The 99p Playsuit and Other Stories

You know I'm no fan of mass-produced, cheaply made clothes but, when I spotted this paisley print playsuit in the sale section of a popular fashion retailer's website for 99p I couldn't resist ordering it just to see if it was as cool as the photo. I was pleasantly surprised to discover when my order arrived that not only did it look like the garment on the model but it was made in the UK. 

WEARING: Cotton jersey playsuit with 1960s Tarantella of Walsall suede jerkin 

My main reason for wearing vintage clothes isn't to replicate a bygone era, it's to look different from everyone else. When you're wearing something every woman in Europe has access to then you've got to work extra hard to make damned sure that you won't look end up looking like a fashion clone.

There's zero chance I'll bump into anyone else wearing the same pair of 1960s exotic snakeskin boots by Gohil's (read the story of how I acquired them HERE).

I found this 1960s suede bag in the clearance charity shop for £1 but it'd been hanging in my wardrobe for months without a single outing. On Saturday morning I had a bit of a brainwave and decided to hand paint it to introduce a bit more colour. I like it a lot more now.

Other jewellery mostly from India. The turquoise and coral necklace was a gift from Sarah.

I did think the solid copper and turquoise pendant and cuff set that my Mum's childhood sweetheart brought her from a trip to Canada in the mid-1960s was pretty unique until I read ever-fabulous Sheila's blog the other day and discovered that she owned exactly the same pendant. The rose pink plastic 1970s sunglasses came from the car boot sale yesterday. I can't resist a daft pair of sunnies especially when they're 50p.

In the seven days since I last posted it's gone from Crimplene maxi and Welsh wool cape weather to days filled with cotton dresses, straw baskets and sandals (including the handmade suede boots below which I'd lusted over on Anjuna market for the best part of 20 years only to discover them in Goa's only charity shop for 200 rupees back in February). Up until yesterday I'd spent every afternoon since Saturday in a bikini on the lawn and read three books....bliss!

The glorious sunshine means that me and the cats have been out of bed before 6am every morning, we've (that's me and Jon, not me and the cats!) trawled countless car boot sales, raided our friends' house and toured the great chazzas of the wider Black Country acquiring so much stock that Jon's had to build Kinky Shed II to accommodate it all. The glorious weather means that I've been able to peg all my washing outside on the line to dry so not only do our rails look inviting , the stock on them smells divine.

Here are just a few of our latest finds. Interested? Come and see us at Vintage Village at Stockport on Sunday.

Here's my next project, a four storey Lundby (circa 1970 - 1972). A gloriously hot and sunny Bank Holiday weekend meant lots of bargains on Ebay and I managed to score some amazing vintage furniture which has been turning up with Izzy the postman in strangely shaped boxes all week. The ceilings are painted and my head is bursting with ideas. I can't wait to share when I complete each room.

See you soon!

PS If you're a Scandi Noir obsessive like us then don't forget the new series of The Bridge starts at 9pm tonight on BBC 2. If you've never seen it where have you been?