Twinwoods

As in my previous post we were Twinwood virgins this weekend. So here is just a taste of what we did and saw.  It was fabulous to meet up with old friends and meet new ones, and meet some Facebook friends face to face!

Twinwood Festival is one of the biggest vintage music festivals which spans 3 days of music, dancing and shopping.

It started as a celebration of Glenn Miller who made his last fateful flight to Paris from the air field in 1944 but has now grown to all things vintage with 40's, and 50's bands, burlesque, cabaret, all day and into the night.

Vintage stalls to help you get the vintage look, hairdressers on hand to give the glamour of the era.

There was so much to do and see that we wore out shoe leather walking up and down to various areas in the hope not to miss anything.

One of the "must do" for us was to visit the Glenn Miller museum that is housed in the restored control tower - it was fascinating to see how it would have been set up during the war.

 

Playing secretary in the control tower.

 

 

Funky vintage hair dryers from The Vintage Salon.

 

 

Some of the vintage goodies on offer.

 

 

Dancing in the Hanger Saturday night.

(photo Simply Twinwood Magazine)

 

 

 

Glamping or at least trying!!

Hubby and I are just back from our first time at Twinwoods - I am quite surprised that we haven't been before, I guess it was the whole under canvas thing that was putting me off but due to the fact that we won tickets in their calendar competition there really was no excuse??

With a borrowed tent and various other camping essentials we set off on Friday morning, with the help of our lovely friend Paul (whose tent we borrowed), we set up camp.

Once we had organised the little areas - we had a bedroom, dressing room and dining area we mixed a few cocktails to toast our first time camping!!!

So how do you bring a little glamour to your camping - here are my top tips to glamping it up in style:

• Take a few home comforts with you - I took a wedding picture of my Mum and Dad, or your favourite mug to have your morning tea in.
• Vintage bed linen or table clothes are light to pack and add a finishing touch to your "rooms".
• You can buy very pretty and stylish tableware but if you can take china plates, proper cutlery and glassware it is so much more chic and cocktails always seem to have a funny taste in plastic??
• Scented candles are great - not to light inside the tent obviously but even having them in there will make the tent smell lovely when you walk in.
• A small vase of flowers on the table or a potted plant in the entrance will make you smile every time you walk in .

Just a few ideas to get stylish when camping - as for me - we have booked for next year BUT this time we will be (hopefully) have a little more comfort in a caravan - I don't think that my back can take sleeping on the floor despite having an airbed!!!

My lovely 50's picnic basket with proper china.

 

Cocktails!!

 

Morning!!!

 

A beautiful caravan on display - next year???

Wallaces Home Boutique

www.wallaceshomeboutique.co.uk

 

 

 

Style Icon - Coco Chanel

"A woman should be two things classy and fabulous"

Wise words from one a true fashion genius, Coco Chanel born in 1883(or possibly 1893 - she often changed her true birthday!!)  changed the way women dress, she drew from her childhood in an orphanage and the austere dress of the nuns that taught her as a child.

She worked her way up from a shop assistant to haute couture legend - her key to success - vision, discipline, the ability to assert oneself and not taking no for an answer.

Chanel had many lovers over the years and one or two of them financed her business but she was one of the first self-made women in business, a rare thing in the early 20th century. The Duke of Westminster even declared his love for her by putting her iconic double C's on every lamppost in the Borough of Westminster - take a look the next time you pass by in London??

She embodied the modern woman and her designs were as avant-garde as she was.

Chanel was ahead of her time - when the fashion was for women to flounce around in frills and corsets she gave them freedom.  Her designs borrowed from the wardrobe of her lovers in tweed, jersey was revolutionary, these kind of fabrics had not be used for women's clothing before.

 In 1925 she designed her signature cardigan jacket and the following year the Little Black Dress. Chanel created one of the best selling fragrances of all time in 1922 with the launch of Chanel No 5 which still accounts for 70% of the market today!

Chanel closed her house at the outbreak of war only to open again in February 1954 aged 71!!!! And worked every day - walking from her suite at The Ritz to 31 Rue Cambon until her death in 1971.

A true fashion legend and inspiration to women everywhere.

Packing - vintage style

Hubby and I are off to www.twinwoodevents.co.uk for the first time this weekend. I am very excited but a little nervous we are camping and if you follow this blog and my antics on Facebook you will probably have realised that I am quite high maintenance and am not looking forward to spending a few nights under canvas???

So how do your pack when space is limited to what we can get in the car - along with the tent, portable stove, picnic table and other camping stuff that the pros of this camping lark tell me we need to take????

Careful planning of outfits is required, a gal needs to have a number of options as there are day and evening outfits to consider so here is my guide to packing when you have limited space.....

• Limit your self to one or two neutral colours so you can mix and match your pieces together to create more options - eg - greys, navy, browns and camels are good ones to go for as they can be mixed with other items in accent colours.
• Take suits that can be split up to give your more choice - you can wear the skirt with a different top or team the jacket with a separate pair of trousers.
• When planning your outfits - lay your clothes out on the bed and see what combinations you can create, keep adding and taking away until you are happy with the pieces you have.
• It is tempting to take lots of shoes but in reality they are bulky and nine times out of ten you don't wear them all so choose two pairs that go with all your outfit choices.
• Finally accessories, accessories, accessories - a great way to change up your outfits and they don't take up too much space so pack - brooches that you can add to a dress or hat, scarves that you can tie around your hair, neck or even make into a blouse under a jacket.

I recently wrote a guest post for www.retrochick.co.uk on how to wear one suit five ways so here are a few of those pictures showing some outfit options.

Navy suit from Lulu Vintage, hat from Gressenhall Village at War, and shoes Goldfinch's Vintage.

Jacket and shoes as before, trousers Heyday's, scarf Prim Vintage.

Skirt as before, jumper Ebay and shoes at a vintage fair.

Anniversary Celebrations

A couple of weeks ago my the hubby and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. I have been meaning to put up a few pictures of our celebrations.

We try do something extra special each year but due to the fact that we have been extra busy and the trials and tribulations we have had to endure selling my Mum's house things were a little closer to home and lower key this time but we had a lovely time non the less.

Firstly we ......... had to a trip to Southwold and had pink fizz at Tilly's Tea Room

Southwold is famous for it's beach huts and they were holding a vintage market in some of the huts along the seafront so we took a little look.

Next, it was onto Blthybrugh just down the road to a tea dance, with more cake, Pimms and dancing in the sunshine.

(Photo Stephen Plumb)







Day in the Life of a fashion stylist.....

Although I was meant to be taking a rest last week I took a day out to do photo shoot for Flush Magazine.

There is a lot of time and planning that goes into the creation of fabulous images that graze the magazines - the inspiration, getting the team together, finding the clothes to suit the mood and then shooting on the day.

So on a rainy, dull day in July we used Blue Skies HQ as a base and made some fashion magic happen (as it was for the Autumn/Winter it didn't matter that it rained!!!)


My inspiration came from the quirky nooks and cranny's around Elm Hill, the kooky curious taxidermist and antique shop teamed with classic vintage styles from the couture collections of the 40's and 50's - the story of a slightly eccentric girl going about her day in her own little crazy world???

I always start with a story or a picture, then go onto the clothes and accessories to get the look I am going for, I hang out the pieces and lay accessories on a flat surface and start to play until the style comes together, nothing is ever set in stone or too planned out as something always develops along the way and takes on a life of it's own!!

Lucy Barnes starting on the make-up.

The finishing touches.

Accessories and inspiration!

Getting it just right on set.

Just a little insight in "The day in the life" of a fashion stylist, the finished pictures to come soon.

Many thanks to Stephen Plumb Photography, Lucy Barnes Make-up and Kelly French Model.

All of these lovely people have facebook pages so you check them out and see what else they do!!