Vixen Vintage: How to tie a 40s head scarf.

"All the single ladies, all the single ladies!" Can you tell we're excited about V Festival at LouLou HQ? I can honestly say I'e never felt so unprepared, except for how to style my hair. I have a few ideas to keep hair looking stylish, but any vintage loving lady should learn how to tie one of their many square scarves land girl style. So, since I look really very tired and un-made up today I decided to do a cheeky bit of tutorial borrowing from the gorgeous Solanah at Vixen Vintage.

It's a super easy head scarf up do. It's great for bad hair days, covering up pin curls, a typical 40s look and definitely for festivals! So, grab your scarf of choice and check out these simple steps courtesy of Solanah. If you'd like to browse the rest of her blog, and I can highly recommend you do, pop over here: http://www.vixen-vintage.com/

You will need a medium-large cotton square scarf.

Fold said scarf in half to make a triangle.

Drape over your shoulders in a shawl style with the point of the triangle facing down.

Lift both sides of the scarf either side of your head.

Gently tie each side of the scarf on top of your head. Secure with kirby grips if needs be.

The back point of the triangle needs pulling upwards. While you do this, try and push your hair into the space left in the scarf.

Lay the point over the knot you've already tied.

Tie a further knot over the point to secure it.

Tuck in the edges of the scarf so none of your hair escapes.

Ta-dah!  Secure with kirby grips if necessary.

 Do you have any great festival hair ideas? Or any ideas for our blog whatsoever? Send them over to us! gina@thevintagefair.com We love to hear from you xxx

Kimono - Kimoyes

We are still in the midst of festival season and as LouLou's team prepare to pitch our fabulous fair at V Festival next week we are talking about what to take with us in the office. We are all suckers for huge sleeves, whether on a beautiful 70s maxi or on a flippy 60s mini. So it's no surprise we're all after a glamorous kimono to cover up with, the bigger the sleeves and the more tassels the better!

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The 1920s drew inspiration from the far East for lounge wear, the kimono inspired dressing gown was an incredibly elegant addition to any woman's wardrobe. Popular actresses at the time Betty Compson, Marion Davies and Louise Brooks show off their silk robes here both on and off screen.

If you're in the market for something truly authentic then check out this 1920s beauty I found on Etsy for a cool £251. The colours are just amazing though, I could lounge forever in this silk cover up. Sigh.

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Fast forward to the 21st Century and the kimono makes a come back. Nicole Richie has always been a boho queen, with 70s maxis and head dresses being a regular style choice. So it's no wonder she's been spotted rocking a kimono or 10!

There are umpteen wonderful kimonos on the internet. It was hard deciding which ones to suggest you go and buy! See above for an example of the 20s kimonos available online, if that's a little out of your price range (it's certainly out of ours - sob!) the high street has some fab alternatives that will see you through any festival. So here's a start. Three very different takes on the modern kimono cover up.

Traditional peacock print eBay

Vibrant stardust fabric at ASOS

Huge tassels at SheVamps Vintage who are also one of our wonderful traders x

Happy Festivaling

Gian x

Summer Showers

Sadly, the weather is already taking a turn and it's time to start preparing for some really English weather. Boo. We say, GONE are the days of fold away brollies that you are ashamed to bring out, even in a downpour. We say it's time for some glamorous, eye catching, sturdy umbrellas!

I've done the leg work for you and here we have some seriously pretty umbrellas for you to keep dry under though, as well as some fabulous vintage examples.

Match to your pill box hat for serious sophistication. 

Ruffles and flowers make for sunshine on a rainy day. 

Janet Leigh matches her hat, coat and umbrella. Do you?

MONOCHROME

Bombay Duck

John Lewis

LuLu Guinness

TRANSPARENT

LuLu Guinness
Light In The Box
Fulton

FUN-BRELLAS

Brollies Galore
Hello Brolly

LED Light up brolly Think Geek

PRETTY PATTERNS

Jolly Brolly

Rain Drops To
Cath Kidston

Amy, Amy, Amy...

Two years ago Amy Winehouse sadly passed away, leaving behind an incredible musical legacy. Not only was the singer famous for her effortless performances, she was immediately recogniseable both on record and in every magazine and picture. So we're here to take a look back at some of the awesome fashion moments that made Amy so iconic. 

In her element in music, we have to start with her stage style. Quoted as saying she "still dresses as though it's the 50s" Amy channeled a pin-up rockabilly girl with her tiny body hugging dresses in bold, colourful prints.  

A more sophisticated Amy, dressed up to the nines in a modern leather take on the 50s silhouette at the Elle Style Awards and rocking a metallic shift on the right. Both very vintage inspired. 

Here sees Amy chilled out on the street in strappy sandals and a classic Fred Perry polo shirt with the classic flash of pink.  One of the shortest pairs of shorts I've ever seen but she made it her own. Classic dressed down Amy in skinnys and her faithful satin ballet flats. 

In every single photo you can't escape the ever present beehive and thick winged black eyeliner. (She was snapped using a Rimmel Exaggerate liquid eyeliner to get the look. Cheap ' n' cheerful! We like!) They defined her as one of the most iconic pop stars of her time. Ever copied and continuously imitated, but never Amy. 

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She was approached by Fred Perry to create numerous collections and looking below at her last collection you can see she had a heavy involvement with the designing of each piece, all with that Winehouse pink stamp. You'll be hard pressed to find a lot of Amy's designs, but keep looking on eBay, I found the pink dress below here.

 To celebrate her life, between 3rd July and 15th September The Jewish Museum in London have an exhibition called Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait:

The Jewish Museum is staging an original exhibition about Amy Winehouse, co-curated with her brother Alex and sister-in-law Riva. It is an intimate and moving exhibition about a much loved sister.

The family have given the Jewish Museum unprecedented access to Amy’s personal belongings that celebrate her passion for music, fashion, sudoku, Snoopy, London and her family.

Amy was close to her family and had a strong sense of her Jewish roots and heritage. Among the various objects on display, the exhibition will show many unseen photographs of Amy’s family life - Friday night dinners, Alex’s Barmitzvah and vintage photographs of their beloved grandmother Cynthia.

Located in Amy's Camden Town, the Jewish Museum is the perfect place to find out about the woman behind the music and beyond the hype. 

Let us know if you can make the exhibition and what you thought of it. We hope you can!

Lots of love

Gina

x

It's a Boy!

Well done K-mid and Wills, you made a baby boy! We've done a blog post on vintage style toys for children before, as soon as we heard to exciting news, so please go and have a nosey at that here. But we are going all gooey for tiny dresses and mini shoes now! Let's have a look at what's out there when it comes to vintage fashion for little ones.

Charles smooching Anne - aw. 

The Apple Bobber are one of the very best traders in children's clothing in the UK. As well as frequenting our vintage fairs in the south, their website is beautifully easy to use and their stock is varied, in terrific condition and wonderfully affordable. These are my top 3 picks.

Rokit are firmly established as one of the big shots in the vintage world in the UK. But who knew they had a well stocked section for tots too? Catering for the slightly older child, I've chosen the best for boys aged up to four years. This little leather jacket is absolutely adorable, for the wannabe mini James Deans out there!

Their Nibs are highly praised by the likes of Kate Moss as being one of the swishest shops to gather your little ones wardrobe. They take inspiration from the 50s, 60s and 70s and the fashions of the UK with "distinctive vintage inspired silhouettes and bespoke prints". Admittedly, the girls do particularly well here with silk dresses and super cute rompers in french floral prints. Coo!

Dido and Bendigo are making sure that children across the country are, well, looking country cool in some irresistible tweed suits and pinafores. There's even a tweed baby grow. Snuggly. Make sure you have a look at the entire range for a "unique take on classic British style".

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So we very much hope that little what's-his-name is doing well as is mother Kate. Big congratulations from all at LouLou's Vintage Fair to the Royals, we can't wait to see the pictures! xxxxx

The Girl With Flowers in Her Hair

Festival season is upon us and if you were lucky enough to head to Glastonbury then I'm sure you had a ball! I'm currently looking forward to Tramlines, Secret Garden Party and V Festival (Beyonce baby!) and I'm freaking out about what to wear. But one thing I do know, I'll be rocking some serious head wear.

But the inspiration doesn't come from those cheap plastic things doing the rounds on the high street (though I'm guilty for owning a few myself). This year I'm thinking beautiful, romantic, magical floral pieces of art for the hair. I've had a lovely time researching these images and I hope you take great pleasure from them too.

“With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?”
Oscar Wilde

Floral hair garland by www.swallowsanddamsons.com

Kelly from www.haremofpeacocks.com

"Maybe there's someone waiting for me, with a smile and a flower in her hair."

Richard Hawley

You can learn how to make this particular summery crown here from Honestly, WTF. Get down to your local florist and talk to them about which blooms are going to work best! DIY project ahoy.

“She wore flowers in her hair and carried magic secrets in her eyes. She spoke to no one. She spent hours on the riverbank. She smoked cigarettes and had midnight swims..." 

Arundhati Roy

"Someone told me there's a girl out there with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair"

Led Zeppelin

Harriet from www.brightyoungtwins.blogspot.com

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So of course, we have done some of the leg work for you and found you some of the fabulous floral creations out there that will put those Primark garlands to shame! (Yeah I have one too...)

Topshop

Topshop

Lady Of The Flowers

meggiebread on Etsy

Gypsy Rose Vintage

LouLou's Vintage Fair

You may have noticed a little change over at The Vintage Fair, and of course we love to keep you guys in the loop as you're such a wonderful bunch!

After some sound marketing advice we made the big decision to re-brand. After years of being The Vintage Fair, we started to feel that maybe we needed a new lease of life! People suggested that we should receive more national recognition for the hard work we do as well as all of our lovely traders, hair salons, acts and tea parties.

Having just won Best Vintage Fair in the UK (if you hadn't already heard!) it's all go at LouLou HQ as we want to be even bigger and better! We are really excited about the future of LouLou's and all the new events and new cities we'll be visiting. So heads up to all of you vintage fans in Derby, Exeter, Preston, Cheltenham and Chester as we will be visiting you for the first time in the Autumn! That's 40 stalls of vintage clothing, accessories and homeware from the best UK traders, fabulous retro hair salons and the scrummiest cakes from the kitschest of bakers all in your city's top venues! Phew!

So you'll gradually see the changes happening over our websites, social media pages and artwork but you heard it hear first! We aren't going anywhere, but now you know that when you see LouLou's you'll be coming to the Best Vintage Fair in the UK. In fact, here are our current Autumn listings!

Love from LouLou and Gina

xxx