Sunday 2 August 2015

A Very Vintage Afternoon



Well, it's been a long time since my last post (sorry!), and what an interesting year so far. In my last blog I mentioned that I was starting a full time degree in Creative Writing, which I am pleased to say I absolutely love! But trying to find the right balance between University work, normal work and Retro Queen has been a challenge. Hopefully I will get everything perfectly balanced from now on and live in harmonious bliss for the rest of my life...err...maybe not quite, but there will be more regular blog posts and a change around coming to the website!
For any book lovers out there, I also started another blog about my love of reading called Literal Satisfaction, which you can take a peek at here: www.literalsatisfaction.wordpress.com, but for now, back to the afternoon tea!

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Both of the vintage fairs I have done this year have been organised by the fabulous Dolly Dazzler Presents, and having attended quite a few of her fairs over the years, me and a few others have become 'regulars'. We all try to attend the same fairs, pretty much as an excuse to drink coffee, catch up and talk vintage, but on the other hand trying to meet up outside of a vintage fair...well, it took us about six months, but we did it!

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Luckily one of Dolly Dazzlers regular traders is the master baker Lia, from Lia's Cakes & Tearoom in Preston. She brings her tasty wares to the fairs in a pop-up shop and has a super cute little tearoom, which is the perfect place for a vintage ladies meet up. There are home-made cakes galore including a range of Gluten Free goodies and as a proper brew is one of the most important things in life, Lia’s delivers with a brilliant range of leaf tea.


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We had delicious platters to share with fresh olives, smoked salmon, roasted veg, feta and home-made bread, including Gluten Free too, all served on beautiful vintage plates. The two lovely vintage ladies: Mary who runs Dolly Dazzler Presents and Leigh-Anne from Luscious Crafts.


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Look at these bad boys! Chocolate cups, filled with chocolate ganache and fresh berries! Complete chocolate bliss! Plus me and Cara from Vintage Faith enjoying a fine cup of tea.


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I love Lia’s creativity when it comes to new ideas! Naturally flavoured water with no added sugar and an indulgent cookies and cream hot chocolate. It’s the jam jar revolution people! Brilliant and delicious!


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And at the end of our feasting a bit of a knees up! Hopefully it won’t take us another six months to plan our next vintage meet up! Heh heh Check out Lia’s page on Facebook: Lia’s Cakes and Tearoom and Twitter: @lias_cakes and keep your eye on www.dollydazzlerpresents.co.uk for the latest updates on the next vintage fair! Leigh-Anne has a new website too, showing her amazing creations: www.lusciouscrafts.co.ukand for some funky vintage pieces see Cara’s Facebook page: Vintage Faith and take a peek at her ‘For Sale’ albums!

Since I've been talking about vintage ladies, our retro song is from a group of iconic vintage gals, doing what they do best! Released in 1956. Enjoy!

Catch Up Post - Let it Snow




I am definitely dreaming of a white christmas this year and have managed to incorporate some makeshift snow balls into my latest photo shoot! It has been a while since my last post or photo shoot, there have been some major changes here at Retro Queen HQ and its going to be an interesting and exciting new year! I've changed my day job and will be going to university full-time in January to do a creative writing degree, mixing my love of books and writing with vintage goodness! So there will be some changes coming to our online boutique in the new year and hopefully some more vintage adventures starting in February!
I received an early present this year! I've never owned an item of clothing from the 1940's but I now have my very own 40's party dress! It was very generously given to me by one of my mum's friends and I can't thank her enough! Luckily and amazingly it fits perfectly! I couldn't believe it! Me and this dress were meant to be! Heh heh
The photo shoot lasted about 2 hours, with numerous christmas props too. We took over 700 photos, I managed to pick 52 of the best and then the hard part: which ones to edit and actually use! Here are some of the ones that made it but keep your eye on our Facebook, twitter and instagram pages for some of the others!

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And here it is! Wow I love this dress! The colour and cut are perfect! To make the shoot even more special I wore the delicate gloves that were my great grandmas and I managed to dig out some navy shoes to match. I borrowed my grandmas beautiful necklace which was hers as a young woman and just matches the dress so well. And to top it all off the gorgeous evening bag is from my late Step-Grandma. Yep...thats a lot of vintage for one lucky girl!

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Sparkle and shine! The photo shoot was great fun to do and you can see the christmas theme peeking through in this photo! The candy cane stockings were not my idea but my partners and I was a little dubious at first, but I love them! With the pop of red from the hair band and lips it all ties in! Plus there a bit silly which I like! 

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Twist and shout! This dress was made for dancing in! I've added a petticoat underneath for extra volume, but I think an even bigger one would look great! It's swishy, silky and smooth and I loved wearing it!

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A bit of snow ball fun! I couldn't resist! Well I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and New Year and that 2015 is filled with fun, frolicking and of course vintage! Thank you for all your support over the last year and thanks for reading! 

And on the snow theme, here's our retro christmas song! Merry Christmas and Enjoy!



Monday 8 September 2014

Back To School

We had a vintage packed day at The Vintage Harris event on the 30th Aug in the beautiful Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston! Heres a few snaps of the day!



Definitely feeling the dress vibe today! Ha Ha Part of our pop-up boutique for the day show casing this fabulous 50's inspired vintage dress! Love it!



Not only were there amazing vintage stalls, themed food and retro crafts but you could get your hair transformed into an amazing vintage inspired up do! Love this bright flower accessory!



Here are just some of the gorgeous vintage pieces on display at The Harris! I need that grey dress coat in my life! What amazing designs and of course tiny teeny tiny waists! Heh heh



As it's that time of year again the preppy 'back to school' look is rocking the autumn trend so here's our vintage take on it! The buttoned up shirt with detailed collar is a great way to hit that preppy look with a twist of vintage too! It's a great way to wear your summer dresses well into autumn as well. I've added tan accessories and my classic brogues with a chunky back to school bag, filled with my late homework and of course an apple for the teacher! Have fun and mix it up with what you already have in your wardrobe and try adding a dash of vintage too!

We have a back to school themed retro song this week, well I say back to school more like rebelling against school! Heh Heh This is one of my all time favourite 70's tracks so rock out and enjoy!








Monday 18 August 2014

Revival Fair

What a fab day had at The revival vintage fair on the 9th Aug! It was held at The Flag Market in Preston and was filled with local food, craft and vintage traders plus amazing live music and flash artists! Check out some photos from the day!


Here's our pop up vintage boutique for the day! We had a lovely time sharing our gazebo with Cara from Vintage Faith too! 


This is just some of the amazing flash art that popped up throughout the day! It was great to see so many people and family's joining in on the fun! And luckily the weather held so it was fun in the sun drawing on the flags!

And here's the gorgeous Mrs Dolly Dazzler herself rocking the vintage BoHo look and tucking into a cheeky bit of candy floss too! She puts so much effort and passion into her events and it really shows! Well done Mary for another fabulous fair! 

Our next vintage adventure will be at The Harris Museum in Preston on the 30th Aug for a vintage filled day packed with vintage inspired music, food, events and of course fashion! Running from 12pm - 4pm there will be a beauty parlour and vintage afternoon tea! Poster coming soon!

Our retro song this week is a flash back to the 80's with one of my all time favourites! Sing it loud!







Wednesday 6 August 2014

Sun and Skirts


After such glorious weather I am actually boasting a small tan! A first in years! Heh Heh Hope you've all been enjoying the sunshine! I've tried my hand at a little DIY in the form of re-vamping some old vintage crates!


These beauty's will soon be sanded down and painted in a mahogany red wood stain all ready to use on the pop up boutique for our next vintage adventure this weekend in Preston!

I'm normally a dress kind of girl, having a wardrobe full of them, but recently I have been drawn to high-waisted, pleated skirts and even with an elasticated waist band! They are just so easy to wear and add your own style to, whether it's for lazy summer days or chilly evenings they are rocking my world right now! Heh Heh Here's a few of my recently worn ones!

I think this is my favourite skirt in all the land! The colours, pattern, and cute pockets are just spot on for me! Plus it has a stretchy waist so pretty comfy too! I've worn it with this pink vintage jumper and my classic brogues but looks great with a summer blouse or just a white T-shirt too!



Again with the stretchy waist (am I getting old!?) It's just so comfy! Heh heh Great to wear with a T-shirt or blouse tucked in and will look great with a fitted jumper and knee-high boots for autumn too! I love this pleated beauty and the pattern is gorgeous! How do you wear your favourite skirts?



Our next vintage adventure is upon us this weekend! That's come round far too quickly! But am very much looking forward to this fair! A jam-packed day filled with vintage shopping, handmade treats, delicious food, funky music and flash artists! Hope to see you there!

Our retro song of the week is a classic from the 80's! And it's just what we'll be doing this weekend at Revival! Enjoy!






Tuesday 22 July 2014

Filming, Fun And Fashion


We had a fab time at The Razzle Dazzle Traveling Vintage Fair at Cedar Farm Galleries on the 13th! The weather turned out great (yay) and there was a fantastic mix of stalls! Here's a shot from the day!



Part of our pop-up boutique for the day! Summer vintage galore!



My mini haul from Vintage Faith at the fair! She had so many fab retro goodies it was hard to choose! I'm really getting into my pleated, high waist skirts at the moment so chose this cute pastel green one for my latest addition to my skirt horde and then this funky vintage bag which will be great for going into autumn!



Our latest news is that our blog Retro Queen Says... will soon be coming to YouTube! We will be doing little videos on how to style up vintage items, and different looks you can get with the same piece! Here's a sneak peek at our first one! Coming soon, so keep posted for more updates!



Just a quick note on this lovely exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery called Cotton Couture! I went for a mooch their last weekend and it was well worth a visit! Some of the most amazing vintage pieces I've ever seen! And all made in 1950's Manchester! Pop in there if you get a chance! And of course I couldn't resist a pose! Heh Heh




Our next vintage adventure is coming up on August 9th at The Flag Market in Preston! Run by the amazing Dolly Dazzler Presents it's sure to be a fab day out! Loads going on not just vintage shopping! (although that's the best really!) Hee Hee 

Our retro song of the week is only retro inspired, but god I did love this song when it came out! She is definitely chanelling the vintage vixen! Enjoy!




Monday 7 July 2014

Back In Time


Hope you've all been enjoying the sunshine! After our fabulous vintage makeover day with Kitty Wink Vintage we got the professional photos through! I'm really pleased with all the photos, and after such a fun day too! I can't put them all on, so here's my favourite 3!


Day Dreaming....This was taken just outside The Old Vintage Tea Rooms, where the vintage day was held in a studio above the tea shop! I love the vintage suitcases!


So pleased we got the chance to have photos done with this gorgeous vintage 54 Chevy! Really feel like I've gone back in time in this photo!


I love this shot! What a glamorous set of ladies indeed! I wish every day could be that glam! The gorgeous Cara from Vintage Faith is next to me and then the lovely Emma with the fabulous 'Unicorn' hair! It was an utter pleasure to be snapped in this beauty of a car!  I can't wait for the next vintage tutorial day! Hopefully a 60's themed or 20's themed one is on the cards next! Excited!



Summer is upon us and we are loving this fab 80's yellow dress! Chic, retro and cool for summer its the perfect addition to your wardrobe! Get the look including the shiny clip-ons and 70's waist belt/necklace in our vintage box now! Get all 3 vintage treasures for under £30 too! 



Our next vintage adventure will be at The Razzle Dazzle Travelling Vintage Fair this Sunday 13th @ Cedar Farm Galleries! The galleries are great, there's 2 funky cafe's and the selection of vintage is fab! So it's a must day out! Hope to see you there! 10am till 4pm!

For our retro song of the week we are going back to the summer of 1980 for a funky summer tune which I can't resist to love! Enjoy!