Difficult choice!

Oh, all so lovely! Which one to make? The red minx dress or the green lady dress?

(Actually, I've already made my choice...)

It's been a long time...

Week in week out, I still never miss the Sunday morning flea market at Brighton Marina. Today, being a sunny day squeezed in between rainy ones, was very busy and what treasures were to be had in that last frantic sell-off before the end of summer!

Wow! What's this – "I went for dinner at Mr Chow before heading for Studio 54"? Just look at those shoulders! Black and gold silk brocade jacket with decorative topstitching, pristine condition.

Next up, had to trust my marketing companion on this one as there was no mirror on this seller's stall nor on any round about, but when I got this 1950s grey and white skirt suit home I could see she was right. It's perfect fit, made in some mysterious place where the bottom half is two sizes bigger than the top half and somehow they had my measurements thirty years before I was born.

To top it all (not literally), a free fez!

I think I need to go for a lie down now, after all that excitement.

We can rebuild it!

Restoring this jacket has been the most satisfying project I have undertaken for a long time.

Granted, I shouldn't have put it into the washing machine but I think the stitches must have perished over time and all that was holding it together was the dust.

All dressed up and somewhere to go

On the trail of couture

A few weeks ago I was extremely fortunate enough to happen upon a 1960s Courréges dress at one of my regular second-hand haunts. I snapped it up without even trying it on and when I got it home I couldn't believe that it fit me like a dream.

Apart from a prized piece of vintage Pucci and a Quorum dress that was only briefly mine, I have not owned many "high end" labels in a lifetime of collecting vintage and second-hand clothes.

So I've been looking into this one, trying to date the dress. I stumbled upon something similar from 1965 on a 20th century collectibles auction website and that, along with the fact that the label has a serial number stamped on it, makes me suspect that my humble market dress may actually be a piece of French couture.


The next step is to share my find with the expert members of a vintage forum and we'll see where to go from there.

Visit me at Frock Me! this Sunday in Brighton

I will have a stall at Frock Me! this Sunday (24th October) at the Corn Exchange in Brighton. Opening hours 11am-5pm.


I'll be selling vintage clothing, bags, jewellery and a new range of hand-made brooches.

http://www.frockmevintagefashion.com/index.htm