These questions bounce in my empty head.

So I don't know if I've mentioned much about my plans for the shop I want to open, but you'll just have to trust me that it'll be good. Part of my idea is to cater to an audience which I do not think is being served as well as they could be at the moment.

An article in this month’s VOGUE (capital letters means fashin superstar quality, shouldn’t you be making notes?) discusses why older women (and by older, fashin people mean over 40. Sorry) rarely buy vintage. Essentially, it boils down to:

Changing rooms: In your 50s, you may not feel comfortable or happy about stripping off in front of a crowd in an only occasionally cleaned warehouse.

Fit: We're shaped differently today from how women were shaped 50 years ago. Also, most of us don't suffer with girdles and bras which could have someone's eye out, so many things which were made for a 1950s silhouette, for instance, will not fit the vast majority of women today.

I also think that there are a few more reasons, like:

Time: When most women are past their twenties and thirties, they have accumulated a family or a demanding job or both. This means that if you have a free Sunday, you might prefer to spend it having a glass of wine with friends or a nice meal with your family rather than being on your hands and knees rummaging through a bin liner trying to find something to wear.

Trends: A friend made a very good observation the other day, which went a little something like "when a young woman puts on vintage, she looks cool and edgy, but when a middle-aged or older woman puts it on, she just looks like she's had it in her wardrobe for ages". Unfortunate, but unfortunately often true. If you wear the wrong kind of vintage, that is.

So the aim becomes to solve these issues, through design of shop and selection of stock.

The idea for the shop is that the clothing should work on a number of women (and men, if they are so inclined), whether they lived through the time period in question or not. I think it's possible, it just needs some clever editing.

Hopefully all this will be resolved, and of course there is still more to think about. Like why do some younger people not buy vintage?

Su-su-su-summertime

Summer is almost here (I don’t care what the Inglish weather says – it’s mid-May and I’m going to have some ice cream and plan a nice day at the beach), and looking at the summer beach trends, things aren’t looking too bad. Ok, so it’s the same trends as last year, only done in better quality, with the deck shoes and the big woven bags and the kaftans and that, but there’s a comfy angle which I really like. When it gets really warm and sticky, no one should be running around in strappy heels slicing their feet with every step, tugging at a ra-ra skirt which keeps sliding up, while their makeup inches its way around the face like a buttery blob. We should all be breezing along in cotton maxis and sun dresses, in comfortable and (ugh) sensible shoes with proper sun screen on.

The main problem I have with summer is the bathing suits, because they seem to become smaller every year, and I don’t want to spend every minute at the beach tugging and adjusting things to preserve some dignity. Vintage bathing suits are perfect for this, because they actually cover what they’re supposed to cover and stay in place. The problem with them is that they are sponge-like in their absorbency and you weigh about twice as much coming out of the water as you did going in. There’s just no winning here. But at least they look great, and I’m hoping to do a beachy shoot soon (when it gets just a little warmer – otherwise it’s just cruel to the model).

Chapter 9 - part the final.

Last few edits from the 80s shoot now. The credits are rolling, but the best is still to come.

Pad exhibit E - Big shoulder pads for a light dress (so, proportionally, some of the biggest) in this Chanel rip-off.

Pad exhibit F - F is for final, and also for favourite. I love this dress. It's 80s, it's Dynasty, it lends itself beautifully to matchy-matchy, the shoulder pads are absolutely massive, and it's Lanvin. It's made from this beautiful crepe material (enlarge the picture and have a look), and I'm currently considering a lard-and-cream diet to be able to fill it out and keep it to myself. None of my other clothes would fit, but - frankly - that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I could whisper sweet nothings into its sleeves, and it could make me best dressed at any cocktail party. We really would make a beautiful couple.

And that's it for now! Hoping to do another shoot soon; there's a Valentino blouse flirting with me from the rail across the room, along with some lovely tailoring, and hopefully some new pieces very soon (eBay has not been my friend lately, but we're going to give it another try).

Chapter 9 -Part the second

The padillisciousness continues now...

Pad exhibit C - Minimal pads in this Gaultier Jeans jacket, but it's still 80s-ness in a good way, so it gets to stay in.

Pad Exhibit D - Now we're talkin'. Proper shoulder padding and some 80s-tastic tailoring. Still looking into this label, trying to work the Vintage Fashion Guild to find out a little more about it.

...all that padding and still more to come? You got it.

Chapter 9 - It was acceptable in the 80s

Just as we thought the 80s thing was finally coming to a spluttering end, it turned around and slapped us right in the face with the previously mentioned spaced out shoulder pad "trend". In celebration of this (even if somewhat dubious) - here's a paddiriffic shoot.

Our very talented resident photographer is of course Mr Michael, and the beautiful Beccie is my 80s victim.

Pad exhibit A: Medium paddage with this wool and velvet Versace skirt suit.

(partially photoshopped plug socket: stylist's own)

Pad exhibit B: light pads in a Karl Lagerfeld for Chloe skirt suit.

More paddage to follow.

Springtime for Vintage

So spring is upon us and in my step and there is sunshine and birds singing and… shoulder pads, apparently. I’m guessing it’s one of those trends which hasn’t quite reached the Garden of England in any widespread way yet. In this article, Hadley Freeman tries to explain why the pads are big this season, and narrows it down to:
a) The Allmighty (capital A!) Credit Crunch
b) People feeling moody (and, you know, credit crunchy)
c) Making people look thin
d) Alien invasion

Don’t know about you, but my vote is on the skinny factor.

So, in celebration of this supposed trend, we’ve only gone and done a powerdressing, kickassing, shoulderpadding 80s shoot for your delectation. That’s right. It will be edited and posted soon.

Chapter 6 - le finale!

The evening wear at last! And that concludes the March shoot edit - another two shoots in the pipeline, so hopefully I can get those done soon enough. Meanwhile, look at this star quality: