Lou Lou's Vintage Fair, Bath
Yesterday I went with my friends Jodi and Andrea to a vintage fair in Bath, run by Lou Lou's Vintage Fair. It was held at the Pavilion, so jolly close to the train station.
I wasn't shopping with anything specific in mind, though I did have a couple of birthdays that I was thinking about - when the right thing turns up, I'll know it! It gave me a good reason to rummage through gift-worthy things.
Now, is this just a problem I have as a plus-size person, or does this affect a lot more people? I really hate it when there's no approximate guide size on clothes. I don't care if it's XS-S-M etc, 10-12-14 etc or specific hip/waist/bust measurements (frankly, I'll live with any one of those three), but some sort of approximate guide would really help me decide whether to hoik a garment off the rack and take a closer look at it. I suppose when someone's very petite, they might not mind wearing the odd item a little bit loose, but I find looking through racks of clothes and holding up item after item only to find none of them fits jolly dispiriting, and I quickly stop looking at garments on those stalls, no matter how attractive the stock. There was one stall with really stunning stuff, but I could not face all that disappointment, so I just didn't bother with it.
There was a lot of later stuff on show, but as far as clothes went, not much pre-50s that I could see. If you like brooches, it was heaven. There was one stall making stuff from vandalised old books, which I hate, hate, hate! How can people claim to love vintage and then treat real vintage items so shabbily? Jodi got a beautiful repro dress - she wanted something sturdy to wear on a trip to the US.
Anyway, I didn't get any clothes. What I did get was a new pair of china earrings. I have a little china pot in the kitchen, for holding rings, clip-on earrings etc while cooking. One morning this week I managed to knock a box of coffee onto the pot, which flipped up, and catapulted my porcelain earrings onto the tile floor. And as if that weren't bad enough, I didn't have my specs on and trod on one. Even if the fall hadn't damaged them, being ground underfoot did the job. I felt quite sad about that, especially as I try to take good care of my things, so was pleased to pick up another pair for a fiver. They've got a couple of little 'nibbles', but nothing drastic.Judy's Vintage Fair is coming to Bath Guildhall on the 31st May. However, the fair I'm looking forward to is BathVA Vintage Fashion Fair on the 4th of May, as part of Bath Fashion Week. That one will be at Green Park Station, and the quality at last year's was excellent, with plenty of options pre-1950s. I shall save my pennies for that (and hope people put approximate sizes on things!).
Ooh, pretty earrings!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about items with no measurements. I still have you've-got-to-laugh memories of one particular stallholder at a flea market at the Cricket Ground, Bristol, who reacted to me explaining that Peter wanted to try on a tweed jacket because we were going to a steampunk event by saying 'Ooh, steampunk...' and then pulling everything that had either black or white lace on it off her rails and waving it at me despite it being visibly the wrong size, saying as she did 'Obviously, that's not for you...' I don't know whether she thought Peter had an alternative, size 8 wife hiding round the corner or what.
Probably the desperation of knowing you were prepared to spend money and she had nothing for you to spend money on.
DeleteOr possibly she didn't know her stock well enough.
I'm looking forward to the Vintage Fashion Fair too. I went there last year and was impressed with the range and dates of clothes on sale.I really hate going to 'vintage fairs' and find that most of the stock is 80s, 90s with a bit of 70s thrown in and virtually no 50s, 40s or earlier. They should change the name to 'retro fair' instead!
ReplyDeleteOne lady last year had amazing 1930s dresses - too small for me, luckily, or I'd have bankrupted myself.
DeletePretty, I don't wear earrings but I like these as brooches.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it's not just me that's capable of the aforementioned disaster, arrgh, nooo and followed in my case by lots and lots of filthy language!
Yes, I have to say I look for some approximation of size too, it really does make a difference.
And the books, oh, ye gods, the books, I'd have had to be dragged away before trying to indulge in a spot of GBH! In fact I'd probably have had a stroke on the spot.
Why, in the name of God, do people do this? Very high on my list of peeves, and believe me I have quite a few. It is a disgrace. So may of us collect these books, and so many are actually valuable and these idiots have no clue about which, plus what for the history researchers etc of the future. Hell, it makes me wild!
I have a small collection of old film books, and they're so hard to find now. I'm sure it's because people are chopping them up. Not only did this stall have film book pictures as notebook covers, it had whole hardback kids' book covers as notebook covers - I have friends who collect children's books who'd probably have combusted if they'd seen that. To me, being into vintage means NOT wrecking the things that have managed to survive for 60 years!
DeleteDear gods! And yes, you are absolutely right about that.
DeleteI think it's a sort of arrogance not to mention sheer ignorance.
Such pretty earrings. I hate book abuse too, page folders, spine crackers, they all make my blood boil. People comment that my books look like I have never read them as I take such good care of them.
ReplyDeleteI take care of my books, too. They need to last!
DeleteThose earrings are so cute and I love, love, love your stunning Evans 'tweensize suit. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading :-)
DeleteOh my goodness as an ex-librarian don't get me started on book abuse! What lovely earrings but oh there is nothing worse than accidentally breaking something. I was dusting and knocked a candle over and it fell and smashed the middle tier of my cake stand, I could have wept.
ReplyDeleteAugh! Did you keep the whole parts of the stand in case you can get a replacement?
DeleteI know if I won the lottery, I'd end up with a whole room full of pottery that I slowly accumulated to build into sets...
What lovely earrings! Nice to have found something to take home, and they were probably kinder on your wallet than clothing. I haven't been to any vintage fairs in Bath, though we did once go to the car boot at the racecourse and were supremely disappointed. I would have gone to that one on the 4th May however it's my other half's and my joint birthday party the night before and I imagine I'll still be drunk the next day.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, sizing would be a mercy - though I always carry a measuring tape with me to fairs so I can at least be spared the horror of getting trapped in things in the fitting rooms.
x
Oh it looked fabulous! I am so gutted I missed it. I'm thinking of re-locating to bristol/bath this year so maybe I can catch one of Lulu's fairs then.
ReplyDeleteThose earrings are really pretty, a good buy :)
Love your blog and followed you on bloglovin'!
Hope you are having a lovely day,
Sarah @ topnotchfoxy :)
Bristol and Bath are both lovely. Bristol is larger, of course, and I like its energy, there's something very anarchic about Bristol. Bath is more polite, less exciting but very charming. (Bath is also jolly expensive; I live in one of the nearby towns.)
DeleteOh no. I feel your pain for the crunched up earrings. That is one of the perils of being a glasses wearer isn't it?! I have dropped things whilst not wearing my glasses before and had to pat around me in circles to find it before daring to move. The new ones are lovely.
ReplyDeleteI hate it when there is no size guide on clothes. Like you, I am not bothered what form it takes as long as there is something. I don't know why stall holders can't see that it would be to their advantage. If a stall had a section on a rail that was labelled ' bigger than your average teeny vintage size' I would be there like a shot.