Recently I discovered the existence of a beautiful 1920s art deco cinema in a town not too far away from where I live.

Sadly, the only reason I found out about this cinema is because it is due to be demolished in order to build a supermarket car park.

The Regent Theatre in Hinckley (most recently used as a bingo hall) was built in 1929 and was used for films and live shows. Although the theatre has been used for a variety of purposes and has been disused for some time, it still retains many of its original art deco features.



Residents of Hinckley are now campaigning to save the building for community use. In order to save the building, an investment of around £1.2million to £1.4million will be necessary.

It's such a shame that these kinds of buildings can be lost so easily, all in the name of a car park. Of course the original architecture can't be replaced once it's gone. Although I understand the need for progress and modernisation, I wish that more of these historic buildings could be saved.


Some of the ideas that have been put forward for future uses for the building include live music, comedy shows, school plays, proms and weddings, to name just a few.

Unfortunately there are only a few days left in which to save this building, but there is a Facebook page here where you can find some more information, and you can 'Like' the page to show your support. If you wish to donate some money towards saving the theatre (and you can afford to do so), there is a page on indiegogo where you can contribute. There is also a video on the page which includes some photographs and further information about saving the theatre.

Read more: Hinckley Times //  BBC News

Collectif is one of the first companies I started shopping with when I started to get into exploring a more retro look. I haven't bought anything from them in some time now, which means none of the things I own are available from the Collectif website, but I have done my best to track down links to other stores where they are still available. Here is an overview of the clothes from Collectif that I currently own:


Overview
Out of these items, the only one that I don't really wear is the purple houndstooth dress at the bottom right of the set of photos. The reason for this is just because my tastes have changed since I bought it, and it's more of a party dress than one for everyday, so it needs the right occasion. All the other items are in regular rotation in my wardrobe, and some of the items have been featured more than once on my blog.

The only reason I don't own more clothing from this company (including their current season stuff) is just because I have been trying to save money on buying clothes and I have been buying as little as possible. My poor little student budget will only stretch so far!

I have found their customer service good - I have only needed to contact them once regarding a purchase, but the staff were fast and friendly when providing the information I needed.

Price
I think their clothing is, on the whole, reasonable priced. I usually prefer to shop in the sale (see above re: student budget) but at full price you can pick up dresses at around £50-£60, which isn't too bad even though it doesn't really constitute an "everyday" kind of purchase for me.

Quality
I have been happy with the quality of almost everything I have bought from Collectif, barring a couple of mishaps with sizing which they seem to have straightened out. For example, I own the three dresses in the top row of photos all in a UK size 8, and whilst the Regina dress and the Flora dress fit me beautifully, the Fedora dress is a little too tight on the bust. There is now plenty of information available on their website about sizing though, so I feel fairly confident I wouldn't run into any more problems of this nature.

I have been particularly pleased with the purple houndstooth dress and the Regina dress for the quality. They are both made of lovely material which you can see hangs well without a petticoat, although I also like to wear my Regina dress with a petticoat for extra poof.

Overall I have been least pleased with the Corporal Cora shirt. It seemed lovely to begin with but I don't feel that the material has washed as well as it might have done, and it's really difficult to iron!

Styling
Collectif has a good mix of styles ranging from modern rockabilly style items to more authentic looking 1940s and 50s reproduction items. Recently I feel like they have been stocking a larger number of more authentic looking items than they have done in the past, so this really is a brand that I feel fits in well with my personal sense of style and the other items of clothing I own.

Links
Website // Facebook // Blog

At the weekend I was invited by a work colleague to watch a soul singer at a local social club. I wanted to go a bit more 60s inspired (makes sense for a soul night) but I didn't have much time to put an outfit together as I only decided on the day that I was going to go, and I had to go after work. Actually I have a 60s dress that would have been perfect, but I am saving it for some specific photos when the weather is better for shooting. Luckily we haven't had floods like in a lot of areas, but it's still been wet and grey outside. I wish summer would hurry up.

Also I completely forgot to mention that I wrote a guest post on Flashback Summer so I'd really like it if you could pop over and have a quick look.

Being a huge Sherlock Holmes fan (in any incarnation), imagine my surprise when I came across these headstones in the graveyard of my local church.

Did you watch the new series of Sherlock on the Beeb? I hope the wait for the next series isn't too long!

In April I had a fantastic time at Leeds Tropical House. I also got hailed on at Rufford Abbey - thank goodness for generous Vikings (?) allowing me to share their wool cloaks! I came over all Gatsby and enjoyed being 20s inspired at work and rambled about myself a bit more for another Liebster Award.

May disappeared under a pile of books as I studied for my finals and panicked about having to appear in court for my last exam of my undergraduate degree. I visited Kedleston Hall and had a huge clear out of my bedroom.

June saw me wondering how to style my hair for my cousin's wedding, enacting some of my Trek-based fantasies at Leicester Space Centre and having a grand old time looking after caterpillars and making new friends at the Lepidoptera Breeders Association. I also managed to fit in two outfit posts in some more lighter weight dresses.

In July I was away for some time doing some volunteering, so I was fortunate to be able to share a lovely guest post from Emileigh of Flashback Summer. I shared some of my photos from Oxford in two posts and took advantage of the nice weather to wear two shorter dresses than usual. I also shared some pictures of my Elvis memorabilia and penned a review of some skin care products.

In August I went to re-enactment at Kedleston and Crich, shared a few other outfits and three more posts from Oxford, and completed another skin care review.

In September I produced some of my favourite outfit posts of the whole year featuring a plaid dress, an outfit for around town and some lovely autumn scenery. I visited a spa town and went antique shopping with my brother and his flatmates, and made elderberry jelly. I experimented with a vintage collegiate look, went for dinner at F&B's, explored a local church, went vintage shopping in Nottingham, reviewed a vintage fashion book and signed a petition to save the BBC Big Band. September was one of my busiest months for blogging.