Dolly and Dotty

Aloha my cherry pies, so recently I was lucky enough to be sent a beautiful dress by an amazing company that has recently come to my attention called Dolly and Dotty. I've been looking for a perfect 50s style dress and when I saw the Darlene dress it was love at first sight. It has a perfect 50s silhouette and the colours are to die for....mint and coral what a dream combination! I'm also loving the fact it has flattering sleeves which I find a lot of vintage style dresses I've gotten in the past lack. I also loved the unusual off the shoulder neckline and the dress is made of super comfy cotton so it's the perfect day dress, it would look amazing dressed up with a petticoat for a night event so that the circle skirt can have its full effect.

As soon as I opened the package I knew I wanted to wear it straight away and this Sunday was the Haigh Hall vintage fair hosted by Vibrant Vintage so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to whip out this gorgeous dress and take it for a spin.

 

If you've not had the pleasure of going to Haigh Hall vintage fair then I highly recommend it, the fair is hosted every couple of months and has the most amazing traders selling everything from home wares to clothing. If you're looking for anything vintage such as sparkling jewellery or the perfect vintage dress then you have come to the right place, I can never venture in without buying a few purchases for myself!

The fair also always has a table with the yummiest cake imaginable which is a massive bonus! The fair is held at the beautiful Haigh Hall which is a beautiful historic house in Wigan, the grounds of the hall are lovely and it's the perfect place for a stroll after a good shopping spree. I absolutely adore this fair and try and attend every time it's on, and it was so great wandering round in my Dolly and Dotty dress as I got so many compliments!

If you've not checked out Dolly and Dotty before now I certainly recommend you do as the Darlene dress is just one of many fabulous dresses for any occasion. 

Also below I grabbed a quick snap with the fabulous Victoria Claire of Vibrant Vintage, if your looking for an amazing vintage fair to attend then I whole hearted recommend hers.

Coco Von Vintage x

The Vintage Home Show

Aloha my cherry pies, so last Sunday I had the pleasure of working at the Vintage Home Show put on by the wonderful Keeley Harris. The show features traders selling top quality mid century home wares from the 1930s to the 1970s. So I thought I'd share with all my lovely readers some photos and a little review of the event.

The show was full of wonderful traders selling the most amazing vintage household items so I was absolutely in my element, I am actually purchasing my own house soon so it was great to have a wander round and see what was on sale so that I could get some ideas because of course my home is going to be decked out in vintage finery!

The show sold all sorts, from furniture and ceramics to textiles and art, everything was to die for and I had to pick up a few pieces for myself. I've recently discovered a fondness for mid century cat statues so I wanted to pick a Kitsch piece of my own and I found an amazing statue (which is in the photograph below) so naturally I had to have it haha, I’m also mad for poodles so the little guy photographed had to come home with me as well.

The show is hosted at Victoria Baths in Manchester (there are also shows held in Leeds through out the year) which is the most amazing venue. The building was built in 1906 and still looks pretty much the same as it did back then so its like stepping back in time when you enter. If you get the chance to visit its definitely worth a look around as the original 1st class, 2nd class males and female pools are all still in tact and the whole inside is decorated with amazing green tiles and stained glass windows. The whole event was amazing and traders tables covered both floors so you could go up to the top floor and look down where it was packed with the rest of the stalls beneath. The next show is being held on the 13th March in Manchester and on the 6th March in Leeds so if you get the chance I very much recommend going.


Coco Von Vintage x

Review - Collectif Clothing Tropical Gal

Aloha my cherry pies, so like pretty much every other vintage gal I also went crazy when Collectif held their 50% sale and I just couldn't resist snagging a few pieces. I picked up this gorgeous Pineapple print dress which I have been lusting over since they showed us a sneak peak at their Spring/Summer look book a few months ago. So when it arrived I obviously couldn't resist posing for a few pictures.

I'm super in love with the print as everyone knows that I'm absolutely gaga for pineapples so this dress felt as if it was made for me. I sometimes have problems with Collectif clothing sizing but this fit like a glove! The bust area is super flattering and being a vintage gal I adore a good circle skirt. I love Collectif clothing as the material is really good quality and this dress was no exception. I decided to pair it with this super cute toucan cardigan I got from Collectif a while ago as you can't go wrong with a tropical theme in my opinion.

Thanks for reading Guys and Gals.

Coco Von Vintage x

Atomic Festival

Aloha my lovelies, so this Saturday I attended Atomic Festival at Sywell Aerodrome which is a mid-century vintage festival. I was super excited to go as all the pictures from last year looked fantastic! I'd never been to a vintage festival before so I didn't really know what to expect but when I got there the atmosphere was great and everyone looked amazing dressed up in their finest. So I thought I'd share with you some pictures from the festival and talk a little bit about it.

 So the first place we went was obviously the vintage shopping market. They had some great sellers there like Freddies of Pinewood, Miss Bamboo, Lady K Loves and Campbell Crafts to name but a few. The Campbell Crafts stall really impressed me as they had it all set up in a vintage caravan and had plastic lawn flamingos out which I thought looked great, they were also selling had some great American brands like Bait and Pinup Girl clothing at their stall, they even had the Mary Blair cat print skirt in my size which I instantly snagged! Also inside one of the tents they had samples of the new Bernie Dexter line which was inspired by Atomic, the dress she is bringing out is super cute, I may just have to purchase it in the near future!

After shopping we then went to get some lunch in the restaurant on site which was really awesome as it was all Art Deco style. Then we toddled on down to meet some girls I had met through a vintage meets up page on Facebook. The girls were so lovely and really made the festival for me as it was great to meet people with similar interests. So after meeting we went to check out the jet display by the red arrows which was really cool, I love planes and the sound they make, I feel like I've just stepped back into the 1940s. It was then on to see some drag races which was really fun but made you smell like burnt rubber haha.

While there we also did some Jive lessons which was amazing, it was super fun and has definitely inspired me to look up for Jive lessons closer to home. They also had a Jive competition on which was great fun to watch but it was hard to see as the room was so packed. The festivals also had a classic car display, the cars were absolutely gorgeous, I just wanted to drive away in one. I was a bit disappointed that the poodle display was on the Sunday but happy to see that the owners where walking round so I got to have some cuddles with them! I think I may have developed a love of poodles on the spot as when we went on the second shopping trip Clumsy Kate was selling her own design of poodle printed chiffon scarves, I got so excited and had to buy one!

After grabbing more food at a great hog dog stand and waffle stand, we went to check out some bands. The bands in the afternoon were playing the the big top, the music was great and I loved seeing all the couples taking to the dance floor and jiving along to the music.

In the evening we all went into hangar one which had a bar and live music. This was one of my favourite parts of the day as it really felt like you had been transported back in time. I kept thinking a pilot might ask me to dance haha :P. I even got up and did a bit of dancing myself from the coaxing of one of my new friends and put what I'd learned from the previous dance lesson into practice, I was terrible but it was great fun, we even got a lady to show us how to stroll which was a bit like line dancing. There was great atmosphere at night when everything was all lit up, the caravans some people brought were vintage and looked really lovely, I would have loved to have been staying in one at night or at the hotel on site called the Aviator hotel which looked really Art Deco.

I had a fantastic time and it was amazing experience for my first festival. Some of the things we didn't try was the wall of death which you have to pay extra for, they also had trampoline and roller rink but I didn't fancy rolling and jumping around in my petticoat haha. I would most definitely go to a festival again and fingers crossed I will be attending Twinwood this year.

Thanks for reading Guys and Dolls x

Book review - The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance

Aloha guys, so I read this really amazing book the other day so I thought I'd do a quick review on it. I first came across this book from the instagram page of the beautiful Georgina of Fuller Figure Fuller Bust. The first thing that grabbed me was the front cover, I know they say you should never judge a book by its cover but in this case I did and it paid off, I just love how fun and bright it looks!

I'm a huge book worm and I'm always on the look out for books that incorporate vintage into them so this just ticked all the boxes. Without giving too much away the story is about Jessica who is very much a modern party girl and ends up down on her luck, so she goes to seek out her long lost Grandmother who wrote guides on how to be a good woman and catch a man in the 1950s, they decide to try these guides on Jessica and transform her so she can try and snag a playboy using a love guide from the 1950s to prove they still work.

Kirsty Greenwood writing style is funny and warm and its just a great feel good book. I also loved how in the book Jessica is from Manchester and blogs which is just like me haha! :) I definitely would recommend this book to any gal regardless if they are into vintage or not as its a great read.

Thanks for reading Guys and Gals x