Dear White Dress With Floral Design

Dear White Dress With Floral Design,

I can't believe it has taken me this long to write to you but then again I procrastinate about most important things like categorising my scarves and placing them into individually labelled shoe boxes, writing to magazines hoping they might take a look at some of my writing and trying to do a fishtail plait. Am I the only person who can't? If there are other people out there who find it difficult, please share as I don't like to feel alone on this topic!

But back to you white dress with floral design.  You might recall when we first met.  You might not.  I saw you in Jack Wills and instantly saw the styling possibilities. Casual with white converse but an instant evening outfit with black heels, belt and black clutch. I couldn't justify why I needed to own a new dress as I didn't have an occasion in mind. You would be perfect at a garden party, but I am not at that age were garden parties happen very often. I struggled with this as I was only trying to fool myself with the garden party. This was definitely a dress that could be worn on a casual sunday with converse. 

Our second encounter, you were on sale in Jack Wills, and if this alleged sale didn't occur, we undoubtedly would not have met again. The 70% off popped out at me as I strolled past the window, looking for something exciting to photograph. I knew then you had the potential to become something. The potential to be mixed and matched all the while remaining effortlessly simplistic. 

Now you remain on my rail of dresses, waiting for the next venture outside. 

Weekend Jewellery Shopping

Sometimes I feel like I live for the weekend, and considering that is only two full days and the waking hours left on a Friday after work...it means I'm not making the most of my weekdays! Starting from today I am going to look forward to Monday's..and to achieve this I am going to make sure I do something I LOVE on a Monday. If that means running to a vintage shop on my lunch hour, then so be it. Or if it simply means doing something creative straight after work so that I feel happy like I do on a Saturday!

Vintage jewellery is one of my huge loves in life. Living in Ireland, there are a few vintage shops. So when I get the chance to go on holidays, after I book my flights my first task on my list is to suss out all of the great vintage shops. Lately, I have begun a quest to find modern jewellery with a vintage twist.

As it looks like I won't get another holiday for a while..I have been looking online. A couple of pieces I found on Modcloth, are not vintage but are modern with a slight vintage twist. Which I really love.

These rose coloured earrings are so simple, pretty and elegant. And in stark contrast to the simple elegance of these earrings, I have started to love the whole skull trend which is appearing everywhere lately. These come in summer pastel colours which look great stacked with other chain bracelets.

NYC Williamsburg Vintage Shopping

It's difficult to re-acclimatise after a long holiday. Slipping back into daily routine can take a little bit of time and blogging was left on hold. It was almost as though I had writer's block and was scared to open up Blogger.  I made some notes on my iPad but I couldn't quite get into the full swing of typing again. I can't quite express how satisfying it is to get back to doing all of my favourite things, vintage shopping, looking for new gems, blogging and taking more photos than a 32GB SD card can hold.     

Even though I am a mass consumer of online shopping, I miss finding hidden treasures in vintage shops and jumping up and down with the thrill and excitement of it all, much to the bemusement of the shop assistants. NYC definitely has an abundance of vintage shops, particularly in Williamsburg. One shop I will write home about is, Beacon's Closet. 

This hidden gem was brought to my attention whilst sitting in a restaurant "Five Leaves" in Brooklyn. The restaurant is chilled out and so are all of it's clientele. A girl who sat beside me started a conversation about my dress and one thing led to another, we were swapping business cards and sharing tips on vintage shopping. It was then I heard about Beacon's Closet. 

The next day, we strolled through Williamsburg, rails of vintage clothes on the streets, cute cafe's on a sun filled street. Skateboards. Graffiti filled photoshoots. Has the picture been painted to a satisfactory level?

Amongst some fancy dress style clothing, I found a grey Rachel Roy jacket and a navy and black YSL jacket. Both were $35 each! They are in perfect condition and two of my top favourite finds! As with all vintage shopping, you can't enter with a head filled with what you want. You have to be open and go for the quality of the item.

If you visit Williamsburg and love to shop vintage...Beacon's Closet is a must.

Vintage Blue & Turquoise

As you most likely now know, vintage shopping is one of my favourite hobbies. I call it a hobby because I spend so much time doing so. The best thing about vintage is, you can find once off, unique, top quality items (sometimes designer if you are lucky) for something half the price.

I find London have the largest selection of great quality vintage shops, and of course the AMAZING markets, Spittalfields and Portobello Market to name a few. It was around this time last year when I hopped off the tube at Nottinghill and walked down to Portobello Market. Past the beautiful houses you will see the first stalls filled with really old antiques, from pocket watches, furniture and collector items that are similar to what I would have seen on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow as a child! As you walk through, you reach what excites me the most - the clothes!! Blazers painted in funky colours, vintage coats, dresses, handbags, sunglasses!! You could spend hours here but remember to bring plenty of cash if you do want to buy because you won't see an ATM for miles.

I bought the top I am wearing in the above photos in Dublin, in a little vintage shop. Most of the time, I see really beautiful antique jewellery and amazing Grace Kelly dresses (which I would never have anything to wear them to) so I usually just glance over everything. However, on this particular day the sequined covered tops caught my eye.

The bright blue is really hard to find and that is what I love. What you find is yours, and no one else will have!

The necklace is from H&M as I like to combine my vintage with new highstreet items. The watch-bracelet is from Fran & Jane which has barely been off my wrist since I bought it a year ago.

OOTD: Vintage Annie & The Mannequins

Ever since I purchased this blouse, I haven't really found my ideal way to wear it. I know exactly what I will wear with it when the weather gets warmer - an ivory coloured topshop skirt. However, as we are experiencing some cool spring weather with an extreme cold air, jeans are the best option.

I bought the blouse from "Annie and the Mannequins". I absolutely love their vintage clothing which you can purchase on their eBay store or ASOS marketplace boutique. It is so light for summer with beautiful floral detail.

The grey marl sweater is from Topshop which I managed to get on sale! I love Topshop sales and I usually buy winter clothes in the summer and stock up! This sweater was more for the winter but as it is still practically winter in terms of heat level, I am still wearing this! Summer, I am still waiting for you! Ok, I know it is still technically Spring but I really love the Summer months. Long evenings, barbeques, trips to the beach (even if it's raining), summer festivals (again, even it it's raining) and last minute holidays!

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Vintage Blouse From Annie And The Mannequins

 

Annie And The Mannequins is a small online boutique who sell their amazing vintage collection on eBay and on the ASOS Marketplace. What I love most about vintage is, no one else has the same thing! This is part deux of my shopping spree that arrived in a pretty package yesterday.

The blouse has a silk feel but 100% polyester and it is cream in colour covered in small red polka dots. I wore this with skinny blue jeans but I can imagine back in the 80's this was worn with a very long skirt. I would feel as though the outfit swallowed me up if I wore this with a long skirt! I am slowly starting to build my collection of vintage clothing from Chanel-esque jackets (can't quite afford the real Chanel) to blouses and silk scarves. It is unbelievable how many beautiful silk scarves which can be found in many vintage shops. 

I mentioned it before but I have to recommend, once again, Rockit, in Covent Garden which stocks a huge selection of silk scarves and I can't buy enough!

In "le Marais" district of Paris I found some amazing vintage shops but I didn't have as much time I would have liked to browse through the rails. I was on a mission to see every tourist attraction as it was my first time in Paris, however, next time I will focus on the vintage shops!