Rainy Sunday

The weather was appalling today, gale force winds and torrential rain. It has been unusually dry in the South of England this Spring and some of us have been secretly hoping for a good downpour of rain to soak the parched gardens and freshen everything up. Well today we got our wish and more than we bargained for. I had arranged to meet a couple of friends at the Pavilion in the centre of Bournemouth, as there was a Vintage Fashion Fair being held there. So I ventured out in the driving rain to meet them.

Unfortunately one of my friends had to cancel at the last minute, but I did meet up with 'A Girl in Winter'. I am glad that I made the effort, as despite the weather as it was really fun. It was being held in the ballroom which has some lovely period features such as the Art Deco wall lights. Despite the foul weather outside the atmosphere was very warm and welcoming.





There was so much on offer - vintage clothing, shoes, hats, bags, jewellery, buttons, textiles, knitting and sewing patterns. I bought some vintage celluloid buttons and some buckles. I have an idea for incorporating them into my bead work. I will put pictures and further details here on my blog, if my ideas work out. There were some beautiful clothes if you have the confidence and the figure to wear them. I found a beautiful blue felt cloche hat which really suited me and an immaculate beaded bag, complete with a small mirror in a case. Sadly both were outside my budget. However, I could not resist buying a vintage Vogue Knitting magazine. It doesn't have a date on it but I am guessing from the photographs that it is from the early to mid 1950s.



I am not sure that I would ever knit the beaded halter neck top in the 'Evening Glamour' section.


But, there are many really timeless designs (well, we are talking about Vogue after all!) and I could definitely see myself knitting and wearing some of the sweaters in the future.


You can't really see it in this picture (I don't have a scanner at home so had to resort to my digital camera for these shots) but this cardigan is knitted in a interesting textured stitch, rather like basket weave.

Part of the fun of reading period magazines is looking at the adverts. It gives you a glimpse of what everyday life was like at the time. I particularly love this one for the Rallie Health Belt which promises you a more slender and youthful figure if you wear it for 5 minutes a day. Oh if only it was that simple!



'A Girl in Winter' bought some lovely buttons and some beautiful vintage embroidered cloths, possibly to make into cushions. Then it was out into the pouring rain to walk, to a nearby Costa, for some hot drinks to warm us up and a bit of a natter. Although we both work in the same office things have been so hectic over the last week that we have hardly had time to talk to each other. It was nice to catch up.