Lucky Dipping

I haven't bought anything on eBay since before Christmas and to be honest I hardly even look anymore. 

On a rare occasion I'll do a bit of window shopping, bang a few of my favourite search words in to see what they conjure up but the last thing I bought was another dirndl dress for my collection (I haven't actually shown it to you yet).

Back in the eBay 'glory days' I got to know my postman rather well cause frocks would arrive almost on a daily basis.

Postage prices were much lower then and you could get really brilliant vintage garments for a song.

That was before hobby sellers realized the importance of listing items properly & with a half decent picture.

I would indulge in 'Lucky Dipping' i.e. bidding on stuff with really dodgy pictures, you never quite knew what you'd receive; would it be a vintage gem or rags for the revamp box?!

However most of the time, I was very happy with my purchase and the lucky dip had paid off.

Nowadays most people are wise to the ways of eBay selling, I guess they spend a little more time on doing research and better grasp the concept of good presentation equals more profit.

So the really dodgy photos, where you can't even make out if it's a scrunched up dog blanket or a frock you are looking at, seem to be all but gone.

The last garment that I lucky dipped was the dress that I am wearing today...

the auction photo was so dark that you couldn't even make out the print but I went for it anyway and boy am I glad I did :) 

Vintage floral print maxi dress, faux-fur jacket, vintage hat, vintage faux-fur trim booties, gloves, Ankh necklace & handmade Kenyan earrings...two pairs of tights to stave off the chills.

I was more than chuffed to bits when I pulled this beauty out of the package I can tell you and I reckon that properly presented it would have fetched far more than the 99p that I paid for it.

Look at that awesome print :)

There were no bearded film dudes interrupting our pic taking today.

In fact we almost had the park all to ourselves :)

It wasn't quite as icy cold today but it's still a bit too chilly for bare arms. 

This frock got to travel with me to Egypt last year and was featured in one of our early morning desert photo sessions...

It such a comfy dress with a very forgiving cut which was great for my post all inclusive buffet belly... 

so much delicious food, so little time, so much unbridled gluttony ;) 

I bought the dress in 2011 and it quickly became a favourite, here I am wearing it on NYE 2011 just before heading off to BrewDog in Camden...

Now I would like to know...

Do you indulge in 'Lucky Dipping' & if so what was your best score?

Are you still buying heaps on eBay or have the ever rising postage prices put you off?

What was your latest eBay buy?

You don't have to answer if you don't want to, you are quite welcome to leave a comment  anyway.

Just because I love you here's the Brand New Heavies, enjoy :)

...and another one cause they are so awesome...

 Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

The Saints Go Marching Out...

I nipped out earlier to get some squidgy skull sweeties and was quite taken aback by the sheer speed of  which Christmas is now replacing Halloween in the aisles. 

I thought that maybe they'd have a wee sale on all the Halloween stuff for a week or so; this is what they usually do for Easter and Christmas but I was wrong. 

Gone were the plastic spiders, coffin shaped trick or treat buckets and skull goblets & in their place a metallic rainbow of tinsel, blingy baubles and Santa ornaments that look as if they were painted by someone with a bad case of the DTs.

I'm still very much in a Halloween kind of mood, it is All Saints' Eve over in Sweden today (which also happens to be my beloved mother's birthday) and All Saint's Day on Saturday, so I'm sticking with the darkly delicious gothness for a bit longer, Christmas kitsch can wait!

Vintage 70s Kati by Laura Phillips lace dress, 90s velvet platform boots, scarlet harlot wiggy-woo & Dear Darkness  headdress.

I bagged the above frock about a year ago from a vintage dealer friend. 

It would be perfect for a gothic bride, it's stunning!

I have a few vintage Kati by Laura Phillips frocks and the other day I happened upon the green twin of the one below on eBay...

I really can't justify (nor afford) spending almost £100 on a dress right now, so I'll just have to make do with my red one for now.

I do actually have a pair of Kati dress twins already, 

so I guess I shouldn't bemoan things too much...

I scored both of these on eBay last year :)

I've banned myself from buying anything on eBay for a bit cause I'm trying to save the pennies for our rescue diver course in spring.

It's only hard cause I still torment myself browsing by for frocks on eBay every now and again.

Whilst on the subject of browsing fabulous stuff on the net, I'm gearing up for another store update this weekend...

any sequin sluts out there will wet their panties in delight, just saying!

I'll keep you's posted :)

Have a fabulous Friday!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Ruddy reflections & fabulous frocks

I was so intensely happy to see the back of last week, I could have cried tears of joy on my way home from work.

It was just one of those weeks that dragged on like a vexatious Eastenders omnibus or a jukebox stuck in a brain-numbingly ceaseless loop of Steps "greatest hits".

Friday night was celebrated in a flurry of fajitas and non-alcoholic cider and today we went for a relaxing stroll along the Thames.

We made a quick detour to Brick Lane to take in a few of the vintage shops that are sprinkled in that area but for once I didn't buy a thread which for me is almost unheard of behaviour.

Never mind I've got a car boot sale to go to in a few hours and I daresay I shall not return from it empty handed.

The weekend is zipping past like a blue bottle on bennies and Monday already feels uncomfortably near.

It feels like time speeds up at the weekend and there are so many things that I want to cram into those two gold dust days.

I just never quite seem manage it all & this frankly bums me out somewhat.

Too much running around like a headless chicken to amass bits of paper with some old crone with a crown printed upon them and it's not even as if I've got a well stuffed mattress with mullah...OH NO!

As quick as I can make them, some other fecker claims them...tax, rent, bills, bills, bills!

I wish I could live outside this detestable loop, break free from the perpetual hamster wheel & move

somewhere nice with lots of trees, far far away from Starfucks designer coffee shops & groTesco.

Anyway enough of my rantings, here are a few snaps taken during our lovely riverside stroll...

I'm wearing: Vintage 60s psychedelic paisley day dress, DKNY longsleeved top, ribbed tights, vintage 80s cowboy boots, wide leather belt, vintage 70s camera bag & vintage 80s sunnies.

Here's my lovely hubby wearing a folksy top that I bought for him at last Sundays car boot sale. In the background you can see 'the shard' or Mammons butt plug as I like to call it.

FROCK ON!

In my last post I showed you some of my latest frockquisitions & I'll end this post with some pics of the rest of my recent frocking loot...

Have a fantastic Sunday peeps ;)

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Spring Mourning

The weather here in Ol' Blighty has been pretty friggning dreadful for weeks now.

The sweet fragrance of lilacs that usually fill the warm spring air on our balcony have been overpowered by the dodgy smell coming from a clogged drainpipe next door. 

Our drainpipe kamikazeed off the wall during a ferocious rainstorm last week, so now when it rains we have a waterfall display from the roof onto the balcony & into the kitchen if you happen to leave the door open.

Och, grumble grumble!

Despite it being a dreich and grey morning, I still braved an excursion to the car boot sales yesterday and I am very happy that I did cause came back with vintage dress treasures galore, every cloud has a silver lining as they say!

Last night I spent taking pics for my upcoming eBay auctions and today I played dress-up with all my new purchases :)

Besides frocks I bought a stunning gothic maxi skirt that I wore today.

Opening the curtains this morning and peering out onto yet another day of dreichness made me feel decidedly morose, so I decided to wear something to mourn spring...

Vintage 70s maxi length underskirt, sequin cami top, metallic swirl patterned mesh long-sleeved top, Demonia heels, leopard print tights, Frocktasia PVC headdress and DIYed chiffon & sequin cape poncho made from an Indian hippie skirt. All clothing items were purchased from various car boot sales bar my wig that came from PAKcosmetics.

Here are some gratuitous shots of some of the gorgeous garb up for grabs in my current eBay auctions ;)

SIZZLING REPRO 50S PIN-UP STYLE LINGERIE DRESS:

 FUNKY 90S CLUBBING MINI DRESS:

 

AWESOMELY HOT 90S BLACK VELVET MINI DRESS:

 

 TRIPPY TRIBAL PRINT MINI SHIFT DRESS:

 

SENSATIONAL VINTAGE 80S HOT PINK COCKTAIL DRESS:

VINTAGE 80S SCARF PRINT DRESS:

I'll leave you with a little of my eBay auction inspiration ;)

Hope you will all have a fab week!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

One Thousand and One Outfits (not really)

Hope you've all had a splendiferous weekend.

I've finally finished sorting through all the holiday pics, huzzah!

 As I mentioned in an earlier installment I would do a 'random holiday outfits' post as well, so here it is.

First off is a caftan that I bought from a car boot sale two months ago...

This stunning turquoise caftan is perfect for throwing over a bikini when going for lunch or just as a cover-up when doing a spot of beachcombing.

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I brought a few pairs of lightweight trousers with me cause I read that it can get pretty nippy out in the desert at night.
 These ones I bought several years ago from an Indian clothing shop, they are double-layered with a stunning cream jacquard fabric and sheer black chiffon...

This quirky top was another car boot sale buy and I've teamed it with one of my Indian choli tops that I won on eBay last year.

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These are the trousers that I for some obscure reason deemed suitable to travel in.
Wide-leg trousers are possibly the worse thing to wear when traversing the London Underground during crush hour and especially when you are loaded up with heaps of luggage.
My foot got caught in the swishy trouser leg but luckily I have cat-like reflexes and I managed to grab onto something instead of loosing my two front teeth, phew!
I do love these trousers though, just not to travel in.

Emporio Armani top teamed with another one of my Indian choli tops.

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I got this wine red mesh top from the car boot sale the week before we went away.
The design is really quirky and its even got a hood.

Harem jumpsuit, tribal mirror & coin belt, Topshop hammered brass disc necklace that I scored from the car boot sale for a quid.

 ******
We went to Luxor for an outing and visited the very impressive Karnak temple complex, The Valley of the Kings & Hatshepsut's Temple.
It was a real whistle stop outing and we even managed to cram in a short boat trip on the Nile.

Those double-layered trousers got another outing,  I teamed them with a rose print silk blouse by Diane Von Furstenberg and my trusty vintage jazz dance trainers.

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I brought my harem jumpsuit & two pairs of harem pants, I'm still in love with this roomy trouser style...

Indian silk harem pants, tassel-tastico hippie top and in the last picture my beloved vintage 70s suede vest/waistcoat.

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The second pair of harem pants have more glitz than you can shake a stick at...

Bronze harlequin diamond patterned harem pants teamed with a sequin embellished mesh top and low-slung leather belt.

Shake your tail feather! OMG, I think I've just attracted a randy ostrich ;)

Here I've added an embroidered chiffon top and my funky sequin elephant cap.

PIMP MY CRIB!

******
 We also went for an awesome day out to the stunning Sataya reef where you are sometimes lucky enough to swim with dolphins.
Unfortunately the dolphins stayed away until we were on our way back home, so we saw them from the boat, however we did get to swim with a huge-ass Napoleon fish and we also managed to do some pretty spectacular freediving.

Those Indian silk harem trousers again,  this time teamed with a cut-out butterfly Tee, turban fashioned from a sarong and my bestest fashion accessory ever...my hubby of course!

Early morning at divers paradise Tondoba Bay, chilling before scuba ;)

As we spent most of the day on the beach or in the sea I was sporting a bikini or my wetsuit most of the time...

I brought two bikinis and one tankini. The fabulously colourful one was a gift from the divine Helga.

Hubby scored this Mares wetsuit on eBay...what a kind, clever and awesome man I am blessed with.

Snorkeling, freediving  and scuba...I absolutely LOVE IT! The Red Sea is awesome and I couldn't recomend Egypt and Marsa Alam highly enough.

Last but by no means least my underwater kit...Mares fins, Scubapro snorkel and Cressi mask all purchased off eBay.

That's it folks...now you've seen all my holiday get-ups.
Now I'll have to put my thinking cap on to figure out what to blog about next, any requests?
Have a fantastic week!
Lot's of love,
Jennie
xXx