DotCom Giftshop sent me these gorgeous cake tins which are spot on for my vintage kitchen. Their sets of round tins are £12.95 and they also have various sizes & shapes of retro tins to choose from.
I totally love the metal tins filled with quirky plasters, they are only £3.95
£3.95
magnetic shopping list to match my cake tins £3.95
Room31 are my go to site for a fashion bargain, including Vero Moda and other cool brands. Here are some of my picks, and me posing in my glitzy shirt they gifted me.
shirt £8
scarf £5
boat jumper £10
neon clutch £10
bird necklace £5
I've been after a scent that smells like Parma Violet sweets for a while, and tried a few eBay handmade perfume oils, but they weren't what I was looking for. I did a bit of research on fragrance blogs and the noses pointed towards YSL Parisienne being a close match.
Lloyds Pharmacy had invited me to browse their beauty and make-up section on their online store, so I picked out a bottle in their fragrance sale. It was £33.99 instead of £49.99, not bad! There's also free shipping if you spend over £35.
It definitely has notes of Parma Violets (notes! Get me, the perfume blogger over here!) but isn't quite sweet enough to seal the deal and become my life long fragrance.
I picked out some other violet themed beauty items, Nivea's Double Effect spray & roll on deodorants, and a cute little Max Factor Mini Nail Polish. Why not see if your favourite perfume is on offer?
Lush Scarves is the go-to for beautiful, 100% silk and hand embroidered scarves. I've dozens of retro print scarves, but I always get drawn to buying the mad patterns and then realise they clash with my mad patterned outfit. Lush Scarves gave me this daffodil, ray of sunshine, square, silk scarf to review.
The colour is so zingy, and will brighten up my winter wardrobe, I also think wearing it with denims would be a great match. it's about four times larger than other square scarves I own making it very versatile. Lush Scarves have it in a rainbow of colours alongside other designs. Get accessorising.
I'm pretty spoiled where I live, near the capital of Northern Ireland.If I want to buy some retro clothing I can tour the city's charity shops, or the Botanic area's chic vintage boutiques. If you don't have the desirable, past-century clobber on your doorstep, you could have a rummage through the shelves of Brag Vintage, a fashion website selling bespoke, great quality vintage pieces.
I was sent a pretty, pink & orange, seventies' dress. If you are looking for advice on the right vintage look for you, check out The Brag Vintage Blog.
IWOOT (I want one of those) is the cleverly titled, unusual gift website offering curiosities for all occasions & ages that you don't get elsewhere.
They sent me a fun BBQ condiment gun, that you fill with red or brown sauce, or mustard, and fire onto burgers and hot dogs.
Here are some more of my favourites from the IWOOT food novelties in their home & garden section.
Slushie Maker (available Aug 17th) £49.99
cake candelabra
Edible eyes
manatee tea strainer
food face plate
zombie cookie cutters
The Apple, Dick Bruna’s first picture book before he created his iconic character Miffy, has been republished by Tate to mark the title’s 60th anniversary this August.
Featuring a charming story about a little rosy apple that is taken on an adventure by a bird, The Apple is available in stores from today, 1 August 2013, alongside two other titles by Dick Bruna: The School, out of print since 1968, and new book, On My Scooter. All three books are published in hardback, priced £4.99 each, available from all good book stores.
The 12 illustrations in The Apple are the first expression of Dick Bruna’s signature style, now familiar to generations worldwide. Created in 1953 whilst he was still working as a freelance graphic designer in his father’s publishing house in Amsterdam, The Apple shows Dick Bruna experimenting with form and shape, using bold black outlines and bright, contrasting primary colours.
Having published The Apple in the Netherlands, Dick Bruna produced several more picture books over the next two years, before creating the little bunny character Miffy, which brought him international
Dick Bruna Exhibition at Foyles Book Shop, London: Tate is marking the publication and 60th anniversary of The Apple with an exhibition of Dick Bruna’s artwork at the Foyles Café, Charing Cross Road, London from 6 – 29 August, together with children’s colouring activities throughout all branches of Foyles. In addition, look out for The Apple-themed activities at all Tate cafés, including apple desserts and a Dick Bruna library, throughout August.
It's no small secret that the retro look is very much in fashion right now, although some may like it more than others. If you're one of those who love it then you're probably interested in learning how to creatively bring this retro flare into your home.
To this end, here are a few things you might want to look into.
Colour
Anyone who's even remotely familiar with the retro theme will know that it heavily involves colour. Retro is many things, but it's rarely dull. Adding a splash of colour can make a big difference. White and primary colours are often used, for instance.
This can be done in virtually any room. Whether it's adding coloured, retro-themed glassware in your kitchen or new wallpaper in any of your rooms, this is an effect that isn't hard to achieve. It can also be cheap too. For example, taking a quick look into Sainsbury's pocket sprung mattress range will generate at least a few cheap options to brighten up any bedroom.
Geek chic
When it comes to being retro, you need the right geek chic that links back to what you like about the retro movement. Is it old pop culture, comic books or video games that interest you, for instance? If you know what area of retro you like then you can find the right ways to decorate the home using this for inspiration.
Posters and canvases are a popular choice, as they can easily exemplify any look that you're trying to create. Old posters and comic book covers are becoming quintessential artwork for the modern home. This can both represent your tastes and tie into any colourful theme in the room.
You may want to be careful, of course, to not go too far into art-deco and pop-art themes. The likes of Roy Lichtenstein images utilise strong primary colour and comic book art but this doesn't automatically mean it is retro.
At the end of the day, retro is a very broad term. What it means in relation to your home is entirely up to you and while some people want to go all-out, others might just want a small flare here and there.
The choice is always yours but, as should hopefully be seen, it doesn't take much to introduce a little more retro flavour into any home.
This is a guest post by Sainsbury’s. If you’re looking to inject some retro flair into your home then Sainsbury's have a great range of products and furnishings to help, including fantastic bed linen to go with
As heard on BBC Radio 6's Lauren Laverne Show.
