Hair today gone tomorrow

I've been a busy bee today preparing my stock for the The Dandy Lion Market on Saturday.
Here's a sneaky-peek preview of  most of the stock that I'll be bringing with me...

Prices will range from £5 to £30 and there will be a bargain box too.
I've still to sort out some bags, shoes, accessories & knick-knacks  to bring but I'll do that tomorrow.
Here are some random 'label, print and detail' close-ups...

I'm bringing a few bits for the boys too...

This is where I'll be trading on Saturday...

Like I mentioned in Tuesday's post the event is a get together with Oxfam to celebrate International Women's Day.

It will help raise funds to support women living in poverty around the world.

I have pledged 10% of my takings and I've also donated a retro 80s coffee jar filled with coffee sweets for the tombola.

If you are in Kentish Town on the day please pop in and see me and all the other fabulous sellers ;)

This was today's ensemble...

After reading Olga's post yesterday I was inspired to wear one of my African blouse tops.

Olga's blog is called Local Fashion and it has an amazing back catalogue of interesting posts, it's blooming fabulous!

Abstract print African blouse top, sequin leggings, 80s cropped jacket, Moschino belt, Indian block print chiffon wrap,  80s worm-coil earrings, 80s boots & Tibetan prayer bangle. 

 Other news...
Today I got so fed up with my natty hair, I made hubby cut it for me, so now it's in a sort of bob style.
I'm not a big fan of going to the hairdressers so I very seldom do.
My hair is so tremendously flimsy & fine, it takes any hairdresser about two minutes to cut it and it just feels like a waste of money to be honest.
Another thing that really gets my goat about hairdressers is that even if you wash your hair yourself five minutes before the appointment, they go...
-"We still have to wash your hair!"
-"Why, do you not trust my hair washing ability?"
I know that quite a few of my blogging buddies trim their own tresses too, so I'm in good company :)
After all it's only hair & it will grow out again eventually.
Hope you will have a groovetastic Friday folks, here's a tune to put you in the mood...

 Lot's of love,
Jennie
xXx

Everything goes numb

Pulling the curtain in the morning to reveal yet another day of  blanket cloud clad sky is really starting to have a zapping effect.

The cold and damp air stealthily sneaks its way into the house though numerous gaps in the window frames and my fingers go numb as I am tapping on the keyboard. 

I've taken to keeping my hat on indoors in a vain attempt to stave off the creeping chills.

For the past three years, we've always been getting ready to go away on holiday around and about now, escaping the dreichness for a few weeks in the sun and returning just in time for spring kick off .

We went on our magical mystery tour much earlier this year and as a result this winter has felt painfully drawn out. I can't wait for spring and I'm sure I'm not the only one?!

Whilst I was sifting through a couple of bags yesterday, to find stock for this Saturday's market, I came across the tiger stripe mini skirt that goes with my 'rockstar coat'.

I also unearthed a mystery vintage leather coat, that I can't even remember buying...

maybe I was sleep-thrifting at some point, who knows?!

Here is today's ensemble:

Vintage 70s leather coat, 00s tiger stripe mini skirt, 90s floral lace leotard (twice this week), 70s shirt, 90s velvet platform boots,  70s velvet artists beret, stocking style tights & amber look pendant necklace.

I know that wearing a mini skirt is probably not the cleverest move when it's Baltic outside (and indoors) but I was just so chuffed to find that it still fits me that I simply had to put it on ;)

Thank goodness there's music like this to keep me warm...

For raising body temperature and shifting a gloomy mood, nothing beats dancing around the room like an unhinged madwoman for half an hour, I highly recommend it :)

What is your top tip for bashing the winter blues into submission?

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx 

The Tapestry of Delights

I bought this fabulous Indian tapestry skirt last year but I haven't worn it until today.

Vintage 60s Indian tapestry wrap maxi skirt, 80s belt, 90s floral lace leotard, African necklace, 70s velvet artists beret & gloves

The pattern is absolutely stunning and when I freed the skirt from the back of my wardrobe this morning it made me think the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur...

Such a magical place, we sat there for ages just gazing up at the ceiling.

I've decided to call this skirt my 'temple skirt' cause I think it's rather magical too.

Other news today ;)

Leslie was kind enough to offer me a spot at next Saturday's market at 'The Oxford' in Kentish Town so I'll be there selling an array of fabulous vintage attire.

I will do a sneak-peek preview on Thursday, so that you can see what I'll be bringing with me on the day :)

The March edition of  The Dandy Lion Market is dedicated to women, girls and mothers.

The event is a get together with Oxfam to celebrate International Women's Day and to help raise funds to support women living in poverty around the world.

Sellers will contribute with a percentage of their takings and there will also be a very special tombola and I will be donating something awesome to that too ;) 

Before I sign off can I just say that I've really enjoyed all the comments that you wonderful peeps have been leaving, it is really exciting to read your stories and personal takes on the questions I pose.

Thank you for taking the time, it really means a lot to me :)

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Frocktasia on the road

Yesterday was a big day for me; it was the first time I took Frocktasia on the road and left the comfort zone of my home office and computer screen behind.

It's kind of strange that someone who has spent most their adult life working in hospitality, should be at all nervous about the face-to-face aspect of selling at markets but quite frankly, I was bricking it!

For years I've been the bighearted barmaid who's always ready to have a chat about anything to anyone but for some bonkers reason when it came to doing the very same thing for myself, punting something other than beer, I felt as if I was facing Everest.

It's some sort of weird-ass personality paradox going on here I'm sure.

However, I cannot remain a home-office strummer if I want to become a proper frockstar, I have to grab the scary bull by its horns and override my inexplicable hang-ups.

Yesterday was the first step in that direction and a step well worth taking!

I'm such a fusspot worrier so I got about half an hours sleep the night before. 

Here I am setting up in the morning and being quite nervous about it all... 

I should have brought more knick-knacks to dress my table as it did look a little bit bare.

I'm going play around with table dressing at home before the next outing... 

There are certainly a few things that I will be doing differently next time.

I ran out of time (read: was struck down by a bad case of bone idle laziness) before I could mark up all my items individually, so I just went out and bought a packet of neon star labels and divided my stock into four price categories (£3/£5/£10/£20).

Next time I'll do something like this instead, it looks a wee bit more professional...

Some of Jet's lovely vintage blouses.

My stall neighbor, the lovely Leslie is a real professional when it comes to setting up an inviting stall I think you'll agree... 

 Leslie is a regular seller at the vintage jumble but she also organizes The Dandy Lion Market at The Oxford in Kentish Town on the first Saturday of every month.

I'm popping along to check it out next week if anyone is interested in coming along?

Leslie makes fabulous scatter cushions and hot water bottle covers from recycled vintage fabrics and clothing...

Here she is tempting me with an awesomely groovy vintage blouse that

I would have snapped up in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the fact that I was under strict instructions not to buy anything...

The Boogaloo is a really cool pub and even though yesterday wasn't exactly heaving customer wise we still had a fab time. There's a DJ playing all day, you can get some seriously scrumptious looking cake and of course beer...who ever came up with the idea of having a vintage market in a pub should be given a medal!

 Some more of my fellow jumblers and their fabulously dressed stalls...

 Besides Leslie's poppy print blouse, I would have loved to buy that stunning green and gold caftan...

 Mark was kind enough to come along and hung around all day to give me moral support, what a star :)

Speaking of stars, I had a very special visitor...

Lovely Sara from Hello The Mushroom popped in with her friend Iain and that really made my day. 

Even though we've never met before I felt instantly at ease, she's got a smile like a thousand sunbeams and it was a real shot in the arm that she came along. 

I hope that we can meet up again soon for some bloggy charity shopping  perhaps?!

Sara has got an amazing blog that I couldn't recommend highly enough, it makes for great reading and she takes delightful photos too, a perfect mix in my opinion, if you are not already a follower, you are missing out!

So you may very well be wondering if I will be able to retire on my takings of the day...

Nope, but it was the perfect gentle start to my face-to-face selling career.

I met some really lovely people and I now know what I can improve on until next time cause there will definitely be a next time...hopefully very soon :)

Today I slept in until late & then we popped to the park to feed Lilo.

I think she recognizes my voice now, cause when we arrived she was down by the pond drinking but when I called for her she came running up to us waiting for me to bring my baggie of seed out. She eats straight out of my hand and she's not scared of me at all. Every few days I bring the birds some finely chopped fresh greens too, they absolutely love it.

Here is today's ensemble:

Vintage 50s velvet jacket, 60s maxi dress, two pairs of tights, 90s skirt  (worn as underskirt as it was decidedly Baltic out there today), 90s velvet boots, velvet gloves, sequin beret & spiderweb print scarf.

I hope you've all had a fab & funderful weekend!

I'm off to check out what you've all been up to on your blogs now...see ya!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Pond life

A few days ago I ventured to the park to feed the birds without hubby and whilst there I had this feeling that I was being watched.
I looked around and right enough a little further along a man was sitting intently eyeing me up from his car. 

Sometimes when people are staring at me I give them a quick wave to put them off but there was something about this fellow that made me feel as if that would have been the completely wrong thing to do, so I just decided to ignore him. 

After I'd finished dishing out the seed, I lent against the pond railings & just hung about for a few minutes to see that Lilo the goose was getting a feed.

Then all of a sudden the staring man was standing next to me and it was quite obvious that he hadn't come to see the birds.

I felt quite uncomfortable cause for some reason the park was really deserted and this dude was sending out some seriously dodgy vibes.

Then he asks me... 

-"Are you working?"

My first thought was "what kind of silly-ass question is that" before it dawned on me that this bag of human detritus was actually asking if I put out for money.

I was like...

-"You've got to be kidding me mate, I'm just here to feed the birds".

If there had been other people about I would have gone absolutely apeshit but I was alone with this creepy sleazeball,  so I was very happy when he skulked back to his car, got in and drove off.

This is the second time in my life that I've been mistaken for a prostitute, or more to the point the second time that some grotty wee man has chanced his arm.

First time it happened was in back in '92 when I was on my second InterRail. 

I was fresh off the overnight train from Copenhagen to Berlin and was sitting with my huge rucksack at Bahnhof Zoo when this transparently pale man with a bright ginger mustache approached me.

Although my German left a lot to be desired it soon became clear that he was offering me accommodation in return for sexual favors. 

I was totally bricking it after that encounter and thought that all the men in the station looked like total pervs, not the best first impression of a city it has to be said. 

Thankfully I met a couple of nice English boys later that day and traveled with them for the first two weeks, which made me feel much safer.

Question time...

Has this ever happened to you?

 How did you deal with the situation?

Everything is ready to go for the vintage jumble, all I have to do now is try to get some sleep with a belly full of butterflies, wish me luck ;)

On Sunday I'm planning to just kick back and catch up on my blog reading, I'm looking forward to seeing what you've all been up to.

Have a fabulous weekend peeps!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Vintage jumble sneaky peek

The past few days I have been very busy preparing for Saturday's vintage jumble at The Boogaloo.

We don't have a car so it's a case of whatever we can cart, can come!

This amounts to about a rails worth of frocks, a bag of miscellaneous clobber, a suitcase of handbags and knick-knacks and a box of boots and hats.

It should be enough for the virgin run, I'll be taking notes for future reference.

My clothing rail is one of those cheap ones from Argos that falls over when you hang anything on it unless you've got it tied to the wall; needless to say this felt a little disconcerting. 

I've had daymare visions of my rail tumbling over and smashing up someones stall,  a floor covered in a holy mess of vintage frockery, broken teacups and cupcakes and me getting an almighty kicking from an angry fellow jumbler in a pristine vintage frock and victory rolls.

I was considering going out and investing in a sturdier rail but then hubby came up with a brilliant idea.

Up in the loft we had two mic stands and they are now acting as the base of my el cheapo rail & it is steady as a rock, fingers crossed it stays like that...

I still have to price-tag  all my stock, that's what I'll be doing tomorrow.
The prices will range from £3-£20 and I'm also planning a £1 bonkers bargain box too.
Here's a sneaky peek of some the stuff we'll be bringing on Saturday...

 Some close-ups...

If you see anything you fancy why not pop along and see me on Saturday, have a good old rummage and come away with some fabulous bargains...

This was today's ensemble:

Vintage 40s floral print silk dress, mesh underskirt, cropped lurex jumper (AGAIN!), crushed velvet booties & tights.

Goose update: I'm very pleased to say that our feathered friend (now known as Lilo) has returned and seems to be a whole lot perkier.

Cue the happy music :)

Have a wonderful Friday peeps!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx