Stockport Rocks - Life In A Northern Town

What kind of a person dresses in marabou feathers at 5am on a Sunday morning? Me!

It was a bit of a cold one trading at Stockport's Vintage Village yesterday but, with my wool maxi dress, lace body stocking, two pairs of socks, thermal vest & leggings, topped off with a capelet, I was toasty warm.

Wearing: His Xmas present from me (burgundy over-dyed skinnies courtesy of the YMCA), vintage cherry red DMs & merino wool roll neck (both car boot sale buys), 1960s cashmere and wool overcoat (nicked from the rails), wool hat (had forever) Pom Pom (Jon made himself)

Unlike Jon who resorted to wearing the stock.

Our first vintage fair of the year was a blast (and not just an icy one). We were entertained by rockabilly band, The Barracudas, whose set included covers of Echo Beach and the theme to Batman.

Walsall town planners take note, here's a working class market town which has managed to retain its heritage. The Historic Quarter is packed with beautifully restored buildings filled with indie businesses, free houses and cafes. 

As you know we work at a lot of vintage fairs. We're used to girls in red lipstick, victory rolls & repro dresses asking if we've got anything fifties? Stockport shoppers are different, dressed in a mish-mash of eras, they'll rummage our rails and snap up anything that takes their fancy, regardless of decade. They don't attend fairs with a wish-list. They'll buy retro wallpaper, tea cups, deckchairs, clothes and psychedelic trays. Like us, they believe vintage is a lifestyle not a style and we love 'em.

The people who attend, spend. The regulars would rather splurge once a month than shop on the high street. One of my favourites, an auburn-haired glamour puss, showed me her purchases, an immaculate tweed '70s Hardy Amies suit and an embroidered 1960s shift dress, bought for a grand total of £57. What could you get in Marks & Spencer's for £60? She said, A badly made, frumpy dress which would make me look exactly the same as every other woman my age. She bought a fringed suede jerkin in olive green from us last month, she had one in the the 1960s and regretted ever having parted with it.

There's the pretty young lady with cascading curls & retro-framed specs who pattern mixes & colour clashes like a pro. In the past she's bought a red MC's jacket from us and yesterday it was a vintage Aran beret with a pom pom the size of a hamster. After discovering my blog she's vowed to only buy second-hand from now on & I've suggested she starts a blog herself, tracking her progress. There's a real shortage of creative teens who dare to be different. I'd follow her in a heartbeat.

Lisa, a beautiful ex-California girl, who bought a soft-as-butter tooled leather, North African shoulder bag, presented us with a bag of deliciously scented soaps and a bejewelled eyed owl candle she'd made herself. 

A stunning lady with a blonde elfin crop and the cat's head brooch bought a cool 1970s tartan wool midi dress and showed me the sleeping cat tattoo on her forearm. She once left the comment "Pawsome!" on a cat-related blog post, now a regular part of my vocabulary.

Pat & Matthew of A Vintage Affair, our neighbours at the market, presented us a new addition to the poodle parlour as well as a bag of vintage buttons and sewing notions.

 Yes, Stockport is a joy, even with a 5am alarm call and sub-zero temperatures. 

If you've missed Vintage Village then here's their latest venture, the 20th Century Stores, a collective of amazing (and fairly priced) vintage sellers all under one roof. In there you'll find both Tin Trunk Vintage (where I bought my Pucci maxi) and Vintage Village Clothing (where I bought my Annacat waistcoat). If you know what's good for you then you'll jump on a train and get up there.

Here's Snygg's space, isn't it groovy?

To be honest neither of us were much in the mood for work on Sunday but we had a top time and sold enough to keep us in the style we've become accustomed to in Goa for a few weeks. See you in March, Stockport!

Now we've unloaded the van we're officially in holiday mode which kicked off with a boozy lunch in 'Spoons. 

Vintage wool maxi with matching marabou-trimmed capelet (Xmas pressie from my friends at Babouskha Vintage), me-made muff (made from two jumble sale fake fur hats) strung on Great-Grandmother's gold muff chain

See you before we go!

Linking to Patti & the gang for Visible Monday.