One day spring

Isn't it funny how in the UK, the second the sun shines for five minutes, everyone acts like it's summer? A couple of weeks earlier we were all in our heaviest winter gear and now, for a day, we were all crowding to the seaside, dressing and behaving as if it was June, with a few children even daring to dip their feet into the sea. We're hilarious! Yes, I was shivering in my Laura Ashley perforated cardigan, with my summer stripy dress under, in the chilly sea breeze, but I was embracing it all! Holiday buzz, children laughing and throwing sand in our fish and chips, seagulls ready to attack, but posing so gracefully to my camera, a few blossoming trees, gorgeous light from a deceiving sun, colourful beach huts - they all created a picturesque scenery I desperately needed after so much work and stress. I loved strolling on the pebbles, feeling the wind, a bit too harshly at times, and not thinking of anything. Oh, yes, I loved my one day spring and it's back to winter now: rain, cold and grey everywhere. I recharged my batteries for a little bit and I'll be waiting patiently for the real spring. It was a one day blessing I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated.

Vintage charm

Vintage is always in fashion. It never loses its charm. If you don't love it yet, you will one day. If you love it now, you'll love it even more. It casts a sweet spell and it never misses its targets. I remember when I was little I use to go to my great-aunt's house and she had some 60s and 70s fashion catalogues in a cupboard that I could reach and I would spend hours and hours looking at those clothes, imagining myself wearing them. It was my favourite thing in the world. The odour of her house, her 60s furniture and those heavy catalogues on my lap - the best afternoons of my childhood.
Last week I promised I would return with a few pictures of the outfit I wore at the vintage fair. I am not sure of the decades of what I wore, I don't know if they fit in a certain era, but I see it a bit 50s. The hat and collar are a family pass down, the coat I purchased in another vintage event and is made out of a wonderful tapistry-like fabric with an adorable cross stitch pattern, the bag - also vintage - is a gift from my Mum, brown Italian leather boots and hugging long jumper and leggings. I felt different that day, in a way I love and embrace. I fitted in perfectly at the vintage fair and I feel I can always fit in, wearing truly different styles, here in the UK. People love such things and admire those that find the time and the inspiration to recreate a world that is no longer present, but only remembered incompletely and sometimes incongruously in museums.

  

Lou Lou's Vintage Fair

On Saturday, Lou Lou's Vintage Fair came back to Bristol and we took the opportunity and went this time (in February we had missed them for a weather related reason). Station, train, hundreds of suitcases belonging to people travelling to Glasgow, people travelling to Glasgow and other big cities, too many for my taste... Anyway, there we were. Armed with our stamp on the hand, we rushed inside. Oh, the buzz, the colours, the music, the beauty parlour offering make-up and hair sessions, the smell of cakes and coffee, they all invaded our five senses and made us tremble with excitement. 80 stalls on display, from records and old photos, to bric-a-brac and vinyls, hats and gloves, old suitcases, denim in all shapes and forms, fur coats (faux or real, they're all okay as long as they are recycled or up-cycled), jackets that Anita wanted for a reason I can't quite comprehend, vintage sunglasses, old toys, jewelry for all tastes, shoes from the time our grandmas were helping the war effort, handbags from all the decades and of course my favourites: dresses! Dresses of all colours and shapes, in patterns that hurt or enchant the eye, maxi or midi, all so feminine and joyful, all sweet and flattering. Oh, women really loved being women back in the day, I am often dreaming of those times and how it was to have those fabrics and buy those dresses or make them yourself. They probably didn't have many dresses, but the ones they had were treasured and loved, which is probably the reason they were passed down the generations. I can't help myself being charmed by these items from the eras that are long gone, somehow they convey an atmosphere of joy and happiness. It might be a misinterpretation of mine, but I refuse to see them as old garbage. They are pre-loved beautiful items that deserve to be revived and loved again. Many people are fascinated by them and I am astounded to see how many young people go crazy about things like that. And while I love the 60s and 70s, teenagers - girls and boys, are into the 80s and 90s fashion. It goes back a generation, maybe, because people that are slightly older that me are really interested in the 40s and 50s. Is it a way of looking into our parents' era, their way of life, their interests, their passions? Is it an innate nostalgia that some of us listen to? Whatever it is, I am thankful events like this happen and people like the lovely Lauren I met at her "Recycled" stall, wearing a big red flower in her hair, keep this going and I hope they make a living out of it.
We concluded our wonderful experience with a delicious slice of cake and a cup of English tea, in the sound of the fabulous live music of the band present at the venue. "Just 3  Harmonies" were amazing and their voices incredible, making the music contagious! A Saturday to remember! My Mum will definitely remember it - it was her first fair of this kind and she thoroughly enjoyed it. And isn't it funny how global fashion is? She recognised the style of the dresses she used to wear in the 70s back in her home country. I love how fashion unites us all and, just like music, is the universal language we all understand and express in.
I also wore a vintage outfit for this event, not especially for the occasion - although it's a must in my opinion and in the opinion of other lovely people that attended, wearing beautiful hair do's or vintage style clothes, but because I love and own vintage items. I will come back with a few more pictures to show you my outfit. Well, I like a photo shoot, I can't deny it and "the person behind the camera knows too well", she just added. ^_^