Monday 31 January 2011

Style Icon: Kirstie Allsopp

I don't give a monkeys about real estate but I cannot stop watching various famed property programs - if they are fronted by Kirstie Allsopp. Simply because I like to gape at her frocks!


Kirstie Allsopp must be one of THE vintage icons of current day British television. No matter what she puts on she always oozes 40s or 50s glamour. Big skirts, shirt dresses or tailored suits. Not to forget an array of beautiful coats - and those killer heels she's always seen in!

Kirstie and her onscreen presenting partner Phil Spencer - I love their banter!

She's a clever woman, clearly well educated. If you don't love her for her style you have to adore her for her feistiness.

Very, very small selection of what I could find online. It is so worth watching her programs just to oogle over her outfits.

Apart from the property programs with Phil Spencer she also did Kirstie's Homemade Home in which she explored all kinds of crafting and promoted 2nd hand. Just brilliant! I also loved Kirstie and Phils homemade Christmas series a few weeks ago.

Kirstie sticks to her signature 50s lines on the red carpet. Beautiful maternity coat on the right by the way!

But  a dressed down make-up free Kirstie also exudes 50s glam

Perfect!



Please do excuse that there is not much more substance to this post but I am very tired, busy week behind me, busy week ahead - so no more!

Sunday 30 January 2011

Thank you speech

In the last 2 weeks I have recived the same award by two different fellow vintage bloggers - Kiki La Mer of http://rockabillyview.blogspot.com/ and Fraeulein Lin of http://petticoatsandpinup.blogspot.com/.
Thank you very much lovely ladies, it is much appreciated!


We are not exactly at the Oscars here and neither am I clad in a frock - but I have my set wrapped in my most beautiful scarf and the couch I am sitting on is on a red carpet. So that will do!

The conditions of this award are:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award

So here are my 7 incredibly interesting facts!

I was born and bred in Vienna in Austria. Last Friday 6 years ago I came to England. Why? I had to clear my head, needed a break from myself, from people, I needed to change my life. I think I can only do radical things, just changing wouldn’t do, I actually needed to leave the country. To stay that long I had never intended but after only 2 and a bit months I met Mr. Bossy and the rest is the famous history....

My beautiful hometown Vienna

I used to have fire engine red hair, chain smoke, drink heavily and enjoyed the very hedonistic lifestyle of a right floozy. No regrets but I guess it makes you understand my first point better. When I met Mr. Bossy I soon turned into mumsy Little Miss Boring. So goal achieved. I changed!

This is one of my fav old pics of me, it was taken the night before my 24th birthday - 7 years ago.

I am a big advocator of attachment parenting. I myself was raised like this (though only partly) so to me it is only natural. At the beginning of his life my son was brought up according to the continuum concept, we stuck pretty well to it. I carried him exclusively for 25 months (of course he also walked but never owned a pram before that), we always co-slept with absolutely no exception (still do), we try to practice gentle disciplining - i.e. no punishment, no forcing to say sorry, logical consequences is the form of disciplinary (I do have to admit I find this rather hard, I am quite a short tempered person and so is my boy – we clash very loudly). And I am very, very passionate about breastfeeding. I am an active member of the La Leche League and intend to feed my boy as long as he wants. I am aware of the fact that a lot of people find this icky but I am very open about this and stand up for my decision. We feed everywhere, we don’t hide. To me this is important to show people that it’s ok to do this. I know there’s this big stigma that mums who use wraps, who feed their “fully grown” toddlers (because a small child is practically a teenager?) and try to be healthy (though I am terribly failing at this) all look like Birkenstock wearing eco-warriors. Well I don’t. Of course it’s absolutely fine if someone chooses to look like Mayim Bialik (who I adore, she is THE celebrity spokesperson for attachment parenting) but I know so many mums who don’t and still do it that way. I unfortunately also heard of quite a number of people who steered clear of wraps because of said stigma.
  
This photo was taken last summer when my sisters came to visit me. We feed everywhere but discreetly. The picture of me above is much much more revealing.


I love baking. Especially cupcakes. One day I’d like to open a small cupcake bakery in Bedford. All decked out in a 50s diner style. Dreams.... We are actually really planning something but for now it is just a dream as I don’t know how to fit child and setting up a business together. And of course money doesn’t grow on trees but I guess you already know that.

Cakes I made for my son's last birthday party


I am obsessed with polka dots. I guess that is a fairly obvious one. I see anything red with white polka dots and I really want to possess it but I am a sucker for all things dotty. And anything that contains bows, daisies, fruit prints or stripes.

I thought you might like to see some polka dots on here, such a rare sight...


I am very British when it comes to tea. Before I came here I already loved to drink English breakfast tea with milk but ever since I live here I do drink at least 3 cups a day. Which is nothing in comparison to the 7 odd cups Mr. Bossy downs a day, I know. I sometimes have to smile at myself when my first move is to make a cuppa when we have a crisis situation going on. That is SO British.

Vintage tea party


This year I want to learn how to knit and sew. And I mean properly. I want to knit myself so many cardis and sweaters and - well, obviously - sew myself a zillion pretty dresses. I am a self taught crocheter so that should give me confidence – but it doesn’t. I only took up crocheting because I wouldn’t understand knitting patterns! I am more confident with sewing patterns (though not really as I left fashion school donkeys years ago because of the fact that I didn’t understand patterns) – I am very worried though that a sewing machine would wake my son. I have no idea how to solve this the best way – so I guess we’ll see what the year will bring!

Beautiful 40s knitting pattern to be found online


This style award has been going back and forth on various vintage blogs - so I guess you've all received this already! I'd like to give the award to the following brilliant dames:

Friday 28 January 2011

Just a quick note...

... to say that my internet has abandoned me. Hence my absence.

My promised give away when I reach the big 100 will have to wait I think - that number is approaching so fast I cannot believe it! Need to actually make the things I planned to give away first!

Monday 24 January 2011

2 outfits and hair of course...

Oh deary me - when I embarked on this revived blog journey a few weeks ago I had (still have) so many blog ideas and I was more than keen to keep up to date with blog browsing and leaving comments. But yet again I underestimated time (or better the lack of). So again I have not more time to do more than a quick outfit post. Within the week I shall return comments and also acknowledge a lovely blog award I have received.
(click to enlarge)

Outfit one day last week, just another combination of my various skirts and cardis.
And of course the trusted outtake  - but could I pose any stiffer?

I am not sure if I like this hair. I kinda do but really I don't. They look more like huge pincurls than victory rolls. Though I do think that it looks cute and playful and like a modern take on it I still reckon it's too cutsey.

This bakelite beauty came with one of the 2 much talked about ebay purchases - this came from the US one.


I wore this yesterday to my friend's little boy's bithday party. 

This red dress with white polkadots from Select I bought ages ago (for literally pennies) via ebay - I was going to wear it at my registry office wedding (which has not happened yet) but I won't anymore. It's a lovely v neck dress with wide straps and beautiful ruching around the waist. I paired a simple white fitted shirt underneath - it looked just perfect to me. I did mention before that I LOVE this Primark cardigan (still there to buy) and the lovely shoes, the very retro heels I have to show another day, are also Primark, but bought a while ago.


And I proudly present my most favourite piece of jewllery. My much much beloved sweater guard (if anyone could tell me how you call it in German I'd be greatful - my mother doesn't know). I am not sure and always open for a lesson in fashion history - it seems to me that they were much more popular in the states than in Europe in the 1950s. Is that correct vintage history buffs?

Also ebayed. I unfortunately lost a faux pearl but never mind, will be easily replaced if I want to.

Saturday 22 January 2011

Lena Hoschek new collection A/W 2011/12

First of all - thank you so much to all my new followers (that sounds so strange though I quite fancy myself as a deity) - my last few days were quite short of online time so I was surprised to see so many new followers today. Soon I'll have time to check your blogs out!

Lena Hoschel showed her new A/W 2011/12 collection on Wednesday in Berlin at the Mercedes-Benz fashion week.
And it was a great success!
(Personally my heart beats even faster for the previous A/W 2010 collection but the new one is still just beautiful.)
I am loving all the plaid dresses and blouses and the colourful tights but I wish the hemlines would get longer again. Seems to me they get shorter with every collection?
(click to enlarge)










Photocredits: Boris Marberg

Don't forget to stay tuned for my interview with the brilliant designer!

Wednesday 19 January 2011

A few outfits, snooded and casual hair...

With our current financial issues I cannot just go out and buy a whole lot of "new" vintage dresses or some of the most gorgeous repro stuff out there. I have to make do with what I have and just combine it with more effort and vintage inspired hair.
It's a new challenge every day and the fancy hair is indeed very glam for play groups but what the heck - I am loving it.

I did not manage to capture every day of the last week as I have a tendency to rush to places and be late everywhere I go :-)


Dressed up in a little black cardigan and 2 different skirts and dressed down in a polkadotted number

I think the lovely shoulder detail makes the blue dress very vintage reminiscent but that huge zip down the front obviously destroys the look. But it makes it IDEAL for discreet breastfeeding and that's why I still got it in the first place. It's from LoveLabel, the fake leather belt I have added, it's 2nd hand via Ebay.
The black cardigan is from South, it's a bit short in the body and also short sleeved (I am wearing a H&M breastfeeding top underneath) but I love love love the frilly ruffles and the bow attached to it!

I don't know if my outtakes amuse you but they sure amuse me :-)
My darling son always wanting the spotlight and in the middle I had bashed my elbow walking backwards and really hit the famous funny bone.

The hair is the really exciting part for me at the moment. I am always on the lookout for dressed down casual vintage styles. Any tips? This updo is so quick it counts for me as casual but it does look rather glam I think. Just a little pompadour, twisted back and pushed forward side parts and the back is rolled up - which would look neater if I'd had a rat. And it was such a rainy grey day I just needed a flower in my hair.

And I adoooooooore snoods. So elegant! This one I made myself and I will make more. I guess if I make one in black or brown it would be more casual. I'm in love with victory rolls at the moment but they are rather dressy. So beautiful!

Recently I was asking myself if people are really interested in my musings or if I am taking my vanity a step to far in waffling endlessly about my hair and clothes. But yesterday a friend told me that she went out and bought stuff I had shown on my blog and wouldn't have thought of going there before and that gave me new confidence. I have purpose :-)
Also thank you so much to all the people who are following me - it's a crazy addition of about 65 people in the last 1 1/2 months.
When I reach the 100 I'll do a give away which will include a snood!

Tuesday 18 January 2011

Promised Lena Hoschek A/W 2010 pictures

The pictures I tried uploading last night.
Just gorgeous. Beautiful. Fantastic. To die for!
Please don't forget my interview with this great designer - if you have questions to ask her please leave me a comment. More info HERE.
(please click to enlarge the pics, they are all high resolution)

















Photocredits: Lupis Puma

Have a browse through her CATALOGUE - more pics to swoon over!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...