Cheap Chappette Style (Olympiad & Vintage Event Dressing On A Budget)

There are some events where everyone dresses up. Events where half the point is to people watch, to see and be seen. Events such as The Chap Olympiad, which pop up once a year in the vintage calendar and provoke a mad panic of 'what shall I wear?'. It's part of the fun and part of the hell of getting ready ... and sometimes all those lucky people with perfect late 40s Dior or made-to-measure repro can be pretty intimidating to those of us on a more modest budget. Ha, never fear! One of the great things about these events is their creativity - in all but the most joyless, geekiest snobfest (and who would want to go to an event like that anyway?) when you look closely you'll see a myriad of different styles, budgets and methods. If you look closely at some of the perfect 'just got papped' blogger types, you may well note it's their sharp eye for styling and not their budget that gave them the edge. So here are some ideas on how to dress for those 'big' vintage days out without breaking the bank...

Review: £99 Spa Break at the Belstead Brook Hotel.

Hi all! As you may know, I have been ill recently, and am still under regular treatment at Charing Cross Hospital (if you would like to read up on my condition, click here). This has taken a bit of a toll on the old blogging of late; although I do not have 'day to day' symptoms the worry and very frequent blood tests have meant I'm just about managing to do my day job and so forth (essentially, I have to be monitored at least weekly, then reprieved from some heavy duty drug treatment 'till next week... then tested again, and so forth. Ironically the best thing to be is on tenterhooks for 6 months, because the other option is six weeks of mexo injections in yer bum).

Anyway, that's by the by, this is a review. My friend decided that we all needed a break and suggested we go to her local spa hotel The Belstead Brook Hotel, Ipswich. This is a hotel and spa built around an ancient manor house, with, as the name would suggest, some attractive wild gardens and a brook. It is part of the Swallow Hotels group.

Button Revamp - New Old Top!

Hi all! I hope you're enjoying the bank holiday in all its glory. I was a little worried yesterday as I could see my breath and it was pouring with rain, luckily it's brighter today! I shouldn't really be blogging now if I was a proper blogger, as people don't read it straight away - but heh, you guys can read this whenever. If it starts raining again you can thank me for something to do.

Miss Selfridge via a Chazza

Cute Pocket detail

I was rummaging through my wardrobe recently and found this shirt, which I bought for about £3 from a charity shop a year or two ago. I love the pattern and cute pockets - it also lends itself to being styled with casual jeans or work wear, and can look very 50s gypsy style or hippy chic. Bargain! However, as you can see, it was all crumpled and folorn at the back of the shelf when I found it...

Poundland Haul

Sorry I've been away. I've been quite poorly recently unfortunately.

Never mind. Local Poundlands had a chance to re-stock. Here's a V-log about my latest Poundland and 99p Stores haul...

 Enjoy! And if you do YouTube, subscribe to my channel as I am planning to do more video stuff in future. Just don't expect expert camera action, it's gonna be more You've Been Framed than BAFTA material.

Dying Hair With Spices... Dare I?

I have been considering giving my hair a break from harsh permanent dyes recently. Mainly because it's crispy fried and dry, good if it was fried seaweed from the local takeaway, bad for hair. Not sexy. However I am not prepared to forgo dye altogether - I'm one of those people who (up until a few weeks ago) couldn't tell you what my natural hair looks like. Well, I let some roots grow a few weeks back and I was like 'NOOOO' ... I don't want to see my natural colour. It's brown - not lustrous rich brown but cool, dull crap brown, and where there used to be streaks of red and blonde there are now streaks of grey. Ugh. So, what were my options?

The first, from Superdrug, is simply wash-in-wash-out 'Effects' dye. The stuff you used as a teenager in the 90s! It's pretty quick, easy and cheap, but I have to apply the dye and wait 15 min (to get a good colour) every other time I wash my hair, which is a hassle. I don't mind once a week - or preferably once a month if I can get away with it. So I'm looking at other natural alternatives. At first, I was primed to pop off to Westfield and pick up some henna from Lush (only buy henna from reputable sources m'kay - as a West London girl I've seen the allergies and scars using adulterated, cheap - especially black- henna can cause). But then I got wind of a thriftier, home-made alternative from Youtube; spice dying.

As anyone who has got haldi (turmeric) on their clothes will attest, it's a pretty strong natural dye. The same goes for paprika, cloves, coffee and saffron. See how they can be used on these Youtube clips:

So, shall I try it? Do you want to see if my plain brown roots turn a nice chestnut? Or, which will probably be more entertaining, do you want to see me with an orange scalp and no decipherable change to my hair?

I even have some old bags of spices I forgot to unpack when I moved... lacking in flavour but perfectly OK for DIY dye...

Electric Dreams At The Towner, Eastbourne

Time to get in some culture, innit. A couple of weeks ago I visited the gallery my sister works at - the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne - for a club-style evening event. Themed around 'Electric Dreams' and neon electronica, it was a party inspired by the Kelly Richardson: Legion exhibition. The exhibition is still on and FREE - it is well worth a visit if you are in the area. Richardson layers photographs she has manipulated into eerie, almost mystical worlds of enhanced colour and odd perspective. These are projected onto huge screens, with natural soundtracks ... the effect is very ghostly and atmospheric, it immediately triggers a mood change even if you are not into very conceptual modern art. All of the works in Legion are about the environment - in one, a 'ghost' stag walks into a strange, misty forest. Sometimes he is there, sometimes he isn't... he leaves a trail of smoke behind him, like a memory of an extinct animal that used to walk in the woods.

Hickory Vintage ... A Vintage Fashion Film

I was recently sent this fabulous film by Hickory Vintage. With a tense, atmospheric thriller feel, it showcases their garments fantastically, covering four eras - the 40s, 50s, 60s & 70s and the 80s. There are some wonderful scenes and superb looks - check it out...

I think my favourite look it the 80s one - it's so striking with the make-up and oversized hat providing maximum impact!

Directed by Lauren Midwinter, this video overtook Prada in its first week on Youtube. Not bad for a vintage video in the world of mainstream fashion!

If this has piqued your interest in Hickory Vintage, do check out their blog and store. There's lovely stuff to be found...

60s Dress £14

70s Hawaiin Top £6

70s Grecian Maxi £14

TK Maxx St Mary's Axe - Review

A new TK Maxx in Olde London Town! Yes. Brand spanking new and about as central as you can get (right underneath the Gherkin, on St Mary's Axe) - when they kindly invited me to attend their celebrity preview, I was there like a shot. As ever, the concept of the store is to provide brands and designer labels at up to 60% off the RRP, however this store has an extra twist for those of you lucky enough to work or live within easy reach of the Liverpool St area; this is a City focused store - meaning no kid's clothes or household goods, and a much better selection of work, smart and partywear.

Kate Walsh of The Apprentice fame, and
Channel 5 weather presenter Sian Welby.

Attacking Things From Poundland With A Glue Gun

Ah yes, the weather has been foul so I have been doing things indoors. By doing things, I mainly mean reading trashy fantasy novels and watching YouTube tutorials whilst eating Pringles by the fistful - but eventually, occasionally, I actually get round to making the things I've watched. Yes, crafting. Or in my case, sticking everything in sight together with an overheating glue gun and hoping for the best.

S'cuse the nekkid nails.

Trip To The V&A

Alas I am limpy once again. My sciatica struck during the snow and it's still here... unfortunately I got no sympathy on the tube because, it seems, most tourists think that injured or disabled people look like Tiny Tim. Obviously I have no right to walk slowly looking relatively normal, or try to do normal things. Grr. I wouldn't mind so much but bar stairs, I'm actually quicker than the average tourist is, so their request to the person hanging on to the handrail and wincing as she walks to speed up were a bit rich to say the least.

Anyway, my sister and I made it to the V&A to catch the end of the 'Kitty & The Bulldog' mini-exhibition and the new fashion galleries. I like fashion history and my sister likes Japanese sub cultures, so between us we made up one cultured visitor. We also like anything a bit OTT and wearable. You can't beat it whether it's a hooped velvet skirt from a Victorian wedding or a lace and pearl cuff from Japan. When we were looking at the 1850s section of the fashion galleries, my sister quipped that I would be normal sized then. Heheheh indeed. I would be mighty and tall! On reflection, the crinolines would also have hidden my gigantic feet too. But there wouldn't have been any central heating so I would probably have burned myself to a crisp as I rashly edged nearer and nearer to the fireplace in my purple velvet monstrosity.