There's not much Shroom in here!

The beautiful Rhododendron bush in the park has started its annual floral display and needless to say I was keen to get some pics taken with this stunning backdrop.

I even dug out a very special frock for the occasion  ;)

I call this my 'psilosybin doodling dress' cause the print looks as if it was drawn by someone who was casually doodling away whilst on Shrooms.

I bought it on eBay many moons ago and I love it but unfortunately the top part is a wee bit of a snug fit, that's why I like to team it with my suede waistcoat cause it keeps the buttons from straining. Like the other psychedelic print maxi that I showed you back in March it's a frock I'll never part with.

It is labelled 'Courtaulds Dicel' the latter being the brand name of the fabric rather than the maker I believe. When I googled the name I found Curtise wearing a spectacular frock of the same label, lovely lady!

Anyone else out there with a 'Courtaulds' frock hiding away in their vintage wardrobe?

 There is something really rather special about a frock with a hood, I feel a little bit mystical wearing it ;)

Vintage 60s psychedelic hooded maxi, 60s suede waistcoat, 70s boots, Handmade African earrings & necklace. 

Here's a close-up of that gloriously trippy psilosybin doodle print...

I wish you all a groovy weekend!

Here's Jefferson Airplane to play us out, enjoy :)

Loads of love,
Jennie
xXx

Rail full of the joys of spring

I'm very excited about this Saturday's Dandy and I've been working away on my rail all week. While we were up in Scotland I decided that I would theme my rail from now on to make it more cohesive rather than just offering up a random motley mix of vintage & retro threads. I've been very much inspired by the spell of gorgeous weather and the veritable explosion of greenery in the park. I'm bringing a plethora of flirty cotton dresses made for springtime strolls in the sun, chic retro frocks that are perfect for garden parties and BBQs and a whole bunch of festival worthy frocks & separates for those who want to sort out their festival wardrobe early.

Here are all the garments (bar the gents) that will be featured on Frocktasia's full of the joys of spring rail at The Dandy Lion Market on Saturday :)

 Close-ups of details, prints and labels...

If you're in the Kentish Town area on Saturday please pop in and have a wee natter and a rummage. There's a fabulous line-up of traders this month, most of which have a feature folder on The Dandy Lion FB page, so  you can check them out there if you so wish. There's even going to be a stall selling wigs, how cool is that?!

Happy days!

Here are a few pics that Leslie snapped at last months Dandy featuring me, my little stall  and some of my fabulous fellow traders :)

I'll leave you with a fabulous tune by SOUL II SOUL, enjoy :)

May the sun shine on your path and happiness fill your heart!

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

Would you buy a used car from this woman?

It's gone all Baltic & dreich again but I'm keeping myself upbeat by looking at old commercials and comedy clips on YouTube. 

I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you :)

I remember being mesmerized by commercials when I was a kid. That was back in the day when you only ever saw them when you went to the movies. 

In Sweden we only had two terrestrial TV channels until 1994.
When I was growing up the programs would usually start at half past five and stop just before midnight. There would only be morning & late night telly at the weekends. 

Towards the end of the 80s commercial TV stations mushroomed when cable & satellite TV appeared on the scene.
When I talk to people in their twenties they find it hard to imagine a time before TV on tap and as for the Internet, how did humanity ever cope without it? 

It is quite amazing and perhaps a little bit scary just how important a tool it has become for most of us in such a short space of time. I know I would struggle to cope without it now. 

As for television, there came a point last year when we decided that our brains were cluttered enough without the constant tsunami of reality TV shows, celebrities acting like desperate attention seeking monkeys and commercials, so the old box was unceremoniously binned.

Do I miss having telly in my life? Not one single bit!

I can still watch comedy, documentaries and nature programs on YouTube, when I feel the need.

I have no interest whatsoever in celebrities or soaps, I'd rather watch paint dry.

How about you?

H&M tiger stripe rockstar coat bought in 2000, amazing vintage 60s psychedelic print dress that was a gift from my sister in Denmark, cropped lurex jumper, 99p stores snood, Repro Victorian lace-up boots, layered tights, velvet gloves, hat, faux-amber pendant & Frocktasia earrings.

 In other news...

Here is my favourite stateside boho babe Reva, sporting a fabulous Indian tunic dress that I sent her because I knew she would totally ROCK IT, as is blatantly obvious from these magnificent pics...

What a Babe!

If you are not following Reva already, then I have to say that you are really missing out big time cause she is a true gem in the blogoshere.

You can keep up with the lovely Reva on...

Her fabulous blog

Bloglovin'

Facebook

Twitter

This one is for you Reva...

and just because you are so AWESOME another one :)

I'll finish off with one of my all time comedy heroes Bill Hicks, enjoy ;)

Hope your weekend has got off to a brilliant start.

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

Diving into fun

Two posts in one day, how very extravagant of me!

Truth is I'm playing catch-up :)

Yesterday Mark and I went down to Dive Wimbledon to book me in for my Emergency First Response course. 

Mark actually took the EFR instructor course late last year but hasn't actually done any instructing yet so he's going to sit in whilst lovely Jon is doing the instructing to really learn the ropes. 

Completion of the EFR is a prerequisite for the PADI rescue diver course which is next on our diving to-do list.

So now I've got my course material to dive into over the next few weeks, not to mention my very own private, in-house EFR instructor, to help me along should I get that sinking feeling at any time whilst reading the book ;)

After my morning coffee yesterday I popped up to the loft and found yet another bag full of forgotten about frocks.

There are actually still bags up there that I haven't looked inside for yonks, bonkers!

Inside the bag that I brought down was this delightful crimplene creation from St Michael, I believe it's from the sixties...

Vintage 60s floral print crimplene day dress, 20s tail tux jacket, repro Victorian lace-up boots, tights, driving gloves, mohair hat, soapstone & macrame heart earings, Frocktasia horse-brass necklace & Lanta Animal Welfare tote bag.

Although I absolutely love its yummy raspberry colour and ditsy floral print, it is sadly just a little too large for me so it will be joining the cornucopia of fabulous frocks in my market stock, speaking of which...

I'm very pleased to announce that Frocktasia is now booked up to be a part of  the wonderful Dandy Lion family for three more months, yay!

The next market is on Saturday the 6th of April so a preview post is in the pipeline for that, probably just after Easter.

If you are thinking of coming along to peruse my goodies and have any special requests as to what you'd like me to bring on the day, please feel free to e-mail me with any suggestions or requests on frocktasia@yahoo.co.uk

I will of course also be telling you about my fabulous fellow sellers in a pre-market post cause they are BRILLIANT but not all pitches have been confirmed as yet, so that will be done after Easter too :)

Can't wait for this to roll around, it's so much FUN!

Hope you are all having a great week!

Today's tune is by Inner City....BIG FUN, enjoy :)

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

Psychedelic salvo

I bought this dress last summer but this is the first time I've actually worn it.
I really love the psychedelic print but every time I tried it on I would always find fault with the ensemble and the dress would go back on the hanger.
Stupid stuff like the colour of the tights didn't quite match or the shoes looked wrong with it. 
Some days I'm the biggest fusspot about, I race around the house trying to get dressed but everything I put on just feels wrong and the house ends up looking like an explosion in a thrift store.

Strangely today it just all seemed to come together.

I’m sure I’ll be back to my old fusspot self tomorrow, sitting in the hallway in front of my  open wardrobe screaming…

“It’s quarter past nine & I’m still only in my frigging pants, what the Mongolian clusterfeck shall I wear”?!

Repro 60s PVC coat, vintage 60s psychedelic dress, vintage 70s boots, layered tights, necklace that I make myself, a sequin beret and gloves, I was clever enough not to leave them behind this time ;)

Now, I have a question to put to you all...

If you had to choose in-between wearing only plain colours or only loud prints for the rest of your life, what would you choose? 

There is no way I could spend the rest of my life wearing only plain colours, I love my prints too much.

I'm sure you've already seen Vix's post and beheld her in all her "fucking blinding" glory.

We have a lot of bland blokes like the one she describes in her post round these parts too.

Personally I can't think of a less inspiring get-up than a grey jersey tracksuit & I kind of feel sorry for those who choose to solely dwell inside such soul destroying clothes when there is so much variety in the world. 

An infinite pick-and-mix of fabulous styles, colours, textures, prints & fabrics...

I can't for the life of me understand why anyone in the face of such abundance would opt for a grey jersey tracksuit?!

Myself, I'm a self-confessed print addict and I much prefer to live my life swathed in loud colours & larger than life prints.

When I'm done here, I want to be buried in a sequin embellished, psychedelic print coffin with rainbow coloured, crushed velvet lining.

Not that I'm hankering for the grave, far from it!

I feel more full of life today than I did ten years ago and as odd as it may sound, getting older has made me feel younger in many ways, I may not look it but you can't have everything ;)

Now I have some exciting news...

I'll be selling my wonderful vintage threads at the boogaloo at the end of this month :)

Jet-Marie the awesome chick who runs the Can't Buy Me Love vintage jumble sale contacted me the other day to say that she still had a space available for this month....HUZZAH!

So if  you happen to be lurking around in the area of 312 Archway Road, North London on Saturday the 23rd please come and see me.

Affordable vintage clobber, retro tunes, beer and cake...what more can you ask for on a Saturday ;) 

I'll do a couple of posts in the near future to show you some of the stuff I'll be bringing with me on the day.

Here's the flyer that I borrowed off  the 'Cant Buy Me Love' website...

I'm chuffed to bits cause this will be my first ever proper vintage jumble, first of many I hope ;)

The weekend is upon us yet again, hasn't this week just swooshed by?!

Have a fabulous Friday peeps and thanks again for all your wonderful comments, they truly warm the cockles of my wee heart so they do.

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx 

Bedouin Dreams

Frock number eight stayed up late to admire the moon & the stars from the rag rug clad floor of the Badawia bar...

The Frock:

This fabulous vintage 70s maxi frock only got shot on the first day cause I forgot to pack it when we went out for our last session.

The first session was on the day when the wind wreaked havoc with ruffles and blew my hat off on several occasions, so we didn't manage to get many nice shots of this particular frock, my hair was all over the place and the wind blew up the skirt giving it an inflated appearance. 

I did wear it a few times during the holiday so other pics were taken of it.

I bought this off eBay late last year and I have worn it loads,
it's one of my favourite frocks at the moment.

It's labelled 'Canda International' & if I'm not entirely mistaken 'Canda' was/is a range sold by the cheap & cheerful high street fashion retailer C&A.

It's made from super comfy brushed polyester which features a stunning floral print.

I really love this dress and I will be wearing it for years to come I'm sure.

The Double Vision:

I apologize for the shameless over usage of mirror image pics in these holiday wardrobe posts but what can I say, I'm really into them at the moment, I'm sure it's just a phase, I'll get over it ;)

The Bedouin Tent Bar:

The last picture was taken at our favourite resort bar which was a partially open top bedouin style tent with colourful rag rugs covering the ground, ornately carved wooden tables, super comfy pouffes & camel stools (the ones you can sit on) scattered around and pretty arabic lanterns hanging from the ceiling. 

In other words my favourite kind of place!
It was rarely busy so you could plonk yourself on the floor in the middle of the bar, lie down on the rugs and stargaze.

They played Egyptian pop, served up a mean cup of refreshing karkadé (hibiscus tea) & the sweet smell of shisha was forever lingering in the evening air...HEAVEN!

******

Next up a choli top & vintage maxi frock mashup ;)

Hope you lovely peeps are enjoying the weekend!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx