Pencil Skirts and a Cape!

Two items of clothing that I love. You can't go wrong with a classic pencil skirt. They're brilliant because as a classic shape you can easily find them on the high street. M&S are great. They can be styled up or down and I find them fairly flattering! I have six now. 

Black casual. Navy casual. Khaki casual.

Black smart. Leopard print. Which I think should have its own category, but I'm putting in smart! And now bright teal smart.

The casual ones are all made of stretch fabric. They're great for biking, strolling, housework, and any day with a stiff breeze! They're also only cheap, two are from Primark, and I mean to buy a red one this winter if they still do them. The other is from Asda. They're great just to slouch around in a bit without worrying. I think the black one even has a paint stain from work!!

The leopard print is for fun from TK Maxx. I don't wear it very often, but it is awesome!

The smart black one is a poly cotton blend with a fancy lining. My godmother gave it to me. It has a lovely kick pleat and makes me feel very snazzy! 

The latest addition to my pencil skirt addiction is the bright teal woollen one. Picked up in a charity shop last week. It's by Windsmoor, made in England and is beautiful. Especially for £3.50! It's definitively vintage, although I suspect 80s rather than 50s which is the look I'm going for with it! 

I wore it for the first time last night with an unremarkable black top, my favourite nude heels, and my awesome Burberry cape! (See the last blog post!) it was a dinner for my fiancé's birthday, followed by a visit to a couple of terrible clubs in Colchester. That were half empty. Not quite the wild night I think Eric was after but still, we had fun! 

My highlight being walking out of the bathroom and bring confronted by a lovely lady who looked me up and down, and said "wow, you look so lovely!"

So thank you kind stranger! For making me want to dress up more often! 

Jo.

P.S. got a wardrobe staple? Any strangers say nice things to you recently? :-) 

Outfit Post - Red Gingham Circle Skirt

So you've already seen that it's finally finished. The picnic blanket skirt! After silly issues with my sewing machine! 

So here is an outfit I hope to wear out to the jazz club next time I go! 

Excuse the hair there was some laziness going on. The sunglasses are because I'm on holiday! In Scotland. So actually needing them is rare!

I think the hem on this skirt is probably the scruffiest I've done so far. I'm blame the much thinner poly cotton I've used! 

And for your amusement, here's one of me sitting on a bench, but all it's succeeded in doing is making my legs look ridiculously short! 

And one where I was spinning round! Just for fun! 

Outfit:

Sunglasses - TKMaxx they say VP on them with a Playboy bunny in the middle. I have no idea. I think they're cute! 

Top - Debenhams, years ago!

Skirt - made by me!

Petticoat - the ever fabulous Vivien of Holloway

Shoes - they're by Marta Johnson and were a gift last Christmas! 

I can see this skirt with a crisp white shirt too! Perfect for a summers day!

Jo :-)

P.S. have you needed your sunglasses lately? Made anything summer inspired? 

Etsy Listing - Pink Evening Gloves

Hi there guys. Just a quick Etsy shop update. 

Currently in there are these lovely 50s or 60s soft pink evening gloves. 

I got then for myself ages ago, but they're a bit small really! 

They're a size 7 by Dents...

Sorry to see them go really! 

You can find them here:

http://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/158832908/pale-pink-1950s1960s-evening-gloves-size?ref=shop_home_active

Take a look :-) 

Jo

Outfit: New Shirt

Hello there!

The sun is shining and the other day I used that as an excuse (and who needs one really...) to do a little bit of summery shopping. Those who follow my instagram (@ofavintageair) will have seen my mini haul and today I thought I'd share my new shirt!

Summery Stripey Shirt

There's only so much I can say about a shirt to be honest. I had it tucked in for a while, but wasn't feeling it with these jeans. So I tied a knot which may look a tad silly with a vest underneath but it was still too chilly for anything else!

Those with eagle eyes may notice the headscarf made from a scrap of fabric from my Spring Circle Skirt. When I say made I may be exaggerating slightly as what I actually mean is cut into a triangle and folded!

Now for some silly poses!

The Casual Lean

We all stand in our kitchens like this right??

Rosie the Riveter Pose

I tried to think of some clever alliteration with Jo but nothing came.... The best was Jo the Joiner and to be honest it's pretty much a fail!

The shirt was only £4. It's ever so comfy and soft, and cheap enough that I don't worry about wearing it to work.

Shirt: Tesco
Vest: Asda
Jeans: Charity Shop (I've taken the turn ups down since I last posted a photo and need to do something with them again as they're a bit long!)
Boots: Hard as Nails. Seriously. Every girl needs steel toe caps and soles in her wardrobe surely?

Enjoy the sun!

Jo :-)

Cherries and Stripes

Just made a typo in the title which would have led to this being called Sherries and Stripes, which may have been more interesting and definitely more drunken..... hmmm.

This is the first circle skirt I made!

Casually leaning on the bicycle....

The fabric and pattern (not totally full circle, but nearly) were presents from my Godmother last Christmas and it took the lure of Jazz to get me round to making it! I was so pleased with it. I think I spent a good ten minutes just marvelling at the fact that I put a zip in and it WORKED!!

I wore this to Jazz with a black top and a butterfly clasp belt, but I quite like it with these stripes just for fun!

I like how the stripes are horizontal at the back of the top and vertical at the front where it drapes. It's such a comfy top, I always feel very summery wearing it! Either that or just like a deck chair....

Loads of fabric!

It uses up so much fabric to make this skirt, I was a little bit shocked by how expensive it was to make when I did the Strawberry Fields one. I've got my eye on some beautiful fabric on eBay that's black with gold jazz instruments and musical notes on it. It's gorgeous and would be great for Jazz (obviously!) but it's £12.99 a metre plus postage. I need three metres and twenty centimetres.... So it'll be a save up and see job I think!

Jo :-)

Finished Spring Circle Skirt

And here, for your perusal, is the finished article!

Photo by the miracles of self timers! Not included, plenty of shots of me walking back towards the camera looking confused!

Complete with (mostly) level hem. Waistband and button that actually works!



Perfect for twirling!


Complete with smug face!

Smug face not included with pattern purchase.

 As you can see it's perfect for dancing and I'm intending to wear it to Jazz tonight. I'm having so much fun at The Colchester Jazz Club. It's the best way to spend a Sunday evening!

I might have to go on my own this week. Always daunting. Wish me luck :-)

Outfit consists of:
Completely scruffy hair and no make-up, I might update instagram with the finished look before I go out!
Top: Papaya via Charity Shop in Tiptree (Bragainous £2.50!)
Skirt: Made by me using a Project Runway pattern.
Petticoat: Vivien of Holloway
Shoes: Chairty Shop Bargain (see the trend here....)

Jo :-)

The Gloves are On!

Hello All :-)

So, first post. At least there's no expectations yet! I haven't got a fabulous outfit post to do yet, but I'm going to The Shuttleworth Collection's evening airshow on Saturday, then a wedding party in a hangar in the evening, so hopefully then. I'm thinking pencil skirt and my gorgeous fifties swing coat.

Photo Taken by me at a Shuttleworth Collection display last year.

What I do have to share with you is a couple of beautiful finds from Chelmsford market last week. I've been after a pair of white evening gloves for a while, keeping my eyes peeled and debating what to get. Having wandered around Chelmsford for a while I was in Debenhams trying on lots and lots of hats having a look at hats in the formal section when I spotted a nice silky pair of short, white evening gloves. 'Lovely!' says I and I even had a birthday voucher for them. The only thing was they didn't quite have that spark....we didn't quite click. Sadly there was no love at first sight, so they were replaced and my search amble continued.

I wandered over to the market and sat outside having my new healthy rabbit food lunch. This friendly pigeon came and fluttered around by me feet. Apparently the person before me on the bench was a messy eater....

Photo Taken by me. Fag ends, not dropped by me. Grr.

Pigeon paid with corner of cereal bar!

And then I made an awesome discovery :-) there was a lovely, lovely stall in the market selling some really beautiful old things. Seriously, I could have spent all day there. Amongst these was a pair of original fifties white evening gloves, still stitched together, still with their original tag. These were half the price of the Debenhams pair!!! Bar-jin as my friend Tash would say. They fitted wonderfully. Although I'm now a bit loath to take the tag off them, but I suppose I could always sew them back together....maybe.

But the best discovery of all was a pair of white kid leather, elbow length evening gloves with a three pearl button closure. This time there were sparks, lightning bolts and immediate falling in love. Alright so they're a tad on the tight side, but I'm losing weight, maybe my hands will slim down a tad....maybe!! But they are stunning. The softest thing ever. I'm so pleased I didn't buy the gloves from Debenhams, yes they were nice, but these are just perfect!!

 Photo taken by me. Pearl buttons.

 Photo taken by me. Tad tight, but still lovely.

Photo taken by me. Beautiful gloves, plus a pair of leather gloves I got from New Look for driving my other half's convertible, my hands get cold! And a sparkly, feathery (can you get a better combination?!) hair clip also from New Look. Both New Look items were on sale as well. Bar-jin!

So anyhoo, they're my goodies for the moment. Think my next update will either be on my bike, or my outfit on Saturday. Depends if I do any riding before then, and the way I'm feeling today it's doubtful!!

Ciao then!

Jo :-)