Furoshiki draw-string bag

Here's a secret, I have forever avoided doing one of those 'what's in my bag' posts because it is a mess - full of receipts, train tickets and all sorts of 'just in case' clutter. Which means if I want to take a crafty project out with me,  I need to keep it safe from getting gnarled up in all the other paraphernalia.

Step forward the furoshiki bag. Furoshiki is the Japanese of wrapping things in cloth, either for gifts, decoration or just for everyday use. Beautiful recycling and avoiding unnecessary waste going to landfill - you know these things float my boat. And gorgeous vintage scarfs are perfect.

Here's how to make a bag from your scarf.

1 - Lay out your scarf

 2 & 3 - Tie the adjacent corners together loosely

4 - Tie the corners that are now adjacent to each other together in small tight knots close to the points

You then simply pull the two small knot upwards to form a handle and the loose knots will draw the scarf together in to a bag

The beauty of this is that the scarf in your handbag, you know, the one you keep there just in case, means you will never be without an extra bag - large scarves can become shopping bags, small scarves can hold make up or trinkets. Endless possibilities...

My scarves are from charity shops and the rather amazing Queensland table cloth is from the magnificent Vix. My current travelling crafty project are knitted hexipuffs - I'm obsessed.

How do you use your vintage scarves?

101 uses of a vintage sheet

I think the humble vintage sheet is a greatly overlooked item, which is a shame because they are so versatile. And if, like me, you are an absolute sucker for a colourful retro print, they are probably the cheapest way to get some genuine vintage fabric in your life. They are available to be picked up for almost pennies.

For obvious reasons, I prefer to buy mine from charity shops or Etsy sellers I implicitly trust the quality and hygiene standards of. But once you find a seller you are happy with, the vintage sheet opens your world up to endless vibrantly coloured fabric possibilities. And, importantly, you are saving perfectly good fabric from going to landfill and/ or avoiding modern unethical fabric manufacture to boot.

So use #1 is to simply to reuse your sheet on your bed. If using them as your actual bedding isn't your thing, we love using them as throws or top sheets - they protect our bedding from our feline friends and they also add some seriously funky patterns and colour. We have this rather lovely 1970s pink and purple Dorma number livening up our bedroom at this moment. It cost £1 from our local charity shop.

So what do you do with your vintage sheets? From bedding to beyond! I'm looking for suggestions to add to my list, I really think we can find over 100 uses and reuses. 

Use the comments box below, or send me a tweet.

As an incentive, here's some gratuitous posing from Headley...

Festival Girl // An Outfit Post

After getting other people to share what they would be wearing to music festivals this summer, I thought it was only polite to share what I wore to Hop Farm last week. My festival outfit has remained pretty much the same since the mid nineties, only the items have changed. It's tried and tested and it works for me.


Vintage cardigan: I got this lovely cardigan from our local charity shop, it dates from the 1970s and it cost me a whole £2. A cardigan or a similar top is essential even if the weather forecast is good, the evenings will get chilly even on a warm day and you'll really appreciate it. I just tie it round my waist when I don't need to wear it. The beauty of wearing something that comes from a charity shop means that it won't break your heart if it gets ruined or lost. This little cardie survived it's trip to Kent, which is a real bonus.

Denim Cut Offs: I learnt at a particularly wet and muddy Glastonbury (remember 1997 and 1998?) that shorts are the way forward at music festivals. Wet jeans/ skirts/ tights/ whatever are horrible. And short of going to a music festival dressed like someone from the Deadliest Catch, I'd rather just get wet legs, they dry quicker.

Glam the whole thing up with a bit of statement jewellery (this was from Primark as few years ago and remains a firm favourite) and I'm good to go. I wore this with my beloved zip-up Doc Martens and had a raincoat, sunglasses and suncream tucked in to my shoulder bag.

Bring it on British summertime, I'm ready for you.

The Firebird Guide to Popping Your Vintage Cherry

The other day someone asked me what the first vintage item I ever wore or bought was and I honestly can't remember. As a child I always loved dressing up in my Mum's fabulous clothes. Then I started supplementing my wardrobe with items found in charity shops as a teenager, firstly out of desperation for something different – the retail choices were rather limited in North Essex. When I was 13 I found a pair of 1970s flared Levis that had belonged to Dad and wore them in to the ground, beyond the point they got holes. I think the first vintage boutique I ever went to was in Cambridge, aged 16, and I bought a long red crochet cardigan. I later wore it with a floral skirt and stripey tights to watch the Brand New Heavies. I thought I was the bomb...

Luckily, with age and some experimenting, I have settled with a style I am comfortable with – a mixture of vintage, secondhand and high street classic separates. I often think people fear trying vintage because they are intimidated by many vintage shops (come on, we know there are a lot of snotty ones out there) or worried about getting it wrong by mixing eras. In my world this is all daft, vintage is nothing to be afraid of. In fact once you start you'll find the most amazing array of unique, beautiful and fascinating clothing. Sustainable too. And I guarantee you'll find something for you, no matter what your personal style.
So lets throw any preconceived ideas about vintage out the window and get rummaging...

The first lesson I learnt when buying vintage (though I think this should also apply to all clothes shopping) is to ignore that little number on the label. Due to diets and the contraceptive pill, our bodies have changed shape over the last couple of decades, which means a vintage size 12 is now often more akin to a modern day 8-10. But don't be downheartened – ignore that number. Always. 

The best thing to do is to measure your own clothes, lie them flat (this is how a lot of online vintage sellers take their measurements) and measure the shoulders, the bust (about where your nipples would be), the smallest part of the waist and the hips. Use items of clothing that aren't reliant on lycra. Hang these clothes up on the front of your wardrobe and get used to the size and shape of your clothing. Now if you spot a bargain in a charity shop you won't have to rely on the label and will know by sight if it might be for you or not. 

Ignore the number on the label! Really, it is irrelevant. Are you still ignoring it? Then we'll continue...

The second thing that I think will open up a whole new world of vintage to you is if you can fix a few flaws. 

By it's very nature (ie. Being old) most vintage is imperfect. 90% of it has been worn before which means it has been subjected to daily wear and tear. And perfect unworn vintage is expensive. You will save a fortune if you can do some simple clothing maintenance like fixing a hem, darning a hole and replacing buttons. 

Not only will you be able to pick up beautiful preloved items for next to nothing, but you will also be able to give everything in your wardrobe a longer lease of life. A win/ win no?

I'm going to upset my purist friends here but I am a great believer that if you love something then you should wear it how you like. 

Don't be intimidated by anything because it is a certain era. I like to mix maxi dresses with a denim or leather jacket to toughen them up a bit, a funky 70s shirt can look great with a pencil skirt, turn a sun dress in to something for winter by putting a long sleeved top and leggings underneath... 

The point I am trying to make is just because you like the look of that tea dress doesn't mean you need to learn how to do victory rolls. You want to go for the complete land girl look then great. If you want to wear it over a pair of jeans that is absolutely fine too. These are your clothes, not some costume for a period drama.

If you are curvy like me, a lot of vintage can be a little intimidating because the fabrics don't have the same stretch and give we are used to today. You might find a cute dress that is a stunning fabric but because of the way it is cut, if you are heavy on top, it is likely to make you look about seven months pregnant. This is where the belt is your friend. I have a whole collection of them: wide leather ones, elasticated waisted belts, chain belts, though my favourite is just a simple plaited belt that I seem to wear at least three times a week. 

Take that sack-like dress and belt it in the middle. Suddenly it is much cuter, no? You could even try belting with scarves or wide ribbons. Don't dismiss things because they might not instantly look fitted. With belts as your allies your vintage world has opened up even more.

Still not sure about the clothes, why not think about bags, bracelets, brooches, necklaces? So many modern trends are inspired by vintage looks so good vintage accessories never really go out of fashion. 

If you really don't know where to start buy a scarf first, a square silk type one. You can probably get a really pretty one from a local charity shop for under the price of a cup of coffee. Then tie it to the strap of your handbag – it may be from the high street but now it is different to everyone elses. Another day take the same scarf and fold it up and use it as a cute neck scarf. Or as a hair band. 

You're wearing vintage. Now that wasn't so scary after all was it?

This guide is meant to be fun, because that's what clothes should be. 

So take a chance on something vintage and try it out. It doesn't have to break the bank and there are no rules that you need to follow. If you have got this far reading this then I can guarantee that you are going to like it... x

Festival Fever: Isle of Wight (1969 & 1970) // Guest Post from Momma Firebird

I'm very excited about today's guest post, it is from someone who has literally known me all my life. So I'm very pleased she agreed to share some her festival memories...

In 1969 the legendary Woodstock festival was held in New York state and is regarded to be one of the pivitol moments in popular music history. But the buds of this blossoming festival fever were not confined to the USA. 

The first Isle of Wight festival was held just eleven days after Woodstock, headlined by Bob Dylan (who missed Woodstock to play on the Isle of Wight instead). The second festival in 1970 had estimated crowds of 600,000. It is said to be one of the largest human gatherings in the world at the time and is one of the defining moments of the UK's music scene. 

Today's guest poster ventured down from her student digs in Manchester to attend both of these festivals on the island. So without further ado, I am very proud to introduce you all to my wonderful Mum....

Thank you Momma, I love you x...

I don’t think you ever remember festivals with your brain. What linger are feelings. Fragments of the days and nights blow around the memory.

Leaving your bedsit laden with what you think you’ll need, feeling as if you are the only person heading to some great adventure; seeing numbers of similarly laden people increase exponentially at each transit change until you form a rag tag river flowing down leafy lanes to the metal perimeter fences. It is always further than you think. You start to appreciate why your mother had this thing about sensible shoes.

It was other-wordly travelling to the Island and not simply because the ferry trip dislocated you from the world you left behind. In ’69, I don’t think the local people fully expected the influx.There was more of a Woodstock spirit. By ’70, they had located the festival in a far off corner and were equipped with small tables laden with over-priced supplies by the sides of the road.


No-one stole from our tent and though there was reported to be disruption in ’70, I didn’t see it. Any sleep happened from dawn til early afternoon, because bands played until the sun came up. Maybe you could grab 20mins between sets unless someone trod on your hair.

I remember Dylan, who seemed curiously alone on stage however many people were around him; the Who – popped up everywhere in those days and they played every last note of Tommy; the Nice (interminable) and Julie Felix, whose voice left clear notes suspended in the air.

I ruined my shoes, which were red ballet affairs with ribbons; discovered skirts are way better than jeans in portaloos and that velvet looks beautiful (my grandmother’s Edwardian coat) but offers little protection from the cold.

1970 I was prepared! Layered clothing is your friend. Apart from making the mistake late Friday night of pitching behind a large marquee which turned out to be the Hawkwind tent and made any sleep impossible for 2 days, I was a seasoned festival goer. Everyone I wanted to see was playing, Doors, Sly Stone, TYA, Joni Mitchell, Free, the Who (a-gain), Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix.

Made a lot of friends; danced in the moonlight; started a tradition of festival-going, which passed down the line to my children.

The spirit lives on!

(All images sourced via Google images, please let me know if you know who they belong to)

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

Life Through the Eyes of a 1960s Mod

Remember what I said about my new town, Reading, being full of surprises? 

 Well I have been looking forward to visiting Reading Steady Go, an exhibition about 1960s Mod culture, since I saw Reading town centre taken over by a massive and spectacular scooter parade when the exhibition opened back in early April. Reading Steady Go is one of the first exhibitions ever held about provincial Mod culture. 

The late 1950s and 1960s were a time of huge change in the UK. The post war recovery was in full swing - towns were evolving and being modernised, the economy was improving, rationing had stopped and for the first time people had more disposible income and leisure time. Some class divides began to dissolve, things that were previously regarded as upper-class symbols began to be appropriated by the working-classes. It was also a time of increasing political awareness. This cutural climate led to growth of youth culture, with many young people identifying with different groups such as beatniks, Teddy Boys or Modernists, known as Mods. Reading Steady Go documents these changes through curated diary entries and associated picture and artifacts.

 There is a huge collection of photographs showing 1960s Reading - everything from local industries, like Sutton Seeds and Huntley and Palmers biscuits to plans for the 1960s redevelopment of the civic and shopping centre. Photos depict the role Reading played with the anti-nuclear marches that went between London and Aldermaston to the opening of 'Richard Marks' - Reading's first 'Carnaby Street' style boutique.

The walls are adorned with fabulous music publicity posters. 

This beautiful jukebox is full of Mod classics and is perfect working order and visitors are encouraged to choose tracks and fill the exhibition with music. (I chose Guns of Navarone by The Skatalites.)

And there are other tastes of many aspects of Mod culture.

From fashion...

to those oh-so-defining hair cuts...

and a taste of 1960s domesticity in a recreated teenage Mod's bedroom.

 There is also vintage film, audio interviews with Reading residents, even a working pinball machine. 

Despite not being a large as I expected (the exhibition has a number of big name sponsors like Liam Gallagher's Pretty Green and the Reading Festival) it is a really interesting and interactive experience. As I continued to look around I found numerous things catching my eye that I hadn't spotted before. What it lacks in size, it certainly makes up for in attention to detail and depth of subject. I found out a huge amount about 1960s life and certainly learnt that Mod culture wasn't the cliche it is often depicted to be, confined to London and the cities.

Reading Steady Go is free to visit and is on at Reading Museum (just a short walk from Reading railway station) until 9th October 2011

Many thanks to Reading Museum and the curators of Reading Steady Go for allowing me to take these photographs and share them on here

Why I Love Vintage: Sustainability

Wearing vintage is probably the classiest way to recycle. You probably don't even realise you are doing it - wearing vintage is fun, pretty, distinctive, individual and a fascinating way to look at history. There are loads of reasons why I love vintage but, with Earth Day just around the corner, choosing vintage is also really green, almost sickeningly tree-huggingly green, but mind your beautiful dress on that bark.

The fashion industry has changed indescribably over the last 30 years. Prior to the 1980s/ 1990s, clothing wasn't seen as such a disposable commodity, as it is today. There was certainly fashion and high fashion at that, I'm thinking of the boutiques of the Kings Road in the 1960s. But the clothes themselves were different. Vintage clothes were made in smaller numbers, made by hand or certainly made locally. People had less disposable income, so clothing was made to last. 

Today things just aren't the same, the production of modern clothing is often polluting, exploitive or just designed for short-term consumption, made of flimsy fabrics and falling apart after a few washes. In the UK it is estimated that each person throws away about 35kg of textiles a year, most of which is clothes. Some of this is recycled, mainly through charity shops, but a lot can not be resold and most of it ends up in landfill (source). Chosing some vintage items for your wardrobe helps stop this amount of waste.

I know I am biased, I have a little vintage clothing store after all. But vintage is something that appeals to me primarily because of it's green credentials. And it's a lot more stylish than a hemp tunic. But if vintage fashions really are not your thing, the same principles applied to any good quality second hand clothing, it doesn't have to be over 20 years old to deserve to be taken out of landfill. There are also some wonderful ethical clothing brands as well and shopping with them supports good labour and environmental practices right now. Trying to buy the 'vintage of the future' can also be sustainable. Maybe we should buy everything with the hope that it will last 20 years and beyond?

I know I am not perfect at this, my budget sometimes sways me toward budget brands, but if I am high street shopping I try and stop and think and that can really make a difference. Do I really really need it? Try and think about how this item of clothing was made, how long it will last, whether I can fix it in a couple of years time and if it would be something that I will really love forever and hope that someone else might want to wear in twenty years time. 

Just a little less disposable can still be really stylish.

Loving: Vintage-Inspired Swimwear

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I go on holiday in five days and I am having a swimwear crisis. Nothing is right, nothing makes me feel nice and nothing seems to look like anything I want. The perfect vintage inspired one piece and bikini has got to be out there (at an economical price!) hasn't it?

Here's a peek at my dream swimwear inspiration, I shall keep looking...

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Inspiration: Bret & Jemaine

"What are you thinking?" I hear you cry. 

After such a succession of beautiful ladies in these 'Inspiration' posts, I bring you two scruffy guys from New Zealand in an attempt to show you that they too are style inspiration.

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Bret and Jemaine are Flight of the Conchords, but this post isn't about the show, the parodies or the songs, it is all about the clothes. Because I am convinced that Bret and Jermaine possibly have the greatest collection of casual vintage separates on television. 

The evidence...

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What is not to love? Bret's seemingly endless collection of vintage animal sweatshirts and t shirts, Jemaine's touch of western tailoring, the wide framed glasses, the leather jackets, the body warmer, the vintage sportswear the turned-up jeans and even the Converse. 

If I could get away with it, I would probably dress like Bret and Jemaine everyday.

(There is only one Conchords' song appropriate for this post)

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.