Saturday 19 November 2016

Repro For No Dough - Create your own unique vintage reproduction outfit

Now don't get me wrong, I love vintage reproduction, especially the companies who do it really well but if you are on a budget some of the gorgeous dresses and skirts can feel out of reach.

I also got into vintage because I like to wear something different from everyone else and going to a vintage event and realising someone is wearing the same thing pains me a little.

So if you are on a budget or just want something unique here is a guide to creating a simple rockabilly styled look for next to nothing





You will need

A garment that has some vintage style features - I am using an 80's dress
An iron and ironing board
Iron on patches
Petticoat
Accessories

I picked up this 80's pretty nondescript dress in a charity shop for a couple of pounds. It's short sleeved and buttons all the way to the front. It has pockets which I love and the check pattern is very 50's.


I bought some iron on patches on ebay, they are really cheap and the postage is usually free. You can also pick them up at charity shops and car boot sales but if they are old be aware that the glue may not be good anymore so you will likely have to throw in a couple of stitches.


Decide on where you are going to place the patches on your dress and if you are not skilled at measuring use pockets, hems and collars as a guide to get things even.

Once you have decided where to put them place your dress on the iron board and using a thin cotton tea towel or a sheet hold your hot iron over the patch for a couple of minutes to heat the glue.

Carefully check all the edges have stuck down and leave to cool.


The petticoat will do the work of giving the skirt a much fuller 50's look so they are a good investment if you want to achieve the 50's style, I got mine cheaply on ebay, just make sure you get a lined one to avoid scratchy leg syndrome.

Then it's really about how you accessorize, so you could add a classic waist belt or a cardigan tied up at the front, throw on some plastic beads, novelty earrings or some bangles and there you have a totally unique reproduction look that no one else will be wearing.

So if you have a black pencil skirt that you dont wear think about how it can be revived before laying out your pennies on something new. With a bit of imagination the possibilities are endless!

I have made a youtube video here if anyone would like to watch the whole process.

Until next time
Love
Lucy
xx

Thursday 17 November 2016

The East End Vintage Clothing Company - 50p sale review and haul

As many will have gathered by now I am a bit of a bargain hunter. I wasn't in the market for new clothes but I was lacking in some Autumn and Winter woolies and when the 50p sale at the East End Vintage Clothing Company presented itself I just couldn't resist.



The venue: This company is usually a fill-a-bag store, you can spend £10 or £20 on a bag and fill it with as much as you can. These sales are a popular alternative to kilo sales. These companies generally buy their clothes by the tonne and it's a game of chance as to what you might find.

These types of companies also do £1 sales to clear the decks before a new shipment but I hadn't seen one as low as 50p before.

At this particular company there is the actual shop area, in which things are hanging up and generally more organised. They also have fitting rooms which is a great investment for any venue hosting this type of thing! Then, during these types of sales there are piles of clothes to be rooted through and rails in the yard full of stock.


The stock: Don't expect anything to be sorted in any way, your paying a low price to do the donkey work yourself. You have to dig to find the good stuff so if that's the kind of thing that fills you with dread these types of sales are not for you.

I will admit there is a lot of stuff that you just won't want. I wanted things that could be 40's/50's appropriate and with autumn and winter in mind so I rejected all the 1980's band t-shirts and cut off Levi's, but they will be someones cup of tea so rooting through is the key to success.

Look out for the boxes of bags and hats that are littered around, I am going through a bit of a beret phase at the moment and find lots of great hats at this place.

Look closely and you will find labels - I saw this Ralph Lauren jacket and a DKNY jeans dress which still had the labels attached with the price on it, and they were both 50p!



Tips and tricks for £1/50p sales


Sew into it: Budding seamstresses could do well here for fabric, which is so expensive these days, even leather jackets were 50p and if slightly damaged the rest could be salvaged.

The ick factor: Ok I won't lie, some of the contents of these sales are icky, it might have been sitting around in a warehouse for a while, it might have a mark or stain on it. It might be downright filthy. Take plastic gloves with you and hand sanitiser.

Shop till you drop don't dress to impress: Wear your most comfortable clothing, I mean carboot sale comfortable, can hang on for dear life over the edge of a three foot bin to retrieve treasure comfortable. Realistically you need to be able to crawl about between the piles to find stuff.

First in or miss out: This sale was the busiest I have ever seen so get there just before the opening time to get the best picks.

Cash benefits: This particular company takes payment by card (extra points for that) but some won't so check before you go to these kinds of sales.

My Haul 


Checked high waisted skirt - I love this wool skirt and the fact that it is high waisted means it will keep me super warm in the winter months, it's also lined which is an added bonus.



V neck knitted vest - I thought this would come in handy for a 40's look, it's got a slight mixture of colours and the fact that it is sleeveless means it will do well on days when it's too warm for a coat but you want to keep yourself cosy.



V neck knitted white vest - I liked the detail on this vest and felt it was a little more feminine than the other one. It will go with plenty of outfits and keep me warm in the colder months ahead.



Purple Beret  - This goes without saying really, I just needed this in my collection and the plum colour is something I wear a lot in the autumn and winter months.



Purple dress - This is a little out of era for me but what stood out was the lovely collar and it's unusual shape, this needed a little sewing on the sleeves but the deep purple colour will be great for the season.



Shorts - I took a risk on these as I wasn't at all sure about them, these are actually made from trousers which have been cut but I have a thing for mustard colours and love to wear shorts with contrasting coloured or black tights. I think they are fine for a more modern, vintage inspired look.



I also picked up a white cotton blouse, a snood, a pinny and a nautical dress which is a gift for a friend.

Total items: 10
Total cost: £5.00

I'm going to do a look book post on how I dress these in different ways soon so be sure to check it out!

I hope you enjoyed this haul and advice on these types of sales, it's getting a little bit cold for outdoor sales these days which can mean only one thing... vintage christmas bazaars! 


Until next time 
Love 
Lucy 
xx


Monday 14 November 2016

Keep It Simple Stew-pid

Nothing makes me happier than some good wholesome home cooked food, I find it relaxing to get my pinny on and whip up something simple and classic.

This week I decided to make a traditional stew which is perfect for a cold blustery Sunday evening.


Ingredients
2 onions
3 carrots
4 stalks of celery
2 handfuls of mushrooms
Beef - cubed (shoulder is best but I had to make do with stewing steak this time)
A bottle of Guinness (bottles taste better than cans etc, make sure is it room temp not from the fridge)
Beef stock
Olive Oil
2 bay leaves
Black pepper to season

*Served with mash potatoes and a bottle of Guinness.

1. I like to start by washing, peeling and chopping the vegetables first so they are ready to be thrown straight into the pot. I keep my vegetables chunky for this kind of dish.


2. Heat the olive oil in the pan and make sure it is properly hot before you add the beef, if it is not hot enough you wont sear the outside of the beef quickly and risk overcooking it as the pan heats up.

3. Add the beef to the hot pan and resist the temptation to stir straight away, you don't need to keep the beef moving, you want it to sit for a moment. The beef should colour nicely on one side before you turn it over onto the other side to brown.

*Hint - if you are making a large stew cook your beef in batches rather than trying to do it in one hit.
 

4. Remove the beef from a pan but don't clean the pan or remove the meat juices, leave them in there!

5. Add the vegetables and soften them in the meat juices for about 5 minutes on a medium heat.

6. Then add the bottle of Guinness and stir, gentle rubbing the bottom of the pan with your spoon to lift the meat flavours, this cleanses the pan and all the meat juice remnants will make it's way into the beer.

7. Add the beef back into the pan along with the bay leaves and black pepper to taste.


8. From here you can assess how much liquid you will need to cover the top of the ingredients, you should add enough beef stock to cover the top and stir well to bring it all together.

9. Turn the heat down so that you have a gentle simmer, your stew should be gentle bubbling every now and again but not boiling. Leave the lid off the pan to allow the liquid to reduce.

10. Depending on the size of your stew you will want to cook it on low for 1.5-2 hours, the fork test will tell you when the beef is done. It should be cooked all the way through but a fork should pass through it easily.


11. Serve with mashed potatoes and more black pepper if desired.

There you have my simple stew recipe, I hope you enjoy it and I cant wait to try out some more winter warmers over the coming months.

Until next time
Love
Lucy
x

Sunday 6 November 2016

When Irish Eyes are Smiling, Irish Bellies are not Rumbling

One thing that people don't often realize about me is that I love too cook. I don't like to cook just for myself but I love feeding other people and cooking a dinner.

So I am genuinely excited to be cooking a traditional Irish stew tonight for someone that has never eaten it before, I'll blog my recipe for that later. 

But in the meantime if you are going to make Irish stew for a non Irish person then you have to do it properly and make them some of the most traditional and well loved Irish bread. 


Soda Bread 

Ingredients 
375g strong stoneground wholemeal flour 
75g plain flour 
1 teaspoon (level) bicarbonate of soda 
1 tablespoon (level) of fine salt
284ml of buttermilk (hard to find in the uk but there is an alternative as below - Elmlea!)
75ml of water 




Method 

Don't be a fool - preheat your oven to 200c

Put all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them together to blend them (do this really well or you will have weird bread!) 


Make a well in the mixture and pour half of your buttermilk into the well and the other half around the sides. Then add the water. 

Using your (very clean) hands mix the buttermilk into the dry ingredients, do not knead this bread, just mix it with your hand starting at the centre and working outwards until the buttermilk is all mixed in and the bowl should be relatively clean as the dough comes together 


Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and mould it into a round shape about an inch and a half thick. 






















This is the most important step - if you don't do this you will not be making soda bread and also the fairies will be really mad! 

With a sharp knife cross your bread, this is called blessing the bread and is a traditional part of making the bread. 


Then poke a dimple with your knife in each quarter, this lets the fairies  out of the bread otherwise the fairies will jinx it! Fairies are a huge part of Irish folk law and are pretty pesky so don't risk it! 
Even better if you have your own fairy to assist! 


Then use any remaining buttermilk and rub it onto your loaf with your hands 

Put it into the oven and then leave it for 40 minutes - Do not open the door! When the time is up turn your loaf out onto a wire rack to cool. 


Voila! you should have a beautiful loaf of traditional Irish bread, you should be able to tap the bottom of the bread and it should sound hollow. 


This loaf can be enjoyed with soups and stews or butter and jam, it makes great toast too. I hope you enjoy this recipe and I look forward to sharing my stew with you later. 

Until next time 
Love 
Lucy 
x

PS - No fairies were harmed in the making of this soda bread.