New Boots & Panties

I'm off to collect a parcel of pants from Ajay's, the newsagent at the end of the road. Not for me though, I treated myself to a five pack from Marks & Sparks at the start of Summer which, if my previous knickers are anything to go by, should keep me going for the next six years. These are for Jon. A certain French website has got a 40% off everything sale at the moment so he's stocking up on his favourite posh European brand. 

The boots? I thought I'd done well when I snaffled my maroon suede ankle boots in Banardos on Tuesday but, on the way to the till, I spotted these. At first glance the suede looked so pristine I assumed that they were modern but, once I'd taken out the stuffing (about a zillion crumpled up carrier bags), I discovered they were 1970s originals. Despite being a UK 7 they're a tad on the large size but nothing a Poundland insole can't sort out. They're keepers!

It would be a crime to cover my new old boots with a maxi so out came my Tarantella suede suit. If you're into 1960s & 1970s fashion, consider yourself a feminist and come from Walsall then Tarantella is the holy grail of vintage labels.

Edna Kirby's factory, like many of our town's leather workshops, started in the back of a terraced house. Tarantella had a largely female workforce and became internationally famous for their leather gloves supplying companies like Marks & Spencer.

The Tarantella factory

Unusually for the time, Edna Kirby valued her women workers, allowing them to continue working after they married and had children, even providing a crèche. However, in August 1970, after introducing family planning clinics for her workers, the story was picked up by the national press and the workforce was portrayed in a negative light, causing great upset for her female staff. Edna's reasoning behind it was quite simple, she'd lost many skilled workers through unplanned pregnancy, which was a blow to the factory when so much time and expense was lost spent training them. Edna sold the company in the early 1970s after pressure to pay her workers by the day rather than by piece work. The workers were kept on but the quality of the materials decreased and the company closed two years later.

This amazing Tarantella jacket, made in 1969, takes pride of place in Walsall's wonderful Leather Museum (but I'd rather it took pride of place in my wardrobe!) 

Enough about what I've bought, here's what we found for the Kinky rails over the last ten days:

Clockwise from top left: 1970s Astraka full length fake wolf coat (SOLD!); Barbour quilted gilet; 1960s baker boy cap; 1970s fake fur; Lederhosen; 1970s men's suede gloves; 1980s starburst belt; 1980s embellished angora jumper; 1970s fake fur; 1970s Sheepskin mittens; Guatemalan shoulder bag; 1970s bomber jacket; 1980s bow tie. 

Clockwise from top left: 1980s Kangol cap with tags attached; 1970s Dhobi gents raincoat; 1960s Foster Menswear wool pea coat worn with a 1970s deadstock Folkspeare cravat; 1980s hand knit; 1970s leather trench coat; 1980s Jaeger blouse; 1980s pure silk shirt; 1970s Californian label hooded leather bomber jacket; Malaysian batik shirt with tags attached; 1960s Tissavel fake fur; 1980s tapestry Gladstone bag; 1950s hand-rolled Jacqmar silk scarf; New with tags William Morris's Strawberry Thief tapestry rucksack; 1970s nylon blouse with spoon collars; 1980s St Michael bomber jacket; 1970s spoon collar psych print blouse.

WEARING: Tarantella suede suit (Babouskha Vintage, 2014), 1960s St Michael psych print blouse (Joyatri, another much-missed blogger), 1960s Biba Glass dragonfly choker (inherited from Mum), Vintage 1970s purple suede platforms (£6.99, Banardos)

Right, I've delayed for long enough, it's time to get cracking and pack the van ready for trading with Judy's in Liverpool tomorrow.

See you soon!