I handed in a completed draft copy of my thesis on Thursday this week, so I was able to have a free Friday and Saturday (had to work on Sunday at my weekend job) to go to the arts festival in town. I've posted about it before, and we did go last year although I don't think I ever put any photos up.

This year we didn't get to see as many of the performances as we have done in previous years, but we still saw some really amazing acts, starting with Southpaw dance company doing their interpretation of Faust. I wasn't close enough to get photos of the performance, but let me direct you towards their website where you can watch a trailer for their act. They mix swing dance with break dance and pyrotechnics; it's visually stunning and totally inspired. I was in raptures over the music and the standard of the dancing - it turns out swing and break dancing make a great mix, and overall the performance was captivating. If you get the chance to see the group perform (they do seem to tour both inside and outside of the UK but I can't seem to find their tour dates anywhere) I would highly recommend that you check them out.

Here's the rest of Friday evening...




And Saturday...

I spend a lot of time online browsing the web, using various forms of social media, reading blogs, and of course writing my own blog.

When it comes to vintage style I love to find resources on the internet such as hair and makeup tutorials, styling tips, shopping, vintage photos, and more. I feel so lucky to have access to an online network of other vintage lovers who I can chat with and feel inspired by. Here are some of the reasons why the online vintage community is so important to me:

Dialogue: Through blogging and social media I am able to be in constant conversation with people from all over the world. I have blog readers from the United States, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, Greece and Romania. I read blogs written by people from England, Scotland, America, Canada, Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Belgium and Sweden. It's amazing how I'm able to connect with such a diverse range of people who all share similar interests , just through the power of the internet.

Support: There is, essentially, no vintage community whatsoever where I live. We have a couple of vintage shops and there are vintage fairs that take place a few times a year, but since I almost never see other vintage wearers (or at least those that wear vintage in a 40s or 50s style rather than a modern way), I suspect these fairs mainly attract people from neighbouring cities. For those of us who have no fellow vintage lovers to connect with face-to-face, the online vintage community can help us to feel less isolated from people who really understand why we get excited about metal zips or why we can sometimes be found rubbing and sniffing plastic bangles in charity shops*.
(*I've yet to find any bargain charity shop bakelite, but I live in hope).

Inspiration: One of my favourite ways of finding inspiration for outfits and vintage styling is to look at how other girls are wearing their vintage clothing today. Sometimes I want to create a period-accurate look, sometimes not. I like 80s-does-50s items and modern repro. Having access to the online vintage community allows me to draw on inspiration from a huge range of sources which includes, but importantly is not limited to, vintage photos. After all, as much as I adore the fashions of the past, I am a modern girl and I enjoy looking at what other modern girls are wearing.

Shopping: Without the wealth of online vintage shops that I have access to, I wouldn't be able to have the vintage wardrobe that I currently enjoy. While I do buy some of my vintage clothing in vintage shops and at vintage fairs, I find that I can come by some vintage clothing a lot cheaper online (although I know this is not the case for everyone). It can also be difficult for me to get to vintage fairs as they are held at weekends and I have a weekend job. This year has been mad hectic with university work as well, so I haven't been able to shop much during the week. Being able to shop online in the evenings means I can shop in my own time, and from the comfort of my own home.

Although I've put my reasons here into four broad categories which I've listed in no particular order, I think the most important thing for me (and really the inspiration for writing this article) is the support afforded through having contact with others who have the same interests as myself. I am in no way ready to give up wearing vintage; I will look this way for the foreseeable future. However, sometimes it can be difficult when I don't have any friends who dress like I do. I can take my non-vintage wearing friends vintage shopping with me (and have done, on occasion), but it doesn't always seem fair to drag people around shops for hours if they have no particular interest in the items for sale. It's harder for me to bounce outfit ideas off my non-vintage friends (for example how to wear a new item, what key item I need to buy to create a certain look). I don't mean to say that I only want to be friends with other people who wear vintage, but I think we can all agree that having friends who share and really understand your interests is a wonderful thing.

So, do you agree with my reasons for why the online vintage community is important? Do you have any other reasons for why the community is important to you? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire began as a monastic house (priory) in the 12th century and was converted to a domestic home after the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. The priory was rebuilt and extended several times prior to its conversion into a country house in the 1500s. The house was inherited by the poet Lord Byron at the age of 10, having belonged to the Byron family for several generations. Byron spent some time at Newstead Abbey on and off between 1808 and 1814 and the Abbey now houses a museum including artefacts from Byron's life.


The Abbey was in a poor state of repair when it was inherited by Byron; the fireplace above is housed in a room which Byron used for pistol practice because he couldn't afford to refurbish it. Apparently, Dr Livingstone banged his head on this fireplace during a game of Blind Man's Buff.


This is Byron's bed, which he brought with him from his undergraduate rooms in Cambridge.


Byron apparently dressed in a manner designed to evoke the romantic heroes from his works. Visitors are given the opportunity to try on different items of clothing in styles favoured by Byron. I tried on a really heavy velvet cloak (seriously, it weighed a ton) which reminds my mum of Scottish Widows but reminds me somewhat more of this. I make an unimpressive romantic hero to say the least.





References/Further Reading

Newstead Abbey: 1, 2
Lord Byron

You may remember from my previous post that I got my hair done by Jac into a Man Men-esque beehive style for my cousin's wedding last weekend. Since I'd paid for it and it meant I wouldn't have to worry about doing my own hair, I decided to make the style last as long as possible. In the end, I wore it for five days in total - Friday morning through to Tuesday evening. I showered wearing a shower cap and slept in a hair net to keep my hair as neat as possible, then tidied it up each morning using my teasing brush (I have this one) to smooth it out and pinning any bits which had come loose. After five days I decided I really needed to wash my hair as I could see the front of it was starting to look dirty. I normally wash my hair around every other day, so it had stayed looking pretty clean for a lot longer than it would normally.



The photos here were taken on the last day, a couple of hours before I washed my hair. As you can see, it still looks pretty decent, and I probably could have squeezed another day or two out of the style if I'd really wanted to, especially if I'd had any dry shampoo to put on it. Apparently a great Aunt of mine used to get her hair put in a beehive at the salon once a fortnight in the 1960s, which is pretty amazing! I think I would have to get mine done once a week instead.

When I took everything out, my hair was huuuuge and looked pretty awesome, but also felt like old Barbie hair, which I think was mostly down to the build-up of hairspray I'd put on it throughout the week. I washed my hair as usual and gave it an extra dollop of conditioner as I always do when I've had a lot of teasing in my hair.




Overall I'd say this is a really great timesaver if you're busy. It is a bit restrictive though if you like to change up your style regularly, like I do. I find that if I'm having a lazy hair day, I'm always far too tempted to just throw my hair up in a ponytail or a bun, which gives me the excuse to dress down. This hairstyle is a good alternative because it allows me to be lazy but I'm also more likely to wear nicer clothes.

Long live the beehive, and bring back weekly sets at the hairdressers!

These are the last photos from when I last stayed in Leeds and was lucky enough to have a few photo sessions with Ellie. These were some of my favourite photos to shoot, although it was pretty cold once the sun set. They really remind us of Christmas. We're what, four months away now? This year has gone really fast for me.

I should have some more photos from Ellie to share with you soon - she stayed with us last weekend and we had the opportunity to go out and shoot some more. We hope you like them!

I had a crazy time trying to get these photos. I took some in the morning and I was fighting to get them done before it rained, but I only really got one shot that I was in any way happy with (the 'confused with a watering can' photo that I mentioned on Facebook). I went out and took some more later on and they mostly turned out pretty overexposed. My skirt is actually pink but you'd barely guess from these photos.

I hope you're not too fed up of photos taken in my mum's garden, by the way. A combination of bad weather and the last few weeks of my uni course are conspiring to prevent me getting out to take photos in different locations. Not sure how many of you are students and will be familiar with this feeling, but I just want to get it over now and take a break from studying. I have started applying for graduate jobs so fingers crossed!

Here is the 'confused (or possible more pensive) with a watering can' photo just because. I felt like I needed a prop so I just grabbed the nearest portable item. I'm sure the neighbours think I'm totally cracked as I spend a lot of time running about the garden battling with the self-timer. I have a small collection of photos with phone boxes; maybe I should start a collection of photos with garden equipment as well.