Another Rock 'n' Roll Christmas

Twiggy at big Biba in 1971 - the spiritual home of early 70s glam rockers 

So this weekend the festive period actually begins with two whole weekends either side of Christmas to get your sparkle on and get out there. Whether you're going to the office party or out on the town with your friends there's no better time to channel the glamourous rock 'n' roll icons of yesteryear to get into the vibe without resorting to a novelty jumper. Here's my holiday moodboard that should have you reaching for the kohl and glitter. 

Super(groupie)model and friend to the stars Kate Moss in some seriously amazing 90s velvet

The crowned queen of Rock 'n' Roll fashion design Pam Hogg in the 1980s 

Debbie Harry in what looks like vintage 50s leopard print in the 80s. We certainly weren't the first to borrow style from earlier decades.

Stevie Nicks in a stunning jet beaded lace jacket. 1970s. 

Billie Holiday was never shy of a sequin or two

The perfect gift- Marianne Faithfull 1960s

Sara Moon for Biba - 1970s

Why not match your outfit with your BFF like Courtney Love and Amanda De Cadenet did in 1995?

1960s chanteuse Francoise Hardy shimmers in gold chainmail

90s dreambabes En Vogue in stunning 1950s inspired red and leopard gowns

Patsy Cline killing it in a full length sequin gown-1950s

Absolute hair and makeup perfection from 80s soul singer Sade.

Catherine Deneuve has no time for people that go out without a coat on in December and sports a beautiful 1960s leopard print. Pay a £1 for the cloakroom, girls, seriously. 

Time to party with Jayne Mansfield!

Sequins, satin, velvet and fur are hardly groundbreaking textures for Christmas but when worn together with wild joyful abandon and lashings of eyeliner they raise your status from groupie wannabe to rock 'n' roll starlet. Picking up a vintage statement piece such as a sequin top can be worked around black jeans for the work's do then teamed with clashing sequin hot pants and a glamourous headpiece for a show stopping New Year's Eve look. 

Whatever you wear and wherever you go this weekend we hope you have super sparkly amazing party times and that you feel as fabulous as we think you are. 

Lots of love,

LouLou's Vintage Fair

xxx

Kimbra: More Than Somebody You Used To Know

Kimbra is one of my ultimate musical inspirations. In my humble opinion, I think she's everything Jessie J wishes she could be and more. You may recognise her from Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know video, but she's just so much more than a cameo in a one hit wonder. Can you tell I'm a fan?!

"I describe my style as bold, youthful, feminine and creative"

And although I could bang on all day about her incredible vocals, super clever pop writing it's her wardrobe I reckon you'll be pretty interested by too! And though I'd love to say I nipped to New Zealand to interview the songtress, I really, really didn't! But I did find a great style focussed interview with Kimbra from Refinery29 which gives a real genuine insight into her thoughts on fashion, so all quotes are from this interview. But before I go any further, here is one of my absolute favourite Kimbra live videos singing Settle Down at SingSing studios. 

Oh my LORD the girl is good.  Just looking at her in that video shows her boundless confidence and eccentricity. But with her bold features, jet black hair and ruby red lips juxtaposed against her whimsical Disney inspired stage outfits, visually, she's created something really very special.

 "A great stage outfit for me, comes from an inspired compliment of patterns and colors – even if they clash at times! – and a strong sense of movement and creativity. I like people to feel transported by what they see on stage in conjunction with the music. Outfits can really add another dimension of depth and fantasy to a concert."

 "I like a lot of Japanese street fashion and get inspired by a lot of old Disney films. Nowadays, I get inspired by film directors like Tim Burton, photographer Tim Walker, and artists like Salvador Dali." 

The video below gives us a little insight into Kimbra's stage outfit prep and it makes me super happy that the girl loves her thrifting! Second hand, vintage and supporting "under the radar" designers are Kimbra's go tos for her stage and day to day style. I particularly like that she looks at the fabric of the dress first and then thinks "how can I make this work for me?" That DIY attitude is something I need to take on!

Here is my idea of a Kimbra-esque stage outfit complete with red tambourine! Layering this high necked vintage inspired blouse under a crazy sequin prom dress adds a fantasy quality and the heels can't be too high, a girls gotta dance! Oh and don't forget your MAC lipstick. Have you got any ideas?

Sequin dress Rare at ASOS

Black shirt Miss Selfridge

Turquoise sandals Next

Tambourine LP Music

Lipstick Russian Red from MAC

Love

Gina

x

The Jessie Rose Trip

She's set to be the break through artist of the next year, and though that's all well and good, I want to know more about this girls' wardrobe. Her flamboyant stage shows need equally showy outfits and it's obvious Jessie loves a bit of vintage. We meet Jessie Rose to talk lycra, red hair dye and her handsome backing band.

You appear to be open to mixing your eras Jessie, for example you've got lycra and Little Mermaid style red hair going on while you perform in front of your art deco influenced band logo. Talk to me about vintage and how it works in your wardrobe.
 
Much like when it comes to music I'm in to lots of different varying styles. I like what I like but would never want to pigeon hole myself in to a particular decade or genre. Generally I love mixing vintage with a touch of high street, but I'm really fussy about making sure I stay individual and don't like strictly following trends. It's tricky when I'm on stage though because I have to be quite practical with throwing myself around the stage willy nilly and because I have to leave room for my guitar to dangle around my neck as well, it's like a gigantic necklace! I feel like one of the boys when I'm on stage sometimes. The lycra leggings are just a safe bet for keeping me decent and so I'm not afraid I'm going to suddenly give the audience a show of more than they were expecting! Yikes!


Jessie Jessie Jessie. Can you teach me how to look that good in leggings please? In fact, don't answer that. But do tell us, how and where did your style evolution start? With a bottle of red hair dye perchance?!

How'd ya guess? I actually started dying my hair red when I was 13 and I've not really digressed very far from it since! It's become part of me now, I really couldn't even imagine me going back to my natural dark brown hair colour. I've always been hugely in to fashion, it's one of my big loves along side music of course! The two walk hand in hand. My mum was and still is a big influence on me, she's always taken pride in her appearance and has always gone for the more daring and bold approach! We're not ones to blend in, let's put it that way.

Is it just co-incidence that your band are equally stylish fellows? Or has their been a conscious effort made to create the Jessie Rose Trip image?

Both the boys pose more than me given the opportunity! They love fashion as well but I think it has been encouraged by playing in a band with me. I've not had to corner them in a vintage store in order to get them to make an effort though. The only time I'll maybe dictate what they wear is if I'm wearing a particular colour that may clash with something they'll be wearing, we wouldn't want that now would we!


Come on then, where do you shop?

Everywhere! Love the northern quarter in Manchester, Brick Lane if I get chance whist I'm in London and independent vintage fairs like the one near me in Stockport called Village Vintage, it's absolutely amazing. High street wise I love Zara, Topshop tends to have nice bits and bobs in. If you 'dig deep' as my mum likes to say, you can sometimes find a little gem in H&M.

Three of your style icons - GO:

Prince

Coco Channel

Audrey Hepburn

Three musical influences - GO:

Jimi Hendrix

Prince

Billie Holiday

(This was tricky, I have TOO many!)

Where can we see you perform next? Anything musically exciting on the horizon?

Well we have a big Christmas show coming up at Manchester Academy 3 on the 15th Dec. It's going to be all singing, all dancing - I cannot wait! We also have a few other gigs in the diary as well, they're listed on our Facebook page and follow us on twitter @JessieRoseTrip to find out more about our upcoming tour.

To hear more of Jessie's tunes, head over to her Soundcloud or have a little watch of this vid of Jessie playing at SXSW. "You can't expect a girl to play guitar in heels" - brilliant quote! And there are those ridiculous leggings again...woof!

Gina x

The Three Belles

Introducing The Three Belles: Anneka, Sally and Bella. A trio inspired by The Andrews Sisters, they sing just as beautifully as they look! I figured that these lovely ladies would be the perfect first musical interviewees for our Vintage Fair blog. Let's see what they have to say...


Hello ladies! Let's start at the beginning. How and when did The Three Belles start?

The Three Belles started in 2010 at the University of Portsmouth. We formed as part of our course in Creative and Performing Arts. We had a mutual fascination with the history and music of the 1940s and decided to hold a themed experience night called 'In The Mood'. After singing in some local music venues for publicity we found that our bookings were getting more and more frequent. So, once we graduated we decided to take on performing as The Three Belles and running our 1940s nights as a full time career! We have never looked back since!

Why did you choose this particular avenue for your performing? What is it about the style and the music that got you hooked?
The music appeals to all ages because it's so uplifting and fun. It is great to dance to as well. The fashion is glamorous and flattering as they had seamed stockings, red lipstick and fabulous hairstyles! But the spirit of the people in world war two is so inspiring. No one was allowed to complain! People had a stiff upper lip and muddled on through helping each other through a very difficult time.

What music do you listen to when you're not rehearsing and performing?
 In all seriousness... The Andrews Sisters! But we do listen to some modern music too! Anneka's still into her swing such as Eliza Doolittle and Jamie Cullum, Sally likes a bit of rap! She is a big Eminem fan (and can secretly rap really well!) Bella is a bit of a rocker and loves bands like Muse and Elbow!
But we all love a bit of John Mayer in the car! And Louis Jordan for our 1940s fix.

Are you full time vintage lovers? And where do you shop for your stage getups?

Yes we dress quite vintage all the time! We like Portsmouth shops for some great finds such as Hideout, Dead Mans Glory and Anything Goes. They are very affordable too. Vintage Fairs are a great place to get good vintage clothes. Sometimes for what we do though it's best to get repro clothes so they can go in the washing machine and also not get worn out too quickly! 

What is your gig highlight? And equally, any gig horror stories?

I think our gig highlight has to be Victorious Vintage in Portsmouth down at the dockyards! There were 8,000 people there and when we arrived people were waiting at the gates to get photos signed! We felt like celebs it was really very exciting!  Our gig horror stories.... There has been a few! A classic was when our track for 'somewhere over the rainbow' started and one of us (who shall remain nameless!) started singing 'the white cliffs of Dover'! It worked for a while until it got to the bridge and then we all looked at each other and cracked up! There was no way out of that one! 

Finally, where can our readers find you and where can we see you sing?
You can find us on thethreebelles.com or facebook or you can tweet us @thethreebelles! We have a lot of gigs in the diary which are on our website but our next big events are 'Sing Sing Sing!' at The Stag in Sevenoaks on the 26th October. This is a 1940s show that we wrote with our writer friend Matt Wingett about our characters, Betty Gail and Dorothy through the war! It's with our fab swing band, The Bevin Boys. More details on our website. The other big event in the pipeline is The Blackout Party  which is a 1940s night out at the incredible museum called milestones in Basingstoke. For this night we have some great entertainment booked including electro swing djs, burlesque and The Bevin Boys again! We are very excited about these fantastic events and hope they make for a great end to the year!

Well it has been an absolute pleasure meeting the girls and I hope you manage to catch them at a gig soon! You never know, I might just persuade them to come sing at one of our fairs someday...! 

Gina x