Vintage China Bouquet Brooches/Pins

Feeling guilty about buying fresh flowers (unsustainable growing practices / low wages for workers / use of pesticides)?

Fret no more! Ease your conscience by raiding the dusty shelves of your local charity shop for these bright little bouquets that bloom all year round. Delicately crafted in china, hand-painted and glazed, I've found pieces from Coalport, Crown and Aynsley in abundance, from as little as £1.00.

Try Etsy if you want to pin one to your lapel quick smart, and don't mind paying over-the-odds.

Found at: Save the Children, Shrewsbury & a charity shop in Crouch End.
Price: £1.00 - £5.00 each
Usability Factor: 5/5
Accessorise with: A vintage silk scarf and bright cherry lips from Lauren Luke's 'My Fierce Violets' palette.

1950s Apricot Prom Dress

I wafted into dinner at chef Nuno Mendes' home in this beautiful apricot prom confection on the weekend.

Nuno is trialling menus for his new Bethnal Green restaurant which is due to open later this year - for now, guests can sample a taster menu of about 15 courses, all of which Nuno prepares in front of you in his open-plan converted warehouse.

This dress is magical. With its contrasting sturdy/floaty fabrics it almost shouldn't work, yet somehow does. I love the thick linen bodice and the dainty hand-stitched beads which adorn it. The peachy, soft silk skirt which swirls out from pleats at the waist almost catches me by surprise every time I move.

It's an incredibly feminine dress; the fragile silk and delicate beading require one to move about with grace and poise, lest any part of it catch on something and crumble!
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Found at: Blackout II, Endell Street Covent Garden, London.
Price: £50.00
Usability Factor: 2/5 (alas, it is now too fragile for frequent wear)
Accessorise with: Seamed 40s stockings and little red pumps.
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1940s Velvet Wiggle Skirt

I wore this lushly printed, velvet vintage skirt to a cheeky lingerie/sex shop salon event last night. The gals from Lipstick and Curls, Natasha and Amanda, stepped straight out of a 1950s advertisement for (saucy) kitchen products, replete in matching red gingham aprons, and gave tips for crafting pin-up worthy curls, painting sultry winged eyes, and hunting down the perfect siren-red lipstick: and it will be a hunt, ladies ... the best reds are elusive, hiding online or in the States.

The surroundings of Bordello were perfect for an evening of vintage glamour. The window of the shop is dominated by an imposing French iron bed (similar to my own!), and lacy undergarments are strewn throughout the shop, intermingled with delicate hand-painted crockery, '40s and '50s hats and assorted naughty goodies.

I left feeling light-headed, although that could have been the result of a number of factors: the generously flowing champagne; the tightness of my vintage skirt (motto: life is too short to wear comfortable clothing); the fantasy playing over in my head about how marvellous I would look at my next lindy hop class; or the excessive amounts of hairspray Natasha lavished on our lungs.

Skirt found at: Charity shop in Willesden Green
Usability Factor: 5/5 (if you're prepared to be short of breath all night or lose 2kg)
Accessorise with: Vintage lipstick holder, Art Deco haircomb, and a 'do by the girls at Lipstick and Curls of course (they're available for private appointments).




Quirky fact: Natasha is an amazing dancer - Lindy Hop, Balboa, etc - and runs classes at her Quick! Quick! Club near Leicester Square.