Arabella's Fashion Blog, and other fun stuff

Bethnal Green's Affordable Vintage Fair

2012-05-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

Look forward to a great vintage day out at Bethnal Green's Affordable Vintage Fair this Sunday.

Our jewellery & fashion accessories will be fully stocked, discover treasures at a reasonable price you'll not find anywhere else!

Did you know that this venue used to be a boxing ring, and that Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac was born in Bethnal Green?

Hope to see you there!

Bethnal Green's Affordable Vintage Fair
York Hall, 5 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PJ
Sunday 27 May, 1pm to 6pm

Carl Art Vintage Jewellery

2012-05-18T01:09:00.000-07:00

One of our favourite vintage jewellery companies is Carl Art.

The company began in Providence, Rhode Island in 1936, and was founded by German immigrant Carl Schraysshuen and American businessman Arthur Loercher.

They manufactured fine quality gold, gold-filled, and sterling silver jewellery. After his death in 1953 Carl's half of the company was sold by his wife.

For more on Carl Art please click here.

Carl and Hedwig Schraysshuen, 1940's

Carl Art Gold Filled Earrings 1940's, £49.50

Carl Art Gold Filled Bracelet, 1940's, £75

A montage of our latest vintage offerings, fabulous milk glass and diamante pieces, circa 1950s ...

2012-05-11T01:35:00.000-07:00

Milk Glass Brooch £22.50

Clip-on Diamante Earrings £21.50

Milk Glass and Diamante clip-on Earrings £35.00

Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair, Saturday 5 May

2012-05-04T03:24:00.000-07:00

This Saturday find us at Old Spitalfields Market for Europe's biggest vintage fair.

Browse and buy from 170 of the best vintage stalls in Britain!

Hope to see you there!

From 11am - 5pm.

Vintage Vogue - The Essex Vintage Fashion Fair

2012-04-27T00:05:00.000-07:00

We're really looking forward to the The Essex Vintage Fashion Fair this Sunday, 10am - 4pm.

Around 50 of the most beautiful quality vintage stalls that you can find anywhere!

Be there or be square!

Vintage Birthday Cheer ...

2012-04-20T02:14:00.000-07:00

This week I sent my sister this lovely vintage birthday card.

Simplicity with such a delightful verse.

Marilyn Monroe

2012-04-13T00:25:00.000-07:00

Love this photo of Marilyn Monroe in 'Some Like it Hot' 1959.

Stunning dress and beautiful vintage diamante jewellery.

The film was awarded an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

A lovely vintage Easter card. Happy Easter ...

2012-04-06T02:11:00.000-07:00

A Pearl of Wisdom, from an apprentice entrepreneur

2012-03-30T02:51:00.000-07:00

Pearls of Wisdom from the Homemaker's Encyclopedia -- 1952

Yesterday we had a really successful night at our local school's pamper evening. We've finally defined our target market!

What do peeps want? You can't sell everything to everyone. It really does come down to defining your target market, and going there!

I am a bit of an experimeter, and went everywhere and anywhere with our products. I was wrong and they were right, define your target market!

Have you got any Pearls of Wisdom? Would love to publish them.

Friday Favourite - 1950's Christian Dior

2012-03-23T01:21:00.000-07:00

From 1950s Christian Dior

Our all time most popular post about Christian Dior jewellery attracted to date 316 readers.

So, I thought we'd post this beautiful photo of Christian Dior clothes this time.

In 1946 Christian Dior opened 'Maison Dior' in Paris. It was not until 1950 however that Dior began to make costume jewellery to match his clothing collections. Always well made, Dior has been one of the most successful couture companies to this very day.

Enjoy your weekend.

My week with Arabella Bianco

2012-03-16T03:04:00.000-07:00


A fun week with Arabella Bianco

My name is Eliza and I have been doing my work shadowing placement with Arabella Bianco for the past week. It has been really worthwhile as I have gained many skills and knowledge that I did not previously have.

On the first day, I acquainted myself with Mailchimp in order to create the March 2012 newsletter. What I enjoyed most about this was the fact that I could track the success of the newsletter on Mailchimp by seeing how many people had opened the email containing the newsletter.

The second day was the highlight of the whole week. I got the opportunity to go to a marketing workshop with the owner of Arabella Bianco. I obtained a lot of new, useful information about marketing which I will be able to use in the future. In addition to going to a marketing workshop, I was lucky enough to design a returns form for the company. The company really liked my design and so have said they will use it in the future.

I was able to be very creative on Wednesday because I got to help the owner of the company design a new logo. Normally I am not very creative but I got myself stuck in and put forward ideas. Some were even incorporated into the new design!

Thursday was another creative day. I helped to create a YouTube video for the company. It was so fun! My creative juices were flowing again and the final product turned out like this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZAJASRL90c. As well as this, I was introduced to Pinterest. This is a site that enables people to share things on the web. I used this to create a board for Arabella Bianco including pictures from www.arabellabianco.co.uk and product descriptions. I had never used Pinterest before so it was interesting to learn how to use it and then go on to make an account on behalf of Arabella Bianco.

On my final day, I was lucky enough to give my input into the new website Arabella Bianco is designing. It was really exciting because I knew nothing about designing a website so it was really interesting to see how a company would go about designing a new website in order to re brand themselves. Moreover, I conducted two interviews to gain more information on how the company is run and how the employees got to the positions they are in now.

I would highly recommend taking up work shadowing with Arabella Bianco because you are able to get highly involved with the business and not just do menial jobs. I had a really great time on my work shadowing placement and gained many vital skills that I can use in future jobs.

Who else wants a vintage look at a reasonable price?

2012-03-09T03:37:00.000-08:00

A collection of beautiful quality vintage earrings, that won't cost an arm and a leg!

Vintage gold tone Flower Earrings £9.75

Unusual vintage earrings from the 1980s with a lovely flower design.

These earrings would make a statement with a modern or vintage outfit.

Vintage Silver Feather Earrings £7.00

Beautiful vintage sterling silver feather earrings from the 1960s.

A delicate design, still fashionable today.

Vintage Silver Fish Earrings £7.50

Beautiful vintage sterling silver fish earrings from the 1960s.

Lovely novelty fish, which were all the rage at the time.

Vintage Pearl and gold tone Earrings £9.00

Lovely clip-on earrings from the 1980s, with faux pearls and a fancy surround.

Would add a classic feel to any outfit.

Vintage Silver Diamond Cut Earrings £7.00

Sweet sterling silver diamond cut earrings dating from the 1960s.

Very fashionable at the time, and not easy to find now!

How to look like Joan Crawford ...

2012-03-02T01:45:00.000-08:00

Joan Crawford wearing her Boucheron jewellery

Tomorrow we'll be at Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair at Old Spitalfields Market, 11am-5pm.

Amongst our marvellous stock, we have a few beautiful original 50s cocktail necklaces, and a number of other fabulous 50s pieces.

There will be plenty of quality vintage clothing from other sellers too!

We'll be giving 15% off for holders of Judy's ADvintage card (free at every Judy's event).

Keep your eyes peeled and you could put together a look as elegant as Joan Crawford's.

From Home and Woman Magazine, 1950

2012-02-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Secrets of Personal Style for Men, a guest blog from Style Pilot

2012-02-17T00:49:00.000-08:00

Superdry £34.99

How to improve your fashion sense

Avoid the pitfalls of shopping in a hurry.

Who are you?

Shopping habits and conversely the style and fashion of men is too often driven by snappy shop window displays and what adorns the first few rails inside the shop door. Men find it very easy to slip into “that’ll do” attitudes when it comes to shopping. The sooner that attitude is beaten the quicker you’ll be on your way to an improved sense of fashion and style.

Know yourself and make a swift decisions around your style and the look you want. Are you going to religiously follow the latest trends? Or perhaps you’re going to maintain a vintage style while making small additions to your wardrobe from the latest styles. Your look becomes an extension of who you are so it’s important for it to be a true reflection of the person underneath.

Inject some life!

Chances are that if you’ve been a “that’ll do” type in the past, your wardrobe will be as exciting as a rainy day at the seaside. I’m imagining lots of basic denim, with plain t-shirts which were purchased as part of some “5 for £20” blanket offer which you thought seemed a great idea at the time. If that explains your wardrobe, then boy you have some work to do! It may surprise you that we won’t implore you to throw away your basic t-shirts, but you do have to start making them work harder to create a gorgeous look for you. Adding a bit of life into a tired and drab looking wardrobe can be straightforward.

Using the basics

Try to keep the pairs of jeans you own down to a few. The more pairs of jeans you own, the bigger variety you need and the more money you’ll spend needlessly on extra clothes that you probably won’t wear that much. The same can be said for shoes. As a rule, if you can keep the number of pairs of shoes down to the same number as jeans, then you’re onto a winner. If you have one excellent pair of shoes that goes with all of your jeans then you, sir, are a fashion hero!

Accessories

Unlock the secrets of a great wardrobe immediately with carefully chosen add on items which will truly round off and enhance your great look. Stylish accessories can make the difference between the ordinary and out of this world!

About Stylepilot:

Stylepilot.com is the first personal style engine for men – Style Pilot aims to help men navigate and master men’s fashion. It’s an automated stylist that gives personalised recommendations based on their physique and preferences. Style Pilot searches through 1000s of online men’s brands and retailers to find the best matches.

Vintage Valentines Day

2012-02-10T02:30:00.000-08:00

"My Dearest Miss, I send thee a kiss"
St. Valentine's Day card from 1862.

Embossed and printed in colour, with silk panel, addressed to Miss Jenny Lane [or Lowe, or Love] of Crostwight Hall, Smallburgh, Norfolk, and inscribed on the back "Good Morrow Valentine".

Beautiful.

Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair coming up ...

2012-02-03T02:10:00.000-08:00

Our first 'big do' of the year will be Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair, at Old Spitalfields Market, on Saturday 3 March. We're doubling up our stall with even more fab goodies, including two new amazing lines.

Here's how to wear a few of our items, a nostalgic look:

Art Deco Style Diamante Bracelet £24.50

Real Sheepskin Collar £35

Vintage Style Turban £9

Fabulous new handcrafted line with beads ...

2012-01-27T01:36:00.000-08:00

Very excited about our latest range of handmade beaded items. Unique and individual, here's a few snapshots:

Stone and Beaded Rings £6.50

'Stained Glass Window' Bracelet £12.50

and a close-up of our handcrafted sequin and bead drawstring bag:

Black-multi Sequin and Bead Bag £9.75

Hope you like them, have a fab weekend!

Book review ... Botty's Rules

2012-01-20T04:21:00.000-08:00

One of 2 books I read over Christmas was Botty's Rules by British entrepreneur Nigel Botterill.

I was a bit sceptical at first, but when I read he was the first non-American to win the GKIC Marketer of the Year award, and that proceeds of the book were donated to The Teenage Cancer Trust, I felt enthused and bought the book.

Loads of really useful and practical information inside. The most useful of which is a checklist of the 29 Botty's Rules at the back of the book. Nige is a bit self-obsessed at times, but let's face it you need to be to get anywhere in business.

Nigel is obviously an extrovert, and that's one other thing I've learnt, controversial as it may be, you need to be extrovert to run a successful business. Perhaps that should be the 30th Botty's Rule.

Speaking as a natural introvert, be brave, get out there and act extrovert (and read Nigel's book!).

A great book, a great read, highly recommended.

We're back

2012-01-13T07:05:00.000-08:00

Hello, we're back after a brief technical hitch! Our latest news:

We've sourced a really fabulous range of gold plated and silver vintage inspired jewellery for 2012, we'll be releasing details soon!

Our blog rose sharply last month in the Wikio fashion blogs to number 173, let's keep it going up!

Thought you would like to take a look at one of our chinese silk art print scarves, as the last blog post I wrote about them was very popular. That's it for now, have a relaxing weekend.

Chinese Silk Fun Cats Scarf £17.50

Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-30T02:07:00.000-08:00

Our last event of 2011 is on New Years Eve at Bromley Town Centre Market, where we'll be running our final stall of the year.

Happy New Year to you, and best wishes for 2012!

Christmas Wishes

2011-12-23T01:00:00.000-08:00

We are very busy with our Christmas Market in Bromley, ending Christmas Eve.

A huge thank you to all our Twitter followers, Facebook likers, blog readers, website customers and of course our customers in the 'real world' for making this our most successful year yet.

We wish you a very peaceful and relaxing Christmas.

Christmas Shopping ...

2011-12-15T00:20:00.000-08:00

Visit us tomorrow and Saturday at Bromley Christmas market in the High Street, for more details click here.

We have a really fab selection of jewellery and fashion accessories 'fun, sometimes quirky, and just that little bit different'.

Or visit our website for a great online shopping experience.
We send within 1 business day by 1st class post.
Orders of £18+ will receive a FREE glass crystal bracelet worth £5 plus FREE UK p&p.

Whatever you do, we hope you enjoy your Christmas shopping and find what you're looking for.

Christmas begins at Bromley Town Centre Market

2011-12-08T02:40:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread Man £9.50

We start our Christmas stall in Bromley high street tomorrow. The Christmas Market runs until Christmas Eve, and we have 5 bookings. Please click here for further details.

Great blog post about last Saturday's vintage fashion fair at Spitalfields, we're in it! http://tinyurl.com/cqcxzok

Have a great weekend.

Spitalfields vintage fashion fair tomorrow!

2011-12-02T02:29:00.000-08:00

Our highlight of the year, we're at Stall 113, be there or be square!