Festival Fever: Vix's Rough Guide to Packing for a Music Festival // Guest Post from Vintage Vixen

In the run up to the great British festival season you'll find a festival fashion feature in most magazines, which is all well and good but do you really want to be one of a hundred other revellers wearing "that" TopShop playsuit or New Look tea dress?

We vintage-loving party animals prefer a wilder, more ecclectic mix of second-hand and customised clobber, after all it's a festival not a fashion show.

Here's what I'm packing for Glastonbury:

1. 1950's mohair blanket for sitting on in the sunshine and wrapping around my shoulders after sunset.

2. Loud 1970's Hawaiian maxi dress so I can be easily located if I get separated from the gang.

3. Vintage St Michael nightdress shortened and pimped up with artificial flowers.

4. Neon petal bikini top (as old as I've been clubbing) for when the temperature soars.

5. 1960's suede jerkin, because hippy chic is always festival friendly.

6. Huge 1970's straw sunhat.

7. Oversized cheapo sunglasses (because wearing designer ones in a field is just silly).

8. Groovy Ganesh necklace and an assortment of huge feather and bead earrings.

9. Indian leather money belt to keep valuables safe in the mosh pit.

10. My favourite 1960's red rubber wellies.

11. 1930's parasol (which can double as an umbrella if it rains).

12. Some cheap and cheerful (and comfy) gladiator sandals.

13. Bum skimming hotpants because if it's raining there's nothing worse than wet fabric stuck against your skin for hours.

14. A huge vintage Indian tote bag, essential for carrying my blanket, waterproofs and woollies.

15. My trusty fake leopard coat waterproofed with tent spray for extra showerproof protection.

16. A handmade floral headband - because outrageous festival headgear is an essential.

17. Stacks of cheap and colourful plastic bangles.

(Everything is from charity shops, jumble sales, car boots or eBay)

If it dares to rain I'll be donning my flamingo cape and hat I made from a second-hand shower curtain using a vintage dressmaking pattern.

I'm off to Glastonbury, CamperJam, The Big Chill and the End Of The Road this year. Do pop over and say hello if you spot us.

Thank you Vix for these brilliant festival wardrobe tips! You can find the gorgeous Vix over at Vintage Vixen xx

The other side of LFW?

(image - Craftivist Collective)

A really inspirational evening spent in a vintage shop with the Craftivist Collective, which coincided with the start of London Fashion Week, has left me thinking long and hard about about ethical fashion. The Craftivists have been displaying (beautifully made) mini protest banners at LFW trying to expose, in a non-confrontational way, the true cost of many of the clothes we wear.

I love vintage clothes and I also love a charity shop bargain, I try and buy separates from more ethical clothing companies like People Tree and American Apparrel. But the High Street is so instant and accessible and often meets that 'need' feeling at a low impact on my wallet. However, I have resolved to try to stop and think hard about the wider impacts of my purchases.

An excellent article by Ruth Rosselson on the Ethics Girls website suggests the following principles of being fashionable 'ethically':

Putting ethics into practice – the future for ethical fashion

• Wash all your clothes at as low a temperature as possible. This will not only mean that they’ll last longer, but will also reduce the amount of energy that you use.
• Develop your own style, rather than following the fashion crowd.
• Dress for your shape and ignore impractical and unflattering trends.
• Choose timeless stylish garments that you’ll be able to wear (and look good in) whatever the current ‘fashion’.
• If you’ve got an occasion coming up and want to wear something special, instead of buying something that you’ll only wear once, consider renting or borrowing instead.
• Develop some basic sewing and mending skills to customise your clothes or make them last longer.
• Try vintage fashion stalls, second-hand shops and Ebay for good quality second-hand clothes.
• Use tailors and stylists to help you create stylish, timeless, personal garments. Search out ethical clothing companies that eschew virgin resources and instead customise clothes, remake or recycle fabrics.

There are also countless inspirational blogs out there, that I hope to provide me with the motivation to avoid the instant high street fix:

• The incredible Natalie made all her own clothes she wore for a year as part of her Makeshift project.
• The hilarious Marisa is making a new dress a day for a year out of 365 dresses bought with a budget of $365.
• Countless revamping inspiration on Wardrobe Refashion.
  
• Plus I will also be looking to vintage, carbooting and thrifting queens like Vix and Jem to learn to stop following the high street crowd.