Markets, creative juice and more undercrackers

Today I visited the Princess May car boot sale in Stoke Newington and Netil Market  in Hackney.

For once I didn't go as a buyer, I was merely scoping them out to see if they'd be any good to sell at. 

At most car boot sales you pretty much know what to expect, punters want bargains and you have to make like ASDA and stack 'em high and sell 'em low.
Netil Market was a bit of a disappointment cause I was expecting something a lot bigger, don't get me wrong the quality of what was on offer was perfectly good but I prefer my markets to have a glut of stalls with lots of stuff on them.
Maybe it's just me but I feel a bit awkward stopping at a stall that has just got a few bits laid out on it and when you pick something up the seller gives you a "don't touch the precious things of the shop" death stare!
I'll definitely keep it in mind but
I'm checking out a few more places tomorrow so hopefully I can find one that's even more to my liking.
Travelling to Hackney from my pad is also a bit of a drag as the bus takes ages.

When I got back home I spent the rest of the day/evening making adornments and flicking through vintage mail-order catalogues.

I made these funky Twiggy inspired earrings for the shop... 

and two threaded bead necklaces...

...and one horse brass necklace, I named it 

'You've Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two'...

I really love it and I'm very tempted to keep it but I'm not going to.

The rest of the evening was spent flicking through a number of old mail order catalogues from the 70s that my mum bought for me a couple of years ago. 

When I was a kid my sister and I would cozy up in bed on a Saturday morning with one of these and play a very simple game in which we had to pick one favourite thing from every page of the catalogue but we weren't allowed to pick the same item...I really loved that game!

I remember we would giggle our little faces off when we got to the mens underwear section :)

I found more panties than you can shake a stick at...not that I'm obsessed or anything!

Bring back psychedelic print on undercrackers!

Oo'er Missus!

When it comes to undies I prefer the good old retro shaped brief, I'm not a fan of flimsy thongs or frilly knickers!

Last but by no means least here are some for the boys :)

Do guys still wear Long Johns?

Chicks are lucky, we've got tights and leggings for when it gets Baltic outside.

I promise no more undergarment related posts for a while now, I just wanted to share these fab old catalogue pics with you all.

Have a great Sunday!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Frockfest & Groovy Panties

Happy weekend :)

As some of you may already know I have a Frocktasia Facebook page which has 82 wonderful likes thus far, each and every new 'like' gives me such a kick...

it's feels a bit like a fabulous compliment or a wolf whistle from a really attractive guy.

So thank you very much if you have already liked the page and made me feel like a very happy sausage ;)

On the Frocktasia Facebook I also have an album of dresses that are available to buy.

 I named that album 'Frockfest' and today I decided to reduce the prices on everything in that album, yay!

Prices now range from £10-£35 (+ £3.95 P&P for within the UK) and there is plenty of variety, so why not go and have a wee look?

This is one of the fab frocks that is up for grabs...

Item: Vintage 70s/80s monochrome arty floral print dress.

Price: £20 + £3.95 P&P for within the UK

Details: Cuffed short sleeves, stand collar, buttoned ruffle front detailing, fully lined skirt, elasticated waist, belt loops & original tie belt.

Labelled: IMAGE collection - Made in Hong Kong

Condition: Excellent

Fabric: Swishy polyester with nylon lining.

Measurements:

Bust: 38"

Waist: 28-36" (elasticated)

Hips: 40"

Length: 45"

Sleeves: 11,5"

Labelled: size 16

Best fit: UK 10/12/14 (depending on desired fit)

If you want to have a closer look at the 'Frockfest' garments I have made a dropbox folder full of pics :)

I'm going to leave you with some groovy panties...

I bagged these bonkers dead-stock nylon panties on my last vintage treasure hunting trip...

I actually had a pair of these already in my vintage undies collection...

They are labelled 'St Michael'... 

I could so see Desiree wearing these as knicker shorts ;)

Whadd'ya think dahlin'...wud ya?

Desiree is totally

Dee-Gorgeous & Dee-Groovy!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Have a cracker of a weekend my beautiful readers, see ya :)

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Scuba Dooby Doo!

Mark & I spent last weekend at the National Diving & Activity Centre to finish off our last two diving speciality courses. 

We took the train from a rammed Paddington on Friday afternoon and arrived in picturesque Chepstow a few hours later. 

We stayed in a wooden wigwam again...Lucky 13 ;)

Here I am...Hello there!

Wearing my outdoorsy clobber :)

Our awesome instructor Andy & his lovely wife Lesley also arrived on Friday night, so we all met up at the cafe/bar for some grub and chattery.

Then it was off to bed, to catch some Z's before Saturdays Wreck diving extravaganza. 

Saturday morning...

It was a little bit nippy but after a "full English breakfast" minus the meaty stuff I felt more than ready to brave the water.

Dive Wimbledon, what can I say...

I'm so chuffed that we came across these guys, they have been awesome all the way!

I can't believe that less than ten months ago I had never even breathed underwater, now I can navigate a course in very poor visibility, I can hover and control my buoyancy by lung capacity, I can lay a line and penetrate a wreck and I feel like a proficient diver.

Never in a million years did I think that I'd end up feeling so fired up about diving.

When we did our open water course last February I thought that would be as far as I'd want to take it but after our very first dive in the Red Sea I knew that I wanted to go further. 

I wanted to improve my underwater skills and also be able to dive deeper than the 18 meters you're allowed to as an open water diver.

So we signed up for five specialities; Dry suit, Navigation, Peak Performance Buoyancy (PPB), Wreck and Deep and we got our Advanced Open Water Diver certificate included in the price.

Here are our fellow students gearing up for the wreck diving on Saturday...

We did three dives and our wreck was a single decker bus.

1. Surveying the wreck and map any hazards and points of interest.

2. Lay a line outside the wreck, then follow the line back whilst closing your eyes, then retrieving the line.

3. Penetration dive, lay a line inside the wreck and retrieve the line.

Both Mark and I did really well and managed to bag our wreck certs, yay!

This is how happy and contented you look after a days diving... 

In the evening the whole crew amassed at the cafe/bar for dinner, drinks and much chin-wagging.

At ten I called it a day and snuck away for a rendezvous with my sleeping bag.

On Sunday morning there was mist in the air.

Before breakfast there were thin wisps of mist dancing over the water...

After breakfast you could hardly see the quarry for the thick mist soup...

Mist-schmist! 

We had more important things on our minds, like gearing up for the days first deep dive...

This was the car park before our first dive...

and when we got back up it looked like this :)

We did our three deep dives to the 'BAE 146 Aircraft' at 27 meters.

1. Navigating a reciprocal heading and looking at what happens to colour and a plastic bottle at depth.

2. Swimming around the aircraft maintaining neutral buoyancy, ascend and preform safety stop where you breathe from your buddy's alternate air-source for a minute.

3. The last dive was a bit of a fun-dive, we descended nearby the jetty and swam out to the aircraft, swam through the aircraft and then went on a short tour around a few of the underwater attractions.  I had brought a garden gnome with me which I planted nearby the Devon Aircraft at 25 meters.

I decided to named him 'Orinoco Browne'...

Orinoco from The Wombles of Wimbledon & Browne is the surname of Awesome Andy our instructor :) 

Happy hubby, the best diving buddy a gal could possibly wish for...

Me (in my gnome hat) and our fabulous fellow students in-between dives...

I had a cracking weekend and I have to say that I feel a little bit sad now that it has all come to an end.

In a few days the postman will bring us our Wreck & Deep cards and then that will be that...until next time ;)

We're already scoping out the rescue diver course for spring and hopefully there will be some warmer water diving on the cards before then. Diving ROCKS!

Before I sign off, I want to show you the awesome new stock that I've added to the shop recently, clicking on the pic will take you to the item... 

Hope you are all doing grand and that life is treating you well :)

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Bernshaw & Beret

The other week Lady Gaga stepped out in the iconic Versace safety-pin frock  that was originally worn by Liz Hurley at the premiere of  'Four Weddings and a Funeral'  in 1994.

In 2008 this frock was voted "the greatest red carpet gown of all time" and it certainly did great things for Liz.

Lady Gaga is a bona fide master when it comes to dressing for attention and I really dig her trademark outlandish style, however I'm really happy that she didn't team the dress with a meat hat or a taxidermy headdress :)

English label Bernshaw made a replica design of the Versace dress and thanks to eBay I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of those a couple of years ago...

I haven't as yet had the opportunity to wear it to a social occasion, it it deserves a proper occasion.

I will be celebrating a biggie-burfday in a couple of years so I may hang on to it until then ;)

Our PADI certification cards for Peak Performance Bouyancy and Navigation specialty diver came through the post today, only two more to go and we've clocked up five.

Half way to becoming Master Scuba Divers, yay :)

We still have to log twentyish more dives and do the PADI rescue diver course but that won't happen until next spring, unless I stumble upon a pot of gold or something.

Today's Ensemble:

 Vintage 50s velvet jacket, 60s day dress, 80s boots, beret with vintage brooch, patterned tights.

Mark thinks that I look like Michelle from 'Allo 'Allo! in my beret...

Listen very carefully, I shall say 'zis only once :)

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

One Step Beyond

Gloriously sunny afternoon, blowing away the cobwebs and getting over a particularly vicious bread hangover.

We've been trying to avoid eating bread for a while but last night we ODed on the stuff... 

pizza, garlic bread  and apple pie and alpro custard for din-dins!

Hubby and I both felt well sick afterwards and my stomach took on balloon like proportions...like I was carrying a bread baby or something.

I don't get that horrid bloated feeling on our normal veggie & legume based diet, thank goodness.

The preferred cure for a bread hangover is a right old Madness inspired run around in the park...

Doctor Marten shirt & boots, Frocktasia tie-dyed skinny Tee & necklace, badass buckle detail mini skirt, spanking spandex leggings, Faux-Wayfarer sunnies & 50s gents felt hat.

It works every time :)

Hope you are all having a fab weekend!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx