Hot Fun In The Summertime

Hoo-bloody-ray! After a seemingly endless week of icy temperatures and oppressive grey skies the sun has finally burst through and in a fit of solar-induced madness I've banished all my cold weather clothes to the suitcase on top of the wardrobe and unleashed the madness of my summer wardrobe. 

It's been a few years since this 1960s two-piece lounge set made an appearance on my blog and crazy to think that it was originally from staid old Marks and Spencer, isn't it? Whenever I cut through the Walsall branch to get to Poundland or the train station it's a depressing mass of greige polyester and feeble prints.

Wearing: 1960s silk Dollyrockers maxi, gold space boots and a heap of charity shop jewellery

So what have I been up to since I last posted almost a week ago? On Sunday we travelled down to South London to trade at our first vintage fair in three weeks. I'm looking a bit bleary eyed in the photo as it was a 4am start. The fair got off to a slow start and by lunchtime we'd only just covered our pitch fee but by mid-afternoon the good people of Balham arrived en masse and, vastly helped by a visit from our regular overseas buyer, we ended up having a good day. Other than that I've been charity shopping, had a boozy day in 'Spoons and in between I've been sewing like a madwoman (including the 35 vintage fabric wired hairbands I ran up yesterday ready for the festival season).

Me-Made-May: 1970s Moghul print mini, 1960s Scandi fabric skirt-tain, patchwork bathmat made from tatty vintage bath towels and a 70s fringed bed cover

As promised here's last week's charity shop finds:

Clockwise from top left: 1960s psychedelic mini dress (unworn, still with the original inspection label); 1970s gents' printed shirt; Julie & Leonard (a Texan designer label, apparently) metallic jacket; 1980s cropped leather biker jacket; 1970s gauzy cotton maxi; 1970s tab collar shirt; Stainless steel pendant; 1960s Ban-Lon knit; 1970s ditsy print cotton maxi; Tooled leather shoulder bag; Tootal embroidered dinner shirt; 1970s fitted tee shirt; Alice of California psychedelic maxi; 1980s Dutch boating blazer; 1970s Celtic pendant.

I don't know if Walsall's got its own eco-system (which wouldn't surprise me, we're a funny lot) but according to the TV news the UK is having its driest Spring in years and there's a real threat of a drought come the Summer. WHAT? It never bleedin' stops raining here. Every time we've tried to get to a car boot sale it's been too wet to even attempt it. Not this morning though, today we managed to get to our first boot sale of 2017!

You won't find much today, Vix warned Ian, one of the regular traders, when we pulled up in the van this morning. The Wednesday one is rarely amazing - manky Primark tat piled in greying heaps on muddy sheets of tarpaulin, out of date biscuits and fake designer sweatshirts - but it's always worth a look. 

This 1960s three-button worsted wool jacket was one of the first things we bought. A checked sleeve caught my eye, peeping out from a heap of acrylic jumpers and fleeces. Shannon's was one of Walsall's largest textile mills, in 1905 it employed two thousand people and produced over 706,000 items a year bringing much prosperity to the town. For a large part of my lifetime the edifice of Shannon's Mill was an intrinsic part of the skyline, that was until a massive fire in 2007 reduced it to ashes. Jon's keeping this, it fits him perfectly and it's a bit of Walsall history.

A lady called me over telling me she had some clothes she'd long since grown too big for that I might like and she was right, I couldn't say no to this 1980s Phool sun dress.

She bought this heavy cotton wraparound skirt on holiday in Greece in the 1970s. The more I look at it, the more I think I'm going to keep it especially as a trip to Greece might be on the cards.

This Moroccan lantern is going to be planted up and hung on the Kinky Shed. Even the man selling it couldn't understand why he'd only priced it at £1. Bargain!

1960s floppy felt hat, 1980s rose gold leather belt (I might keep this, it matches the sandals I bought in Mumbai last year and, believe it or not, its nigh on impossible to find belts in smaller sizes) and a 1980s chain mail (or, as the Australians call it, Glomesh) cross-the-body bag.

I love this 1960s tan leather jacket, very Fight Club.

Not the most exciting thing, a box of 50 heavy duty skirt hangers, but they are something we always need and average at around £30 on-line. The smell of the seller's spliff was so strong I was getting high just chatting to him. He started off at £5, which I said was a good price but he was so stoned that he haggled himself down to £3.

Jon was very excited to find this Cry Baby wah wah pedal especially as the lads selling it didn't have a clue what on earth it was and charged him £3. They retail at around £79!

My favourite find has to be these sewing notions and zips. I've hardly got any zips left in my stash so I was thrilled to get a carrier bag full for £3 and just look at those trimmings! Belt buckles, needles, hooks and eyes, press studs, beading, 1960s flower braid and metallic trims and white marabou, too - all for £2.

Not bad for a half-an-hour stroll around a field.

1960s St Michael lounge set (birthday present from Curtise years ago)

I'm off the water the plants before they ban hosepipes and, as it's Wednesday, I'll be rewarding myself with a cheeky rum 'n' coke or two after tea.

See you soon!