Spitalfields Supreme

Hello all!

In the spirit of TRUE vintage blogging, we’re harking back to APRIL 2012 in a bid to catch-up with what we’ve missed [FYI: hiding under your bed with old Vogues and merlot won’t result in any task doing itself- no blogging elves or self-typing laptop ever saves the day!]

Let us paint a picture for you…the year was, well, this year. The weather was… concrete at best. The destination was a bustling east-London market that we’re learning to call our own. Enter a petite young thing fresh out of wartime and forties from head to toe. She was Naomi. We said hello. Our story started here.




The market was of course that of Old Spitalfields which we have been occupying since it’s Saturday doors yawned open last year. Our heroine [for all plugged-in to the ever growing vintage scene] is stylist, savant [and all-round good egg] Naomi Thompson [aka Vintage Secret, the UK’s leading vintage stylist]

The meeting? Not one of chance. With Naomi jetting off every other day for book tours [her is very good by the way!] styling and general vintage whimsy, fitting into her schedule is like trying to capture a hurricane with bare hands only.

Cigarette in hand, Naomi had kindly taken some down time to help us out; indulging in our own twisted take on the Olympics [none of the running and all of the praise!] Naomi was on hand to give out gold medals and goodie bags to our best-dressed guests . With one residual puff, into the market we strut to scan, award and glorify what wonderful street style east London had to offer.





The results? As you can imagine, the choice was a TOUGHIE! So diverse were the styles and eclectic the eras that Bill & Ted couldn’t even keep up!

Instead of waxing lyrical, we’ve picked out our favourite visuals for you to coo over…

Now, we fell head over heels for all of the outfits above but one shopper, in a pair of Jeffrey Campbells [that we almost mugged her for – damn you unsuitable getaway shoes!] knocked us for six in the style stakes…



And there we have it – another Saturday among the stalls! Only in it’s infancy, Spitalfields will be back on Saturday 7th July [we’re having June off to chin-chin the Queen and even have a GIN!] For more information on the fair, click here and to pay Naomi a visit, click here!

xVVx

V V cool! [the V V stands for ‘very very’]

Greetings vintage fans!

Like moths to a glossy flame, we are drawn to those most papped of our people…celebrities. Florence Welch, Daisy Lowe, Chloe Sevigny, George Lamb – all people who have graced our markets [gratuitous name drop there] – some have let us take their picture, oggle their wares and stare dumbfounded as the power of speech escaped us [soz Floz! I’m working on my people skills!] but never, vintage fans, NEVER has one asked to have a stall!

Imagine our amazement when glamour-puss V V Brown gets on the wire, wanting a stall at Spitalfields – *Insert comedy swoon here!

With bezza and business partner Lola, V V rocked-up to launch her new collection VVVintage and we [finding our voicebox along the way] had a little chat…

How did you get into vintage?

“Vintage has always been a part of my life. It began with not having enough money to buy designer wear and once I discovered vintage, I realised that it was a lot more fun and creative. It grew into a lifestyle as I began to read more about sustainability and the ethical side of the fashion industry leading to this business [VVVintage].”

What would your advice be to people who never really veer from the Highstreet?

“Be aware of the ethical impact of high street fashion and the conditions within the factories that make these clothes. The people who make them often do not feel the benefits. The idea of sustainability takes into consideration the ethics of the human being who created the item.”

What pieces can you not live without?

“Anything Black. My black rain coat is something I wear all the time even when there is sun. Black is so chic and timeless.”

What’s the WORST outfit you’ve had to wear? Any couture skeletons in the closet?

“The worst outfit was a dress I wore to the Shopaholic premiere. I couldn’t breath and I took it off in the Addison Lee taxi. It was a designer dress. Beautiful but uncomfortable. Never again.”

And there we have it – veni, vidi, VV! The proverbial cherry on the cake, the lovely folks from ITV came down to film it for the news. To check out VV’s collection click here, or to see it face to face, take a look at this clip here.

Missed out? Never fear. We’ll be back at the Old Spitalfields Market for the May Bank Holiday for more capital hijinx [so be sure to pencil it in!]

 

xVVx [Vintage Vulture, not VV Brown]

 

 

Dog Days…


The weeks when i can say i spent my Friday photographing dogs in medals – those be good weeks [PS Crufts, if you’re watching, watch out!]

This [as you may know] is office dog Dolly, modelling one of the many medals we intend to give out at Judy’s at Spitalfields – The Bank Holiday Special next weekend. What are we looking for? With snow on the horizon, perhaps a glossy coat!

Happy weekend vintage fans!

xVVx