LA BELLE Vintage
27th April 2015 Issue No.1
Ssssshh!! Lips locked
We’re about to reveal our powder room secrets
Surely not
It’s not time to burst the vintage bubble yet is it?
Magic Number
The only number you need to know
Lollo Wilson
Student entrepreneur
£1.50
“Re-purposing fabrics and ARTISNAL collections feed my inspiration”
Contents P7
Editorial Word P3
P5
P10
P3
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P12
Get to know hot new fashion designer Lollo Wilson Time to forget the vintage and live in the now? Are we craving a time with less advanced technology? Are you invited to Lou lou’s vintage fair?
P10 12 -the only number
your wardrobe needs
P12
You can embody your favourite old
Hollywood Star
Hello, what a winter we’ve had, it’s gone from Icelandic chills to white blizzards up and down the country. The sun is starting to show itself again, bringing with it that glimmer of hope, we all have, that this summer will be that much warmer then the previous one. All over the country people will be preparing to change up their wardrobes and get ready for that much needed sun. Personally, I’m quite excited for the upcoming months, I’ll be glad to see the back of below zero temperatures and the unflattering bulky winter coats. I am so ready to switch up with high waist shorts and flouncy skirts. I feel there is a lot more freedom when it comes to fashion in the warmer months, as there are only so many extra layers you can add on before you look like that episode of friends where Joey wears all of Chandler’s clothes. Ridiculous. There is certainly no way that you can make that look hot! Now, embracing the vintage look in the summer may seem daunting, there’s no big fur coat for you to hide under (unless you want to sport the dripping wet in sweat look, which I advise against), and there’s no more camel thick skirts. What are you to do!? Do not fear, La Belle vintage is here to help you. Accessories are definitely the way forward, they can add little extra something to an otherwise dull outfit. Picture this; plain denim high waist shorts paired with a simple high neck top tucked in. Underwhelming right? Team
that with a large floppy fedora, a thin gilet and some worn in brogues. You’ve got a simple vintage look right there. Easy, I know! To help build up your wardrobe; we’ve got some ticks and tricks for you. Sheffield has bgun to pick up on how popular vintage items have become and so it is making itself known with a variety of fairs and events that you can attend. I, for one, am a big fan of this, anything that is accentuating the vintage era is excellent in my eyes. My favorite event that Sheffield hosts is a monthly one, Lou Lou’s vintage fair, and you can read more about it inside. Have you attended any fabulous vintage fairs? Have you noticed any new shops that stock items that could be featured in La Belle Vintage? Is there anything missing from La Belle that you would want to see featured. Send us a photo or a letter and you could be featured in the next issue.
Chloe Fox Editor.
Address 16 Rockingham House Pierson Road Sheffield S2 4UG Contact details 01149755095 Enquiries@Labellevintage.com
Boston & Jane With her entrepreneurial flare, Lollo Wilson found that while she was studying fashion, she still yearned for more. It was this need for more, that led to the birth of Boston & Jane, an online business that deals in reworked vintage clothing. La Belle Vintage spoke to Lollo to find out what drove her to set the business up.
So lollo who came up with the idea of Boston and Jane? Myself and another fashion student Becca Hemans saw an advert for a stall holders in the Sheffield Flea Market whilst in our second year at university. We both had our own etsy accounts selling vintage and handmade clothing we had surplus stock that we could sell, and so after brainstorming over Chinese food we decided to apply for the stall under the name of Boston & Jane.
What made you interested in in vintage fashion? I first got into vintage fashion through the need to find something different from mainstream fashion. I needed something that would suit my body shape. The hourglass figures of women in the 1940’s/50’s inspired me, and the clothes from that era flattered curvy women, which is what I was looking for.
Have you always wanted your own store?
“I’m going to have my own business one day”
I have known since starting to study fashion at college that setting my own business is the route I want to go down. The idea of working for someone else has never really appealed to me as I enjoy the freedom of being able to do my own thing. It was this desire that lead me to change my university course from BA Fashion to a Mdes (Masters of design). This gives the opportunity to complete a placement in regards to self-employment with the enterprise center. This lead to setting up my own solo business of vintage inspired hand made and hand printed clothing.
Who’s your biggest influence when it comes to fashion? The work of Martin Margiela inspires my own work greatly, his use of recycling and re-purposing fabrics in his ARTISANAL collections feed directly into my own interests of ‘upcycling’ vintage, and creatively re-modeling surplus fabrics into sellable pieces.
Why Boston and Jane? Well, we didn’t want to use our first names as it didn’t really work, so we took our middle names, mine being Boston and Beccas being Jane. I felt that is was unique and simple in turn making it memorable.
When did you set it up and has it been successful since then? During the beginning of our second year of university as a spur of the moment thing The first stall we had to Sheffield Flea Market was a great success, which led us to hold another stall at the Sheffield Up Market. Both of theses successes made us think about branching out, and so we decided to move the business online, this cancelled out all the overhead of stall fees.
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The site was live until the beginning of 2015 as Becca Hemans had her heart set on pursuing a placement with a fashion designer in London to gain experience and I have chosen the route of self-employment, so I now have sole control over Boston & Jane and the stock.
Do you dress with vintage in mind? Definitely! I have now reached my goal of having a completely vintage/retro wardrobe, so I can now dress in a 1950’s pin-up style every day.
Top tips for embracing the vintage era? Find an era that suits your style that you could comfortably wear and flatters your body shape. When you’ve chosen, pick a few staple pieces to start you off – for example; high waist trousers and circle skirts for that 1940’s-50’s look and mix everyday items to create your own look.
Where do you see the store going in the fu- Best places to shop? ture, will you contin- Basically, I’m a bargain hunter, so im contstantly ue to pursue its suc- rummaginf through charity shops for well priced vintage pieces. But vintage shops and independent cess after university? handmade clothing business are ideal for original Well, the site itself is no longer live as of the beginning of this year due to Becca wanting to pursue a placement with a London Fashion designer. But I have taken sole control over the store and the stock we have so it is still available and running, just the site is not live. Even though Becca is no longer part of it I do still want to carry it on after University due to, as I previously said, having my own business has been a dream of mine for the past 6 years and thanks to the enterprise center I can feel myself getting so much closer to achieving this.
pieces. A good place to look is on instagram, as many independent businesses start of on there, and in Sheffield COW and A New Shop are perfect.
Currently we sell vintage women’s-wear, from dresses to coats and also handmade vintage inspired pieces with original prints that are created by local artists and myself. All of which goes up to size 20 which is something that sets us apart from similar retailers.
At the beginning, yes, but as I get more experienced with my own business I want to pull away from selling pure vintage and instead create original handmade pieces that still have vintage inspirations. 4
It couldn’t of gone unnoticed that all things
vintage, retro and pin-up have become much more appreciated in modern day. But the question is why? Maybe with the fact that technology is progressing, the vintage world provides us with a type of escapism? Perhaps.Has the interest in all things vintage always been there, or has the advancement in technology meant we can share our thoughts and likes more. Over the years we have seen different fashions come and go. One season baggy boyfriend jeans might be the ‘staple’ item, but next season the high neck crop tops circa the 90’s might be the new ‘it’ item. It’s safe to say that fashion is fickle.
a magazine here and there created it and it isn’t going to be erased from our wardrobes once the next big thing is discovered.It is silly for us to assume that seeing people walking around sporting 1950’s swing dresses and headscarves will become the norm. Some people will, naturally, grow tired of embracing the 20th century vintage times, but one things for sure most of us that currently enjoy ‘vintage’ will continue to do so and nobody will every completely turn their back on it. It is highly unlikely that bubble will ever burst. It may deflate some what, but with interests being passed on to new generations it will be inflated once again.
It goes without saying that the recent interest in vintage stretches far beyond just fashion. Vintage fairs are appearing all over the country, old style tea rooms are thriving in today’s economy, where other establishments are struggling to keep afloat. It’s not just about the fashion. The vintage scene, now the ‘modern vintage’, is thriving due to its followers, the community it brings.
What sort of things do you sell?
Is this what you plan to sell when you get set up completely on your own?
Is it time to burst the vintage bubble?
Written by Chloe Fox www.facebook.com/bostonjane www.tumblr.com/bostonandjane www.instagram.com/bostonandjane www.etsy.com/uk/shop/BostonAndJane
While the number of ‘vintage’ style tutorials for make up and hair that are put online are increasing rapidly. We have a penchant for past generations adventures, muse over the recipes. We do it because its rich in culture and it offers an interest in something other than what’s ‘in fashion’. The interest in pin-up has sky-rocketed over the last few years along with channeling old Hollywood icons such as Bridgette Bardot and Audrey Hepburn. This could be because the style they embodied looks great on every shape and size. It entwines us with a playful cheekiness that we all adore. It makes us feel pretty and timeless. The explosion of vintage times didn’t just happen because 5
So, are we craving a simpler time? D
oes that fact we know our friends are always on the other end of the phone; mean we have less physical interaction with them? Surely not. Is it because we constantly feel connected to them even if we don’t see them? Possibly. Just a few decades ago no one had the vast access to technology that is available today. It was a time when even basic computers were out of reach for most people, but now they fit, with ease, into the palm of our hands. Yes, new technology has transformed the way we live, from working habits to personal relationships; but has the balance now been tipped too far; can we, now, descirbe ourselves as victims of the screen. The youngest generation, now, have been born into a world where we have become vastly reliant on technology. Will these young children never come to understand the gratification of opening a book fresh out of the store, will we never hear rapping at the front door, followed by “can Jack come out and play?” Surely young children should be out playing in the trees, not glued to a games console or the newest smart phone. Michael Harris, author of ‘The End of Absence: Reclaiming what we’ve lost in a world of constant connection’, writes the generations after this one will not know a world with out constant connection, they won’t experience the daydreaming silences. There are no daydreaming silences when you carry a smartphone’.
We have even become captive in social medias shackles, there’s rarely a day that goes by that myself and, I can bet, yourself doesn’t check the vast number of social networks we all have on our smartphones. Why has this become such an obsessions of today’s society? Why can’t we just call our friends and family, or better yet, why can’t we take a small trip and visit the ones that are near-by. Yes, social media has its uses for those that live further afield, but what’s wrong with a good old fashioned phone call, its much more personal. Sure, all technology has its advantages; we can stay connected where ever we are with calls and texts. But it is the other advancements of technology; the apps, the constant social networking that seeing us withdraw from society more and more each day. I for one do not like where it is heading, I envy those who lived during the simpler times, where a house phone, a radio, and three television channels was about as advanced as it got. I much prefer socially interacting with people in person, and reading books with the book actually in my hand.
LA BELLE Vintage Requests your presence ON THE
SATURDAY 28TH MARCH 11am-5pm
to join in the Celebration of all things vintage
Lou Lou’s
Vintage Fair
And it’s true we have become so dependent on technology that we have forgotten what it was like to live without it. Further proof, how often are you stood waiting for a bus, and you reach for your smart phone, see other around you doing the same thing, attempting to connect yourself with the rest of the world. When in fact you’re already connected, you’re outside, in the world. Or when you’re deep in conversation you’ll hear, ‘ sorry I’ve just got to reply to this text, hand on two secs’. It happens so often it just seems right. It has become normal to interrupt conversations to continue a virtual one. 6
taking place at
Sheffield Town Hall
Lou Lou’s
VintagE Fair The winner of the Best Vintage fair in the UK is making its way back to where it all began, Sheffield Town Hall, this March 28th. It started back in 2008 in the steel city, and has now become established as the largest vintage fair in the UK, managing to serve 42 cities across the nation, and featuring the finest traders spanning the 1940s-1990s. With an average 50 stalls of everything vintage, there is a huge variety of things to peak your interest. Explore the Corn Exchange for vintage fashion and homeware, but don’t forget the highlight of the fair; the vintage tea party and the vintage beauty salon where the ladies are miracle workers, and can style your hair and make-up to embrace your favourite vintage icons. It may take a bif of digging around, but you are sure to find a couple of perfect items that you can add you your already amazing wardrobe, don’t be put of by the vast aray of items in your eyesight, dig for it. When your hunting for vintage treasures comes to a halt, take a well-deserved rest at Secret cake club for a spot of tea and cake.
How busy is your average fair?
All our fairs run from 11am until 5pm so we can see a number of people throughout the day, I don’t know that exact amount but it can be anywhere from 800 and above. Obviously these don’t stay the whole day, some do, but many come and go so the fair it always bustling right up until closing time.
What’s your favourite part of hosting the fair?
Just seeing, all these different stores and boutiques coming together and taking part in sharing these amazing items from amazing decades with new people. I guess it’s like sharing a part of me, as it’s always been an interest of mine. I just love all of it.
Tips for newbies coming to the fair?
Sometimes you have to dig for treasures. If you don’t find something just by glancing, don’t give up; they’ll definitely be something somewhere that is perfect for you. Also wear comfortable shoes. ALways the best way!
Interview with Jess, founder of Lou Lou’s vintage fair
What made you start up Lou Lou’s vintage fair? I’ve always had a flare for all things vintage, it’s just beautiful and the I feel there’s much less restrictions in terms of what you can do and what clothes to wear. Then a few years ago I was noticing nothing of the larger scale, there were only small boutiques, dotted around different cities and a lot of them weren’t getting the exposure they deserved. So I spoke to a few of them around Sheffield and asked if they’d be interested in doing a small fair once in a while. 8
Did you think it would ever be this popular? Never would I have imagined that it would of gone this way. I mean who could have predicted that little old Lou Lou’s fair would now be reaching 42 cities. That is just insane to me; I never thought it would that in just 7 years I would have made something this successful. It’s great. It’s fantastic. This is my absolute dream come true. It’s not a standard 9-5, and it’s working with my passion, while being surrounded by people who feel the same and who appreciate it like I do. 9
12 is the magic number Turn your clothes into a capsule wardrobe with 12 staple items, that will make chosing what to wear in the mornings so much easier. Capsule wardrobes are no industry secret; a few staple pieces make the angst of deciding what to wear a thing of the past, with thanks to many items that seem to never go out of fashion. Pairing these items with seasonal favourites allows for a large array of outfits and looks that are achievable with minimal effort. It’s a general consensus that men have been doing this forever. Oh what an easier wardrobe they have, if it was that easy for me, I could hit snooze a few extra times in the morning. It was with this in mind that I wanted to find, especially for you, how to build up a perfect vintage wardrobe, which WILL include capsule worthy staple piece. Something to note, do not be afraid of plain or simple pieces, they often work in your favour. We see high street retailers plastering cheesy slogans on the front of sweaters and knits all too often. Basic clothing doesn’t have to be monotonous and boring. For example a crisp white t-shirt paired with a denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up, a sure-fire look that is lost in the sea of crazy patterns and wild cuts. You could even embrace rebel ‘James Dean’ look and pair the white tee with a black leather (or pleather if you’re a bit skint) jacket. The possibilities for that white top are endless.
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The Demure Blouse – wear this with your circle skirt and you’ve got an easy look right there. The Bombshell Dress – great for all figures, and shows just enough skin to give that ‘kitten’ feel. The Little Black Cocktail Dress. Which era, any era! 20’s - 60’s its your choice. The Full-skirted dress – Like the bombshell, flattering for all figures but this one maybe a touch more so. Perfect for day wear or add a pair of silk gloves and you’ve got a perfect outfit for a slick night on the town. The Shirtwaister – go for this in a print colour if you want to brighten up a little more. Flat ballet shoes look super cute with it too. The Overcoat – Again something that keeps coming back in fashion, easy to find in high stores but if you want authentic, then take a look in local charity shops and shops like NEW SHOP or COWvintage, even ebay again. A-line skirt – perfect for slimming thighs and hips, and easy to pair with anything (my go to item when I can’t find something to wear on a night out) Black Mary Janes – comfortable and versatile, can be worn with all of the above. In terms of accessories I would definitely say pearls are perfect for both day and night. And for hats, keep it black, and pillbox, beret or even just a fascinator is all you need.
There are 12 staple items that I would advise you to have in your wardrobe that will make getting dressed that much easier…
‘Don’t be scared of a plain white tee’
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A tailored suit – Trousers or Skirt. (Admittedly these can be quite difficult to find, I would personally advise looking on ebay and COWvintage) The Pencil Skirt -Don’t be scared to be adventurous with this, go for a plaid one with reds or grey tones in you can pair with a simple top and cardigan for a pin up look. The Circle Skirt. – They are very ‘in’ right now, so you’ll be able to find one easy. Very flattering too. The Sweater - A simple sweater can boost your outfit so much, and its perfect for the weather right now, underneath a coat of course. 11
e h t f o s t e r c Se
Powder
Room Bridgette Bardot has always had a certain sexy allure about her. Her cat eye makeup has a lot to thank for that, it adds a subtle sex appeal to them. Follow these easy steps to recreate her look. Don’t forget to always start of with a good foundation that gives you a matte finish. Revlon Photoready followed by their powder is perfect for this look.
Recreate Hollywood Icon Rita Hayworths gorgeous elegant curls with these simple steps. All you need is; curling iron, bobby pins and hairspray Step 4 Wait for the curls to cool, the colder the better, so unless your in a rush try and leave them pinned for around 20-30 minutes.
Step 1 Create a side part on your preferred side. This look has a stronger look with a side part, in my opinion. Curl the heaviest side first. Start at the bottom and pin the curls into place in the patterns above. Start from the top, working your way to the bottom. Step 2 The front pieces are the most important as they define the shape more than any other section of hair. Step 3 Work your way around to the other side. Remember to curl everything down and towards the face. 12
Step 1 Start with a matter pale brown shadow in the crease and wing it out.
Step 4 Now its time to perfect that line by filling it in with a very slightly damp eyeshadow. Use an angled brush to get a smooth even line.
Step 2 Take an eye pencil in a deeper shade of brown and create a thick wing that covers half of your lid. It does not matter if the line is imperfect.
Step 6 Using a liquid eye pencil on the rim. Finish it off with a pop of pale pink lipstick.
5. Now, using a flat brush*, brush out the whole head. Brush down until you start seeing the pattern form. Once the patterns start forming lightly spritz with hairspray. You can tuck the lighter side behind your ear if you like, just twist a thin piece and pin. *DO NOT use a round bristle brush, as this will cause unnecessary frizz!
Step 3 Next, connect the top wing from the outer corner all the way around to inner corner using the same pencil. 13