Amber Butchart's Fashion Miscellany - a review (I know, two in a row)

In advance of interviewing Amber Butchart later this week (more of that below), I was lucky enough to be sent her new book, Fashion Miscellany.  Before even opening Fashion Miscellany, you are struck by how beautifully it is presented, with a gorgeous hardback cover (in dare I say it, cerulean) and traditional gold lettering.  The book is organised much like a glossary and as such is easy to dip in and out of.  It is full of so much interesting information and covers all areas of fashion, from youth subcultures to tailoring terms, and fashion documentaries to Karl Lagerfeld's cat!  The tone of the book is very conversational, like a friend imparting a fact they've just learnt over tea and cake.

The book is also dotted with quotes regarding fashion and style from luminaries such as the ever quotable Coco Chanel and Oscar Wilde.  One of my favourites is "Style is the simple way of saying complicated things", said by Jean Cocteau (I also love Sophia Loren's "A woman's dress should be like a barbed wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view"). 

So if you are interested in fashion history, learning more about the terms used or want a comprehensive index of the most influential fashion photographers throughout the past century, then this really is the book for you.  It was a joy to read Fashion Miscellany, and I'm sure I'll be looking up some of the facts now and again.  Congratulations to Amber as I hear Fashion Miscellany has almost sold out and is going into reprint and after having read it, I'm not surprised! 

*Bonus*

I'll be interviewing Amber this Friday at Puttin' on the Glitz at the British Library for The Vintage News, at a talk she is giving (along with Christopher Laverty of the Clothes on Film blog) on fashion in the 1920s and '30s.  There is also a cocktail party afterwards, hosted by our good friends The Vintage Mafia with entertainment from The AlexMendham Orchestra and hair and makeup from Pretty Me Vintage.

Contortionists, comedy horns and cocktails.

This is going to be quite a picture-heavy post as I am rather tired after quite a busy but brilliant weekend.  By force of habit, I tend to take my camera everywhere with me now and this weekend was no exception.

Hayley looking delightful

You may have seen my previous post on the Ric Rac club and how brilliant it is, so I made sure I could be in London for the circus themed bash.  All of my early costume ideas centred around face paint (to which I am allergic) so it wasn't until a couple of days before that I decided to don my best tight-rope walker/Big Top outfit (yes, I went as a tent). 

 

My outfit consisted of a gorgeous '50s sunsuit (label - "Sun fashions exclusive with Best's" - anyone have any information on them?), nude fishnets with a black seam, incredibly uncomfortable ballet pumps (courtesy of Primarché) with added ribbon and a hat I cobbled together the night before.

 

Sunsuit - vintage
Shoes - Primark
Hat - made by moi

 Here are some pictures of my lovely chums in all their circussy glory.



Much joy was had with the comedy horn

The lovely Jeni Yesterday

Sara and Russell looking splendid as always

Fleur, Bethan and Auntie Maureen during the infamous raffle 

 

As well as Auntie Maureen on the decks, there was also a fantastic contortionist by the name of Stephanie Valentine.  In the words of Hayley, "she's so bendy!"

 



My best attempt at being a contortionist!

After a lovely leisurely Sunday morning, Hayley, Katie and myself headed into town for a spot of lunch at the Brasserie Zédel and cocktails in the adjoining Bar Américain - that is, after quaffing some free champagne in Burberry, admiring some of the Great Gatsby costumes in Brooks Brothers and dancing to Trinidadian Calypso in Regent Street.  I'll do another post about Brasserie Zédel later on or this will get too long!

  

Did any of you attend the Ric Rac club?  What would you wear to a circus themed party?  Have any of you been to Brasserie Zédel?

 

The day I got my cape on... well, capes. The Tweed Run 2013.

I am somewhat of a fair-weather cyclist (who wants to go out in the rain really?) but that didn't stop me looking forward to spending the day astride a velocopide of my own, taking in some of London's most iconic landmarks.  The event I am talking about is of course TheTweed Run, an amazing day when the streets of London are filled with be-tweeded (?) folk going for a leisurely jaunt, all in aid of charity.

The first time I'd attended the Tweed Run was the Ralph Lauren Rugby sponsored event in November 2011 and we returned for the April edition last year.

Competitor for most English photo ever?

 The route this year took in some of the most iconic sites in London including the Houses of Parliament, Regent Street, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace - the tourists really got their money's worth that day!  We also revisited a few places we've filmed in the past, including the Athenaeum Club and Savile Row.



 

I am indebted to AuntieMaureen, who answered my plea for a tweed outfit at short notice.  The weather was quite changeable, so for the ride itself I wore a combination of a 1970s tweed cape suit, a lovely knitted woollen top and the tweed jacket I wore last year.   During the tea break, I got a bit chilly, so I changed the short cape for a knee length houndstooth number, which I also wore when I went to see The 39 Steps earlier in the week.  To complete my outfit, I wore a 1960s (I think) Edward Mann felt hat, which I had to stretch the night before because it was just a tad tight, a green snood, my 1940s dead stock brogues, elbow length leather gloves and a scarf that I got from Lush when I used to work there.  Being the rubbish blogger that I am, I didn't get any proper photos of my outfits (yes, plural) so this will have to do (also see the picture of me during an interview further down). 



Courtesy of Jim Moore



 My camerawork and presenting skills were really put to the test, as I was filming and doing pieces to camera - all while riding an unfamiliar bike (a beautiful Pashley I may add) in a pencil skirt! 



Courtesy of Jim Moore

 My formative years were spent listening to punk and new wave (this is going somewhere), so when I had the opportunity to interview David Vanian, lead singer of the Damned, I was a little over excited!  We had a lovely chat about bikes and tried very hard not to be a total fangirl!  

Look at that contained excitement!

 I touched upon it in our newsreel, but all of the riders owe a huge thank you to the marshals who kept all 500 of us out of harm's way - quite a task when you imagine so many cyclists of varying levels of experience, careering across Oxford Circus in the middle of the day!



The marshals all gathered at the start

I had so much fun, even when it started raining towards the end of the ride and it was lovely being able to catch up with a few London friends (and one cheeky chap from Brighton of course).

The lovely Katie and Mai, who came for an impromtu jaunt
down to Brighton after the Run



I'm not sure why Jenni is quite so excited,
she gets her photo taken all the time!



Zack, on Regent Street, in one of my favourite photos of the day

I can't wait to take part next year - perhaps my bike mounted camera work will have improved by then?!  Anyway, here is the film we made if you fancy seeing more of what the day is about.  Let me know what you think, were you there or would you love to attend a Tweed Run near you?

 

Vintage Valentine's

Continuing with my hectic week of darting back and forth between the big smoke and the sea, myself and Vintage Vessel hot-footed it up to Islington (via a quick detour to fix our hair at the Victoria station loos!) to attend the Valentine's edition of the Ric Rac Club.  This was the second time the Ric Rac has been held at the Blacksmith and the Toffeemaker and it was again organised by the lovely ladies of The Vintage Mafia.

The obligatory bathroom shot, avec coat and
before I put my hair up after too vigorous dancing

Fleur kicked off the night with her first ever DJ set (although you'd never know it), followed by Auntie Maureen, sadly without her customary gramophone this time. The third DJ in the lineup was Mr Lee spinning some Northern Soul greats, although he sadly only played 'Nothing but a Heartbreak' as we were leaving, which meant the assembled crowds were left without seeing me do a high-kick-into-a-drop move which I had promised VV if the Flirtations' tune was played.

Auntie Maureen on the 'decks'

The night was full of all the usual faces, many of them stalwarts of the New Sheridan Club including our lovely friend Katie.  One lucky first-time attendee was on the receiving end of a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday to You' from the entire pub.  I also met the lovely Ruby Armoire in person - her hair was looking amazing as always.

 

Ladies ranging from 1950s on the left (Ruby)
to 1920s on the right, via the '40s and '30s

As always, the girls had put on a raffle and of course it featured pork pies as they star prize (well, star prize perhaps behind the stockings from What Katie Did, a bottle of Sprizzato, cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery - which has a bakery just up the road from the B&TM, and numerous other prizes).  Whilst scrabbling about trying to change my camera battery, I heard my number called - I had won the bottle of Sprizzato!  No-one was entirely sure what exactly Sprizzato is, but I can tell you it is alcoholic, orange flavoured and they recommend that it is best served with prosecco.  I have yet to try it, but I will write a post on here to tell you all about its boozy delights when I do.

Downlighting is not my friend

The Ric Rac club has fast become one of the most enjoyable and friendliest events in the vintage calendar.  It has been described as 'a vintage houseparty' and it really does feel like that (without people being sick in the corner, I hasten to add).  Jenny, Fleur and Bethan have an event to really be proud of.

 

Jenny, Bethan and erm.. not Fleur (it's the lovely Zack of course)!

 

Anyway, enough of me being a Ric Rac sycophant, here are some pictures of the fabulous party goers (and one of a table).

Sophie

Birgit, in a dress she made that afternoon

 

Minerva, Pandora and Mai

 

 

Charly, Perdita and Laurence

L-R Hanson, Auntie Maureen and Jenny

 

Holly and Liz

 

P.S. I heard a rumour that the next one may be easter themed, but then again I also heard tell of an 'Allo 'Allo theme so you can never be too sure! 

 

My favourite photo of the night, my lovely chums
Hayley and Katie looking delicate and ladylike