The Leeds Vintage Fair: What's in store?

Oh we are TOO excited for The Leeds Vintage Fair this Sunday! So we thought we'd get in the vintage fair mood early by bringing you a taste of what's to come this Sunday at Leeds Town Hall...

(Pick your jaw from off the the floor!)

Entertaining all of you lovely vintage hungry fans will be one of our favourite DJs in the North with his frightfully fab orange mini DJ booth! Expect swinging retro tunes to accompany your shopping trip!

The first TEN people in the queue for our vintage fair will receive their very own Vintage Fair tote bag for free FREE I SAY! So you gotta get down early if you want in :)

Tilly's North Wing will be bringing you an exceptional collection of vintage dresses from the 50s through to the 80s. The £10 rail went down a treat last weekend in Newcastle (I picked up a couple of frocks myself) and I expect it will be doing the exact same thing this Sunday!

USED Vintage will be bringing you a top notch selection of sunglasses ready for the bank holiday sunshine! My favourites are these round, white mod style sunnies. 

 The Marvellous Tea Dance Company are going to completely ruin your bikini diet with their scrumptious cake selection. But if you're exceptionally self controlled then I'm sure you'll need a cuppa anyway!

We will have a troupe of Leeds Swing Soc swing dancers performing for you throughout the day both in and outside the venue! So if you're queuing outside (with your possible free tote bag) you'll be thoroughly entertained doing so as they'll be ready at 11:45 to perform on the courtyard!

One of our traders Little Old Me have just set up online selling their enviably large collection of 40s,50s,60s and 70s dresses to the masses! If you're after something really very special then you absolutely must pay us a visit this Sunday. 

Le Keux Cosmetics and Hair Salon will be at our vintage fair. Not only offering pin curls, beehives and half moon manicures but Le Keux also have their own range of retro cosmetics! We love this vintage style advert they've done for their hot red lip paint. 

Bang Bang have out done themselves with these incredible 3 pieces. They are seriously limited edition and they've been flying off the rails, so you'd best get down to our fair early before they all go!

                                   

So! If you weren't already buzzing to come down to our event on Sunday I really hope you are now!

Make sure you follow us @leedsfair and check out our Facebook page!

Gina x

Cannes Film Festival 2013

Jaw dropping dresses and the finest actors dripping in diamonds. It can only be Cannes Film Festival which opened this year with Luhrman's Great Gatsby (which I still haven't seen - argh!). So naturally it's time to drool all over these straight-from-the-catwalk frocks that I'm pretty sure cost more than what my house is worth. They may not be vintage for the majority, but the echo of 1940s Hollywood Glamour never quite fades away from the red carpet events does it?

This year the ladies were loving monochrome, big 70s influenced printed maxis, fairytale frocks and classic Hollywood beauty so let's see who hit the high notes.

Woman of the hour Carey Mulligan in Vionnet keyhole dress.

Emma Watson wowed us in Chanel.

Jennifer Lawrence did the reverse of Miss Watson in this simple (yet bespoke) Dior gown.

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Nicole Kidman in fabulously fussy L'Wren Scott

Florals meet monochrome on Mila Jokavich courtesy of Chanel S/S 14

It's teetering on the edge of being a little unpleasant with that red carpet clash but we just love the beehive! Marion Cotillard was lucky enough to bag this straight from the Dior runway in Monaco two days before Cannes! 

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Not content with one showstopping gown, Mulligan harks back to 90s Gwyneth Paltrow in baby pink Dior Couture.

Nicole, quite frankly, nails it in this pastel bouquet of a dress, again, by Dior. The colour pop heels are a match made in heaven - swoon.

Ever the one to lookout for on the red carpet, Fan Bing Bing wowed us in an Ellie Saab number that couldn't help but make me think of Belle in Beauty and the Beast! The dark nails keep it from looking too cutesy.

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With Veronic Lake waves and a classic embroidered strapless fishtail gown, Del Ray keeps this look classic Hollywood - it's just missing that all important red lippy.

I absolutely had to include this black and white candid shot of Cara Delevinge in Burberry black lace. How this girl can go from slumming it in boyfriend jeans and a beanie to stealing the show on the red carpet is beyond me. This really is modern day Hollywood Glamour.

Naturally Dita goes for all out vintage glamour in Ellie Saab. And anybody who dares match the carpet they're walking on deserves high praise. We love her reluctance to follow trends, Dita's keeping things Dita.

Top 10 Vintage "must follow" Instagrammers

I love my phone. It's my TV, my camera, my computer. But most importantly, it's my social media fix! So if you're appy and you know it (couldn't help myself) then get yourselves over to Instagram land and follow these vintage loving beauties for retro inspiration. Oh and of course, these are in no particular order as they're all so very different!

@andibgoode is already firmly on our blogger radar but her vintage obsession covers much more than clothes. Check out her vintage barbie doll collection too!

 @diablorose is one of our favourite Vintage Fair hair stylists fromn Le Keux events. She documents her own hair styles pretty much everyday and it's getting a little stalker-like at my end...!

@laneway_esme is another coloured hair beauty! How could you not want to look at all of this absolutely gorgeous lady's hairstyles and outfits? May I add that she has a particularly pretty cat?

@fleurdeguerre Now I know I bang on about this woman, but there's a reason why! She's an all round good vintage egg and also runs like the wind with uber cool running club Run Dem Crew. 

@GRLSTOLEVINTAGE The Queen of mixing the high street with vintage, Miss Lereese Atkinson of GIRLSTOLE. You'll be hearing more about this young lady very soon on our blog. But if you love #ootd and small dogs then you'll thoroughly enjoy her instagram feed. 

@classicbeauties clog up my feed with rare and beautiful photos of famous faces from the 20th Century. They often come with insightful stories about the woman in question. Every day is a school day!

@misskittyboo has the best glasses and the best fringe I ever did see. Complete vintage sci-fi geek with a penchant for Buffy The Vampire Slayer and 50s glamour. Mates with Andi B Goode no less.

@marinaandthesummerday is a new find for me. If you love a classic pinup, rockabilly look then this sassy lady is the one for you to start following. 

@swallowsanddamsons hail from Sheffield and are widely considered one of the very best florists in the region. Her carefully considered bouquets are commonplace at only the most elegant weddings and coolest shops and cafes. Perfect inspiration follow.

@thevintagefair Last but not least (if we do say so ourselves) you should definitely follow us! We will be taking photos of all the best bits from our fairs as they happen just in case you can't get down to our event on the day. And looking at this pic from our Southampton Vintage Fair, you can see why we wouldn't want you to miss out!

What's your Instagram and why should we follow you?

Gina

@ginamaldina If you like vintage, outfits and music stuff then give me a follow too!

The Pin Ups: Cabaret Entertainment

www.thepinups.co.uk

On May 18th in Wolverhampton at Wulfran Hall we are going to be welcoming a troupe of incredibly talented ladies called The Pin Ups. It's worth coming down  just to see them (never mind the 40 stalls of vintage!) as they are just so fabulous. More than just singers or dancers, this bunch of sassy so and sos are more than capable of doing any number of retro entertainment jobs.

"Looking for female vocalists, dancers, models and promotional hosts? Our sumptuous artists are the ladies for the job! We provide a bespoke entertainment service, adding sparkle to any venue nationwide."

The Pin-Ups are charismatic and talented girls, who take pride in what they do. Their out of the box performance works flirtatiously combine singing and choreography. From cutesy to sassy cabaret, you just can't help but smile when watching them.

CLASS ACT: A group of sassy girls are out to prove they've got what it takes to hit the big time with their unique vintage cabaret act.

I can't believe it has taken so long for us to discover The Pin-Up's. Gorgeously naughty fabulously talented young ladies who are a dream to work with.

Their show reel is in process (exciting stuff) but I couldn't help but do a bit of research and unearthed this gem! This unaccompanied cover of Cheryl Cole's Call My Name is well worth a listen! All I can say is that these girls got it going on. So I hope you can make our Wolverhampton Vintage Fair on May 18th to be sung, danced and entertained off your feet!

Sago Retro Fabrics

Sago Original Vintage Fabrics will be joining us in Hull tomorrow with a fine selection of hard-to-get-your-hands-on vintage fabrics.We have never seen such a wonderful variety of retro material, ideal for dress making, patchworking, customising and upholstery. 

"At sagodesign we love vintage fabric. We do not restrict ourselves to one era but love retro fabric, traditional Sanderson prints, Liberty designs, pretty florals, checks, stripes, tweeds and tartans.

From patchwork pieces to full rolls for curtains and blinds - they all find a home in our cupboards and drawers waiting for a textile project or a customer request.  Our fabrics are mostly vintage or reclaimed from curtains so they may have print defects, fading, storage marks etc.  I strive to be honest about their condition and items are checked again before despatch. If I find any defect I will email to check acceptability.

To compliment our range we also stock vintage haberdashery, sewing patterns and magazines at our Fairs.

Samples of all fabrics can be be obtained by emailing address and requirments to meneight@msn.com  These are of course free of charge."

Come on down tomorrow to check them out!

Gina x