Wisteria Lane

Every day another lovely customer floats into our shop in Notting Hill. Today bought Carole, she a portrait photographer who has lived and worked in Hollywood, and owner of the beautiful Wisteria house two doors up from our shop. She planted the vine in the seventies and has watched over the years as the plant has grown and changed with Notting Hill.

Our Daughters' Daughters Will Adore Us.

Half of all 18 to 34-year-olds will not vote in the General Election on May 6.

Tragic Kingdom

Grace-ful Attire

The Grace Kelly private view at the V&A is fast approaching.

Here at the VA HQ panic has set in about what to wear... Balenciaga would be the obvious choice, and it has to be haute couture....Should it be from the 1950s? Maybe a Dior gown would be better? Without a Hermes Kelly bag, our hands might look a bit bare, does anyone have an Oscar we can clutch?


Dior Haute Couture - Vintage Academe Private Collection

The Way We Wore

It is such a sunny day in the vA shop.. we have been so busy with buyers/press/friends/flowers... please come down this weekend if you are in Notting Hill!

You're so vain...

No, we didn't think this song was about us. But it's Easter - and thoughts of resurrection abound. If VA were to come back in an another life as a music video, it would be this.

Happy Easter!

Introducing.........

Apologies for going quiet on the blog front....
We have been busy opening our fashion store, One.Two.Five Presents at 125 Ledbury Road in Notting Hill.
Team VA have been occupied with shopping for flowers, dressing the window, and road testing all the new stock (naturally).
Here's some pictures taken by our creative director this afternoon, of the VA girls playing dressing-up.....



Jess in 1970s Ossie Clark Traffic Light Dress



Kess in 1980s Atelier Versace

Come in and see us!

Turban Powered

VA are big fans of Queens of Vintage, the on-line magazine for vintage fashion lovers. Where else can you find an article on the genius of turbans the “quick and chic solution to a bad hair day for any vintage-loving girl”. It’s not just the fashion advice that we keep logging on for, but lessons on the provenance of a trend though fashion history, and the alternative pin-up girls.
At VA, we have intimate understanding of the power turban dressing. In 2007, one of the team, whilst working for a vintage brand in New York, had 'the most horrendous bleached do', so spent most days hidden behind a turban. Jess, we think it might be time to resurrect that look, (the turban, not the bleach).

Blogger's Block

We all get lost for inspiration from time to time, whether you are a poet, fashion designer or fashion blogger, no one is safe from the dreaded black cloud.
Our tip for when you are suffering from a creativity block, is to play the “We Heart It Game”, and very soon the cloud will be lifted.

What you have to do is pick three things that are flickering at the back of your mind, and enter them into weheartit.com, the image sharing web space.
In seconds you have access to thousands of beautiful images, logged and tagged by like-minded image hoarders. You can also set-up your own account to file and share your personal collection. Choose from scans of vintage magazines, self initicated fashion shoots and holiday snaps. After a few moments lost in the archives of WeHeartIt.com you are guaranteed to feel inspired.
Here’s what we are thinking about this grey Wednesday morning, and what popped up when we entered them in weheartit.com.

TEA



WILD FLOWERS



CARDIGANS



Why don't you give it a go? http://weheartit.com/

Fash - Films

Is anyone else guilty of watching films solely for the fashion content? Yesterday, I celebrated one of the final gasps of winter, (where hibernation is still expectable), by taking residence on the sofa, and entered the Technicolor world of Bob Fosse’s Cabaret. This film is a vintage fashion fantasy, a stylised version of the 1930s, through a 1970s filter, complete with gritty drag references. Cue flared halterneck all-in-ones, oversized furs, floppy brimmed hats, and Liza Minnelli’s imitable green nail varnish. Life is really is a Cabaret.

Now this deserves an Oscar...

In breathless awe...

Spring

Return of the Killer Storms

Yes - another ghastly, wet day ahead... Inspired by this clip, we're saying goodbye to Feb with an afternoon of B-Movie heaven....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e7U3hu4A0I

Top of The Blogs

VA loves this image from superblogger - jakandjil.




http://jakandjil.com/blog/?p=3757

Because Life is Divine

Giving something up for Lent? Easy. The choice is overwhelming... Instead we've going to do something far more enriching - read Dante's Divine Comedy. The aim is to reach Paradiso with him on Easter Sunday. Beacuse life is divine, and yes, it is still also a comedy...

Goodbye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1a5rhY3Spg

Christmas in . . . Vogue

Our recent acquisitions of key late 1920s and early 1930s pieces, an ignited love of things white and furry, freezing temperatures and falling snow; this UK Vogue cover from December 1929 summarizes our December perfectly!

A very special label . . .

We admit to indulging in little label fetish every now and then at VA but we have become chronic obsessives about the labels on two of our recent acquisitions.

'Gabrielle Chanel'

In her early years at 31 Rue Cambon, Chanel used her first name, Gabrielle, on black silk tags. By the 1930s she had dropped 'Gabrielle'. Labels simply read 'Chanel' and she was more readily identified by her moniker 'Coco'. Our two new Chanel pieces date from 1920s, just as she was starting out. Spine tingling.

As for the pieces? We will be revealing more on the site in the New Year...

'Aviary' backstage

Our Creative Director had an incredible day at the end of October when he spent the day shooting the VA's aptly named 'Aviary' collection of early 1960's feather hats, with photographer Pelle Crepin, and stunning model Will @ FM.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the day (finally) happen.

To see the completed final images check out the Fashion section of VA website: www.vintageacademe.com