Monday 1 October 2012

THE MOST MARVELLOUS VINTAGE MARKET

I had a fun if somewhat blustery day at the Most Marvellous Vintage Market this weekend, where I set-up shop next to vintage-queen Cary Whitley of LoveVintage. Despite the wind threatening to blow away all our gorgeous hats and other lightweight treasures, it was a great day out, complete with live music ranging from the 1920's to modern day.


1930's evening bag plus vintage diamante & pearl earrings 

The theme of the Vintage Market was weddings - a subject close to my heart as I was previously Fashion & Beauty Editor of Brides and also edited Wedding Day. Vintage clothing and accessories have always played an important role in bridalwear - both directly or for inspiration, with many fashion-savvy brides opting to mix vintage and modern pieces for their wedding trousseau. Vintage haberdashery, diamante buckles and sparkling brooches are also useful components for customising and upstyling bridal accessories and gowns and for creating lovely embellishments for receptions and wedding stationery. Not surprisingly, sparkling diamante jewellery, shimmering strings of pearls, brocade satin evening bags and sleek leather clutches were all popular with brides-to-be and vintage lovers at the fair.


In a weak moment, I considered bringing a full-blown 1950's Chantilly lace wedding gown with me and I'm pleased I decided not to, as it's quite fragile and should definitely be tried-on in a spacious and carpeted room and not on tarmac! The bodice of the gown bears an uncanny resemblance to the bodice of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's Alexander McQueen wedding dress and comes complete with a smattering of original 1950's newspaper confetti, trapped for posterity between the lace and satin. This gorgeous confection will have to stay under wraps for another time.


Snapshots of my vintage pieces - perfect for brides and fashionistas


Something old, something blue: vintage finds on Cary's stall


Several of my crystal perfume atomisers from the 30's through to the 50's also sold well and there's always an interest in perfume bottles and factices (display perfume bottles) from the leading fragrance houses such as Christian Dior, Chanel and Guerlain. During the day a lovely lady made a beeline for my stall and longingly honed in on a 1960's bottle of Je Reviens by Worth (launched in 1932). She told me that she remembered dabbing the highly feminine floral fragrance behind her ears in the 1950's and that her other favourite scent had been Love Affair by Goya (created in 1958).  It's such a joy hearing people reminisce about the items I'm selling and funnily enough I saw a beautiful bottle of Goya's Love Affair for sale only last week, complete with its original signature pale blue and gold packaging. With hindsight it's a shame I didn't buy the perfume so I could have made that woman's day...





No comments:

Post a Comment

Please don't spam. Spam comments are not approved.