Wrap-up of time in London, Part 2

In my last week in London, I made it to the only charity shop in which I’ve actually found interesting clothes at reasonably inexpensive prices (for London). I’m not saying which one it is.

Found this Desigual long-sleeve top. I was attracted to the muted color and, at first glance, the pattern reminded me of tracery of medieval stained glass. On closer inspection, it is actually graffiti, stars, cars and the words, “slow down.” Shows you where my head's at. I plan to medievalize it anyway by pairing it with my puffy sleeved, scoop-necked heathery brown t-shirt (purchased at TRAID in Camden Town last year).

I also found an actual vintage shirt. This lovely homemade 1970s blouse has a pattern that has a sort flowy Art Nouveau pattern with a touch of Egyptian-style Deco in the flower frond motifs.

I had to fit in lunch at Food for Thought, a veggie restaurant in Covent Garden that’s been around since 1974. I ate here all the time during my frequent visits to London in the 1980s and 90s.

Also had to say hello to some of my favorite artworks at the Victoria & Albert Museum, including this late 16th-early 17th-century sculpture of Nandi. He’s got such a sweet face and I love his jewelry.

My last evening in London, my Man told me to dress up as were going somewhere nice for dinner. I didn’t really have dressy clothes with me (and I don’t really own them anymore), so I cobbled together this outfit – a 1980s purple burnout velour dress (charity shop in Cambridge), red tights (on sale at Sainsbury’s), early 1990s Anna Sui red shimmery jacket (Filene’s Basement), my recently purchased blue hat, and the necklace I got for my birthday. (Sorry for bad photo).

I wanted to check out a new vegan café under the train tracks in London Fields so I took my laptop and set up shop that afternoon at Happy Kitchen. Before I gave my order to the young woman behind the counter, she said, “I love what you’re wearing!” Definitely made me feel good about my wardrobe choice for that evening. And the tea and ginger-infused flapjack also made me feel good.

Dinner was at Benares, an upscale Indian restaurant in Mayfair, that had yummy cocktails and mocktails. The clientele wasn’t that dressed up, so I was just fine. Food was very good, but for the price, my Man and I could have eaten dinner for a week at our favorite neighborhood dosa joint.

Bye-Bye London. See you soon.

Wrap-up of time in London, Part I

My last weeks in London went by in a whirlwind. Highlights were:

Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair at Spitalfields Market. No real bargains, but, yes, it was more affordable than what I had previously seen in London.

I got a lovely blue hat.

And, a flower barrette.

Went for an 8-mile walk in Folkestone, along these cliffs. Thankfully, it was a gorgeous day. I don’t think I’d seen the sky this blue in weeks.

In walking gear. The previous week I finally found comfy vegan walking boots, made by Merrell. Best of all, they were on sale. And the striped long sleeved t-shirt I got at the London Vintage Kilo sale was the perfect shirt under my lined weatherproof jacket.

More highlights to follow.

Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman

I saw the exhibition, Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman at the British Museum (running until Feb. 26). The show combines works from the British Museum’s collections chosen by Perry and ceramics, textiles, metalwork and other works of art -- both made in response to the British Museum pieces and past work—by the artist.

For people who appreciate vintage “stuff,” I’d highly recommend seeing this exhibit. Perry’s commentary on the labels highlights the fact that there was a craftsperson behind each artifact and reminds us of the meaning instilled in various types of objects. Nowadays, too many material items used in daily life—clothing, housewares, electronics—are throwaway with little value placed on them. The artifacts in this exhibit are from times and cultures when and where material items were treasured and infused with meaning. Perry’s work carries on that tradition, reflecting contemporary issues and sensibilities—and serving as an example of how the historical pieces were viewed in their own day.

In talking about his experience in choosing objects for the show, in a Guardian interview, Grayson relates,

Each object is stored and packed with great care whether it is a million-year-old flint tool or a Hello Kitty hand-towel. As soon as an object is in the custodianship of the museum it is treated as precious and important. To look at one African textile might take half an hour of finding, donning of gloves, unpacking, checking, repacking. I soon realised that no way was I going to see more than a tiny fraction of the 8 million objects housed in the museum in the flesh.

I guess my innate reverence for objects made me ideally suited for my 14-year career as a museum curator. Unfortunately, it means I rarely throw anything out.

Vintage Kilo Sale, London

I went to the Vintage Kilo sale in London several weekends ago. I was curious to see how it compared with Dollar-a-Pound in Cambridge, MA, where I was a frequent visitor in the 1980s. There are many differences that make the Vintage Kilo sale nowhere as much fun as the Cambridge event. At the London event, clothing was 15 pounds per kilo. (roughly $11 a pound), and all the clothes were displayed hanging on racks and accessories were on tables. I wasn’t that impressed with the offerings. The only true vintage items I saw were stained and ripped.

Many still had their charity shop tags on them (like I want to buy stuff that doesn’t sell at a charity shop.) This 70s dress I'm examining had a great print, but was in rough shape.

At Dollar-A-Pound, clothing and other textiles were literally $1 for a pound. One day a week, I lined up with all the other insane bargain hunters at 6am. Once the doors opened, each rabid shopper ran inside, grabbing large plastic trash bags on offer,  to where several  850-pound bales of clothing and textiles had just been  cut open. You grabbed whatever looked interesting and threw it into the bag.  Within minutes, we were all walking on top of textiles piled 2 feet deep.  After a couple hours, each person retreated to some corner and sorted through their bags.  I found incredible vintage treasures – Pucci dresses, Yves St. Laurent sweaters, 1950s barkcloth curtains, and more. Those were the days.

The current incarnation of Dollar-A-Pound  is called By the Pound since the price has gone up to a whopping $1.50 a pound. Now, it’s every day of the week, with the price still $1 on Fridays. Here are some photos and a little history on Dollar-A-Pound.  I don’t know if anything good can be found nowadays. I’ll have to give it a try again.

I bought five items, slightly more than a kilo, but I was only charged 15 pounds. I'm not thrilled with my finds, but didn't want to leave empty-handed. My take included:

Too big, but I really like the teal and lilac paisley-like pattern on the dark purple background. Plus there are sparkly designs printed on it to give it a little Bollywood touch. The slit neckline appears to have been sewn closed. I’ll figure a way to resize it. By Ara Modell, W. Germany. I’m guessing 1980s.

1970s polyester dress with a cartoon-ish blue, pink, green and white floral print. Also too big, plus the elasticized bodice and cuffs have lost their stretch. I doubt I’ll re-do the elastic, so I’ll probably cut it up to make a skirt. Another German dress by VEB Jugendmode Oranienburg.

Polyester red shirtdress, which My Man declared "hideous." Not sure what I’ll do with this.

Modern brown and white striped, long-sleeved t-shirt.   I’ve never worn horizontal striped tops, but will mix it with prints for a 70s feel.

After all that bargain hunting, it was time for tea and cake.

V & A's Museum of Childhood, London

I went to the Museum of Childhood because they were having several exhibitions with dark, fantastical themes. Some highlights:

Etchings from Jake and Dinos Chapman's My Big Colouring Book series that are not as freaky as their fiberglass sculpture, but still pretty creepy.

An installation called Stuff of Nightmares in which schoolchildren and artists collaborated on a forest popluated with, well, the stuff of nightmares.

I wouldn't want to stumble upon these cutesy animals with ghoul eyes in the forest.

The Magic Worlds exhibition had sections on “Fantasy,””Illusion,” and “Enchantment” full of fairy tales, fairies, elves, and mythical creatures, and included works by some of my favorite illustrators.

Elder Mother Tree from Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales, by Arthur Rackham, 1932. She found herself face to face with a stately lady, watercolor illustration by Edmund Dulac for Beauty and the Beast, 1910.

A Rehearsal in Fairyland, Richard Doyle, 1870.

Cottingley Fairies with Elsie Wright taken by Frances Griffiths, 1920.

I love how so many were duped into believing that this series of fairy photos were real.

Ceramic tiles - Flora's Train, designed by Walter Crane, Pilkington Tile and Pottery Company, 1900-01.

The Elf, printed cloth pattern for a soft toy. Made in England by Dean's Rag Book Co. Ltd, 1909.

The exhibit also included some illustrations by Wayne Anderson, whose work I was unfamiliar with. I like it so much, it deserves a seperate post!

Wallis meets Biba

At one of the Saturday vintage markets in Spitalfields, London, I spotted a printed jacket with a Wallis label that I swear I had seen last year when I was in London.

It had that Art Deco geometric-type print reminiscent of Biba. I loved the big notched collar, the slightly puffed shoulders, the nipped in waist and the soft tie belt. In a fine wool, the jacket is warm with a nice drape. I got it home and did a bit of research and found that I wasn’t far off thinking that a fabric used by Wallis would be similar to one used by Biba as they shared fabric suppliers.

I got even more excited when I found a print advertisement on Smashingbird for this exact jacket. It is shown with matching wide-leg trousers.

1970's Wallis wool jacket, market in Spitalfields, London, £20

Unfortunately, I’m not tall and willowy, so it doesn’t have the wrap effect shown in the photo, but the self-tie belt makes it look like I have a waist. The print has purple flowers and triangles made up of multi-colored stripes on a light gray grid. It will probably be very versatile as I can wear it with skirts or trousers in any number of hues. Now I’ll have to find a short necklace with a huge bauble like the one in the ad! Anyone have any suggestions on how to accessorize it?

In quest of a pair of sneakers, I braved the throngs of post-holiday shoppers at the Westfield Stratford City mall today. I also picked up a pair of gray boots  that were on sale. It is so hard to find vegan shoes or boots, I've taken the tactic of buying them when I find ones that I like, that fit and that I can afford whenever I find them. (Plus, it seems to be the case that for every 4 pairs of shoes I buy, only one ends up being comfortable enough to wear with any regularity).

The best thing about the mall was this video celebrating 100 years of style in East London that was made for its opening. The video made the rounds on the internet a few months back, but I don't tire of watching it. I only wish that it was a bit longer so I could really see the clothes.