Brockwell Lido

Angels the costumiers- the tour

If you love vintage, costume, historical design, or just clothes full stop (everyone then?), then the Angels Tour is a mandatory experience. After years of enquires, the famous costumiers finally opened their doors to the public. And man did they do it well! The tour of their humongous HQ whizzes by in about 1.5hrs, taking in all the themed rooms, decades and categories of clothing. The sheer scale of the place is breath-taking, with over 6 million pieces of clothing throughout. This is an enthusiasts paradise. The films, tv and theatre productions that they're credited with is unbelievable. And then there are the stories that come with them! Part of the charm of the tour are all the little anecdotes that accompany each section - but don't worry, no spoilers here. 

The team pull from a vast pool of knowledge, to not only create accurate, authentic outfits for various projects, but to also make sure that it's all fed back into the incredibly organised, categorised, storage system - no guess work here.

As you can imagine, the tour is pretty popular and the groups are small, so booking in advance is a must. Tickets are £25 and well worth it!

the badge room

the fur room

this is where my knees started to buckle...

clerkenwell vintage fashion fair @ The Old Finsbury Town Hall

Vintage Fair's and Sunday's are made to be together. Kind of like wine and Friday's or Monday's and depression...it just fits. So, with the draw of being the last of the year, Clerkenwell Vintage Fashion Fair had me out of bed and driving 'north of the border' before breakfast (calling for a Lantana pit stop on the way). I had been told that this vintage fair was one of the best, and that was no lie -  the goodies on display were awesome! Fave pieces included a Victorian, black (of course), jet beaded cape and an amazing patterned, gold foil Dior dress (nicer than it sounds, but too small anyhow). But the star of the show was the venue..Who knew The Old Finsbury Town Hall was such a gem. I was so distracted, i actually walked away with nothing - a first for me - but very satisfied all the same. 

The Glamour Factory @ National Portrait Gallery

If you haven't seen it already, i bet the NPG's Glamour of the Gods (Gods of the old school Hollywood variety, in case you were wondering) is firmly on your list of things to see before it's too late... like before 24th October. Well, i say, make your visit this Friday! Why? Well, to coincide with their specially themed 'Late shift' night, of course. I feel there are many reasons for this, so i'm going to bullet point...

1. It is Free (good point to start with i think)
2. Talented pros will be on hand to transform you into a Hollywood star/let - unless you already look like one, in which case, kudos!
3. There will be themed 20's through to 50's music from the The Broken Hearts DJs, as well as cabaret from the likes of flapper girls, burlesque beauties and a 1940's take on a 21st century Ru Paul - very intriguing!
4. Debates, drawing classes, posing tips, a portrait photographer and a Walk of Fame are all on hand to keep you entertained.
5. Cocktails.
6. You could then go see the actual exhibition...
7. ...but then, there is an after party at Cafe de Paris to get to...

Check out the full programme here and start planning your outfit...BTW, the dress code is Black and White...

Down the back of the sofa

So, after the mini heatwave, today officially felt like Autumn. Kicking crunchy leaves on my way to work, i was reminded of the autumnal 70's colour palette of this installation at the Vintage at Southbank Festival, back in the Summer, (proper Summer mind, ie July!). 'Down the back of the Sofa' was curated by Derby Museum, as a replica of an early 1980's living room...if you're thinking it looks more 70's, you'd be right. This was still how things looked in the early 80's...or so i'm told! The attention to detail was awesome, from authentic magazines in the rack, to the board games under the bed. Every drawer and cupboard was filled how it would have been, which led to many a gasp of delight from yours truly - i love snooping in drawers as much as i love vintage knick knacks! But the best bit was the active participation. Revellers were encouraged to document their nostalgic thoughts by tying notes on any object that took their fancy. It led to a very amusing narrative as you explored the room! All that was left to do, was relax on the sofa whilst sipping sherry...i definitely made myself at home.