Diary of a Vintage Girl | Vintage Fashion & Lifestyle

The King's Shorts (film, that is)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 22:35:00 +0000

Hi readers! I'm not dead. Today I'm here to tell you about a hypnotist, hoaxer, magic lantern operator, and one of the earliest pioneers of film. And, of course, his connection to the King!

While it could never be said that he's a household name, as many of today's most famous filmmakers are, George Albert Smith is truly one of the most important people in Victorian and Edwardian cinema. I went to Brighton Museum to have a look around the Experimental Motion exhibition on early film in Brighton and learn more about him. What better setting for a King's Ginger piece than The Royal Pavilion?

Side note: I've never actually been to Brighton Museum (inside the grounds of the Royal Pavilion) before, despite the many, many trips to the town I've done in my life. The Royal Pavilion itself has an obvious connection with the King. Well, slightly. Queen Victoria was its last royal owner. Having been built for the Prince Regent (later George IV) in 1787 and extended into its current style (domes and minarets) in 1811, it would get passed down to subsequent monarchs. Queen Victoria, however, disliked Brighton. She went to stay in the Pavilion in 1841 with Albert, coincidentally around the same time that Brighton became accessible by rail to Londoners. So the Queen was unable to go and walk around outside, as she drew constant attention. Apparently, the royal couple "found themselves surrounded by tourists and errand boys when they went out for a walk, with members of the public peering under her bonnet to see what she looked like". Said Victoria, "the people here are very indiscreet and troublesome". So the Pavilion was sold to the town of Brighton itself.

As King Edward VII was born in November 1841, then I'd say the chances are very good that he *did* visit the Pavilion, albeit inside his mother... but that's far too easy a story. So, back to the proper one... where was I?

Let's start at the beginning! George Albert Smith was born in Cripplegate, London in 1864, but ended up moving to Brighton as a child, when his mother relocated the family following the death of his father. When Smith was in his early twenties, he partnered up with a chap called Douglas Blackburn for 'psychic' stage performances at the Brighton Aquarium. They would do different acts - one where the blindfolded performer would direct the other to a 'hidden' item within the theatre, and 'muscle reading' where the (still blindfolded) performer identifies objects belonging to the audience. So convincing was Smith that his claims of genuine telepathy were believed by the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) and he even ended up becoming the private secretary to the SPR's official Honorary Secretary, Edmund Gurney. Gurney would often allow himself to have 'hypnotic experiments' carried out on him by Smith and became something of a celebrity. Smith probably faked all the results and Gurney later died in mysterious circumstances... by his own hand or not? That's a story for another time. Mainly because I have no idea.

Anyway, Blackburn later admitted that their early shows were a hoax. So the rest undoubtedly were too.

Smith must have earned himself a lot of money in his time at the SPR, because after he left, in 1892, he acquired the lease to St Ann's Well Garden in Hove and apparently turned it into a popular pleasure garden and a tourist attraction.

This biography of Smith has a quote from a Hove newspaper, describing St Ann's Well Garden as, 'this delightful retreat ... presided over by the genial Mr G. Albert Smith, is now open ... In the hot weather the refreshing foliage of the wooded retreat is simply perfect, while one can enjoy a cup of Pekoe in the shade'. It also talks about "lawn tennis, 'ferns, flowers, grapes and cucumbers for sale in the glass houses' a gypsy fortune-teller, a monkey house, lantern exhibitions given by Smith of 'dissolving views' and the occasional 'thrilling parachute descent' provided it with a distinctive character."

But more important that tea drinking and monkey tennis, was the film factory that the garden soon became. After seeing the work of another British film pioneer, Robert Paul at the Alhambra Music Hall in Leicester Square in March 1896, as well as a film demonstration by the (very famous) Lumière brothers; later that same year or early in the next, Smith bought his first film camera.

It would have looked very much like the one on the left above, which is a, 1896 42mm experimental camera by Alfred Darling & Sons Ltd of Brighton. Alfred Darling apparently worked closely with the early filmmakers like Smith, to produce these innovative machines, which then sold worldwide. The camera on the right is from 1900, and is a very early 'special effects' camera, with special plates that give the illusion of looking through binoculars. More on this, shortly.

Smith was a prolific filmmaker, making at least 31 films in 1897, that first year; and hundreds in total. He started using special effects like superimposition by the following year, to show the magical arrival of Santa Claus. And in 1899, he made a short film called The Kiss in the Tunnel, where three pieces of film (train entering tunnel, a man and woman kissing on the train, train leaving tunnel) were edited together in a very simple but effective film sequence. Thus came the birth of editing and film continuity.

His output the following year included Grandma's Reading Glass, which has been credited as the first film in cinematic history to use a close-up shot, using a camera just like the one on the right in the photo above, also made by Alfred Darling & Sons. Smith also pioneered other special effects and processes such as double-exposure, reversing and dream sequences.

Alfred Darling undertook a lot of work for George Albert Smith and his contemporaries, as detailed in the business journal displayed in the exhibition. As well as serving Brighton-based filmmakers, Darling made cameras for London-based folks like one Charles Urban... another enormously important chap in early cinema and a name to remember for later.

Smith got busy over those early few years, turning St Ann's Well Garden into a busy and productive studio. He also turned the pump house into a space for developing and printing film. By the end of the 19th Century, Smith had become a successful commercial film processor. Fellow moving picture pioneer and local chemist James Williamson, whose short films were also on show in the exhibition (the steamrollered man in 'An Interesting Story', could easily have been made today about someone glued to their smartphone), apparently sold Smith the chemicals he needed for film processing. Charles Urban (him again), became a large customer.

Smith's wife, Laura Eugenia Bayley, acted in many of his films. Mary Jane's Mishap is a really funny comedy short made by Smith in 1903, and starring Laura in the title role. It's on display in Brighton Museum and was one of his last significant films.

Forgive me for glossing over the man's illustrious career so quickly (he did make many, many more important films, lots of which survive to this day), but I'm going to sum up the last decade of his movie career now.

By 1905, he had sold St Ann's Well on and moved to Southwick where, where with finance from Charles Urban, he went on to develop what was called the Lee-Turner Process, (acquired by canny mogul Urban following the death of the eponymous Turner in 1903) into the first successful colour film process, Kinemacolor. In May 1908, Smith and Urban unveiled the first colour film, staggering its audience. Urban turned Kinemacolor into a new enterprise, the Natural Colour Kinemacolor Company, which went on to produce over 100 short features at its studios in Hove between 1910 to 1913, before a patent suit put it out of business in 1914. And thus, Smith's movie career ended along with his company. He faded into obscurity before apparently being 'discovered' again in the 40s and was finally recognised for his immense contribution to the industry and inducted into the British Film Academy hall of fame. Smith died in 1959.

As always, you may well ask, what is the connection then, if it's not the Royal Pavilion itself? Well, it's an interesting one! In 1902, Smith collaborated with the very well-known early French filmographer Georges Méliès - who was also a great friend of his - to create and direct a 'pre-enactment' of the Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. It was commissioned and produced by none other than Charles Urban after a rival film company, Mutoscope and Biograph apparently acquired the rights to film the actual event.

It was a potted version of the ceremony, lasting only five minutes instead of three hours, and filmed using actors, including a man who is indistinguishable from the real King Edward, who was apparently a washroom attendant. After editing, it was ready to be released on the day of the real event in June 1902, which was itself then delayed two months until August of that year while his Majesty recovered from a nearly deadly bout of appendicitis. What happened to the 'real' coronation video, I'm not sure.

How brilliant that this film can now be watched in its entirety today, and even with some handy and informative annotations (not done by me)? Enjoy:

So that's the story of George Albert Smith, Victorian and Edwardian film pioneer, who may or may not have actually met the King himself (Smith's IMDB page has a few other documentary shorts starring the royal couple, so it's likely he did), but definitely met a man who looked identical. Nearly the same thing!

Thanks for joining me in this new instalment of my longest-running series, which I just love doing. I shall leave you all again with the news that this blog is finally almost ready for a makeover and a reinvention. So stay tuned and I'll be back soon... for real.

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Eight Years of Blogging Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 14:43:00 +0000

Forgive me, oh readers, this is a bit of a cheat post. I just read lovely Retro Chick's Christmas outft post & wanted to rip off her idea. But because I'm nothing if not resourceful and have done this in the past, I'm basically reposting almost exactly what I did last year. But this blog needs a seasonal revival and what's easier than a good old copy/past/update post? So here it is, the Eight Years of Blogging Christmas, since 2008, when DoaVG was born!

(This time, I'm going to add some different angles & bonus photos. Well, it is Christmas...)

For the 2008 Everything's Jumpin' Christmas swing dance in Kingston I wore a two-piece candy-cane striped playsuit & skirt. I couldn't remember the brand last year, but I can confirm it was by Miss Hussy, a now defunct Aussie brand. I 'met' the owner again on Facebook this year, in a vintage group. Small world!

This repro velvet dress from Able Grable (also sadly gone) from 2009 has been a festive winner for many subsequent years. Here's me and my bro, looking young - he's now more grown-up than me, being married and with a 1 year old little girl.

There don't seem to be any pictures of me from Christmas 2010. Obviously I have no idea what I wore... but I do have some photos of my 30s inspired gown from the New Sheridan Christmas party that year, with Bethan & Jeni looking EXTREMELY young!

Plus, here's one of me in an actual 1930s gown from NYE that year.

Just before Christmas 2011, I took some photos for King's Ginger around St James.

That ASOS jumpsuit makes regular appearances to this day.

On Christmas Day itself, I wore a jumpsuit, and ended up looking like this on our traditional walk.

Posing in my best pal's shop in a festive Rocket Originals jumper...

Bonus festive pics of my babes Jeni & I doing a photoshoot at the Imperial War Museum. Honestly, I've been so privileged in my life.

This picture of me with Percy Pig in a Santa hat deserves a special mention.

As does the Christmas cat face.

2013's Heyday Christmas Fleur (plus my then-tiny cousin), which will be worn at some point over the holidays this year too and...

2014's Heyday Holly Berry Fleur dress, which will also make a comeback.

As you might gather from my infrequent blogs, I've kinda fallen out of love with having my photo taken in recent times. I didn't get any photos of myself last Christmas, except this one. Bit of a different vibe, but more 'me' as I am currently!

I think that's enough narcissism for one post/year. See you all in 2017? Stay sexy, everyone.

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

The King & The American

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 12:45:00 +0000

Would you look at the time? I'm going back to 1892 to tell you all another story about a certain late King. It's quite the interesting tale. Welcome to Two Temple Place...

Two Temple place is a gothic mansion, situated on the Victoria Embankment of the River Thames. It was built for William Waldorf Astor in 1892 (completed in 1895), from Portland stone and in the Early Elizabethan style. The inside was described by one Donald Strachan as 'Victoriana meets Disney' and is full of completely bizarre details, which I'll come to shortly. It's also not generally open to the public, only opening its doors during periodical exhibitions. I've wanted to go along to see it in person for a few years, partly because of the connection with King Edward VII, thus making it a great topic for one of these blogs, but also because it just seemed really interesting and unusual. And it certainly didn't disappoint!

Let's start from the beginning. William Waldorf 'Willy' Astor, later known as the 1st Viscount Astor, was an extremely wealthy american gentleman, born in 1848. He was an attorney by trade and hailed from New York, growing up in Germany and Italy before returning to his native country as a young adult. He entered politics in the 1870s, with some success, but it was in 1890, when his financier father died, that he inherited an enormous fortune. Enough to make him the richest man in America.

Among the first things he did with his newfound wealth was to build the opulent Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. You might have heard of it! But in 1891, he got into a family feud with Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn, the wife of his uncle, over whether it was she or Astor's own wife Mary who should be known as the official 'Mrs Astor'. Unfortunately, Willy lost the argument. In a very strange turn of events, in order to disappear from the American public eye, Astor apparently faked his own death from pneumonia and moved to England in 1892. Obviously, this ruse didn't last long and he was roundly mocked by the American press. Nevermind, eh? He was in England now!

Upon arrival in London, he rented a home, but immediately began work on Two Temple Place, later buying a country estate, Cliveden in 1893. The work was completed in 1895.

Two Temple Place has everything an eccentric billionaire could want. Elaborate carvings, complicated metalwork, crenellations, novelty lampposts, cherubs on the telephone (it was brand new technology then), a fancy weathervane - all on the outside.

But the inside takes it another step further still. It's extraordinary. Carved wood, wood figurines, gilt plating everywhere, spectacular stained glass on the ceiling and windows. Have a look.

At opposite ends of the Gallery are these amazing windows.

And there's gold plating everywhere... very dark for photos unfortunately.

The main stairwell has this ridiculous ceiling and a frieze starring characters from Rip Van Winkle and Last of the Mohicans among others, as well as Shakespearean carved figures and other characters from both fiction and history. Anne Boleyn is there somewhere. The staircase has not one but SEVEN mahogany carvings of characters from Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, allegedly Astor's favourite novel.

Add caption

Porthos

Not sure - Athos?

It was designed and built by architect John Loughborough Pearson, the founder of Modern Gothic architecture. The budget was so high, he spared no expense on hiring skilled craftsmen. Aside from the crazy and amazing interior, Two Temple Place had many useful features as well. It was Astor's office, was a home away from the US where he apparently felt his children were at risk from kidnapping, the largest strong room in Europe and other fortified safes.

From Wikipedia

But the interesting story of Two Temple Place is all well and good, but what is the connection with The King's Ginger, you might well ask? There are almost too many to detail in one blog (and keep it interesting). Firstly, he may very well have met our hero when still in the USA, as a founding father of the Tuxedo Club - which the Prince attended in New York, as detailed in a previous blog post I wrote on tailor to the King, Henry Poole.

But later in life as a London resident, Willy Astor became very interested in British society, specifically his standing in it. He donated widely and generously to charities - Great Ormond Street Hospital was one such recipient, as well as countless universities, schools, hospitals, benevolent funds, war memories, children's charities and, notably for this piece, donated £5,000 annually to King Edward's Hospital Fund (you can see an earlier piece on this hospital!). While rumours abounded that he wanted to marry into royalty, he controversially gave a very extravagant wedding gift to Princess Maud of Wales, King Edward and Queen Alexandra's youngest daughter - a bracelet with a diamond larger than a hazelnut. The Evening Telegram in 1896 said of it, 'The ornament is an extraordinary one, even for a many times millionaire to give to a Royal bride, and that giver but a ‘commoner,’ say some of the gossipers.'

Maud of Wales

But even more interestingly, as transcribed in this great blog post, in 1896, the Chicago Tribune reported that the generousgift of the bracelet probably came as a result of Astor's closeness with the then Prince of Wales, because Astor had paid off some of our Playboy Prince's mounting debts:

... the Prince looked around him on every side for another benefactor, whom, the probabilities are, he found in the person of William Waldorf Astor, who was only too delighted at the opportunity thus offered to place the future King of England and Emperor of India under so heavy an obligation to himself.
The Prince is not ungrateful, and he has shown by his visits to Cliveden, by his influencing the other members of the Royal family to accept Mr. Astor’s invitations and by his inviting him far more frequently than is stated in the newspapers to Sandringham, how much he appreciates the assistance afforded.
One of the most significant features of the situation is the superb wedding present given by Mr. Astor to Princess Maud of Wales the other day. It was an unset diamond of huge size, of perfect purity and luster, and of immense value. It was a gift which a brother-in-law might give to a sister-in-law or a kinsman to a relative, but hardly one which any mere acquaintance of the family, a comparative stranger, would dream of sending.
The Royal family are very particular about the origin of presents, and many a gift has been refused because the Prince and Princess did not consider that the value thereof was warranted by the degree of intimacy or of friendship.
The inevitable conclusion, therefore, is that William Waldorf Astor, descendant of the German pelt-peddler and late of America, is not only considered an intimate friend of the family of the Prince of Wales, but is in a position steadily to intensify that intimacy and worm his way to the throne, the left-handed consort’s throne, itself.
London society is convinced that this is Mr. Astor’s purpose, and those luminaries of it who best know its inner workings consider that his chances of success are good.

And as a final amusing note, Astor's son, Waldorf Astor, had a second marriage to another American emigré to England, Nancy Witcher Langhorne. Nancy Astor was famous in English society for being a bit saucy in her speech - she was apparently charming, witty and interesting (if also very devoutly religious). The couple lived in another of Willy Waldorf Astor's homes, the aforementioned Clivedem. On the Cliveden site (now National Trust), it states:

In the early twentieth century, King Edward VII was eager to meet the newly married Nancy Astor. On one occasion during a visit to Cliveden, Edward VII asked to play bridge which Nancy declined, famously saying ‘I am afraid I can’t tell a King from a Knave’ – much to the King’s amusement.

I suspect the King might have had designs on her...

That's all for now. Here are a couple more photos of the amazing Two Temple Place, where Astor and the King may or may not have drunk together. The exhibition on inside during my visit was on Egyptology - fascinating but the building itself was worth the trip alone. It's now closed to the public until their next exhibition in 2017. I encourage any history lovers to go along when you can, it's amazing!

D'Artagnan in the foreground there.

This is the ladies loo! It's the worst photo I took, but I'm sharing for posterity!

In the meantime, drink loads of The King's Ginger - it's getting to that season after all. Especially at this weekend's Goodwood Revival, where there's a lovely Berry Bros. & Rudd Bar! Cheers!

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Go Hard or Go Frome (part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 15:01:00 +0000

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (or rather last June in Somerset), much fun was had. It was actually a hen do, and all in honour of Jeni aka Yesterday Girl, who got married in Vegas last July. A fabulous time was had by all (and documented on Instagram) but then the photos got lost on a hard drive and so no blog post was written. But then, a couple of months ago, they got found... hooray!

So anyway, last June, my girl gang and I drove in convoy to Frome (yes it's pronounced Froom, rather than to rhyme with home but oh well), with me in my little yellow Panda and Bethan in her red Ka. We stayed in a lovely holiday cottage called Stonehenge (s/o to all you Spinal Tap fans) that we found through Snaptrip, which had a pool and games room next door. And we celebrated Jeni's forthcoming marriage with almost none of your standard hen party accessories. Except willy straws. Oh, and willy cutlery.

I will simply post this as a visual diary of our excursions. There's Wookey Hole, which was quite literal cheesy fun in caves (clogs not recommended), the vintage amusement arcade and mirror maze plus the dinosaur trail outside. We also did a trip into Frome to poke about the vintage shops. While other people's holiday photos can be dull, I assure you all there are lots of good vintage outfits and hair to be seen here! Part 2 coming soon and by the way, all these photos are from Jeni's amazing camera, which explains why they are much better than my knackered old Canon can manage.

Outside Stone'enge!

Picnic essentials

Bathing belles (mostly in What Katie Did!)

Swedish Hasbeens - not health and safety conscious in caves

Mirror lols

Jeni from the slots

That'll do for now... stay tuned for part 2 of 'Photos I didn't take in Frome'! Also, anyone else now wishing for some summer sunshine?

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Feelin' Vinyl

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 12:07:00 +0000

Yesterday was really quite special. Not only did I get to hang out with one of my oldest and dearest friends Naomi Thompson, but I got to dress up and have my photo taken in a fabulous 1970s dress with hair and makeup, too. Exhibit A:

As a newly converted 1970s aficionado, it was a bit of a dream. The shoot was in honour of the new HBO series Vinyl being released for digital download, today. Firstly, and most importantly, here's what Vinyl is all about:

VINYL is a ride through the sex- and drug-addled music business of 1970s New York at the dawn of punk, disco and hip-hop. Richie Finestra, the founder and president of American Century Records, is trying to save his company and soul without destroying everyone in his path. With his passion for music and discovering talent gone by the wayside, and American Century on the precipice of being sold, he has a life-altering event that reignites his love of music, but severely damages his personal life.

It has been created by none other than Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, author Rich Cohen and multi-gonged producer Terence Winter who is known for "The Wolf of Wall Street; HBO’s “The Sopranos” and “Boardwalk Empire”, so if that's not a recipe for an amazing series right there, I don't know what is!

The aim of the day was for the dream team of Naomi and Natasha from Pretty Me Vintage to transform a select few journalists and bloggers into (imaginary) characters from the series. Think glitzy, moneyed 1970s New York music industry clothing, rather than boho, wild-child hippies or English Laura Ashley frocks.

It's fair to say, they got it spot on!

I'm actually wearing one of my own dresses, because being so tall makes it very difficult to get vintage maxi dresses that are long enough. This was a lucky find on Etsy and is a handmade 1970s evening gown in a bird of paradise printed cotton. It has a matching belt and even a shawl, which I left off as it can make the outfit look more boho. Sleep, sophisticated but with a touch of 70s flower power... the perfect dress in my opinion!

Naomi teamed it with some gold jewellery and a bag, plus some real 70s vintage sandals. I teamed it with a somewhat haughty expression.

I loved my Farrah flicked hair and 70s makeup by Natasha! I clearly need more bronze eyeshadow in my life. And kaftans. And big sunglasses...

I haven't actually watched the show, since it only comes out over here today, but I have been browsing through the stills online. There are some truly wonderful costumes on it.

As mentioned, VINYL is available to own on Digital HD today. The info is this:

The star-studded HBO drama Vinyl: The Complete First Season on digital download will be available for the suggested pricing of £17.99 (SD) and £23.99 (HD) through several retailers including Amazon, BT TV, Google Play, iTunes, Sony, Talk Talk, Xbox, Wuaki. Digital download gives consumers the opportunity to own their favourite shows to watch instantly and forever across multiple devices.

I will genuinely be seeking it out to get stuck into as I've been bereft of anything good to watch since Mad Men finished and Walking Dead is on a break... and before Game Of Thrones comes back on. Yes I probably watch too much telly... no regrets.

Thank you to Naomi, Natasha and the Premiere team for having me.

Think you'll give Vinyl a watch?

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Welcome Home (The King's Sanatorium)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 22:42:00 +0000

It's time for another delve into English Edwardian history for The King's Ginger. This time, we're going back to a darker time, when tuberculosis was a scourge. Men, women, children, rich or poor - no one was safe, and a cure was not yet known. But the luckier (and not necessarily wealthier) victims of consumption did have more of a chance, thanks to a state-of-the-art sanatorium that bore the King's name...

Back in my teens, all I really knew about TB was that the leading lady in La Boheme had it and I got a very painful BCG inoculation against it. But in the early 1800s, TB was the cause of an astonishing twenty-five percent of all deaths in England. By the turn of the 20th century, rates of death from consumption were still high, with a vaccination more than twenty years away and a cure, almost fifty. It was only a couple of decades previously, that the medical profession discovered that TB was infectious. It was certainly had no respect for money or class status. But it's fair to say there was a huge difference in the treatment of poor TB victims and the wealthy ones. Both were isolated from society, but the poor went into sanatoriums that were essentially prisons or workhouses and the more well-heeled benefited from plush hospitals, relaxation, fresh air and sunlight.

It wasn't all bad news for the TB afflicted poor though, thanks to one philanthropic Royal. A certain hospital was founded in 1901, and officially opened on the 13th June 1906 by, you guessed it, His Majesty King Edward VII. The King's Sanatorium was the brainchild of the monarch himself, after he was given £200,000 to spend on charitable purposes following his accession to the throne in 1901. Inspired by similar TB sanatoriums overseas, Bertie wanted to found an institution which treated the poorer patients in pleasant surroundings to aid their recovery.

A couple of older images, from Purcell, the restoration architects

and the Midhurst & Petworth Observer

After a public competition to solicit ideas, the resulting hospital was the very embodiment of the latest clinical ideas (the aforementioned relaxation, fresh air and light). It was also really beautiful, designed by architect H Percy Adams in an Arts & Crafts style architecture by H Percy Adams, his then-assistant a young Charles Holden, who went on to design some of the most state-of-the-art London Underground stations in the 20s and 30s. He influenced Charles Rennie Mackintosh, among others.

The building was south-facing and featured two long wings and a central block with two bay windows. Brick, pantile, sandstone and wrought iron were all used - and there was (and still is) beautiful detail all over both the exterior and interior. From Royal crests on the drainpipes to Art Nouveau details on the tiling.

The gardens were designed by Gertrude Jekyll, who has featured on my blog before. They were specially designed to work in harmony with the architecture and to be therapeutic for the patients. Whether the layout of the grounds did much to heal TB-riddled lungs, I'm not sure, but the gardens do have huge historical significance and are listed on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens.

Sadly, despite the lovely surroundings and the finest care, the lack of a real cure meant the prognosis wasn't amazing for TB patients at the time. Wikipedia states that in the sanatoria of the time, even under the best conditions, half of everyone who entered died within five years. Still, the hospital operated exclusively for tuberculosis patients until the cure was finally found, in 1946. TB was eradicated in the UK by the development of the antibiotic streptomycin (it remains a big problem across the globe today, sadly and has now become antibiotic resistant, but that's another story), and the institution became a modern NHS and private hospital in 1964 before closing in 2003.

It was sadly neglected for a number of years but is now facing a new lease of life as luxury flats - a phrase that sometimes strikes fear into the hearts of history-lovers...but luckily not in this case. It's being redeveloped by a company who does wonderful restorations of period properties. And I was lucky enough that the lovely people at City & Country let me have a poke about inside and outside (though unfortunately, only the back as the front is very much a building site, still and the gardens are being fully restored) for this piece!

The Edwardian wood panelling, parquet floors and tiling in the main building's entry hall has been fully restored. You might spot a familiar face in the portraits hanging below!

The communal areas have some amazing detailing (and windows).

Look what I found (it wasn't hard, it's right by the entrance)!

Had to bring along a bottle of King's Ginger to show the City & Country people, of course.

On a very interesting side note, the current visitor's centre at the Estate is a house built specifically for King Edward to stay in when visiting the hospital. It is also, strangely enough, the childhood home of Griff Rhys Jones! He's written about it in his own book, but I found this article by Sandi Jones online, in which he describes it.

"Whenever I drive through West Sussex, I am instantly transported back into an era of cocktail parties, where women wore rustling silk dresses and ice crackled in elegant glasses filled with gin and tonic. Us children would be trussed up in itchy flannel shirts and ties, and stood, open-mouthed in wonderment, as we were offered Coca-Cola.

These weren’t scenes played out in our house, a small lodge nestled in a vast pine forest. No, these were the monthly events held at the mansion on the other side of the woods, occupied by Sir Geoffrey Todd, who ran the sanatorium that stood between our house and his.

My father was a junior doctor, specialising in diseases of the chest, and the “sani”, as we used to call it, had been specifically built and set up by King Edward VII to treat tuberculosis. It was a real showpiece, and the king was passionate about it; so much so that he would spend dirty weekends at the lodge with his mistress, Mrs Keppel. I’ve never understood quite how he managed it, as he was a rather stout fellow and the lodge was beyond tiny.

However, he loved being there, and decorated it to palace standards, adorning every surface with bright red paint and gold twiddles. I know this because when I drove my tin car too viciously at the skirting board, the white paint would chip off and a scarlet glimmer would shine through. “That’s the royal paint,” my mum would state proudly."

It's now adorned in beautiful William Morris wallpaper and regal green paint. It'll make a lovely home, once all the flats are sold, in the future.

That's your King's Ginger lot for this month! Thanks to City & Country for showing me around the flats and communal areas so I could get a real look at the Hospital. Until the next piece...

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Snapshots of Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 15:21:00 +0000

After an insanely busy six weeks, last Monday I ran away to Berlin for a couple of days. One of the nice things about being a freelance copywriter and social media type, is that with a bit of preparation, I can theoretically do my job from anywhere in the world. So, off I flew!

My lovely man had gone to Hamburg the previous weekend to watch St Pauli play (I had to work, which was a convenient excuse to get out of watching football) and came to meet me in Berlin on Monday night. We stayed in the awesome Michelberger Hotel, a place that's 50% boutique hotel and 50% budget hotel, and 100% hipster, but in a cool way. The way East London was about five years ago, before it became too knowing about its own hipsterness! It's in Friedrichshain, in what was previously East Berlin, which was then the poorest part and is now arguably the most fun and creative part. We especially loved neighbouring Kreutzberg with its independent shops, bars, restaurants and venues.

What I present here are some snapshots of my trip, more for personal record than anything else. That disclaimer comes because I have a brand-new camera (a Canon 70D) which I haven't quite got to grips with yet, so these photos are really just holiday snaps and not beautifully-composed blog photos. And because sometimes it's better to capture moments with an iPhone than it is to grapple with a DSLR beast!

The most delicious German breakfast, at Tante Emma

Taking photos of himself taking photos of street art, including ROA.

The haunting memorial to Hitler's Nazi book burning, sunk into the Bebelplatz

Being a currywurst seller at the hilarious Currywurst Museum

Two of many.

Checkpoint Charlie

A huge MacDonalds behind the historic American checkpoint in the Berlin Wall

The Brandenburg Gate

View of the Brandenburg Gate from the top of the Fernsehturm or TV Tower - such a masterpiece of 1960s retro-futurism. Also amazing to see the clear difference between what was previously East and West Berlin, the Soviet influence as clear as day in the former's architecture.

And from the ground

The excellent Ramones Museum

From when Reading Festival was cool

And the only snap of me! I lived in my Pinup Girl Clothing Doris Pants, which I bought from Deadly is the Female. They rule. As do my customised cropped denim and hand-knitted pixie hood scarf! Warm AND stylish.

I'd love to go back to Berlin for longer than two days, and especially over a weekend, when there are shows, fleamarkets and other fun things. If anyone has any recommendations for a trip later this year, please give me a shout!

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Having a Grape Old Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 18:42:00 +0000

It's about time I took a foray back into the more distant past for a fresh King's Ginger adventure. Luckily enough, I have had one up my sleeve for a few months, ready to unleash on my loyal readers at the most opportune moment! This particular story revolves around sparkling wine (and horses), and what better time to enjoy such things than in the lead up to Valentine's Day? Well, sparkling wine, not horses. Though what you do with your own time is no business of mine.

Onto the tale!

In stories gone by, I have written about King Edward VII's big love of horse-racing, and taken a trip to Goodwood. He visited racecourses all over the place, of course. But he was a regular visitor of one in particular - the Stockbridge Races. Stockbridge Racecourse itself no longer exists, having sadly been forced to close in 1898, before our hero even ascended the throne. More on this later. In its time, days at the Stockbridge Races were described as 'among the pleasantest of the whole season', with none of the 'bustle and excitement of Epsom, Ascot and Goodwood'. While the aforementioned other races were quite graced with the presence of his Highness, the Prince of Wales, so he frequented Stockbridge too, quite often with famous mistress Lillie Langtry in tow.

Stockbridge Racecouse - the Bilbury Grandstand, 7th July 1898

The Prince and Lillie were only together three years, from 1877 to 1880 (though they remained friends for decades), but he was so taken with her that they were almost inseparable in that time. He even built her a house, which I visited a few years ago. As you can imagine, due to their celebrity couple status, her appearances at Stockbridge were quite the event, but what's interesting is that the reverse was obviously quite true as well. In 1885, she bought a stable of racehorses and was variously involved with racing her horses, winning prestigious cups (under the name Mr Jersey) and even trying to breed them. She was eventually obliged to sell up by, you guessed it, a chap. She married in 1899 and later that same year, it was reported,

Mrs. Lily Langtry, known in racing circles as "Mr. Jersey," under which name her horses are nominated in English stakes, is about to dispose of her racing stable and to wash her hands forever of the turf. She will do this at the expressed wish of her husband, Mr. Hugo Gerald de Bathe, who does not think It Is a woman's province to own a Race horse.

I digress, because despite winning cups at Ascot and Goodwood among others, she never won anything at Stockbridge with her horses. And neither did the Prince! In 1881, he apparently said,

“I have only won one race myself under Jockey Club rules, but far from being discouraged, I still continue racing, and hope one day to own a Derby winner of my own breeding, although I really think, at the present time, my luck is so bad that if a horse of mine were winning a race, it would drop dead before passing the winning post.”

In 1886, he entered the Stockbridge Cup with his horse, Counterpane. Perhaps the name was an omen, because after a very flat performance, the poor horse limped in last and promptly keeled over dead at the finish line. Apparently, 'souvenir hunters pulled out every hair of the horse's tail. Gruesome!

Tom Cannon

Chose this picture of Tom for obvious reasons

While attending the Stockbridge Races, the Prince very often stayed at nearby Danebury House (in the perfectly-named Nether Wallop) as a guest of the owner Tom Cannon. Tom was described as a 'natural jockey' (which presumably means a short fellow), albeit one who occasionally overindulged and had to 'don several large woollen sweaters and run around the Racecourse' to cut down to optimum jockey weight! He's also great-grandfather to Lester Piggott, so clearly a good jockey gene in the family. He rose from a young stableboy and jockey, to the master trainer of the Danebury Stables, and later, after marrying the owner, John Day's daughter Kate in 1865, became the owner upon the death of Day in 1883. He won an astonishing 1,544 times in his career.

So, what happened to Stockbridge Racecourse? The above ruin is all that remains of the Bilbury Grandstand from the top photo, taken at the last ever meeting. It sadly caught fire in 1973, having stood empty and unloved for nearly a hundred years. Sadly, it was all the fault of a lady who can only be described as a killjoy!

The owner of part of the land over which the racecourse ran, Sir John Barker Mill, died in 1860, his widow in 1884. A distant cousin, Marianne Vaudry, then inherited the estate. She was highly disapproving of gambling, racing and betting, not to mention drinking. She gave all the local pubs over to 'The People's Refreshment Association', who sold food, and no booze. She believed drinking alcohol led inevitably to vice.

She sued Tom Cannon for trespass, claiming he unlawfully training horses and playing cricket and other games on his property. He won the suit and was allowed 'right of recreation' on the land, but could no longer train racehorses there. In order to stop anyone gambling there, Vaudry then withdrew the lease on her bit of racecourse and the major sponsors their meetings moved to Salisbury Racecourse. It was nearly the end. But not quite! Apparently, from Days at the Races:

She had to give notice to the club that she was going to sell it, and the Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward Vii, sent an equerry down there, with an open cheque to buy Stockbridge racecourse. But she tore it up and threw it in the fire. There's a strong willed woman...

Apparently, she later said that if she had realised the harm her actions would cause, she wouldn't have closed it. The three days of racing made some Stockbridge residents enough to last a year. But it was done.

Fittingly, one of the last ever events held in the Grandstand was a supper dance to celebrate the Coronation of King Edward VII, on 23rd June 1902. Guests feasted on lobster, beef and veal plus 'Tipsy Cake' and everyone danced until 7am the following morning. What a fitting end!

Nowadays, Danebury is a private home, but the clockhouse building in the photo above dates from the racecourse's heyday. The site was used for testing Spitfires during WWII. Racehorse stables are still there, but (Marianne Vaudry would be horrified to know) the estate is now a Danebury Vineyard, which was planted in 1988. They produce a fantastic sparkling wine, Cossack, which goes fantastically well with... The King's Ginger!

I brought my own bottle along, of course.

Apart from my fabulous KGL carrier, the starring part of my outfit is from the wonderful Ally Fashion. She will make you this if you ask!

As I said above, Cossack sparkling wine goes brilliantly with King's Ginger as a Valentine's cocktail - the Royal King! It's crisp and light, perfectly complementing the sweetness of the liqueur. I took it upon myself to sample it at Danebury and, while I only had a very small glass of the cocktail as I was driving, it was definitely to be repeated. And what better way to wake up on Sunday 14th February than with decadent breakfast cocktails? All you need is a couple of fingers of King's Ginger, topped up with fizz. Here's one I didn't prepare earlier, by Instagram legend Symmetry Breakfast:

Pancakes... booze... happy Valentine's Day! You can buy Danebury Cossack online - The Drink Shop carries KGL as well - hurrah!

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

From Hobby to Career – Becoming a Vintage Seller

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 16:00:00 +0000

In the second of my two posts for Shurgard's blog, I am asking: so, you think you have a good eye for vintage clothing and accessories? Perhaps, after many years devoted to your own collection – honing your eye for a bargain – you realise you prefer hunting down vintage and antiques more than your actual job. Well... why not try and make a living out of your hobby? Seriously! You'll have to get used to early mornings, become a photographer, get to grips with social media marketing and, most importantly of all, genuinely have a passion for what you're doing. But the rewards are so worth it!

Naomi's Instagram

Keep your eyes peeled

The casual collector scours eBay and Etsy and probably frequents vintage sales, charity shops and carboots. But the serious stock sourcer needs to think bigger. You can find big lots on eBay if you look, but it's being first through the door at sales of all kinds that reaps the rewards. Pro sellers are the ones lining up at opening time, sweeping through and leaving before the hobbyists have even got out of bed! You can even try going to proper vintage clothing auction houses like Kerry Taylor to battle it out with other dealers, hitting foreign flea markets or making friends with local house clearance companies.

Atypical Girl's Instagram

Promoting your collection

When you've acquired some stock, what then? Sure, you can book spots at fairs, boot sales and so forth, but if you don't have transport, it can be difficult. Selling online is the answer, but it's an art all in itself. Taking decent photos is key. A decent camera (or cameraphone), a plain backdrop (or bedsheet!) and a cheap mini tripod are good to have. It's definitely fair to say that the better your photos are, the more you are likely to sell, and potentially command higher prices.

Butch Wax on Etsy

For clothing, you can model the pieces yourself (check out Butch Wax Vintage, who has mastered pinning larger pieces on herself) or use other models (see Atypical Girl who does both), or get an adjustable mannequin (like Advantage in Vintage). Making sure everything is ironed/steamed (the latter is so much quicker) is crucial! With jewellery, an uncluttered background is good. You don't need to invest in expensive light boxes, you can DIYthese things with a bit of effort! Whatever you are selling, you need to go over each piece with a fine-toothed comb to make note of any flaws. Fix, sew and clean anything you can yourself!

Advantage In Vintage's Etsy

Social media is key

Mastering social media is the next step to selling world domination! Have an Instagram, Facebook and Twitter account so that whatever your customers' preferred platform, they can follow you. Even if you aren't a big user of all three, you can use many great automation tools to take the hard work out. Check out IFTTT, Bufferand Schedugram, and if you're not a natural social media addict, spend half an hour a day and schedule your updates, then you won't have to be a slave to it the rest of the time. Plus, you can use Instagram to sell direct, with no fees or on Facebook groups like Ooh La La Vintage Swap & Sell, as mentioned in my last post.

Making space

Finally, in order to stop your new job and supersized collection taking over your life, especially if you wear vintage yourself, consider hiring some external storage. Even if you have space at home, it can be useful to keep your work separate and your spare room, you know, spare. Better than sticking your precious things in a damp loft or an unsecured outhouse, professional storage places like Shurgard are completely safe, with PIN entry & 24-hour CCTV coverage. Plus, they offer the flexibility to store things for the short or long term, perfect for when you're just starting out as a vintage seller and you're still working out which sales methods or events are going to be the best for you.

Good luck!

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Starting a Vintage Collection: Beginner's Basics

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 16:00:00 +0000

Collecting anything, but especially vintage clothing or accessories, can vary from being a casual hobby to an all-consuming compulsion. As a collector of everything from Beanie Babies (as a kid) to vintage housedresses (ongoing), I have experience at both ends of the spectrum! I was asked by Shurgard Self-Storage to write a piece about said experience for their blog and was only too glad to oblige. I can waffle on a bit as any regular readers know, and I kept it more concise there. So here, in full are some tips to kickstart your collecting career.

Starting out

Firstly, and most importantly, decide what you want to collect! You do need to pick something that genuinely interests you, or you'll lose the passion for hunting it down. Go for vintage clothing that you want to wear yourself or restore and preserve; things you will use and enjoy, like mid-century costume jewellery, bakelite bangles, art deco china tea services or CC41 furniture. I collect clothing and deco china but Naomi Thompson, who wrote the book Style Me Vintage Accessories with fellow collector extraordinaire Liz Tregenza, says that vintage jewellery is the 'lazy' collector's choice!

'I grew tired of mending, washing, storing and protecting delicate vintage clothing. That pool is getting smaller. Now, jewellery is democratic. It doesn’t matter what size, shape or age you are, everyone can enjoy jewellery.'

Looking for bargains and real steals

Heading to top end vintage and antique fairs is a good first step for any budding vintage collector. The experienced sellers will have genuine wares that will help you get to know what you're looking for. Examine fabrics and fastenings, labels and makers stamps. Once you know what the real thing looks and feels like, you can keep a better eye out in charity shops and car boot sales. The vintage world is unfortunately replete with reproductions, knock-offs (especially bakelite) and 80s pieces masquerading as earlier. Naomi says, 'Car boots and charity shops are still good pickings. It is still overlooked. Everyone is looking for vintage clothing. Plastics are a great example of this. I keep on finding 1920s celluloid in the 20p basket in my local charity shop. Always look in those cheapie baskets. I also love a good jewellery job lot on eBay.'

Photo by Naomi, from her Facebook

Once you know what you're looking for, online shopping for vintage items is relatively easy. Head to eBay or Etsy, find sellers on Instagram or (top tip) join Facebook groups specific to your era. The largest by far (and therefore most competitive) is Ooh La La! Vintage Swap And Sell Shop, which is mainly for 1940s and mid-century clothing, accessories and collectibles. For all online browsing, if you are searching by keywords, always try slight misspellings too. Items with terrible photos are sometimes great scores in disguise – take occasional risks as they can pay off!

Storage & maintenance

Storage and maintenance of a vintage collection is extremely important. Any time a button comes off or a seam goes, repair it. Don't wear, wash or dry-clean it until it's been fixed! Invest in some padded hangers to keep delicate dresses and coats from straining their seams. Knitwear and heavy beaded things are best in boxes or cases. Acid-free tissue paper is the recommended padding of dealers! Whatever you do, don't store things long-term in vacuum bags, the lack of air can wreak havoc on delicate fabrics. Inside wardrobes, closely piled shoes or tightly-wedged clothing can get mouldy and costume jewellery can tarnish and chip if bundled together.

Selling stuff is obviously an option, but as time marches on and vintage and antiques become more scarce, you'll find that your collection's value may grow... better to hold onto it a little longer and reap the rewards in coming years and decades! How do you decide what to keep in circulation and what to store? Naomi advises, 'I keep novelty plastic, anything to do with hands and bugs, anything bright and colourful. The thing about being a collector is you are constantly editing your collection. Things come in, so others have to go out.' If your home is bursting at the seams, do consider looking for an affordable storage facility to keep your finds safe and dry. Shurgard offers units from 10 to 240 square feet, so even if you just need to store one or two boxes full of precious things, it’s a great option.

Happy collecting!

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

The Seven Years of Blogging Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 14:19:00 +0000

When you've been blogging as long as me (8 years next year), you've accumulated a lot of photos of Christmases past. In the interests of nostalgia and laziness, I thought I'd take you back in time to my many and varied (and not-so-varied) vintage Christmas outfits of the past! In a vaguely chronological order...

Back in 2008, I loved swing dancing. I wore this two-piece candy-cane striped set to a Christmas swing dance, complete with holly in my hair! Can't remember the brand, but I do know it is long gone.

The following year, I wore a repro velvet dress from Able Grable, another defunct repro brand.

This vintage inspired coat came from the high street... Oasis I think. A staple of winter for years & years!

Vintage 40s suit jacket, an ASOS jumpsuit & King's Ginger for the first year!

A Rocket Originals jumper, which was not, in fact a Christmas jumper... but it did a damn good impression in 2011!

2012 with some King's Ginger again, back in the velvet and a fur coat. Plus Miss L Fire shoes.

I also did a shoot with Jeni Yesterday at the Imperial War Museum... I think it was the same year, but who knows?

A festive green jumpsuit from H&M & a Freddies of Pinewood cardi that mysteriously disappeared some time ago...

With me bro... who's now a DAD!?

One Boxing day, when I dressed down. ;)

2013 was the first year of the Heyday Christmas Fleur! Obviously wore this 40s style wrap dress on Xmas day.

And last year - the Holly Berry Fleur dress - there are still some of these available! Though you've missed last post now... still.

Not sure what I'm wearing for Christmas this year - I haven't bought anything new that's fancy enough for ages. Not that there's anything better than the two Heyday Fleurs above... What are you wearing?

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

A Horrible Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 16:39:00 +0000

There haven't been many years since around 2008 where I haven't thrown a Halloween party, either with my friend Ruby who owns Fontaine's Bar in Dalston, or the Vintage Mafia. This year combined both into the Mortuary of Madness, a horror hospital-themed party the VM threw at Fontaine's! Apart from Jeni's costume getting lost in the post, forcing her to be a patient rather than a Great War nurse, it was a brilliant night and all our guests made so much effort. Here's a selection of snaps by the ultra talented Hanson Leatherby, to see the full album, head to his Facebook!

I think you'll all agree, these photos are really a bit too good!

Fleur xx

DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

The King Across the Ocean

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 12:24:00 +0000

Hello, and welcome to the return of my now-quarterly King's Ginger adventures! Something a little different to kick off, and certainly more far-flung than usual. I found myself in Boston this autumn and took a day to follow in the King's footsteps from around 150 years before. He was treading the path of the American Revolutionaries of almost a century before as well, adding up to an interesting history lesson for those of us who know little about the history of the United States. Join me for the Battle Of Bunker Hill and the King's 1860 Royal Tour of North America!

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place in 1775, and was an early part of the American Revolutionary War – the long and acrimonious divorce of the United States of America from Great Britain. It's not a war we ever get taught about in history lessons over here, though most of us have heard of some of the key events in the leadup – like the Boston Tea Party in 1773, which was not a genteel gathering with hot drinks and neatly cut finger sandwiches but a protest in which men dressed as Native Americans (thus aligning themselves with the country of their residence and not the one of their ancestry) dumped 342 chests of tea in Boston harbour as a statement against the import laws and tax on tea. We probably know about this event because of the shocking waste of tea but I didn't know anything about its root causes, which were the increasing tensions between the two nations (mostly because of taxes imposed by Britain and massively over-regulated trade rules – if you'll pardon the over generalisation), which resulted in outright war breaking out in April 1775, between both old and New England.

Photo from the Bunker Hill Museum

The Americans didn't have an army, but they had a militia – also known as the Minutemen. According to that ever-reliable source, Wikipedia, the British had about 4,000 men stationed in Massachusetts – well-trained and well-equipped redcoats. When the Battle of Bunker Hill kicked off in June 1775, approximately 3,000 British soldiers fought 2,400 colonial troops and, despite the odds being stacked against them, and the eventual outcome being declared a loss for the American side, the British Army lost far more men. The battle's outcome gave the Patriots (as they are referred to over in the States) the confidence to go and take the redcoats on again and they would eventually triumph and win their complete independence from us (obviously!).

That's an extremely potted history of the Battle of Bunker Hill of course, and you may be wondering what it has to do with King Edward? Let me fill you in.

The Prince of Wales by Matthew Brady, New York 1860 (Wikipedia)

Nearly 100 years after the famous Battle, in the autumn of 1860, 18-year-old Prince Albert Edward of England set off for an official tour of North America. The Royal Family had been invited over a few years earlier by Canadian officials (who had fought for Britain in the Crimean War), but Queen Victoria had declined to go on the long transatlantic voyage and all her children were too young to go in her place. According to the New York Time, It was Prince Albert who persuaded her to send Albert Edward not only to Canada but to America too. Thinking about it, given that the war of independence happened less than 100 years earlier, I'm not too surprised at her reluctance to send her eldest son halfway across the world to meet with the revolutionary nation. However, as I have mentioned on here before, Bertie was quite the naughty young man and didn't get on at all well with his mother... even before she blamed him for the death of Prince Albert a year later. So perhaps if anyone was to be reluctantly sent over there, it was him!

He set off on 10th July 1860, bound for Canada, where he dedicated the new Victoria Bridge in Montreal. It wasn't until September 20th that the prince and his entourage reached America, docking at Detroit and then travelling to Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg before arriving in Washington on the 3rd of October. He did all the usual sightseeing – the Capitol Building and George Washington's house, and attended a reception at the White House, of course.

The next bit of the trip was interesting. Here's a quote from the New York Times:

The only controversy of the trip arose over whether or not to visit the South. Sectional tensions were high in that momentous election year, and Southern politicians hoped to gain positive publicity for their cause through a royal visit to model plantations. The colonial secretary accepted an invitation to Richmond, Virginia, where Edward attended church and toured the state capital. The prince, though, refused to visit a plantation and insisted on being driven back promptly to Washington. From there, the royal party traveled by rail to Baltimore and Philadelphia, and then sailed for New York City.

It offers no reason for the prince's refusal but since his father, Prince Albert was a noted abolitionist, it's fair to assume that he was also strongly anti-slavery. Yet another reason to appreciate his Majesty for being a thoroughly decent bloke!

In New York, there were various adventures including parades, a lavish ball for 3,000 people, which was gatecrashed by a further 2,000, causing part of the temporary dance floor to collapse (luckily not with the prince on it) and other adventures. But since this story is meant to be about Boston and Bunker Hill, we will have to move onto this part of the trip before it becomes a novel!

Revere House, Boston (Wikipedia)

On the 17^thOctober, the party set off for Boston on a specially upgraded train. It's described in 'The New England tour of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales' published the same year, as the 'handsomest travelling car to ever run on rails', with velvet sofas and carpet, a solid silver 'ornamental waiter', gold goblets and even an elegant office, complete with writing desk. Arriving to Boston at 4pm, the Prince and his entourage then passed through various streets in the city, cheered on by thousands of cheering men and women.

The royal party stayed in Revere House, a fancy hotel which sadly burned down in 1912. Rooms were upgraded for the Prince's stay, of course. It was reported while staying there that, 'The Prince is a hearty eater but drinks very moderately' – the 18-year-old had much to learn, it seems.

Ralph Farnham, courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society

The next morning, the 18^thOctober, the Prince met with the last remaining veteran of the Battle of Bunker Hill, Ralph Farnham. Described as a 'reluctant celebrity', Mr Farnham was 104 when he was invited to Boston for a celebration of his life. He was also put up at Revere House, where he had a fifteen minute reception with Bertie. He wanted to pay his respects and prove that the animosity of the past was forgotten, though he was quoted as joking, “I hear so much in praise of the Prince of Wales that I fear the people will all turn Royalists.”

Crowd on Boston Common (YouTube)

A busy day continued with a visit to the Capitol and Boston Common (where a crowd waited for the Prince), a concert and finally, a Ball. While this contemporary report doesn't describe the Prince's attire for the evening, it does describe many of the ladies' outfits in a lot of excessive detail! The first outfit described the wife of Governer Banks who was 'attired in a rich heavy purple silk figured in gold which produced quite a brilliant effect. The dress was worn with short sleeves trimmed with point lace and partially covered with a point lace bertha with gold trimmings. Diamond earrings and a headdress of white feathers with a heavy purple velvet ribbon at the back added much to the effect of her toilet.' Sounds lovely. You can read about all the ladies' outfits, should you want to know them in incredible detail here.

The Ball had to have a special police presence and the decoration costs outstripped the receipts from selling tickets. But since the Prince reportedly danced until 4am, it seems it was worth it!

The following day, the Prince visited the college, and Mt. Auburn Cemetery (which I tried to see myself but couldn't get there) before heading to the Bunker Hill Monument, just as I did.

The huge granite obelisk was erected between 1827 and 1843, the gap of 16 years being down to constantly running out of funds. It was only completed after Mrs Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of a women's magazine, had a 'Ladies Fair' in 1840 and raised a whopping $30,000 from Boston's well-to-do women. The Bunker Hill Lodge at the foot of the obelisk was built later in the 19th century, and I'm not sure if it was there when the Prince visited, but the statue of General Joseph Warren (who perished in the battle) it now houses definitely was.

While I got a lift there with the friend I stayed in Boston with, the Prince was 'conveyed hence at a speed highly complimentary to the skill of the reinsman and the muscle of the steeds.' And I was disappointed to learn that he only 'passed round the base of the Monument admiring its lofty proportions and visited the statue of Warren', and didn't, in fact, climb the 294 steps to the top (which felt like a lot more) and pause to admire the view.

...Not that the landscape would have look like that at the time! Still, here's the proof that I climbed the monument and survived the jelly legs that ensued. And also that I visited Dr Warren!

Returning momentarily to the Battle itself, which I learned about in the adjacent Bunker Hill Museum, it really wasn't immediately clear that the British won (I had to Google it it). This was down to the fact that was really only a 'Pyrrhic victory' - one that came at a devastatingly high toll. We lost so many men that we may as well have lost... as we eventually went on to do. Nonetheless, it gave rise to the famous quote, 'Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes'.

After Bunker Hill, the Prince went to visit the Library of Boston before heading to Portland and from there returned back to England, turning 19 somewhere on the Atlantic. The New York Times reported that, 'While nothing specific had been accomplished during the prince's American tour, Edward, Queen Victoria, and the British people were pleased by the warm welcome the United States had extended to the British prince.' This was his first official Tour, and he went on to do more, including visiting Egypt the following year, as well as taking on many more state duties as Queen Victoria retreated further and further from public life after the death of Albert, also the following year.

All these years later, the lucky people of America can get their hands on KGL, although it's definitely harder to find and my host and I had to visit multiple liquor stores of suburban Boston to find a bottle! But it led me to post his question on the KGL Facebook page: how many bottles of King's Ginger can you fit into the Bunker Hill Monument? It's a trick question because, like so much, the bottles are bigger over there!

I hope you have enjoyed the return of this feature and my brief history of the King's visit to Bunker Hill. His Majesty will be back again in time for Christmas!

Back to the present day, if you;d like to try a brand-new cocktail, may I recommend this Movember special? It's all in aid of an excellent cause.

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Goodwood Revival - the 2015 edition!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 12:07:00 +0000

Another year and another glorious Goodwood Revival down. For me, as you have probably read here every year, the cars and racing come secondary to the fashion on display and this year was no disappointment.

I went along on the Saturday, which is the Revival's Ladies' Day. Not to get all British or anything, but we really lucked out with the weather this year! It can be hit or miss – I've shivered in a coat and worn nothing but a vintage swimsuit in previous years, and this time round, it was sunny enough to need sunscreen and go stockingsless... not that most of the chic ladies went bare-legged, embracing full-on vintage glamour from head to toe. Hats, high heels, fur stoles and period-perfect accessories were everywhere!

The highlight of my day was attending the Best Dressed competition, which takes place at the Veuve Clicquot tent. Throughout the day, discerning 'spotters' go around the site, dishing out cards to the crème de la crème of costumes, either with a commendation or the coveted blue card, which earns the recipient a place in the final parade. The judges (headed up by Nick Clements of Men's File Magazine, then deliberated and picked runners up and overall winners. The mens' category included best uniform, won by a chap in a 50s fireman's outfit, and the winner was in a pristine 1940s suit with hat and umbrella. On the ladies' side, a new category for best mini-skirt (to mark the 50^th anniversary of Youthquake) was won by a pair of twins in the best late 60s outfits I saw. Well-deserved!

Nick Clements

Best-dressed chap

(Some of) the ladies!

The twins!

And Youthquake!

Back Over the Road after a stop to have our photos taken with a Captain Birdseye-alike at the fish finger boat (no idea), I watched two policemen battle it out on vintage bikes in The Chap Olympiad's Umbrella Jousting, excellently compered by Tristan Langlois (who, as you may have spotted, does double duty on the Best Dressed) as Spitfires flew overhead.

As for my outfit, I conversely didn't dress up to the nines, preferring to keep it casual for the day in a late 1940s wrap dress and a pair of reproduction 1940s platforms by Miss L Fire and my lovely mum wore some 1920s inspired finery. Perfect for a day of action in the Chichester countryside!

Thanks go to BrewinDolphin for sponsoring this post. Until next year!

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Goodwood Revival - a very vintage fashion guide

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 15:59:00 +0000

While entering mid-August does make me feel more than a little sad that summer is soon on its way out, there is one positive to the inexorable creep of the year. It's coming round to one of my favourites events of the autumn, the most excellent Goodwood Revival. If you don't know about the Revival (or missed my posts from previous years), it's a celebration of the golden era of motor sport – the cars and the fashion – as well as plenty of shopping to get stuck into. But since half the fun of the Goodwood Revival, aside from the smell of Castrol R and the people watching, is getting dressed up, putting together a killer vintage outfit is a definite must! So, I thought I'd put together a little guide to sourcing an authentic outfit that fits the Revival time period of 1949-1966, whether you want to go full vintage or modern reproduction with an authentic feel.

Firstly, if you want to find genuine vintage, try eBay and Etsy for the biggest range of options and price-ranges from across the world (you have just about enough time to order a bargain piece from abroad). Buying vintage online is an article in itself, but my top quick tip is to look for metal zips or popper fastenings and avoid anything that's listed as containing polyester or nylon and you won't be caught out with 1980s masquerading as 40s. If budget is less of a concern, there are some fabulous vintage shops in London that would serve as a one-stop shop for a fabulous outfit. The very top of the list (and the budget) is the extremely high end William Vintage, whose couture garments very often fall into the key period for Goodwood. Scarlet Rage is a shop in North London with some absolutely killer vintage at reasonable (for London) prices. Both of these shops have online selections too. For great menswear go to Hunky Dory on Brick Lane. And finally, if you're more into the later end of the time period, check out Atypical Girl, which has an amazing array of 50s and 60s (and even some amazing hippie duds if you fancy sneaking in some later 60s outfits...why not?)

Which brings me onto my next subject: modern reproduction vintage. If practicality is more of a concern, or you prefer modern fabrics and cuts, there are some excellent repro lines around these days. Top of the Revival favourites is Vivien Of Holloway, whose 1950s circle-skirted frocks can be seen everywhere at the event which is either a pro or a con depending on how you look at it! They do plenty of other day and eveningwear styles, too. Atypical Girl also carrys some excellent 50s-60s inspired pieces. The Seamstress of Bloomsbury is another choice for super authentic 40s and early 50s pieces that wash and wear well (from experience!). I also can't fail to recommend Heyday, who make the Fleur wrap dress I've modelled so many times on these pages... I might be biased but it is an excellent mid-century style daywear piece in the loveliest novelty prints! Don't forget to hit What Katie Did for the right underpinnings and seamed nylons for your vintage or repro outfit (they also have a long-established shop at the Revival for any stockings emergencies)!

On the accessories front, footwear brands Rocket Originals and Miss L Fireare an absolute goldmine of vintage style shoes, and they also have a range of very authentic 1950s style Lucite handbags. Betsy Hatter is an excellent place to look for a hat to top off your outfit, or, if the budget is a little broader, Bea & Evie hats and sister brand Ally Fashion make some very high end reproductions. Think pure silk and couture finishing – perfect for driving that vintage car through the Sussex countryside!

Lastly, there are some final things to recommend for your trip to Goodwood Revival. Spare, sensible shoes (anything but high heels) for walking from the car-park to the course, if you aren't driving your classic motor directly inside, of course. An umbrella and sunscreen to cover both weather eventualities – I have experienced all kinds of weather that September weekend! Hairspray to keep your beehive, 1940s poodle or 50s waves in check. A beautiful powder compact to touch up your lipstick and attract approximately 25 wide-angle camera lenses and phone cameras pointed in your direction as you make an unflattering 'lipstick face'... maybe not that last one.

Thanks go to BrewinDolphin for sponsoring this post – I'm even more excited about this year's Revival now. Who will I be bumping into there, then?

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Less speed, more Hastings

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 19:03:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I took a trip to the seaside to the Jack in the Green festival that's held there every year on May Day. It's a great olde English tradition which dates back to the 16th century, which was revived in Hastings back in the 80s and the annual celebrations feature lots of pagan symbolism, green foliage and Morris dancing. Oh, and a huge biker meet.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't play ball, but I wore traditional green regardless! Sorry that it's paired with my uniform leather jacket, which is on here rather a lot lately. But that just reflects my life!

Outfit: A cherished Swirl dress

Vintage leather

New(ish) Leather Satchel bag

and my gorgeous Agneta High Swedish Hasbeens!

A few snaps le boyfriend took of the biker part with my camera!

RIP this flower headband, which fell apart last week!

Posting this as a good photo but would like to point out that as it's not something I can remember seeing before, I looked up this rather ill-advised (IMO) black makeup that the Morris dancer on the left is wearing. Though the general consensus seems to be it started as a disguise and has largely died out for obvious reasons, I do feel the racial connotations should lead to it dying out completely as a tradition for Morris Men, sharpish.

The desolate seafront!

The old Pier, which burned down, is being rebuilt

Well nothing else to add really, since we got there late and didn't stay massively long, so no more interesting stories... except some advice. Don't pose for blog photos when there are hundreds of powerful motorbikes being driven down the bit of road you're standing on...

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

7 Years Young, my Tweed (Run) Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 13 May 2015 10:59:00 +0000

This morning I realised that my blog has turned 7 years old (well, on the 8th May). HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY TO ME! I have also had just under 5 million page impressions during that time (or at least since Blogger started recording them), so quite the milestone, I'm sure you all agree.

The traditional gift for 7 years of marriage is, apparently, wool. Or copper. But I am going with a wool theme for this post because I would like to share pictures from the most recent Tweed Run! See how I managed to seamlessly link the two like I had already planned this? Oh, yeah.

None of these photos were taken by me, but luckily my Vintage Mafia ladies attracted a lot of photographers! I wasn't able to bring my lovely Pashley up from its holiday at my parents' house, and my pink single speed bike doesn't have a basket. So it's hard to carry cameras, or even packed lunches and extra layers. I also didn't actually wear tweed to the Tweed Run - I never have! But I did wear wool. Specifically, my favourite Mexican souvenir jacket, paired with a sheer vintage 1970s dress with crochet trim and a glorious flower crown from Rosadior!

Here are some photos of the day, in which I definitely came last in the hair stakes. Must practice updos.

Photo by Scott Wishart, who always snaps a good one of us!

Photo by Hanson Leatherby

Favourite photo! Unknown but © the Irish Independent

With the lovely Harry of Harry & Edna on the Wireless!

And my other favourite, by Hanson. Hummus Chips, if you read this, call us!

As always, it was the most wonderful day! There were some changes to the organisation so that the ride was a little more spread out but weather was pretty good, the company was stellar and we can't wait for next year.

Outfit details - Vintage 1970s sheer dress with crochet trim: Etsy

Mexican Souvenir Jacket: Etsy

Flower crown: Rosadior

'Roy Bans' Sunglasses: Market stall in Turkey

Bangles: Vintage/Bow & Crossbones (bamboo)/Pink Bungaloo (fakelite)

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Shop my wardrobe - East London Vintage Fair

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 09:53:00 +0000

Good morning (or other time of day where you are)!

In many, many years of collecting and wearing vintage and repro clothing, I have never really got rid of any of it. The things I bought that didn't fit, weren't really my style or that I simply tired of, have still stayed in my wardrobe as I haven't been able to face eBaying them (I have a phobia of post office queues). But I'm going to hopefully see off a large amount of these cast-offs, very soon.

In just under two weeks on the 10th May, I'm going to be selling off a huge amount said vintage and repro clothing (at silly low prices) at the East London Vintage Fair!

I'm really excited about this new event. I met with the lovely ladies who are organising it, and they are super passionate about making it a success. Putting on sales (as I have done in the distant past) is tough as a sale is only as good as the amount of people attending. They're pulling out all the stops on promoting it and of course I am doing my bit to tell the world about my own stall there.

I'm not a vintage dealer. I'm not trying to make profits on any of the things I am selling - some of which are things I got for free through this blog! I mainly want to clear some much-needed space in my tiny home and use whatever money I make to buy a few nicer pieces of vintage. Investment pieces, if you will.

Here are a few things I'll be selling, from the modelling archives! This is all repro with the exception of the red, white & blue Swirl dress - reason being I have no photos of the vintage I'm selling, as it has mostly not been worn (by me) due to not fitting or looking rubbish, etc. The Swirl has been poorly shortened - not by me, I might add!

I'll have stuff from brands like Stop Staring, Bettie Page, Vivien of Holloway, Heyday, Rocket Originals, Revamp Clothing, Trashy Diva, What Katie Did and more. Check back in a week or so as I delve into my enormous storage bags to find out what vintage lurks inside, as I have actually forgotten most of what's in there!

Someone asked on Facebook whether I was selling my vintage because I don't want to wear it any more. The answer is HELL NO, I'm not really selling any of my beloved cotton summer 40s/50s dresses or Swirls. I have bought a fair few 70s dresses lately and do tend to wear band tshirts and jeans more these days than I did for a good chunk of time, but the truth is I just have SO many pieces I don't wear. Trying to simplify my life and the wardrobe is a good place to start.

So if you're within striking distance of East London and can come on the 10th, come and see all the amazing stalls that the ELVF ladies have in store. Oh, and I am not planning on pricing anything above about £40 with most dresses probably around £20, so come and grab a bargain.

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

A Quiet Patch

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 17:19:00 +0000

A punny title as ever, for a simple outfit post. Haven't done one of these for a while! Basically, this outfit represents the kind of thing I will probably be wearing most days during the spring (at least when it warms up).

The outfit consists of the following. A signature Heyday Fleur dress, which was done in a custom fan print fabric for me a quite surprising number of years ago (maybe 4 years?), a pair of Miss L Fire Bolero wedges and a denim jacket scored from Beyond Retro which I've started to customise with patches.

Welcome to my new obsession - patches!

I have always been into heavy metal but have never owned a 'battle jacket' before. But I recently discovered all these awesome, small businesses making printed and embroidered patches and have now started to collect a variety of them, from both bands and brands.

On my jacket you can (just about) see a patch from British promo Progress Wrestling, an anti-fascist themed patch that actually says ACAB - All Cats Are Beautiful with cats instead of flags, two fab patches from Hallow Society and a black variant patch from Bad Cats Club, which is run by a cat-loving lady who sells things to make money for a brain tumour charity. So a cool *and* philanthropic purchase. I also have the Predator-themed patch above from Futurezine in the US, which I am yet to sew on (it makes your fingers really sore, FYI). I have a couple more on the way as well as a Pantera back patch to sew on. \m/

Oh yes, and my Born a Bad Seed badge (I have two of their tshirts)! Check out my fresh nail job and all.

So that's my new clothing theme for the season - vintage (/repro) dress and my ongoing jacket project (or my leather jacket, as pictured here many times before). I really enjoy the contrast between girly vintage and my previous life as a boys' jeans-wearing metaller! I leave you with an outtake and a promise to post more again soon...

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

PS. In these pics I am wearing a really small hair extension piece that I bought recently - a strip of hair the same length as my own that just adds a fraction more fullness to my thin mane. Will write more about it soon as I really love it and would recommend it to anyone with limp locks like mine!

Fashion on the Ration at the IWM

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 12:57:00 +0000

Tomorrow, a very exciting exhibition is opening at the Imperial War Museum. Fashion on the Ration is the story of everyday people in 1940s Britain, and how style and fashion endured and evolved under the strict rules of rationing. I'm getting a sneak peek tonight as I am DJing at the private view with The Vintage Mafia, and I can't wait!

Miss Yesterday Girl

As a brief overview (please click on over to my pal Jeni Yesterday's blog, she works for the IWM and therefore has the full inside scoop), there are six sections to the exhibition:

Into Uniform looks at how Second World War Britain became a nation in uniform, arguably the biggest visible change to how people dressed at the time. Many key pieces of uniform, both from the men’s and women’s services, will be on display revealing the pride and even jealousies felt by those stepping into uniform for war service.

Functional Fashion explores how the demands of wartime life changed the way civilians dressed at work and at home, inspiring retailers to sell innovative and stylish products, such as gas-mask handbags, blackout buttons and siren suits, as well as luminous faux flowers!

Rationing and Make do and Mend will look at why clothes rationing was introduced in 1941, how the scheme worked and how it changed the shopping habits of the nation. With limited options for buying new clothes, people were encouraged to be creative and make clothes last longer by mending, altering, knitting and creating new clothes out of old material. Items on display include a bridesmaid’s dress made from parachute material, a bracelet made from aircraft components, a child’s coat made from a blanket and on display for the first time a bra and knickers set made from RAF silk maps for Countess Mountbatten.

Utility Clothing was introduced in 1941 to tackle unfairness in the rationing scheme and standardise production to help the war effort. Utility fashion ranges were made from a limited range of quality controlled fabrics and this section will feature a catwalk of pieces, including a lady’s cotton summer dress, underwear, a tweed sports jacket and leather gloves, and a girl’s velvet green winter dress. Clothing restricted by ‘Austerity Regulations’ such as shoes with a maximum two inch heel will also be featured.

Beauty as Duty examines the lengths to which many women went, to maintain their personal appearance – and the pressure they felt to do so. On display will be adverts promoting war themed make-up such as Tangee’s lipstick for ‘lips in uniform’. Cosmetics and clothing often had a patriotic edge to them as shown in a colourful display of scarves by Mayfair fashion house Jacqmar, with wartime slogans such as “Salvage Your Rubber” and “Switch That Light Off”. By wearing these items women were able to overtly demonstrate they were doing their bit for the war effort.

Peace and a new look? This section looks at how the end of the war impacted upon fashion, and considers the long-term impact. On display will be a ‘VE’ print dress worn by the comedienne Jenny Hayes to celebrate the end of the war, and an example of the ubiquitous demob-suit, issued to men leaving the military services. In 1947, the launch of Christian Dior’s ostentatious ‘New Look’ shook the fashion world desperate for something new after years of pared down wartime fashion.

I think my favourite thing about it all is that despite wartime being the exact opposite of a barrel of laughs, and even though in the last years of it, everyone felt understandable beaten down, us Brits never lost our sense of humour and that's reflected in a lot of the fashion. The famous novelty Blackout Scarf (based on a poster, I believe) sums it up perfectly!

The exhibition site has a section on wartime weddings, and so I thought I'd re-share this one from my family archives:

Clothes rationing came into effect on 1st June 1941. My grandmother and grandad married on 8th June 1941 - so she must have numbered among the last brides who didn't have to forge wedding dresses out of parachute silk or whatever they could scrounge up! What a dress.

There's also a brilliant book written by Julie Summers, also called Fashion on the Ration (link to the IWM shop) to accompany the exhibition. I haven't read it properly yet, though I have read the first chapter and flicked through the rest - it's very thoroughly researched and very interesting, with chapters that roughly correspond to the sections of the exhibition. I expect to be an authority on the subject after finishing it!

Lovely old adverts!

The centre has colour plates with such gems as the aforementioned silk map underwear!

I can't wait to see the exhibition - if anyone else is going tonight, please do say hello! I'll be in one of my 1940s suits, especially for the occasion.

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

The King's Brands

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:50:00 +0000

Welcome back to everyone's favourite historical features on my blog, namely, Edwardian history in association with everyone's favourite tipple, The King's Ginger! This time, I wanted to delve a little deeper into the marvels of the Edwardian age. Or rather the products and brands that were invented and launched in the reign of Edward VII and still endure to this day. So, following an interesting excursion to the Museum of Brands in Notting Hill, and the picking out of a few brands with particular significance to His Maj, here it is! I do hope you enjoy.

On a chilly day in late January, I went along to the foremetioned Museum of Brands for a look around. It's a fascinating place, stuffed with old packaging (and new packaging) and snippets of information about the history behind the products we all know and love. Unfortunately, they don't allow photography inside (copyright issues on the newer products), but they do have a very helpful press department and a wonderful book to go with each era of brands in the museum, which I bought, photographed and have reproduced here with permission from the Museum.

It's not really an exaggeration to say that the Edwardian era was a time of unprecedented innovation. The much longer Victorian era did introduce many brands that are still around, but both in the UK and across the pond, inventions and culinary experiments were numerous between 1901 and 1910. (The greatest of all these is, of course, The King's Ginger, first produced in 1903. Hopefully you're all sipping its fiery warmth in snowbound homes across the pond, and slightly nippy ones in the UK, as you read this). It was also a time of great change in British society, from women's liberation and right to education, as well as the suffragette movement - something I'll write more on in the future. Women were even interacting with the King's favourite technology and driving cars! I know! One huge invention that completely changed the life of many women was the motorised vacuum cleaner.

In 1901, Hubert Cecil Booth patented his ideas for the first ever motor-powered vacuum, which rather marvellously sucked dirt up instead of just blowing or brushing it into a different area. A completely revolutionary idea which sent shockwaves through domestic servants everywhere, who feared they would soon be replaced by machinery. Indeed, the adverts used to promote smaller appliances would seem to agree, though the first one was so huge it had to be drawn about the streets by a horse and so expensive that almost no one could have afforded one for their own household. Instead, it would be hired out to several houses at once, parked outside and long hoses fed through windows on different floors. It was so loud when operating that cab-horses apparently went beserk, which led to Booth actually being sued a few times by cabbies!

Outside a Wines & Spirits merchants too! Maybe he even did Berry Bros. & Rudd?!

What's the link, you may well ask? Well Booth's vacuum cleaner was actually used to clean the carpets of Westminster Abbey before Edward VII's coronation. Look & Learn says,

"[Booth's] biggest breakthrough came early, for just before the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902, it was found that the blue carpet beneath the thrones was filthy. The word went out: “Send for Booth! Only he can save us.” So into the Abbey went Booth and his operatives and hoses and the result was a triumph. When the King and Queen heard what had happened, they demanded a Command Performance and were so delighted that they bought one cleaner for the Palace and another for Windsor."

Booth's company, the British Vacuum Co. is still going today, although they now make industrial cleaners rather than household ones. A shame, as we could be using his name instead of his American rival Hoover (established 1908) as a verb. 'Boothing' the floor doesn't have quite the same ring, though.

Image courtesy of the Museum of Brands

So what else can we thank the Edwardian era for today? Marmite (which happens to be my favourite foodstuff of all time, no exaggeration) came about in 1902. The way in which it's associated with King Edward VII is convoluted but interesting, so stick with me here. Baron Justus von Liebig was a 19th-century German organic chemist, who invented beef extract. This process was commercialised and turned into a brand - Liebig's Extract of Meat Company, or LEMCO. They then patented Oxo, which I have mentioned here before as they sponsored the London Olympic Games in 1908, during Edward's reign (the Wikipedia page smugly notes that they were the first commercial sponsor of the Olympics, despite claims by Coca-Cola) and the lucky Olympic athletes received fortifying Oxo drinks during their exertions!

Johnny Hayes, running the marathon in 1908. Oxo just out of shot.

In fact, the 1908 Marathon course had booths along its length, similar to the water and sports-drink stations in a modern race, offering hot and cold Oxo for the refreshment of the runners. They could also take a flask to sip from along the way! According to the Public Domain Review, 'Many Edwardian trainers believed drinking water during a race was bad for the runner, though a little brandy or champagne was considered a useful stimulant.' *cough* Or King's Ginger! It also notes that marathon day was one of the hottest of the whole summer in 1908, but at least the salt in the Oxo might have brought some benefit to the sweaty competitors...

Image courtesy of the Museum of Brands

Moving swiftly on from hot beef drinks on summer days, Fry's have been making their chocolate cream bar (which surprisingly enough is vegan) since 1866, but in 1902 they launched their milk chocolate and captured a nation's hearts with their 'five boys' campaign. Fry's was taken over by none other than Cadbury in 1919, the latter of course launched their Dairy Milk in 1905! I'd like to think Bertie, who was a connoisseur of all things food, would have also been partial to a square or two of 'C.D.M'! This spread with its sheer range of confectionary would indicate that much of Edwardian Britain had a sweet tooth, to be fair.

Image reproduced courtesy of the Museum of Brands

Typhoo Tea and Perrier all emerged in 1903 - I've touched on those both before. Daddies Sauce was also launched in 1904. Unlike many Edwardian brands, Daddies was not actually the inventor of brown sauce, that honour goes to the Victorian H.P. but they have both endured over a century of production. Though a couple of weeks ago, the Guardian wrote of the falling fortunes of brown sauce... it must be said that the writer is a self-confessed hater, saying of the 'nefarious brown':

'This was the perfect table sauce for jowly, Victorian and Edwardian gentlemen whose palates were so befogged by years of brandy and cigars, grouse and spotted dick, that only this shrill alarm of a sauce could pierce that bleary, weary gastronomic gloom.'

Harsh. Sounds like a familiar figure, though. I wonder which sauce the King preferred?

Edwardian pantry, reproduced courtesy of the Museum of Brands

Now, using 'celebrities' to promote products is something the Victorians kicked off, but in the days before television there could be no nationally-famous superstars to promote tea, chocolate and tobacco... with one exception.

His Majesty the King, of course!

Image reproduced courtesy of the Museum of Brands

Retailers went a little overboard for tie-ins for the Coronation (if you enlarge above, you might see The Peacemaker Whisky and Coronation Butterscotch, even a commemorative box of starch!) and continued the theme throughout Bertie's reign. Imperial this and Royal that, King of all Toffee and Queen Chocolate as well as rather classist names like 'Chocolat d'Elite' and Aristocrat cigarettes. Sadly, these brands were all limited-edition!

But this leads me onto another of the King's favourite vices - 'gaspers' (also known as cigarettes). He reputedly smoked more than 12 cigars and 20 cigarettes every day, which inevitably contributed to his death in 1910. Unfortunately a lot of the populace probably went the same way, due to the increasingly fashionable pastime that was smoking. The Imperial Tobacco Company was formed in 1901 and in the days before lung cancer (the discovery, not the actual disease), brands like Woodbines were selling an astonishing 500 million a year. It was becoming so prevalent to smoke, with new brands emerging designed to appeal to men and women separately, and children cottoning on, that a clause in the Children’s Act of 1908 was made, forbidding the sale of tobacco to under-16s.

I could go on about a lot more unglamorous brands from the time like Cherry Blossom shoe polish (1903), Brasso (1905), Toblerone (1908) and Persil (1909), but as this is a piece in association with The King's Ginger, itself a most glamorous product, I'll end with a little bit about cosmetics and perfumes.

The ladies of the era like their Victorian predecessors liked both exotic fragrances that evoked the far-flung lands of the Empire and beyond, and more homely scents. So Japanese-inspired Hasu-no-Hana jostled side-by-side with Yardley's April Violet and Plantol soap (launched by Levers to try to oust Pears...it didn't) in the Edwardian toilette. Sadly, I can't see a single perfume in the spread above, other than Yardley's, which is still around today (and The Internet suggests that the latter was launched in 1913, so not sure even about that).

Lastly, any excuse for a bit of Art Nouveau, which was used to advertise everything from biscuits to books in the 1900s. I recommend the Museum of Brands' founder Robert Opie's Edwardian Scrapbook this is reproduced from as a fabulous bit of Art Nouveau inspiration!

In summary, there are many, many more brands that were contemporary of King Edward VII that I could have written about today, but I shall leave it there. If you're interested in these things, do visit the Museum of Brands if you can, I thoroughly recommend it... though there is one brand conspicuously missing...

Side-note, been styling my hair in a softer style lately - what do you think?

May I therefore take this opportunity to recommend a certain cockle-warming recipe to you all, if you have decided that this is the time to give the old KGL a try!

The recipe for the Kings Mulled Cyder can be found here!

Happy historical supping!

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Vintage tattooing x 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 21:20:00 +0000

Hi everyone! Happy New Year to you all! It's far too late to be saying that, but since haven't posted since before Christmas, then it still applies. Hope you all had the most smashing holidays and haven't been suffering too much being back at work, as I have.

In my last post, I showed off my new arm tattoo by the talented Tracy D, the latest photo of which is above. It has started something of a slippery slope to wanting more and more work! I love traditional style/old school tattoos and had a vague idea that after my Art Nouveau masterpiece is finished on my left arm, that I would go down the traditional route for the other. Pirate ships, roses, a roaring panther, that sort of thing. But since I have promised my mum (hi Mum!) that I won't get my other one done, I have had to think laterally. Well, vertically. To my leg, to be precise. More on that later.

I have become fascinated with tattoo history recently, while researching for a future King's Ginger piece. It seems the headline that we always see about tattoos 'becoming popular', variations on the old, 'tattoos were once only for sailors and bikers, now they can be found on sophisticated folks everywhere!' type of story have been being rolled out for centuries. King Edward VII and quite a lot of historical aristocracy had them, and the contemporary newspaper articles on the subject were just the same! Anyway, more on the latter soon, in the meantime, I thought it would be a fun and interesting blog post to put my interest into an interview with a London-based traditional tattooist who knows his vintage tattoo history. So here it is!

Chris Lambert is one of my darling boyfriend's oldest pals and also a very talented chap. He has been tattooing for six years now and very recently moved from Leeds to the Big Smoke, currently working with Horikitsune in his studio in Central London. The fact I know him socially as well meant that he was the perfect person to have a long chat to about tattooing through the ages!

Chris told me that he initially fell in love with the tattoo-inspired art that often appeared on the album covers of the bands that he used to listen to as a teenager. A trip to Japan soon cemented his love of tattoo culture, and particularly irezumi, (Japanese traditional tattooing). There, he saw people who had made a career out of tattooing irezumi, doing some amazing work. Compared to some of the incredibly young tattooists that are around in abundance today, Chris came into the tattooing game quite late at 27. Due to a medical condition, doctors advised him against getting anything himself, but after visiting Japan that first time and deciding he was going to make a go of tattooing, he got two traditional swallows on his legs for his very first tattoos. "And to my surprise they both healed perfectly!" he told me. The rest is history.

Have a read of my interview with Chris about that history (both his and tattooing in general), below!

Firstly, tell me about your path to professional tattooing!

The realisation came after visiting Japan, and when I got back to England, I decided to find myself an apprenticeship. I put together a portfolio of paintings and drawings and starting getting tattooed by local artists in my area, this naturally led to me being offered a spot as a shop apprentice in Leeds. After a couple of years of sweeping floors and cleaning tubes, I finally started to progress and travelled to other shops as well as overseas to America when I had reached a certain standard and was considered decent enough to do so.

Chris has been back to Japan several times since!

You specialise in traditional tattooing (as well as Japanese styles). What drew you to the old-school rather than more modern styles?

Travelling to America led to my discovery of the American traditional tattooing that had its heyday from the 20s to 40s and originated mainly amongst the servicemen in the Navy. I love the simple, bold designs that look great even when you're older. Back then, the tattooists only had a limited colour palette (this is before you could buy your inks from a company in a catalogue... These guys had to make their own inks!), and I find that this limitation creates a style that I really like. It captures the nostalgia of the period. I also love the Japanese style for its history and incredibly striking, timeless designs. The reason I love these styles the best is exactly that - they are timeless. They also tend to age very well to due to their boldness. I like being able to tell what a tattoo is from across a room, rather than the more colour-centric, realistic styles of the modern era.

While tattooing has never quite been the sole remit of sailors, it's true that today it's a lot more mainstream than 70 years ago. What was the life of a tattoo artist like in the 30s, 40s and 50s?

In the US at that time, most tattoo artists didn't tattoo as a full time job. The most well documented and famous tattooists of that era were servicemen in the army and (mainly) navy. They would work full-time on the ships and when they had leave from their duty, for maybe 24 hours to two days at most, they would tattoo all the other servicemen who were also on their leave, sometimes tattooing for two days straight! This is where the simplicity of the style comes from, it was all about speed: how many folks can they get through the door before they have to report back for duty.

There were also tattooists at this time that were still travelling around with the remaining circuses of America, (a well known character famously documented for starting in the travelling circuses is a guy called Stoney, featured in a great documentary called 'Stoney Knows How', also starring Ed Hardy). These guys also didn't tattoo full time, usually. In the circuses of the late 1800s to (possibly) 1940s, it wasn't unusual to find women tattooing. Half of their time would be spent tattooing and their other role would be as an attraction, 'The Tattooed Lady'. Not a glamorous job, as it was usually just a seedy excuse for men to go and paw over a scantily-clad woman, who happened to be tattooed!

Was there much difference in the UK and US tattoo scenes back then?

Tattooing in the UK had its heyday at the turn of the century when Japan opened its doors to trade, the rich and wealthy came back to England with souvenir tattoos of oriental design. When Chinoiserie and Japonisme became the height of fashion, a small amount of tattooists began to tattoo the upper classes and royalty with these oriental, Masonic and trophy designs. The style was more fine lined with less black under-shading at this point. Tattooing eventually trickled down into the military classes and found its way to America where traditional tattooing was refined.

Many will know about Sailor Jerry already, but who are some other classic artists you admire?

I love Bert Grimm who had an impressive collection of flash. I think one of my all-time favourite tattooists of this era has to be a chap called Cap Coleman. Again, another guy who was ex-army. He had an shop in Richmond, Virginia.

source

Sailor Jerry idolised Cap Coleman and he reworked many of his flash designs. I like the fact that Coleman used to draw all the flash he had on the walls a little wonky so that if people came trying to steal his designs they wouldn't get it quite right if they didn't know what they where doing haha. The old guys used to do this so that you were even more pleased with your tattoo when finished as it looked better than when you picked it off the wall. Haha, sneaky!

Original Cap Coleman flash sheet from the mid-30s that Chris owns!

Electric tattoo machines were invented in the late 1800s - how did the technology change between then and the 40s, and the 40s and now?

Well, the rotary was the first type of machine to be invented, then the coil machine modified from an Edison invention came along after that, and to be honest... it hasn't really changed since. You may get the odd fad machine, but it's like trying to reinvent the wheel, they never last. Yes, we don't have to solder our own needles every day if we don't want to, but the actual machines haven't changed much at all. In fact, vintage machines are highly sought after, especially if they were made by a particularly good maker.

I personally think actual 'vintage' tattoos (faded 40+ year old designs on elderly folks) look pretty cool, but do you think that techniques have improved so that by the time our generation are elderly, our work will stay more intact?

I agree!

Nowadays, we have better quality inks, with no heavy metals or toxic ingredients, and the pigments are much better - they don't tend to 'blue' as older black indian inks did. This will certainly help our tattoos to age better to a certain degree. But it's mainly down to the design you have chosen which will determine how your tattoo will age. Always stick with solid black outlines, this will ensure the design will age well and still be recognisable later on down the road.

Unlike 90s tribal, traditional tattoos never seem to really date. Why do you think that is?

I think very much like the fashions of the time, (30s and 40s), these designs will always appeal to us as they come from a timeless era. They will probably continue to be reinvented into the future, but we will always end up coming back to the classics.

Fascinating, huh? And what about my own little foray into traditional tattoos? Ta-da! I adore it.

If you fancy getting your own piece of traditional tattoo history from Chris, you can contact him through his website, at chris@chrislamberttattoo.com or on 07967 333521.

He also sells a range of excellent prints, badges and plugs of all gauges featuring his designs on UK Custom Plugs.

We have this very print at home!

He told me that UK Custom Plugs will also soon be releasing an old school tattoo colouring book drawn by him as well, in case any of you fancy trying your hand at whip-shading!

On a side note, Chris drew this fabulous poster for his partner Colette, who is about to launch her own tarot-reading site. If anyone would like their cards read by a wonderful lady, drop her a line at ladypeonytarot@gmail.com!

Hope you enjoyed reading my foray into interviewing!

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Festive Fleur 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 20:46:00 +0000

Christmas is coming up fast, right? I'm so not ready for it, at all. But at least I *look* ready, because lovely Shona Heyday has released the 2014 Christmas Fleur dress in plenty of time for the big day. Look!

It's the Holly Berry Fleur dress this year, with sprigs of holly and gold bells on a forest green background, with bright red binding on the pockets and neckline. It's a 1940s style wrap, of course - perfect for wearing at home or to parties... my personal favourite detail is always the pockets!

Last year's was red, if you can remember that far back...

If you fancy owning a Holly Berry Fleur dress, make haste my sweets, for as usual, it is limited edition and won't wait around for very long!

Not sure if you noticed, but aside from a new colour, this year, I also have a rather exciting addition...

The completely awesome Tracy D has started a not-so-little project on my left arm! This is as far as we got on the first session. It's an Art Nouveau peacock and fan, surrounded by blossoms and peonies. I love it and can't wait to show you more as it progresses. Exciting!

How's all your Christmas prep going?

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Fabulous Fontaine's

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 16:18:00 +0000

Recently, my dear friend and former events partner Emerald Fontaine did something rather amazing. She's opened what is definitely the most amazing Art Deco bar in all of London town. Best of all, my London readers will get a special offer this week/end... read on!

Fontaine's is in Dalston, in the trendy East End and it is truly fabulous. She put heart and soul into making it the most gorgeous bar in the world. Just look!

She serves cocktails - nothing dating to later than the 1950s (the Pina Colada), with most from the 20s, 30s and 40s.

Clover Club

Bramble

Pina Colada

Mint Julep

Martini

There's also the amazing food! Small plates, created by Emerald's brother the chef, are all simple, classic things like cheese and meat boards, chips & dips and prawn cocktail!

Meats including hom-made paté and rabbit rillette.

Prawn cocktail!

aubergine dip with crudites and crisps

Neal's Yard cheeses and home made chutneys!

These chips are topped with lemon and tarragon... trust me, it's amazing!

I took all these photos! Apart from the next one... For tonight at Fontaine's, it is Bellini Friday - a Bellini cocktail and 3 blini canapés - smoked salmon and caviar - for £10.

But...if I've temped you into coming to visit Fontaine's then Emerald has offered Diary of a Vintage Girl readers a complimentary glass of prosecco when you visit this weekend! Just go in for your Christmas drinks tonight and tell them I sent you! :)

Christmas in London doesn't get much more glamorous!

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com

Socks and sandals (and kittens)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 15:45:00 +0000

As any regular readers will know, I love Swedish Hasbeens a lot. I have many pairs and practically live in them in the summer. I also have a pair of winter boots I snagged at a too-good-to-resist sale price a couple of years ago, but, apart from those, my clog collection doesn't get worn in the winter at all.

Until now?

I was sent a pair of incredibly warm wooly socks by fellow Swedish brand Gudrun Sjödén to pair with sandals and I think I might be a convert! These are significantly jazzier socks than I'm used to wearing, but who doesn't like jazzy?

The shoes are the Swedish Hasbeens Lacy Sandals, which would otherwise have been in the cupboard until summer.

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens Lacy Sandal in Bordeaux

Socks: Gudrun Sjödén

Trousers: Heyday Denim 40s swing trews

Top: Freddies of Pinewood saddle tee

Cardi: Handknit

It looks kinda 70s, but that's right for the clog era! What do you reckon, can I pull it off?

PS. Bonus kitten pic as I'm working with this little one today!

Fleur xx
DiaryofaVintageGirl.com