Vintage Twirls

Last weekend I went along to Vintage Glasgow 2013, a festival in its own right and being held this year in Glasgow for two days as part of the bigger Merchant City Festival event. My friend and I went on the Saturday and enjoyed lots of what the festival had to offer. A large chunk of our day was spent indoors at The Old Fruitmarket, putting our best feet forward at Let It Rock (and by the way, whoever decided to hold a club during the day totally deserves a high-five) and learning a few new steps. Let It Rock was excellent and had a great, friendly atmosphere. It was wonderful to see so many people joining in the dance lessons and the live band, The Coy Dogs, kept us jiving with their excellent covers of songs by classic artists like Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran.

 Many of the other events were also being held indoors and after Let It Rock finished we took a little wander elsewhere in the City Halls. We took a peek into the Tiki Bar, found a couple of workshops and screenings being held upstairs and even spied Vintage festival founder Wayne Hemmingway sitting on a sofa chatting!

Back outside, the streets were filled with people and it was great to see so many people out enjoying the festival. Lots of people were dressed in outfits inspired by their favourite decades and as it was such a nice day there was no risk of perfectly coiffed hair getting wet! I was hoping to get myself a vintage pin-up girl hairdo at the Vintage Salon, but I was not the only one with that idea - the appointments were all fully booked by the time I arrived! Never mind. I still enjoyed seeing the end results on the other girls, their hair looked gorgeous! 

We took a trip into the Vintage Marketplace and enjoyed having a rummage at the vintage clothes and homewares (including a brilliant/ terrifying bust of Elvis' head and shoulders...that kind of looked a little like Roseanne Barr as well...). There were some local indie designers at the marketplace too and I spotted stalls from We Are The Robots, Tatty Bon and Gillian Kyle amongst others. I bought The Boy a couple of presents from Beardcraft's stall - a shop I haven't come across before but I was glad that I did! Brilliant products and branding and The Boy loved his loot.

Never one to shy away from a photobooth I also took full advantage of the Dr Martens free photobooth van, I promise that getting in the back of a van and having our photo taken was NOT as seedy as it sounds! The photobooth was a very nifty touchscreen device and automatically printed a full colour glossy print - I could have happily played in it for much longer! There were also plenty of food and craft stalls on the surrounding streets (did someone say CANNOLI?!) to explore - after all, dancing sure builds up an appetite!

Ever since filming my Blogcademy Scholarship entry video I feel like I've caught the iPhone video bug! If you never made it along to Vintage Glasgow 2013 (or even if you did), here is a wee video I made of my time at the festival - I'm sorry it's so narrow, I forgot to turn my phone around and film it widescreen (rookie error)...

 

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I hope you've enjoyed my little summary of Vintage Glasgow 2013. I had a ball and really hope it comes back to see us again next year!

Did you go to Vintage? What was your favourite part? Did you spot the Elvis/ Roseanne bust?!

Thanks for reading!

PS: the song on my little video is Gator's Groove by  Willis Jackson.

Creepy Crawly

I hate to sound like an 'I was doing that way before it was in fashion' type, but when I seen that brothel creepers were becoming fashionable - thanks in part to Prada's much sought-after crepe-soled brogues - I couldn't help but think along those lines. I don't make this kind of claim often, so when I do I really mean it. I remember buying my first pair of Underground creepers when I was still in secondary school, on my first trip to Camden Market - which at the time seemed like the coolest place in the world. I loved my creepers so much that I managed to persuade my mum to let me get two pairs - a black pair for school and a pink spiky pair for the weekend. Many a Glasgow boy and girl have been rocking creepers for years, they are a wardrobe staple for dedicated attendees of rockabilly club nights and concerts. Creepers became popular as fashion footwear in the late 1950's, so lovers of all things retro are also bound to be familiar with them (and probably own a pair or two).

These ladies and gents show us all how it's done

A selection of Prada's creeper-style shoes, around £510 

From reading reactions to this new footwear trend, it seems to be that creepers divide opinion quite a bit. It's considered a 'tricky' trend and many fashion writers aren't convinced by the wonder of the brothel creeper. True, they aren't for everyone (that was always part of their original allure, all those years ago) but seeing them stocked in Topshop means that creepers have definitely come a long way. Creepers have appeared on the catwalks and inevitably on the pages of fashion magazines as part of an overall trend of androgyny - tipped to be huge for this Autumn/ Winter. It is clear that creepers certainly have a masculine feel - as the song goes, a man with 'rolled up jeans and creepers on' is 'a mighty fine sight to look upon' (I couldn't agree more) - but with so many variations available, I think it's high time the ladies got in on the action.

Creepers are flat, yet chunky, and their stacked sole can help give a bit of height. The thick and sturdy soles mean that they are notoriously difficult to break in - but the effort is worth it and a good pair of creepers will last you for years. Luckily, with creepers being in fashion there are many styles ranging from high stacked soles for those looking to get an authentic teddy boy (or girl!) look, to pairs with thinner soles for those looking for a less exteme style. Topshop really do offer a great range and their Mobee Double Buckle brothel creeper is a lighter take on the look with a flash of leopard print for only £34. 

For a hardwearing pair of creepers, London brand Underground really are the original and best. They have been keeping all manner of rockers in creepers for decades and have an extensive selection - including double and triple soled shoes, which begs the question: how high are you willing to go?

Black Suede Triple-sole Creepers, £109 by Underground

I decided to take advantage of the vast availability of creepers on the high street and give my shoe collection an update with this patent pair from good old H&M - with pointed toes and bows on the front, these bad boys have more of a feminine, dressy feel (or as much as you are going to get with a pair of creepers):

Patent Creepers, £39.99 by H&M

 

Will you be creeping into this Autumn/ Winter?