Ready To Go!

I'm back!!!!

After a full on week of sorting, mending, ironing and labelling, we're finally ready for Glastonbury. There's over 1000 items crammed into our 4x6 metre trade tent and despite the Kinky Shed being metres away from where we've erected the tent, last Saturday I walked between the two so often that I wore a bare patch in the lawn and clocked up over 5 miles on the fitness tracker on my phone! The weather has been appalling but if nothing else, it's been a good test of just how watertight the tent is.

Whilst I've been ironing, stitching hems and sewing on the odd missing button or hook and eye, Jon's repainted the shop sign and redecorated the changing room (I'll share photos on my post Glasto blog, we don't put these up on our garden dummy run). I've sewn more vintage fabric scrunchies, Jon's repurposed some old Levi's into shorts and we've repurposed things we already own to use as display props.

Will it all fit in the van? I'll let you know closer to the day!

As always, Liz came round to help with the pricing. The previous day I'd been in full-on pre-festival manic mode and been outside labelling the stock at 5am so she didn't have to do two shifts like she usually does. Needless to say she didn't leave empty handed! Nikki - she loved that 1970s green pinafore dress you sent her! 

Of course, inbetween all the prep we have managed to live with swimming figuring prominently. We've visited the baths three times and I've clocked up my usual 4600 metres (just shy of 3 miles in old money). Jon's not as obsessive as me but still managed a pretty decent 3000 metres. We need to be fit for those long festival days and nights! 

On Wednesday, as it was two-for-one ticket day, we walked down to the cinema to see The Phoenician Scheme. As I'm sure you already know, we're both huge Wes Anderson fans and absolutely loved every quirky, colourful and bonkers minute of it and like the other Anderson Obsessives in the cinema sat through until the roll of the very last credit so as not to miss a minute. Inspired by the gorgeous Liesl (played by Mia Threapleton, Kate Winslet's daughter), I wore my most vibrant green eyeshadow on Thursday.

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The weather felt distinctly Autumnal and it was a day for a quilted waistcoat, sturdy boots and thermals. Looking back at my blog I was astounded to discover that I've owned this vintage Hindu Kush Afghan dress for seven years. I still get a thrill every time I put it on.

 

I had my nails redone on Thursday and this time my inspiration was carnelian, a semi precious stone which features in a lot of my Nepali and Tibetan jewellery. 

Pumpkin Spice sounds like that nasty sounding coffee flavour people insist on guzzling at Halloween but, unlike my last gel polish in the marvellously distinctive shade of egg yolk yellow labelled Will You Go Out With Me? at least it's an accurate reflection of the colour! 

Today I've been wearing the maxi waistcoat I made using a pair of 1970s Morris & Co Golden Lily curtains I bought from a charity shop and a vintage dressmaking pattern. I spotted the wool fedora with the orange leather band on the clearance shelf of a well-known sportswear retailer a few months back.

And my Gohill's "Exotic Snakeskin" boots which were bought in 1966 from the legendary Camden shop by my fabulous friend and ex-school teacher, Eileen (story HERE). I'm struggling with my feet at the moment - a combination of arthritis exassipated by the damp weather and a reoccurrence of the dreaded Pool Toe - thank f*ck for comfy footwear!

My second hand Aurora kaftan was a recent Vinted find - it's from Naked Generation and still available on their website. I have several vintage versions of this but they're all full length and, as I can only wear flat shoes at the moment, they trail on the floor and soak up the puddles like a sponge. This ankle-skimming length is perfect.  

I'm off to catch up with what I've missed in Blogland...see you soon! 

The Glasto Countdown

It's started! The Kinky Tent's up and the great Glastonbury countdown is on. Here's the official Glastometer (although being crew, we'll be on site a few days before the gates open to the public). The next few weeks will mostly be spent ironing, labelling, doing last minute repairs and panicking that we can't get it all in the van. I'll share more of it when we're a bit further ahead.

In the meantime here's what I've been wearing this week.

Yesterday it was the turn of this vintage 1970s Kate Beaver dress, hand printed in Dorset. I found it in a charity shop back in 2015 and paid the princely sum of £1!

 This huge Tibetan pendant popped up on Vinted the other day, part of a mixed lot of three amazing necklaces. I didn't mean to buy it but the seller offered me a very generous discount and I really couldn't say no. Although it's not stamped there is a degree of silver in it and carnelian and turquoise stones are real.

The Art Nouveau-inspired dragonfly cuff was a birthday present from Liz's mum a couple of years ago.

I've got so many pairs of sunglasses I'd forgotten about these vintage Christian Dior beauties Jon found for me back in 2019. I think the last time I wore them was when we travelled around Crete in 2020.

We've swapped our swimming days and now go to the pool on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, which I'm very happy about, the more time in the water the better. The only downside is that it's easier to throw on my trainers or velcro fastening Tevas to walk there and back so my poor clogs with their buckle fastenings rarely get a look-in. Yesterday, my beloved Lottas finally got an outing.

On Wednesday we drove over to Coventry to meet Nikki and her boyfriend, Steve. I didn't take a single photo! Nikki had been having a clear out and had some amazing vintage clothes she no longer wore, so we bought them off her for the stockroom (and I shall try to resist the temptation to keep it all!) Business attended to we had a walk around Earlsdon, the hip and happening area she lives in, had a look in the charity shops and had lunch in Spoons. I was so excited to see her that I didn't even take a photo of the carpet! (Remind me to show you the amazing pair of trousers with the £365 price tags still attached that we found in one of the shops).

Nikki and Steve visited Morrocco last month, staying in Essaouira and Marrakech. She had this  bookmark featuring my name in Arabic especially made for me. It's currently inside my latest read, The Places In Between by Rory Stewart. I've been wanting to read it for ages, he's a fascinating and deeply intelligent man, and it was a lucky 25p charity shop find a few weeks ago.

This is what I wore on although I ended up taking the headscarf off as my hair wasn't dirty enough to keep it in place. The scarf is a vintage Indian silk screen print from a charity shop, the marmalade velvet top is from All About Audrey (bought in 2023) and the dress is from the Naked Generation sample sale (bought in 2021). How well does this Tibetan necklace match? 

The nails are still going strong, three weeks in. What colour shall I go for next?  

Although we've had rain this week it's still warm and I didn't need a jacket when we walked down to the pool at 7am this morning. The skirt is the one I made under Liz's supervision using a vintage bedcover and the Butterick cowgirl dressmaking pattern. The recycled sari top is All About Audrey (bought second-hand from Vinted). You can just make out my trainer poking out from under my skirt - they're the gold Adidas Superstar reissues Jon treated me to from a charity shop last year. 

The necklace is one of the accompanying ones to the pendant I was wearing on Thursday. An American seller has the same one listed on eBay for $319! 

Its been over seven weeks since I'd had a second set of piercings so I'm safe to change them! I'm loving having double turquoise and silver studs in my ears, they made me feel a bit more glam when I pulled on my swimming cap this morning!

Jon needed a a couple of things from B&M this morning and whilst perusing the aisles I spotted this metal toilet roll holder which I thought would be perfect for bangle storage. 

I keep my cuffs in a wooden baguette chopping board - we found it in a charity shop last year - I wear bangles every day, far more often than I eat bread! 

In cat news, Gordon's getting braver and enjoys spending time indoors playing with his catnip mouse. 

William was outside in the wildflower meadow when we got home today. We clearly starve him judging by the way he's gnawing on that grass! 

Have a bostin' weekend, me babbies! See you on the other side. 

Heavy Metal

Hello! My newly acquired Ottoman rings have rekindled the joy I get from my jewellery and I'm loving playing around with my huge collection of tribal necklaces and bejewelled cuffs. Diamonds, pearls and delicate, dainty stuff don't do it for me - the bigger, the bolder and the heavier the better!

Today I'm wearing a block printed maxi skirt (Vinted, £1!) with an All About Audrey cotton blouse refashioned from a sari and a vintage Anokhi waistcoat (both also via Vinted). Just peeping out from the skirt are my charity shopped M&S pewter trainers. If someone had told me three years ago that I'd be wearing trainers I'd have told them they were mad! 

The Kuchi pendant was a charity shop find and the silver earrings were from Fayre Trade Fairy, festival friends and one-time neighbours at Beautiful Days. 

 

This was Friday's outfit, a day for an early morning swim, breakfast in 'Spoons and a perusal of the town centre charity shops. I wore my go-to combination of a vintage India Imports of Rhode Island maxi skirt with an All About Audrey sari wrap top (purchased new in 2017). 

A young woman smiled at me and told her partner, Wow, that's exactly what I want to look like when I grow up! Thanks, bab, that made my day! 

I bought this Nepali pendant in Goa ten years ago. 

William's terrible traveller and we were dreading taking him for his annual boosters at the vets on Thursday but the journey wasn't too traumatic and, for once, the prescribed sedative worked a treat (although they knocked him out for the rest of the day). 

He's back to normal now and was being very helpful when Jon tested the campervan awning in the garden yesterday (not!) 

I've just realised that every outfit I've shared features something by All About Audrey including this cotton kaftan which I scored on Vinted a few weeks ago. I'm not sponsored, their clothes suit my style and are all ethically made in India. The denim waistcoat was a charity shop find (£1.50) last year. 

This Tibetan pendant was a cheap second-hand find.

I bought these coral and turquoise earrings in India in 2004, back when silver was as cheap as chips. 

Being a self-confessed sun worshipper I've been spending almost every day since we got back from Marmaris in my bikini in the garden catching the rays but on the odd days when its been overcast I've been sewing.

You might remember me sharing this vintage kaftan last year. Bearing the American/Canadian ILGWU label (International Ladies' Garment Workers Union), it was made for the Great Entertainers label and sold through Sears in the early 1970s. The print features Alphonse Mucha's celebrated illustration of Sarah Bernhardt (c. 1896) set against a background of reeds and insects.  

It was already a bit tatty when I bought it but after months of wear it was starting to develop holes so I decided to refashion it into a crop top and maxi skirt or a co-ord, as the cool kids say! I'm definitely taking this to Glastonbury. 

Enjoy your weekend! See you soon!