Thursday, 6 November 2014

This and that


I haven't been to Chesterfield flea market for over a month, so a free Thursday meant a trip was definitely in order.


I needed a scarf and gloves, it was perishing.

 

Here's the newly refurbished market hall, and the famous twisted church spire.



And there's Joanne, trying on a 1970s tank top.

She not only bought it, she kept it on as an extra layer; I told you it was cold.



Brass monkeys, or silver boobs. Take your pick.


That's the town pump, made of cast iron in the early-mid 19th Century, and Grade II listed.

And behind it, in her usual spot, is our friend Debs (wearing the red coat and bag) with her stall of delights. She's been making mittens again; Jo and I attempted to make some last year, which ended in humiliating but hilarious failure.



Joseph wasn't happy about the Christmas picture on his take-out coffee; it's too early for that. 



Speaking of Christmas - mark my footsteps, good my page, tread thou in them boldly. 



Real furs...



Soviet posters...



a fabulous, if rusty, fan...



and a jumble of sugar tongs looking like a game of jackstraws.



Steps to heaven...



Red Riding Hood's cape...



electric homemaking...



and its potentially disastrous results.

A typically eccentric blend of merchandise - how I love this market!



I took my jacket off to show you my frock, there's selfless for you.



1970s Dagmar Made in New Zealand maxi dress - gift from Helga
Velvet jacket and beret - charity shopped
Ankle boots - Ebay


Oh cheer up, love...

 Funniest sighting of the day?


 Genius.

When it gets even colder, I think I might wear one of my wigs as well as a hat to keep my head warm.

Why have I never thought of that before?

xxx

45 comments:

Vix said...

Dear old Chesterfield, I never got there this year, did I?
Bloody fantastic, that stunner of a cape especially. Delighted that Jo bought that tank top, what a fab fit and colour. Love the silver tits, were they on the porno book stall?
I'm dreading how cold its going to be on Saturday, mittens and thermal leggings ahoy!
Loving the classy maxi and well done for taking your jacket off to show it off in its entirety. All that's missing is the woolly hat/wig thingy...not!
Love you! xxxxxxx

Vix said...

FIRST!!!!!!

Patti said...

LOVE the hat with hair - no more bad hair days! And I am a little bit afraid of electric homemaking. I struggle with mop-and-broom homemaking, not to mention the gadgets in the kitchen. Looks like a wonderful day out and you look gorgeous, as per always. Stay warm (I'm a bit jealous!) xoxo

Lizzie Cole said...

They look great - I love the blue printed pattern.

Lizzie's Daily Blog

hippyatheart said...

A had with hair is really freaky and greepy ;)
Love that old market hall and how cool is that twistet church spire?

Emma Kate at Paint and Style said...

Looks amazing! There are my rusty drawers! I'm salivating over that fan. I'd have been staggering home with that!
Gorgeous dress, looks like you could hide some thermal long johns under it. xxxx

Mother of Reinvention said...

Think my chest would be looking a bit silver and erm... pert being out in this weather. Chesterfield looks amazing. Better class of junk in the South. You look great in your lovely, long dress. You could hide thermals under there and no one would know. Multifunctional clothes are fab. Gloriously coloured velvet jacket, very rich and fruity. Perfect for brightening up drab winter's days. I love vintage furs (except for the fact that they are ex-animals) but they are so plush and tactile. I know a lot of people have a problem with them even though they died a long time ago, me too, but a part of me still feels a bit sad that they died in vain if they end up in landfill. It is a difficult one: recycle or refuse? Would never dream of buying modern fur though. Strange, one of those polarising subjects. Will stick to my (mostly hydrocarbon) fakes. :)

Kezzie said...

It looks a great place to visit! Why does Romford market not have fabulous vintage- tis sad! Great maxi, I'd totally wear that!!! Your friend''s tank is cool!x

Unknown said...

Looks like lots of great things, but I want that red cape for sure! :)

Angels have Red Hair said...

Hats with hair should be mandatory ... think how much time we will all save! Freeing us up to electrify our homemaking!
xx

Unknown said...

You're not just a tour guide, you're funny while you're at it! Love every photo as usual. Of course Joanne wore her new tank ... makes a fabulous looking layer as well as cozy! Cute, you kids!
Looking selflessly chic ( a new category that you rule, actually) and your photography is really rich this week, as are all your subjects ... I get the tour and some guff at the same time!
So glad you had fun, and so glad I got to see some of it!

diaryofapennypincher said...

Yup, it's Damart time! Thanks for the tour, I must get to Chesterfield one day, they do cheapy coach trips from here to there too, so no excuses. Great ourfit and brilliant photos too!

Goody said...

Do you think, "Electrified Home Knockers" would be a good name for a blog? I'd love to see them rigged up with lights.

You didn't really leave without the cape, did you?

Melancholy and Menace said...

What a brilliant market! You've put me in the mood for some treasure hunting. Your dress is gorgeous, and I absolutely love that red cape! I completely agree. It's too soon to be thinking of Christmas... okay, it's not, but I'm trying to put it off as long as I can. xx

Forest City Fashionista said...

Was the silver torso with the admirable rack for sale? I would love to have one of those to display my necklaces on (a fake plastic one, not a real rack - I like my smaller sized boobs thank you very much).

I would have bought the red cape, and a couple of those Soviet posters (it's all about the red, you know).

The sweater vest looks fab on Joanne, and I like the blue print maxi. Maxi dresses are perfect for cold weather as you can layer up all you want underneath.

Krista said...

I think the soviet posters are fab! What a great day out, and how could you leave that hat hair behind, bah! That's creepy! It's been cold here I can tell because I take to bringing my shoulders up to my ears like that will help, layers I've learned to love them!
You look beautiful in this maxi, of course you had to share it! Have a lovely weekend honey!
Xxxxooo

Suzanne said...

Ha ha! The wig and the hat trick is brilliant : )

Hey they have a copy of my cape!

Looks like a fun, but chilly day.

You look positively pissed off in that last photo! ; P

bisous
Suzanne

Connie said...

Silver boobs, silver boobs, it's Christmas time in the city. Oh I have quite a weakness for Soviet posters and now electric housekeeping. You know those creepy guys that use that pick up line, "Are you a model" well..... You should totally be a model. You make every frock look even more beautiful.

Natalia Lialina said...

Soviet posters, just like a thought of Pushkin, transfer me right back to my Soviet childhood like a fantastic plane. I'd buy them all.

Fabulous stuff, love my trips to the market with you! The twisted spire is amazing, made my head dizzy!

Your blue dress is beyond words gorgeous - elegant with a punch! Thank you for being so selfless for us, Curtise!! Hope you did not get a chill. Have something warming to drink. ;)

Much love xxxx

Melanie said...

You put a model on a runway and she usually has no boobs, you put a model/mannequin in a shop and she usually has big boobs. What's up with that? I think Connie has written my new favourite Christmas tune.
I admire your sacrifice for art, Curtise, what a fabulous ensemble, especially with the beret. And Joanne's new top is groovy. She's got on a great hat too. Looks like a fun day.

Melanie said...

The twisted spire is incredible! The artwork on those Soviet posters is rather eyecatching and that fan is beautiful! I'm getting cold just looking at you coatless! Lovely dress though xxx

Loo xx from Jumbles and Pompoms said...

There's nothing better than trawling though a good secondhand market I find. Lovely Soviet artwork and ooh that cape is gorgeous. It's not too cold down here at the moment - yet! xx

Olga Rani said...

You always find something interesting to show us! Wonderful place it seems! Beautiful maxi, lovely colour and print.

freckleface said...

Chesterfield: we need a revisit! I would have had that Good King Wenceslas picture, I absolutely love it, and for £5 that's a total bargain. Love the red riding hood cape too. You look gorgeous in your Helga dress, thanks for flashing, it is always MOST appreciated. Joanna looks fab in her tank top and knitted hat. It is definitely time for knitwear now! Seeeee youuuuu tomorrrrow! Xxxxxxx

bahnwärterin said...

hihi - that last pic :-D
despite the cold - that marked looks like lots of fun - even without actual shopping. gorgeous.
wonderful dress! sooo curtise. and the pink fluffy beret again - perfect with the velvet tailleur!
xxxxx

Ivy Black said...

Bleedin' silver boob weather it is now. I have draughts where they have no business being. You look gorgeous and autumn ready. Chesterfield rocks. I haven't been for twenty years and that was only to draw the architecture on a college trip. So much loveliness and so many things I'd nab.
Have a fab day tomorrow and I can guarantee that there will be something waiting for you at Kinky with your name all over it. They are spooky I tell you.
Loves ya!
xxxxxxx

Jazzy Jack said...

I always feel a little daunted at the end of a long row of comments, thinking "what wonderful comment can i add to this wonderfulness"? If I'm honest, sometimes ai just tiptoe away!
Anyway, my thoughts are, I am fascinated by the spiral spire. Did they try to do a spiral and lost their way, or did they try for straight and failed even more?! But dont we love idiosyncratic touches! I'm glad they wandered off the beaten track so to speak:-D
Your dress is a stunner as usual.
Thanks for the lovely tour around the markets. The brightly coloured detorsoified legs are stuck in my mind.
Hope you found some mittens and scarves for the cold! xo JJ

Beth Waltz said...

Yes, I'm the one who squirms when confronted with taxidermy -- but I do love a lush fur coat. ?! As does my ancient tuxedo cat, Mme. Mephi Woo. So we compromise. She spends the winter nesting in my heirloom mink cape, and I pet them both.

Those intense colors in the maxi set off your Titian locks, Curtise. The jacket is serendipity off a hanger! Mittens? Can mittens be chic? Perhaps on you, or Vix. I'd look like one of the mamushkas in those Soviet posters, me in my babushka...

Mrs Bertimus said...

Fab outfit and fab market.
Miss Debs is one of my very good friends, what a small world indeed! X

Miss Magpie said...

And did you buy a hat and mittens? What a mad and amazing place.

Virginia at A Sewing Life said...

Spiral spire! Kind of a proto Norman Foster pickle building.

I've thought the same about wigs--winter would be the time. I have a large head and mostly they give me a headache, though. Would love to be rocking some long curls all the time.

Fiona said...

Bugger it. Were it not for the fact that Chesterfield market is at the other end of the country I'd be there like a shot. It looks like a wonderful place to spend the day. Loving Joanne's tank top, Joseph's thoughts on cardboard Christmas cups, the Wenceslas picture...bloody bargain, the fan and not forgetting yourself in that gawjuss beret. Enjoy yourself at the weekend. xx

Aya said...

I'm always drawn to how casually gorgeous old architecture is *everywhere* in England, because my norm is California, and nothing here is that old!

I love your photos of your out and about trips. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Peaches McGinty said...

What a blooming brilliant Market! Chesterfield looks lovely and I recognise the Church Spire, I'm sure I've watched a documentary about it!
The cape is a beauty, I'd have had a go and forced it over my non-silver rack, I loved the mannequin legs, they would have come home with me (what a lovely thought to be sitting on a train with them!) - I keep squinting over Christmas though, I'm not ready!!
You are selfless, braving the cold to show us your dress, gorgeous you are and i love the plum jacket and pale pink beret too - have a top weekend!!!!! x x x

Becky said...

Looking gooooood! That market looks fun :)

Porcelina said...

Looks like well worth a visit! Sometimes I think you have all the best vintage places up North! P x

Shawna McComber said...

That market looks like loads of fun! I want silver boobs and multicoloured legs and I do agree with Joseph, it's much too early for Christmas. I love your velvet jacket and I want that too, but I have decided to let you keep it. Those colours look great on you and the blue hat and grey wig would look rather well with them too.
xoxo

Vintage Bird Girl said...

Oh I'll swap ya bitter cold weather for our summer sunshine any day! Loving the New Zealand maxi dress. Xx

Sue said...

What a wicked Market. When I was a teenager there were lots of really good markets. Then they went all cheap and NASTY, very cheap imported tat as you lot call it. Finally our markets are getting back to being GOOD. New rules on locally made and quality second hand you see. Makes a difference. Hate to tell you how lovely and warm it has been this weekend.

Unknown said...

It's quite a spree. I wouldn't be able to resist a soviet poster, a friend bought me a fab Vietnamese (I think) version which I still find fascinating to look at.

Señora Allnut said...

Fabulous to see all that assorted and funny stuff, local markets are amazing!
And such a lovely color combo, those magenta-pink shades are fabulous!
besos

Señora Allnut said...

Fabulous to see all that assorted and funny stuff, local markets are amazing!
And such a lovely color combo, those magenta-pink shades are fabulous!
besos

Trees said...

These markets look just incredible - so many weird and wacky things! We just don't have markets like that here (or if we do, I'm yet to find them). That hat/hair thing? Ew!

ArgentGal said...

Silver boobs! What a wonderful mix of treasures! That twisted church spire gives me the willies for some reason. It's rather Burton-esque. The frock is lovely and I do appreciate your willingness to brave to cold to show it to us.

Catherine said...

Looks like a great Market! I haven to been to a good one in a while. apparently Glebe Markets is the place to go or Surry Hills markets, but they are both in the city and frequented by too many hipsters to be able to come out with something good.