...

I love musicals...I blame my Mother for this as she can replay the Sound of Music word for word...and unfortunately song for song.

I am probably at my happiest sitting in front of a fire watching a musical....possibly with a mountain of chocolate and a gin. So to help celebrate the wonderful world of musical film stars...known for their fab clothes here is my musical vintage heroine....Judy Garland.

The first musical I ever saw was Meet Me in St Louis......BLOODY AMAZING...and I can't be wrong as said film was featured in Sex and the City so clearly it is ultra fashionable. If you haven't seen it grab yourself a copy ASAP.

Best part of the film though was Judy Garland....

Judy Garland born June 10, 1922  was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage. 

After appearing in vaudeville with her sisters, Garland was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. There she made more than two dozen films, including nine with Mickey Rooney and the 1939 film with which she would be most identified, The Wizard of Oz.

Despite her professional triumphs, Garland battled personal problems throughout her life. Insecure about her appearance (god knows why as I would love love LOVE to look like her), her feelings were compounded by film executives who told her she was unattractive (nasty bastards) and manipulated her on-screen physical appearance. Garland was plagued by financial instability (....so many similarities), often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. She married five times, with her first four marriages ending in divorce. Garland died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 47 (...hhhhmmmm....I am hoping the similarities end with the financial instability..!!).

Here are my favourite looks

Rumour has it that Anne Hathaway is sent to play Judy Garland in a film about her life...although no one can beat Judy Garland I have a feeling the film will be a treat and I will blub most of the way through it...!!

Curvy girls Highstreet finds....

For those of you that don't read my usually read my blog here are a couple of things you should know about me....1. I love vintage and 2. this stems from the fact that I am very curvy and therefore vintage suits me more than anything.

However....even though I practically live and die in vintage I do like to have the odd wander around the high street shops to see what is out there and more importantly what will fit me...!!

Here are my curvy rules of shopping....hemlines must be below the knee, arms ideally should be covered (although if a dress is stunning I will brave the bingo wings being let loose) and fabric shouldn't be straining against said bingo wings, waists should be nipped in, skirts should be high waisted and ideally there should be some cleavage on show.

When it comes to shoes I cannot bear the little spindly heels...this is due to the fact that I cannot walk in heels at the best of times let alone when the heels are like matchsticks. I sadly have a condition known as  'Can'twalkinheels-itis'....when I do wear heels I resemble a man in drag or at best Whoopi Goldberg when she appeared in ghost. So therefore I need mid-heels...the chunkier the better or my saving grace wedges!!

So...here are this weeks high street finds for the curvy girl....and this weeks shop is TOPSHOP.....warning these items may make you drool....


Skirts....these would look great with either a gorgeous sheer blouse or even a plain vest and gold jewellery. The thing I love about these skirts is that they are a great length and don't have elasticated waistbands which can make (me at least) look a little bit chunky at times.

£30

£38

£40

Tops....I love floaty blouses tucked into skirts as it balances out my top half and makes me feel like I am a 1950's starlet....this is my favourite find from Topshops new range even though it goes against my cleavage rule..!!

£33

...and I know this isn't a top but it is a great cover up and just so beautiful

£38

Dresses....ah...dresses...where would I be without you....I practically live my life in dresses and I have to say that top shop are bringing out the big guns and making me want to run down there, buy one, and spend the rest of the day twirling around...

£46

£60

...and although this isn't my style I love this dress....it is like a dark version of a classic All Saints dress and would look great with a chunky belt and boots

£100

...and here is a round up of all my other favourite bits

£64

...gorgeous wedges that come also come in red with a rafia wedge.....swoon....!!

£48

And finally a bit of kitsch....because lets be honest...you can't beat a bit of kitsch.....!!

£6.50

Perfect dress for curvy girls....

We all have days when our bodies go out of control....not through sickness or even overeating (as I keep re-assuring myself) but just because they want to give us a challenge of finding something to wear..!

Now as we all know I am curvy...so whereas most people can pull on a pair of jeans and a jumper and just get on with I..sadly...cannot....DAMN THESE CURVES.

However after searching for a good old time I have found a 'jeans' alternative for a bad day...the wrap dress.

Now I am obviously not the first lady to recognise the power of these dresses....Diana Von Furstenberg is a prime example of how well these work on normal women blessed with curves....and she must be doing something right as celebs love them....

Sadly my budget will not allow for one of these gorgeous creations so I went on a hunt to find my alternative Furstenberg.

I actually stumbled across this shop/dress paradise in Spitalfields Market and after trying on a couple of dresses was compelled to buy four of them....this was around three years ago and they still look amazing and haven't aged a day.

The shop in question - Anami and Janine


Established in 2005 by Anami & Janine, they have been producing two collections a year and since its start has gone from strength to strength. 
The girls met at Portobello Market where they both worked part time. Janine had just graduated from Cordwainers College where she had been studying accessories and Anami, who is self-taught, has been designing and producing small collections for ten years prior. 
Their love of vintage clothing was their drawing point, and with their own unique and individual styles, put their heads together to design a small capsule collection of vintage inspired dresses.

I now own a number of their dresses and here is me in my favourite one....today was a bad day..!!

However when I put this dress one and then put on my sparkly shoes I cannot help but feel good, and I always get complements. It clings in all the right places and hides the bad ones....also I do not have to struggle to squeeze my bingo wings in to the sleeves which sadly is a usual occurrence in most shops.


I spoke to the lovely ladies at Anami and Janine yesterday and not only did I find out that they have opened up a shop in Brixton (well done ladies) but they also let me have a sneak peek at their new range.


So just for you..here it is 

...absolutely gorgeous....and here are my favourites of the current collection which are all available on the website www.anamiandjanine.com and in their shop Saloon - 97 Brixton Village, London, SW9 8PS

Blue Sweetheart Neck Dress - £65

Woodland Wrap Dress - £65

Classic Black Dress - £65

So there you have it....if you want a wizard of a dress that will hide and flatter all at the same time head to Anami and Janine...!!

How to be a Goddess....with a little help...

Now....over the past couple of blogs I have discussed a couple of my favourite things...vintage clothing and underwear....two of the greatest loves of my life. However now it is time to discuss the third...books...and one book in particular...my bible or as it is more commonly known...The Goddess Experience...

Now I fell across this book in early January while rummaging through piles of sale items and as soon as I felt its flocked cover I knew it was something I had to have...!!

Now as much as my style is very girly and am not in fact much of a girl...I never ever take my make-up off, my moisturiser (including my face) is whatever I happen to have in the cupboard, I never use toner, eye cream, night cream, anti wrinkle anything....you get the picture.
Even my make-up routine is very much slap dash involving tinted moisturiser, mascara, eyeliner and blusher....I have tried to do more but end up looking like a drag queen.

However....recently as I descend towards the big 3-0 I have decided I need to start pulling my finger out and take a more grown up approach to my beauty and make-up regime. This is all well and good but I had no idea where to start, what brands to use to where to go until I read this beauty of a book.

Now I am the proud owner of rose bath oil...amazing for dry skin, an amazing day cream which makes me look all glowy and I have learnt how to make the best of all my features...including lining the inside of my upper lashes...who knew.

There are also tips on how to best flatter your figure, where to get the best burger, how to make your home gorgeous, how to make great chips and best of all where to find the best cup of tea and cake almost anywhere in the world.

The book itself is like a mini scrap book masterpiece and every page is just beautiful.

This book is full of hidden treasures and (for me) is an invaluable guide to being if not a goddess then a lot more girly than before...hurrah!!

I cannot recommend enough getting a copy of this book...if it doesn't change your life then it will at least make you smile...

Curvy girls hunt for sexy underwear.....

Now...todays post was actually going to be about my first attempt to make cupcakes (just in time for Valentines Day). I had envisioned pictures of me lovingly stirring ingredients whilst wearing a gorgeous dress and Kath Kidson apron...looking every inch the perfect housewife...!!

Instead I ended up going out for Sunday lunch with three very close friends and drinking my body weight in red wine....ouch!!

So this morning I woke with a sore head and vague memories of yesterdays conversations.....now as you can imagine when four girls get together for drinks the topic of conversation invariably leads to sex at some point...or in yesterdays case sexy underwear.

Now I have a real thing for underwear....I love it....in fact I love it almost as much as buying books or eating creme eggs.

One of this years New Years resolutions was to wear matching underwear everyday....and apart from the odd slip up I have kept to this rule.....however my underwear although lovely is not particularly sexy and the reason for this is that sexy underwear can be uncomfortable and not all that flattering for a lady with curves.

Thongs for example....I never ever wear these as I end up looking like a trussed up piece of pork which is not really strongest bedroom look.

Corsets...hmmm....well unless they are beautifully cut and therefore a bit pricier these give me a beautiful love handle in between the end of the corset and the start of the knickers.

So with Valentines Day approaching I decided to see what was out there that didn't make me look a) like I should be on display at the butchers...and b) like a lady of the night....

So I started my hunt in Ann Summers.....I never normally go in here as it doesn't really cater for ladies of the big bottomed deposition but I thought I would give it a try...

I tried on this outfit

Bra £25 - Suspender knickers £14

...sadly this is not a picture of me modelling it...!!

The bra was great but in order to stop the dreaded muffin top I had to try on knickers two sizes up which then gaped everywhere else....it just looked wrong...so my hunt continued...

My next visit was to trusty M&S....not a sexy brand but I love their underwear and I am creeping towards an age where M&S undies will be considered sexy...

I went for the middle option which fit really well but didn't have the va va voom I was after....I also loved the pink printed option but as previously discussed I don't do thongs.

So I decided to stop mucking around and head to the place wear big bottomed girls can always find something...H&M.

I bloody love H&M underwear....and accessories, bags, shoes...you get the idea.

I always buy the knickers two sizes up to keep the muffin top at bay but they always fit everywhere else, come in great colours and fabrics and wear really well....here are my current favs....

Bra £9.99 - Knickers £4.99

Bra £9.99 - Knickers £5.99

Bra £9.99 - Knickers £5.99

I bought one of each set (the bottom one come with a french knicker option) and a top tip of mine is that I always but two or three pairs of knickers to each, that way if you want to wear the set again you don't have to wait for everything to be washed.

So off I happily went with a bag full of lovely underwear when I went past my wildcard underwear shop....some times I get amazing things in here and other times not so much...New Look.

And lo and behold my trip was worth it as I found this lovely set waiting for me inside...

Bra £12.99 - Knickers £5.99

...absolutely lovely and I only had to go a size up in the knickers which made me feel very slinky indeed...!!

So I am all sorted for the day of love. I would like to think that next year I will be super slim and looking like the first model above and therefore not have to search for underwear that flatters but if last nights roast dinner + red wine + McDonalds is anything to go by the chances of this are slim....and anyway I am sure they say curvy girls have more fun...!!