Fashion on Friday: By Popular Demand

Coat by Collectif, Turban by Sarah’s DooWop Dos

This is something I have thought about doing for a while…

I am addicted to reproduction vintage fashion, that is no secret. When I hit the age of around 21, I bought a string of fake pearls and a full set of Music to Watch Girls By CDs. I needed to hear crooners and dress like the women in my beloved old movies. 

So when you see me out and about, at festivals up and down the country, dolled up to the nines, it’s because I just can’t help it. I know how I feel when I’m dressed down and I know that I prefer how I feel when I’m dressed up. 

When I post pictures of myself in my latest frock, there is a part of me that feels guilty because it is not a picture of a cake. Then you gorgeous lot all click the like button and say such lovely things. 

And I was asked if I would start a fashion blog… 

I am constantly asked where I get my outfits from and cannot count the times I’ve been asked if I make my own clothes. My goodness, if you heard the language when I try to sew on a button! My intention is to shine a little weekly spotlight on an outfit that I love and to talk to you about where I pick these things up from and it’s mostly available online. 

It’s ALL reproduction – I own very few genuine vintage pieces and I regularly wear even less. My reasons are simple…

1. I need my clothes to work hard, I bake, I rarely get messy but I do get hot under lights and standing next to ovens. They need to wash and wash well. I’ve had vintage dresses fall apart (literally) on me and the heartbreak is terrible. 
2. Real vintage is small. I’m a medium. Enough said. 
3. Good vintage is expensive. You get what you pay for and the really good stuff takes time, research, and knowledge to come about.
4. I’m not a museum piece. I’m a real, 21st Century ass-kicking gal. I want to mix and shake things up. 

If you love that vintage look, that Classic Hollywood style, it IS achievable for women in the real world. Heads will turn as you sashay down the street in a perfectly cut reproduction vintage dress that, believe me, takes less effort to put on than jeans and a shirt. If you are over a size 8/10/12/14/16 whatever, there are frocks that will work for you and underwear (just go to What Katie Did) that will sharpen your curves to dangerous proportions. Please don’t say that you couldn’t wear the frocks I rock because you are larger than I am. Many of the brands I wear cater for a good spectrum of shapes and sizes. 

I wear a size 12 and I eat cake. This is the lifestyle that I have chosen! 

To launch this new feature, I will be LIVE on Facebook at 12pm today from Edinburgh. If you want to ask me anything, I will answer, but I’ll give you a little taster of what you can expect from Fashion on Friday. I hope that some of you will join me and I can encourage you to dress as fabulously as you are fabulous. 

See you at midday…

Stay gorgeous!

Cxx