You make me feel like I am fun again!

Have I told you lately how fabulous you all are and how much I appreciate having you wonderful peeps in my life?

Yes, Jennie stop going on about it or we'll have to make the bucket beside us a permanent feature, K?!

It has to be said though, in the past few months my lust for blogging has returned with a vengeance & a cursory glance at my yearly blog archive spells it out...

...this years post tally is speeding past the previous years at a rate of knots.

I personally put it down to your encouraging continued visits to my little nook of the blogosphere :)

For a long time I isolated myself, I became the silent onlooker to a party that I felt unworthy of part taking in.

I watched you all being fabulous and having fun, interacting with each other and even though I wanted to join in I felt  too craven to do so. 

I felt that through my silence, I'd lost my place in the gang.

Then one day I started taking tentative steps back into the circle and was very happy to find that there were still people there ready to welcome me back with open arms.

Then all of a sudden I felt as if I was fun again!

It was like a flower bomb of colour and warmth had gone off quite unexpectedly.

I started commenting and getting comments in return.

I felt welcomed, encouraged, inspired & enthralled.

I felt like busting open the bags and diving into the drawers to unearth fabulous clobber to wear.

Thank you for rekindling a fire that had all but gone out and thank you for being there for me after my long absence, I guess that is the mark of true friendship, virtual or otherwise.

I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me...gush over (for now).

Vintage 70s velvet psychedelic print maxi skirt,  60s lace panel top, 70s suede jacket, 50s booties, 60s velvet painters beret, opera gloves, brass bangles & Frocktasia 'Grumpy Suns' earrings.

 Today's tune is 'Lovesong' by The Cure,  enjoy :)

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

Plant loving crackpot

If I were able to have a whole house full of rescue dogs, cats, birds and miscellaneous wildlife I totally would but as things are that is sadly not possible.

There is one thing that we can and do rescue and give a new home to and that is abandoned houseplants.

Mark found this yucca plant in a terrible state a while back. 

The previous owner had kept it in a very small terracotta pot and the plant was completely rootbound inside of it. 

You can see how one of the plant trunks is completely warped & that was wrapped onto the rim of the wee pot.

Instead of repotting the plant they had just put it out with the rubbish as it was dying.

As soon as Mark brought him home, I took a hammer to the pot, liberated Mr. Yucca and re-potted him into a big poundland planter and he has thrived with us ever since.

In fact he has been growing so well that the other day I had to venture up to the nature trail in search of a "crutch" for him.

The warped trunk looked as if it was straining under the weight of his marvelous crown, so I found a perfect stick to support it.

We love our houseplants and like Prince Charles we do talk to them.

 Call me a crackpot if you like but my plants make me very happy and I do like to tell them that :)

Once it gets a bit warmer outside, I shall bring them all out on the balcony to repot them into some fresh soil and bigger pots if needed... 

I call this Yucca plant Odie cause when Mark brought him home he reminded me of the dog from Garfield, all long-necked and lanky. The big pic is Odie today and the one to the right is when he first moved in with us ;)

Question time...

Do you keep houseplants or are you lucky enough to have a garden where you grow things?

Today we had rain & sunshine in the morning, snow & strong winds in the afternoon and to finish off, our little corner of London was treated to a lovely pink sunset.

Today's ensemble:

Vintage 50s jacket, 60s psychedelic floral print mini dress, crushed velvet booties, layered tights (plain red and acid orange fishnets), bangles galore & Frocktasia earrings & horse-brass necklace.

I curled my hair this morning but it started snowing & blowing a gale when we were feeding the birds, so by the time these photos were taken you could hardly tell, och!

It was great reading your comments about 'Lucky Dipping' and eBay purchases. 

I know I'm a nosy parker but I just love reading your wee stories, so thank you for taking the time.

Today's song is by Crowded House, enjoy :)

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

I spy

When I first started blogging back in 2007 on a Swedish fashion blog platform called Modette, my daily blog  post would usually only consist of a picture and a short description of what I was wearing that day.

I blogged on Modette for a year before the site was bought up by a news company that decided that they wanted handpicked & trendy bloggers rather than people like me, so my blog was unceremoniously binned. 

Then I started my first blogspot blog called Calamity Jem's Vintage Vaudeville and although I spent a good few years blogging about charity shop bargains, car boot sale treasures and my daily get-ups (mostly photographed in the same spot on the balcony) I never felt entirely happy with the blog itself.

 So in 2011 I decided I needed a change and Frocktasia was born.

To start off with I had this idea that I wanted to keep my "daily ensembles" in a separate place, however slowly but surely they've crept back in to my regular blog content.

Why?

I love looking at other people's outfits and I love sharing mine, it's as simple as that really :)

Here are my February 2013 outfits...

Have you got a favourite?

I really loved wearing the cropped lurex jumper and I'm sure it'll get a fair few outings this month too :)

Today's ensemble was a bit 'Cold War Spy'...

...mixed with a large dollop of 'Comic Strip Heroine'...

I bought these trippy tie-dye tights from a Swedish High Street store called Indiska in their sale when I was across two years ago. Shortly after I returned home they disappeared without a trace. I found them again the other week whilst going through my stash of vintage bags, they were stuffed inside a very elegant 50s handbag. Very odd but I'm sure that it must have made perfect sense at the time ;)

Vintage 70s leather coat...I do love a good leather coat! I know, I know...not very vegan of me :(
Vintage 80s jumper, satin & lace corset, latex belt by House of Harlot, vintage 80s boots, faux-leather hotpants, opera gloves, Indian sari wrap as scarf & Frocktasia earrings. 

What is your view on outfit posts, do you love them or loathe them?

How many pics of the same outfit do you think is overkill in an outfit post?

I'll leave you with a wee ditty by Norwegian singer songwriter Mikhael Paskalev, 

enjoy :)

Lot's of love,
Jennie
xXx

The Day I became a Dandy Lion

Yesterday Mark and I primed our bags with vintage goodies and made the trip to The Dandy Lion 'Ladyfolk' Market at the Oxford in Kentish Town.

I was so impressed with the pub, it is the perfect setting for a craft/vintage market. We were given a cracking pitch and were set up a whole lot quicker this week, I've been practicing at home you see ;)

We had such a wonderful day and I was so inspired by all the fabulously creative sellers there.

I'd like to introduce you to some of them because quite frankly I think they ROCK!

First off is the lovely Camilla, she is a fellow creative Swede living in London... 

She makes brilliant 'bookish necklaces' and super funky vinyl record bookends.

I am going to link all the wonderful sellers (when possible) so that you can check them out for yourself, should something catch your eye.

Camilla has got an ETSY shop and sells her fabulous and very affordable wares to all over the world.

The second seller I would like to give a shout out to is Amanda, she makes gorgeous handmade cards & funky wee gifts. She doesn't have an on-line shop as yet but she's got a Facebook page, The Prettiest Thing...

Julia of Collar Me Happy makes stunning bespoke and ready to wear collars...

 I fell in love with a few but I am still on a "buying ban"...och!

I think that's what they call "being good", alas not much fun when faced with so much awesomeness...

Astrid Vaswani was there with her gorgeous daughter Jessica (out best customer) selling a wonderful array of funky jewelry.

Annemarie is behind She's Got it Made and she makes fabulous cushions,  cats and owls from groovy vintage fabrics.

Claire's stall Bright River was selling an array of fabulous cards and prints including some drawn from her mothers artwork.

The creative genius behind Words & Roses is called Luisa Cotardo and she makes some very romantic and stunning rose themed items...

Julia of Jamilicious were there to tempt everybody with handmade preserves and sweets.

The fabulous ceramic pots and ornaments are handmade by SuzanArt. 

Fellow first timer Lydia's Lockets sold beautiful handmade jewelry and I was lucky enough to win one of her lovely necklaces in the tombola, needless to say I was chuffed to bits, it's gorgeous! 

 When we first arrived in the morning I was quite nervous but after being beamed a fantastically warm and friendly smile by Mark of Gorgeous Jewellery I just knew it was going to be a fabulous day.

We had the tremendous pleasure of meeting Mark's very lovely wife Sue later on, she is the 'creative genius' in this fabulous team.

I didn't catch the name of the lovely chap that was in charge of the tombola but he did a sterling job at beaming out positivity too, what a fabulous bunch of people :)

 Shonel of Poetic Solace makes some seriously funky jewellery, she will be trading at the Craft Jam Fair in Kingly Court, Carnaby Street here in London next Saturday, if you pop along have a look out for Camilla of 'Mind The Book' too.

Bestitched  make fun and quirky framed cross stitch and they also sell funky cards and labels/tags, they have a bigcartel shop.

I hope I haven't missed anybody out and if I have, I apologize profusely...

I'll get you next month ;)

There is one seller that I haven't mentioned though...

the remarkable woman that made all of this possible and what a darling marvel of a woman she is!

 Leslie puts her heart and soul into organizing The Dandy Lion Market and she does a BRILLIANT job!

I've only known this woman for a week but it feels like we've been pals forever, I think Leslie is amazing!

So a big thanks to the woman that made it all happen, to the inspirational & talented sellers that were there on the day and of course to the lovely customers that came through the doors :)

Both Mark and I had such a fantastic day and we can't wait for the next market....

Frocktasia has finally grown a pair of wings and it is wonderful!

A few pints and some cracking company marked the end of  a perfect day :)

Loved every single minute of it!

Hope you have all had an equally fabulous weekend.

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Hair today gone tomorrow

I've been a busy bee today preparing my stock for the The Dandy Lion Market on Saturday.
Here's a sneaky-peek preview of  most of the stock that I'll be bringing with me...

Prices will range from £5 to £30 and there will be a bargain box too.
I've still to sort out some bags, shoes, accessories & knick-knacks  to bring but I'll do that tomorrow.
Here are some random 'label, print and detail' close-ups...

I'm bringing a few bits for the boys too...

This is where I'll be trading on Saturday...

Like I mentioned in Tuesday's post the event is a get together with Oxfam to celebrate International Women's Day.

It will help raise funds to support women living in poverty around the world.

I have pledged 10% of my takings and I've also donated a retro 80s coffee jar filled with coffee sweets for the tombola.

If you are in Kentish Town on the day please pop in and see me and all the other fabulous sellers ;)

This was today's ensemble...

After reading Olga's post yesterday I was inspired to wear one of my African blouse tops.

Olga's blog is called Local Fashion and it has an amazing back catalogue of interesting posts, it's blooming fabulous!

Abstract print African blouse top, sequin leggings, 80s cropped jacket, Moschino belt, Indian block print chiffon wrap,  80s worm-coil earrings, 80s boots & Tibetan prayer bangle. 

 Other news...
Today I got so fed up with my natty hair, I made hubby cut it for me, so now it's in a sort of bob style.
I'm not a big fan of going to the hairdressers so I very seldom do.
My hair is so tremendously flimsy & fine, it takes any hairdresser about two minutes to cut it and it just feels like a waste of money to be honest.
Another thing that really gets my goat about hairdressers is that even if you wash your hair yourself five minutes before the appointment, they go...
-"We still have to wash your hair!"
-"Why, do you not trust my hair washing ability?"
I know that quite a few of my blogging buddies trim their own tresses too, so I'm in good company :)
After all it's only hair & it will grow out again eventually.
Hope you will have a groovetastic Friday folks, here's a tune to put you in the mood...

 Lot's of love,
Jennie
xXx