Hats off! (and onto the wall): A DIY storage solution

I have had this big picture frame in my possession since I was about 15...my Step-Mum painted it pink for me and it had been housing various things within it's frame since then.

Now, as we are finally making some headway with the spare room of me & Mr Mike's new flat I thought that the frame was ripe for reinvention! And what better than a novel way of storing and displaying my hats?

I thought I'd share with you all how to do it.

What you will need:

 A paintbrush, your chosen paint, some strong wire or twine for hanging the frame, a hammer, nails, and a large frame.

*First, be sure to cover the floor with newspapers to avoid any disasterous spillages*

Now get painting!

Make sure you get into every nook and cranny of the frame. I painted the back board in the same paint as the frame, but you could cover the board with a beautiful fabric from your stash, or simply a contrasting colour paint.

 

Wait until the paint is thoroughly dry before hanging in it's designated wall space (you may be an impatient kinda gal like me, but you certainly don't want paint marks on your wall, so just hold tight!). 

My frame is a particularly large and heavy one, so I restrung the back with wire bought from a local hardware shop to give it plenty of strength.

 

Hammer nails carefully into the back board in whatever arrangement you like, thinking about spacing to fit your glorious hat collection in as best as possible.

Et voila!

A simple solution to the age-old problem of so many hats, only one head!

It keeps them from getting crushed in boxes, airs them to minimise the attack of damp that always seems to strike (at least in our home) in the cold winter months, and saves precious space for....well, more stuff!

This is also a great trick for fellow renters who are looking for storage and display solutions without putting too many nails in the wall!

I was feeling a little trigger-happy with the paintbrush so I also gave this chap a little lick of paint as his yellow pine-y appearance was just not cutting it...

 

Pip pip xx

 

A fleeting visit to Brighton and some old-lady treasures...

I LOVE BRIGHTON!

And as it happens, three of my bestest chums from home currently live there, so it's pretty much the dream place to visit!

It was only a fleeting 24 hour trip due to work, but my did we pack a lot in!
We had drinks and dinner. We watched a screening of a bollywood film on massively comfy sofas, drinking g&t's and eating croissants, crisps and chocolate bars. We went into two pubs in town and had many more g&t's. We had chips and ran for buses! We got up late. We went to charity shops. We had turkish pancakes. We had lunch in the lanes. We did more shopping. We had a speedy meal and then we ran for my train back to London (making it by only 30 seconds, phew!).

 

The three Brighton beauts!

 

Me and Joanny enjoying the film screening.

Whilst in Brighton I got a load of treasures from the shops there!

Here's a peek at the bits I picked up from a charity shop I went to...

 

This darling necklace was only £1.

 

My brown old-lady skirt, also only £1.

 

Look at the gorgeous pale green knitwear I picked up for £4!

 

...and a matching sweater for £3?

And oh look....

 

The same in pale yellow.

Oh my, it's the perfect spring knitwear!

This is possibly the MOST old-lady charity shop swoop I think I have ever made. The lady serving me certainly found this amusing! She said my purchases were very 'me'. I am an old lady!

In the lanes there is a treasure-trove of an indoor fleamarket called 'Snoopers Paradise', which is full of the most wonderful things. You do have to be prepared to sift through piles of unwanted junk at times, and some stuff can be a tad expensive, but everytime I go there I always come away with at least one thing (and longing for lots more). There was a 1950's dressing table with curtained drawers and a glass top that I was pining after for £75. Oh, if only I had the transport!
If you are ever in Brighton, it's certainly worth a look for thrifty ladies/fellow hoarders.

 

On this visit, I picked up a cute painted wooden hat stand for £8.50.

Just perfect for one of displaying one of my vintage hats.

 

These gorgeous hair combs are a tortoiseshell effect, with gold running through it.

The tortoiseshell plastic hair flower is a nice alternative to a classic fabric hair flower.

And the gold atomiser with fur...well! Do I need to explain why I just had to have this?

All of the above were from a store called 'Jaffa Hair'.

I also picked up these cord shorts from a cheapy clothes shop for £7.50. I took the turn ups down to give them a longer length and am convinced I can sport a rather land-girl look for summer, teamed with a nice blouse and a pretty headscarf or snood. What do you think ladies?

I love Brighton...my dream is to live there one day!

What do you all think of Brighton?

I do hope you all have had rather lovely weekends my dears.

Pip pip xx

A very belated Christmas pressie post!

Hola lovely people,

I know it's really quite belated, but I have FINALLY gotten around to taking some snaps of some of my wonderful Christmas presents. So I am going to share these pictures whilst I sit here drinking a G&T and trying desperately to stay up as late as possible (I am working a nightshift for the next three nights, so I need to get into the routine of sleeping through the day).

 

Two beautiful old suitcases to add to my collection!

 I didn't even know that those travel stickers on suitcases you always see in films were even a real thing until I got the case on the right! 

These gorgeous vintage nappa gloves were in my stocking from my dad and step-mum.

And beneath it is a book called 'Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas', published in 1971 and full of lovely illustrations!

Mr Mike got me this crackle-glaze phrenology head, they remind me of the phrenology head and palmistry hands we had in our family home when I was little.

That beautiful glass bauble has a clasp in the middle and is from my mumma.

A beautiful sailorette dress from my dear friend Luci (who has recently had a beautiful baby girl, Congratulations!!).

The dear yellow stocking was knitted for me by a family friend when I was a baby, and comes out every christmas! 

The bag in the background is a lovely brown leather handbag I recieved from my friends in our Secret Santa.

I got a load of cookie cutters this christmas from various people, as well as some lovely christmas cupcake cases, so I am going to have to do some serious baking in 2011!

And the orange ladybird is an old (though I'm not sure how old) portable radio. Alas, I cannot get it working, but I will find it a home because, well, isn't it cute?

This pair of silver bird ornaments hold photos in the little hanging flower frames. One of them has lost it's top branches, and the frames need a bit of fixing up, but oh my, I love them!

 

The union jack wooden bunting on brown twine and these books are all from Mr Mike!

The 'Figure Drawing and Fashion Designing for the Press' book has no publisher's date but from what I can work out is from about 1930 and is a beautiful old paperback book.

The pile of colourful covers are a selection of educational guide books for different aspects of sport and ranging in date from 1959 to 1970, with some colourful quaint, and some frankly very amusing little illustrations and diagrams!

This is a veiled red felt tilt hat made by my incredibly talented nan 'Trishe Darling'!

These vintage patterns were from my auntie, as was the brooch.

The Vogue pattern is from 1955, and the other is a McCall's 1960 pattern.

The booch....oh, the brooch! It's a gold coach with jewels (though it's missing a few) and is a commemorative brooch of the royal coronation in 1953!

I got 'The Unforgettable Glenn Miller' 12".

A red and white vintage childs toy mangle...yes that's right, a mangle! I might actually give it a try one day!

And I adore these old ceramic wall birds, I've always wanted a nice set. Just need to find the perfect wall space for them now!

 

A beautiful edition of 'Complete Needlecraft', printed in the 1940's from what I can work out, though it's hard to tell as there has been many reprints and the book itself is undated). This I can now add to my growing collection of lovely vintage sewing books on my shelves.

I got a beautiful vintage nail set too, in a little case.

And a foot! This foot is amazing...it is a hollow plastic leg with cement-weighted toes and was once upon a time used to display hoisery one would assume! My dad and step mum found this for me, and did some clever snooping, after discovering the name 'Martyn Fisher' printed on the bottom of the foot, aquired a pair of unopened 'Martyn Fisher' tights to go alongside it! How clever! I need to find a place to display my new leg, I may even use it as a vase, fancy that!

And last but not least...

Me and Mr Mike were treated jointly to this television from my parents...

we were given the popcorn containers as a clue and had to venture upstairs to find the tv. And I must say, Mr Mike actually did a little jumpy up and down dance in excitement upon discovery!

Christmas with my nearest and dearest is always a special thing, and with only being able to travel home on christmas eve and then spending the duration of my time at home feeling incredibly unwell and anable to hold very much of a conversation, I feel that I never quite got to express my appreciation to my family for their wonderfulness.

SO...

Thanks you to my mumma, step dad Ian, wee sister Izzy, brother Jake, dad, step mum Rosie, Mr Mike, nan and grandad and my aunt uncle and cousins for their brilliance, and sorry I was such terrible company! I love you all!

Pip pip xx

Rosie Alia Millinery

Oh my, I really must get back into my hat making!
It's been ever so long!

My Nan is a fabulous hat maker, selling her "Trishe Darling" hats and headpieces in a couple of shops and she also does hat making workshops and such like! So I suspect she in some way sparked and encouraged my interest in hats (as well as my love of vintage influencing my hat obsession)! She has taught me a couple of her clever techniques, but I really want her to teach me more....it's just a matter of being able to get some time to go back and visit her properly! Oh damn you, work!

 

This is a me sporting a "Trishe Darling" creation!

I have sold my hats in the past, and my Nan sold one of mine in one of her stockists' hat shop too, which is great as someone paid £75 for it! I only got a smallish cut of that, but still, the though of someone wanting to pay that much for one of my simpler designs is amazing!
Paloma Faith also owns one of my facsinators!
In my second year at uni, I produced headpieces for Georgia Nash, who is a fabulous womenswear designer. She was completing her graduate collection based on "The Nutcracker" and I was asked to help with the headpieces. These are some of the photos of said pieces...

 

Pearl encrusted fascinator with Nutcracker.

 

Beaded bow facinator with trickling bead-work on veil.

 

Purse and bow headpiece with bead-work.

 

Image from the Fashion156 blog. 

 

 Image from the Fashion156 blog.

Now I need to get back into my millinery, after all the hectic-ness of finishing uni and going out into the real world of work!

Pip pip! xx

La Soiree

Hello darling readers,

As mentioned in my previous post, on friday evening after work, me and Mr Mike headed off for a lovely evening at La Soiree. Mr Mike came to collect me from work, where I changed into my new heels, and we trotted off for a lovely meal at the restaurant at Grace Bar in the West End.

 

This is the outfit I wore:

Red dress, a gift from the parents.

Black felt pillbox hat, a "Trishe Darling" creation handmade by my Nan.

1930's beaded cardigan, a gift.

Belt, chairty shop.

I also wore black tights with red seams, H&M.

And my new Clark's heels.

Oh hai serious face!

For starters I scoffed breaded Camembert on a bed of rocket with cranberries. And for mains we both had a half-roast chicken with chips and coleslaw and BBQ sauce, all washed down with a couple of G&T's. Yummy scrummy.
Next we hopped on the tube and set off for the south bank bog top! When we got there, it was all rather exciting! There was a bar in the first area, so I had another G&T and we bought some popcorn for the show from a proper popcprn machine! This excited me!

 

 

Sorry for the rather blurry images from inside the tent, it was dark and having only an Iphone

(without a flash) for photographs, this was the result!

When we got inside the main tent we were upgraded to the front row, how kind! I was slightly nervous, as I am slightly (and by slightly, I mean severely) phobic of having to interact at shows, being picked on or embarassed! Yes, I am a bt of a spoilsport, it's just a phobia I've had since I was little! So I generally shy away from being on the front row fo such events, but it was all fine and we had a rather fantastic view!

 

Our view of the tent and the stage before the event started...

Now the tent, when we got inside, was absolutely amazing! It was a spiegeltent, which is constructed from detailed wooden panelling, with stained glass windows all around. I literally can't fathom how something so beautiful and detailed can be put up as just a temporary and movable structure! It makes my brain hurt to wonder.

The show itself was fabulous! I highly recommend it, it was a lot of the acts I'd had seen before with the previous show La Clique, but so good and it didn't feel too familiar. My highlight was when one of The English Gents, dressed in his suited finery, did some amazing moves around an old-fashioned lamp post that defy gravity and suspend belief! 

 The English Gents

Oh how I wish all men still wore sock suspenders!

And Captain Frodo, who is a double jointed contortionist dressed in tennis gear and fits himself through tennis rackets whist struggling to balance upon a stool and talk into his microphone...all sorts of hilarity ensues, including the part when he falls of the stage whilst tangled and contorted within both tennis rackets!

You really must go see it if you get a chance folks!

After the show, we headed home. We took a quick walk along the Thames, as I (as much as I moan about living in London) am always captivated by the twinkling lights and calming sounds of the Thames at night.

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

Pip pip! xx

Hello gorgeous new shoes!

Phew, is it really only wednesday today? Roll on friday evening I say!

I am finally in the company of Mr Mike as he returned to our nest after being home with his family. So last night we had a nice takeaway as a treat after a hard day of work (note to self: stop eating takeaways so regularly!) and watched a film on the sofa. Ah the simple pleasures!

I also splashed out on some treats on the net on sunday, one being tickets to La Soiree on friday after work....which is an ever-so-needed nice end to the week! We are incredibly excited about La Soiree, and had been meaning to book tickets for aaages! I am also very excited to have a chance to dress up (not that I'm not generally rather overdress in normal day-to-day life) in a nice dress, heels, and one of the hats/fascinators I made, or one my Nan made. This very much excites me!

 

And talking of dressing up,

...these are the shoes I am going to wear!

Aren't they gorgeous. I know they are a pretty simple design, but yet I am very excited about their arrival! They are nicer in "person" than in the photo, very classic, and as yet (in my brief trot to the cornershop), extraordinarily comfy! 

I have been meaning to purchase some Clarks shoes for a while now, after advice due to my constant inability to find shoes that don't hurt my feet! So when I discovered them in the sale, I kind of just had to have them. They were £39.99 in the sale, which is still a lot for me, BUT fully worth it if it means I can have some (hopefully) comfy heels. I'll have to wait and see how my feet fare after our night out on friday!

Is it possible to be in love with a pair of shoes? 

Because I might well be. 

Now, to buy them in navy? Hmmmm. 

 Pip pip! xx