Autumn in a frock

I bought this autumnal dress a year ago and fully intended to shorten it...

but a combination of laziness and shortage of time means it's still exactly the same length as when I first wore it...

Oh well - it's fine as it is.

1970s English Lady brushed nylon dress - local vintage market

Boots - Ebay

1960-70s pendant - gift from Vix

 We're back into the routine of work and school this week. 

I am still waiting to hear when my new job will start; the shop fitters are in but a manager has yet to be recruited, so I'm carrying on in my current post, but feeling slightly in limbo.

One of the challenges of the vintage shop will be making sure we have appropriate stock in sufficient quantity. As donations come in to the other 12 shops run by the charity, the expectation is that the staff and volunteers will put aside anything "vintage" to pass on. I think they might need some support to identify the right pieces, an issue which the organisation also recognise.

So here's a question for you; if you were a volunteer sorting through stacks of donations in a charity shop, what would you need to know in order to have a hope of picking out potential vintage stock? Most of the shops get a lot of donations; which is great, but it means they are dealt with quickly, and having to consult lists or look things up will slow down the sorting process. Any information I circulate will therefore have to be pithy and easy to recall and act upon, in addition to which I'm well aware that not everyone is as interested in that old shit (and I quote a shop manager) as I am.

So, here's my question; if you had to give some short sharp pointers for identifying vintage donations (including clothing, accessories, jewellery, homewares, kitchenalia, linens and fabrics, pictures, etc - it's so hard to make an exhaustive list), what would you say?

I have lots of ideas myself, but it would be useful to get some different perspectives.

 So while you mull that over (or alternatively, while you think bugger off and do your own homework, you lazy arse), here are a couple of recent vintage purchases I would gladly have in my shop;

a 1970s "Tara" design Taunton Vale storage jar, and a floral still life print of indeterminate heritage. Both cheap as chips, and both from charity shops.

And look what lovely Lynn sent me to wish me luck in my new job - my very own vintage angel!

Do you think she looks a bit like me?

And speaking of look-a-likes;

doesn't the stalk on top of the pumpkin we grew in the garden look rather like Baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy?    
             
  

 We thought so!

I might just be dancing myself later; I'm off to see ABC. 

Can't wait!

xxx

Blue's the hue

Guess what?

I got the job!

A shiny new hair colour and a new job, all in one week.

1970s German-made dress - vintage shop

Boots and belt - retail (sale)

Bangles - charity shopped

As pleased as I am to be offered the job, I must confess to feeling a little anxious. There are plenty of unknowns about this enterprise, and I am sacrificing the comfort and convenience of my current post. Still, nothing ventured...

Being part of the team setting up a new shop will be hard work with a raft of challenges, but it's an exciting prospect too.

I don't have a start date yet, but I'll let you know when I do. 

On Saturday, Nina and I went on a reconnaissance trip to Broomhill, the suburb of Sheffield where the new St Luke's vintage shop will be opening.

This is it; still empty and awaiting a refit. (Sorry about the lousy photo, it's all reflection of the bus pulling up and the shop opposite. Oh, and there we are too!)

 

 Broomhill is a smart area with plenty of leafy streets, and Victorian houses ranging from little terraces to huge villas.  

 It's where I lived during my first year in Sheffield as a student. The small shopping centre is busy and thriving; despite the inevitable presence of a Costa, Boots and Sainsbury's, there are still plenty of independent shops, cafes and restaurants to add diversity and interest.

Of course there are charity shops...

and a couple of decent pubs which are still going strong 33 years after I first discovered them.

I think it's a good location for a vintage shop; the area has a significant student population, but there are professionals and families too. There is money here (and two fee-paying schools), the houses aren't cheap, and it remains a popular area.

The prospect of Mum's new job made Nina jump for joy.

We wandered through the Botanical Gardens...

enjoying the last of the roses, the autumn colours, and the friendly bear.

Well, you can't blame the bears.

And look what I found in the PDSA charity shop;

this beautiful late 1950s/early 1960s lace cocktail dress.

No doubt it would have been an expensive dress in its day; I paid just £7.

(Interestingly, there was a Betty Jackson for Debenhams dress in a very similar style on the same rail, priced at £9. 

Go figure...)

So it was a successful afternoon out, and I am only having the occasional anxiety dream about the new job. Wish me luck!

I'll be joining Patti's Visible Monday as always.

xxx

Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now

Blue and brown.

Hmmm.

Not the most dramatic of combinations, you might say, yet I've found myself wearing it a couple of times this week.

As with most colours, it depends how you wear them, I reckon. And you can't go far wrong with some Seventies style.

C&A Clockhouse suede patchwork jacket and boots - Ebay

1980s Windsmoor pleated skirt, 1970s leather bag, hat, jumper and top - charity shopped

I didn't possess a single jumper (sweater) till I bought this one for £1.49 in Barnardo's.  It reminds me of the sort of thing I wore in my mid-teens in the 1970s, especially with a midi skirt.

I should have put my turban on to complete the look.

1970s cape sleeve maxi dress - gift from Vix

Boots - as before

 

I do love a floaty Seventies sleeve.

Look, I'm all misty and autumnal. 

Thank you for all your good wishes and optimism regarding my interview. It went OK, I think, I said what I wanted to say (although it might not have been what the panel wanted to hear, of course). I haven't been told the outcome yet, but I'll let you know when I hear.

 

 

I'm late again for Patti's Visible Monday; fortunately she's a very understanding hostess!

 

xxxx

Flying colours

After wearing an unusual (for me) amount of black, I did promise you some colour, didn't I?

And I like to keep my word.

I've had a busy week. 

 

I've been either working, shopping, cooking, doing laundry, or catching up with friends; throw a British Gas engineer visit, two parents' evenings and job interview into the mix, and blogging finds itself at the end of a long list of Stuff To Do.

This is what I wore to my interview. 

A job selling vintage should come with a requirement to wear it, don't you think?

1960s Admyra jacket and 1970s St Michael pussy-bow blouse - charity shopped

1970s Tricosa maxi skirt - antiques centre

1960s vinyl bag and ankle boots - Ebay

Bangle - gift from Fiona

 

I am waiting to hear the outcome of the interview; they will either think I have a passion for vintage and a wealth of great ideas, or that I am an annoyingly gobby know-all .  

 

We shall see.

 

 

1970s maxi dress - £5 sale rail, vintage fair

Jacket, clogs, necklace and bangles - charity shopped

 

 

I match the fuchsia, lavender, and the turning leaves of the Virginia creeper. 

My new-to-me 1970s apron has a distinctly autumnal look to it as well; by rights, it should belong to (pinni)Vix.

 

 

I might just sneak in to Patti's Visible Monday party (even though it's Thursday - oops.) 

Right; more cooking to be done now, and hopefully I'll be catching up with you all later. 

 

It's all go!

 

xxx

 

The Bouquet of Girls Stories

September; that Back to School feeling.

The kids have returned with next-to-no fuss, and I got myself off to Chesterfield flea market for the first time in months.

The market never changes, there is always plenty of tat, chat, and something that makes me exclaim look at that!

The fruit and veg are plentiful and cheap too. We had cauliflower cheese for tea.

Here's Sue, surreptitiously squeezing the peaches (six for a quid).

I love the illustration on this 1970s sewing patterns, and these labels take me straight back to my teenage years. I shopped in Chelsea Girl, but Van Allen was a bit more grown-up and expensive, I think. (Both the 1970s maxi skirts with these labels were sadly too tiny for me.)

I'm regretting the fact I didn't buy the Orpheus sheet music to put in a frame; I was in a production of it at school (as a nymph and a goddess in the chorus. Typecast, obviously.)

Nostalgia overload - we had this album when I was a kid. I still love to belt out The Carnival Is Over, much to my kids' bemusement.  

These made me think of Em. Paul had no trousers but was still marked up at the oddly precise price of £23 (they spelled Sindy's name wrong, I was itching to correct it.)

The French Madonna and child are rather lovely, but that doll with the blue eye shadow looks as hard as nails. 

No wonder that kid looks glum; he has ended up discarded in a box of tat under a market stall. 

More fabulous vintage illustrations and some French maps. 

 My purchases:

1960s curtains, £3 (but will I ever have time to sew again?)

1960-70s OBD* thermometer plaque, £1

1950s brocade evening dress, £8 (I'm gutted it's too big for me, I'm scared to try and alter it, so I think I will have to sell it) 

1970s elephant pomander, 50p, to add to my collection

(*Obligatory Blogger Deer. But you already knew that.)

 1970s Tricosa wool/lurex maxi skirt - antiques and collectables centre

1960s St Michael top, 1960s copper brooch, jacket, shoes, hat and bangles - charity shopped

1950s carpet bag - flea market

It was starting to rain. Autumn is definitely in the air, hats and wool are back on the clothing agenda.

Linking (fashionably late) to Judith's Hat Attack.

See you all soon!

xxx