Vintage Voyage

Finally, after weeks deeply buried in my overdraft, my loan went in, and I went out. Determined to buy something slightly more individual than the last time I did a major shop, I headed to East London in search of reasonably priced vintage goodies. It seems that lots more places have jumped on the vintage bandwagon in London, as I spied a few more vintage shops than the last time I went, with varying price ranges from shop to shop. Personally, I find the practice of shopping in these places a bit hit and miss, as I tend to want specific styles to suit my body shape, but end up seeing the kind of thing that would look great on certain individuals, but just not me. You have to take a bit of time to rifle found and consider things, and as I seem to always be in a permanent rush, I have to wait until I'm in the right kind of mood. My first stop was the Brick Lane Thrift Store, a smaller cousin of the East End version. After rifling through a rail of obligatory long and slightly lairy polyester dresses, I did manage to find a lovely nautical creation, which unfortunately was too small. Do you like it? It's 15 quid, it'll probably still be there, it's very small, RUN!


Found this cute little bag for £6 in one of the shops on the way to Beyond Retro. I often find vintage bags quite overpriced, especially if they're leather, but this one bucked the trend. Love the brown contasting trim around the edge. Now I just need to work out how to fit my worldly posessions into it...


I was slightly disappointed by Beyond Retro, and found their prices a lot higher than I expected. Even though they have a lot of choice, I didn't fall in love with anything there. Feeling slightly despondent, I began the trek to the East End Thrift Store, almost thought I'd got lost on the way until I saw a green poster-board on the street.


I was instantly overwhelmed as soon as I went in, there's definitely a better selection here, and I guess they prep the clothes more by shortening hemlines etc. I finally found the tweed blazer I'd been craving (saw this one on the Koopies the other day, which contuned my Euro hatred), I managed to pick up a nice quality version for £10.


Also here's my new replacement scarf, picked up for £3 in a charity shop. Makes it all look slightly nautical.


Also picked up a new dress, which instantly called out to me as I entered the shop. A match made in heaven, though I do now own two blue dresses. I keep telling myself this one is completely different, it has sleeves. The thing is, the shop proclaims to sell almost everything for under a tenner. Although this implies that there will be a few things over £10, I didn't expect to see the majority at £15 to £20, with only a handful of belts coming in at £7. It's still a decent price, though I do think they need to update their sign.


Somehow ended up in Topshop Oxford Circus on the way home, buying another pair of leggings. This is after I swore I'd never buy leggings again, and start making my own. Still, I am obsessed with crazy seaming on garments, and just had to have them in my life. Am still in search of long tops to wear with them, even though they're practically treggings, I still don't want my nether reigons exposed.


Also managed to finally locate a copy of Lula magazine in Borders, to see what all the fuss is about. Though I haven't had a proper look, I quite like the quirky aesthetic of the magazine, and look forward to a leisurely read on the train back to the Midlands.


Can't beat the market for cut price magazines, the Moda Couture Collections SS09 was £1 (RRP £45) and picked up some retro knitting books to inspire my future projects (the cricket jumper seems to have come to a halt, need to get back into it again).


Hope you're all having a great week! Now I face the prospect of packing all of this up for the return trip to Uni...