Sorry I'm Late

Recently, the same thing keeps on happening to me:

I discover something new. I get excited. I go to tell friends about it...

...and they already know about it. They found it MONTHS ago. 

It has suddenly dawned on me that I am very late to a lot of parties, but instead of feeling ashamed I've decided share a few of my better-late-than-never finds that you probably already know and love. 

Girls

I'd been hearing about Girls for a very long time. As someone who likes to watch their favourite shows via the world wide web, there is no excuse for me not watching it sooner, yet it took me until yesterday to finally do it. Now I am hooked. Lena Dunham, you are my hero(ine). 

Of Monsters and Men

I first heard the song "Mountain Sound" a little while ago. My ears loved it, so I decided to take a risk and download Of Monsters and Men's album, "My Head is An Animal". It is now my new favourite, but guess what? Everyone knew about them already and never told me. Why oh why did nobody tell me?!

Cos

So many of my friends love Cos. I've seen them wearing Cos pieces and thought, "I really need to check this Cos place out..." This weekend I finally got round to it, and wow - I'm obsessed! All of their clothes are stunning in their simplicity. Each item is a wardrobe staple that will always be stylish, and the best part is that they're not too expensive! What took me so long?

Wahaca

I love Mexican food with a fiery (pun intended) passion. Wahaca opened in 2007. I didn't eat there until late last year. I have to thank the lovely Cate Sevilla for suggesting we go there. If it weren't for her, who knows when I'd have eaten there?

Have you been late to any parties recently?

Much love,

Frankie

Swell Vintage

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Why weight?

If you're the kind of lady who feels a bit self conscious when shopping sometimes (I believe we're known as "human"), or you simply don't know how best to dress for your body shape, fear not - there is somewhere you can go for advice, and you don't even have to leave your house!

How cool is that? Not only do you get to have your questions answered by people who know their style stuff while sitting around in your PJs (or whatever you wear around the house...you could even be naked...no judgement here), but you could also get your hands on Debenhams vouchers to make shopping even sweeter! I wish all parties were done this way...

Will you be at the Twitter party tomorrow?

Much love,

Frankie

Swell Vintage

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Partying partying yeah!

One of the few things I miss about working in an office is attending an annual Christmas party. While you hard-working folk are all out getting dolled up for a night of canapes and a free bar, I will most likely be sat indoors, drinking tea and watching Poirot...

There's no hope for me, but there is something you can do to make your holiday party season even more special this year - go vintage! There are so many amazing vintage dresses out there, all dreaming of going to a good home and being worn out to your special occasion. Not only will it make you feel like a princess of Grace Kelly proportions, but there is no way on earth you could possible end up wearing the same thing as someone else!

Finding good quality vintage isn't always easy but - like most things in life - if you put in the time, you will be rewarded. Rewarded with a beautiful vintage dress that will last you a lifetime.

To help inspire you to go vintage this year, here are my top five favourite pieces that are available to buy online right now:

• 1950s Black Vintage Prom Dress, £200 at www.natashabailie.com

I believe the word you're looking for is "stunning"! Team this beautiful dress with some classic pearls, and you will be the belle of the ball.

• 1950s Coral Vintage Prom Dress by Lorrie Deb, £150 from www.lovemissdaisy.com

This dress is so pretty and elegant while also being incredibly flattering. Dita would be proud.

• 1980s Red Matte Sequined Wiggle Dress, £120 from www.rokit.co.uk

'Tis the season to be sparkly! Sequins are extremely popular at the moment, and they don't come much better than they did in the 80s.

• 1960s Black Lace Dress, $88/£56.21 from Dear Golden on Etsy

Sexy, demure and chic - black lace is the perfect way to play the femme fatale this Christmas.

• 1970s Red Halterneck Maxi Dress with Tassels, £55 from www.candysays.co.uk

How sexy is this dress?! Even Jessica Rabbit would be jealous! Add some jewels and you're ready to go.

So what do you think? I hope this has helped inspire you to consider vintage for this holiday season. But remember - vintage is for life, not just for Christmas.

Much love,

Frankie

Swell Vintage

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P-A-R-T-why? Because it's Christmas!

I love Christmas. I honestly do. Not just because it's the season where binge eating becomes a socially acceptable activity (they're known as 'mince pies', not 'mince pie'. Thus, I must eat as many as I can fit into my mouth...right?), but also because there 's always a good occasion to get up.

As mentioned a few posts ago, I recently left my full-time office job so that I could devote more of my time to Swell Vintage. It's been a couple of weeks since I left now, and while it has been amazing to explore my passion more, I do really miss the people. I worked with a lot of brilliant and wonderful people, many of whom became very close friends to me, and you just don't get the same level of social interaction when you're sat at home talking to yourself. And I've definitely tried...losing touch with reality, you say? Don't be crazy...

However, before you start playing the world's smallest violin just for me, the good news is there is some light at the end of my anti-social tunnel - the Christmas Party! I'm still allowed to go, and I fully intend to have an awesome night.

But I do need your help, my dear reader. I've got the dress, but I need help choosing a necklace to wear!

Ok, so here's the dress. It's a vintage black lacey number that I got from Vix Vintage on Etsy, and I am in love with it. It fits like a dream and definitely gets me in the mood for a party.

As you can see, the neckline is rather plunging, so I will definitely need a necklace to go with it. I personally love a statement necklace to make an outfit pop, especially with a black dress, so I'm going for something quite bold. And lucky for me, I have lots of lovely necklaces to borrow from Swell Vintage! Here are the options:

Necklace One

My 'Princess Pearl' necklace could work because it's quite striking, but the pearls add a touch of elegance to it. Also - let's face it - it looks a bit like a nipple, so it's quite fun to wear with a low cut dress!

Necklace Two

My 'Rose by any other name' necklace is one of my all-time favourite pieces, and it might be nice to soften the dress with something a bit prettier...but would it work with this dress? What do you think?

Necklace Three

I made this necklace today, and I'm really pleased with how it's come out. I've called it 'Pearl of the Sea' because the jagged shape reminds me of coral. I like it because it has a classic feel to it, and that could go really well with this dress. It will also be available to buy from swell-vintage.com as of tomorrow.

So what do you think? Which is your favourite necklace? If you could place you vote and let me know any ideas or thoughts you have in the comments box, it would be very much appreciated! Also, I'd love to hear about your go-to party outfit for the Christmas season, so please tell me all about it.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell Queens

Happy Monday, all! Wait...is there such a thing?

Did you have a lovely weekend?

I had ever such a good time at the IFB London Fashion Week party - Mademoiselle Robot did such a fantastic job! It was lovely to meet her as well as many other wonderful people, including the wonderfully glamorous Jennine Tamm of IFB and The Coveted, the adorably sweet Reena of Fashion Daydreams, the brilliant Gemma of RetroChick, the Daisy Lowe-a-like Holly of Never Love You More and the hilarious and chic Fritha of The Fish Tank.



Thanks to all for a brilliant evening! (above: Reena, Jennine and Gemma).

I am also very pleased/excited/overjoyed/delighted to announce that I am now a contributor to the wonderful website Queens of Vintage! If you haven't heard of this site, I highly recommend you check it out quick-sharp, as it's a wonderful resource for anyone who is truly passionate about vintage.

I have written my very first article for the lovely Queens, which you can read right here. It's all about sourcing vintage and antique parts to customise your favourite vintage outfit with or to use however you please! I hope you find it useful, and maybe even a tiny bit entertaining(?)

I really need to follow my own advice and get out on the hunt for new parts - all my good stuff has dried up! So no new jewellery to show you this week...but here's one of the photographs I took for my website (http://www.swell-vintage.com/) that wasn't used in the end.

I'm off on a mini-holiday from Thursday till Monday (a long weekend in London with my girls - very exciting!), but I will try my best to post before then. My new internet-tastic phone is due to arrive before then, so perhaps I'll even be able to do it from there!

Have a good week!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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