Swell exhibitionist

Good news, everyone - the Swell Vintage window display is now up at the wonderful Oxfam in Dalston!

Drum roll, please...






That's the window view. And now for the details...let me break it down:

Trench coat - Christian Dior
Suit - Yves Saint Laurent
Tie - Zara
Shirt - Reiss
(All sourced from Oxfam Dalston)

Dress - Natasha Bailie Vintage
Necklace - Swell Vintage
Hat - Oxfam Dalston


Fur hat - Oxfam Dalston
Necklace - Swell Vintage
Dress - Retro Chick
Cape - Oxfam Dalston
Bracelet - Swell Vintage

Hat - Natasha Bailie Vintage
Dress - Vintage, donated by me!
Handbag - Oxfam Dalston
Beads - Oxfam Dalston

What do you think? I've never done a window display before, but it was a lot of fun and hard work in equal measures! I'd really like your feedback, so please let me know.

All I really know for sure is that I couldn't have done it without the help of my dear friend and blogger extraordinaire, Fiona of Save Our Shoes. Thank you so much, Fiona. You are my ROCK. I'd also like to thank the amazing people of Oxfam Dalston, especially Kevin and Steve, for letting me into their window and for being so supportive! They work insanely hard for a brilliant cause, so you should probably follow them on Twitter.


So if you happen to be in the area and you like what you see, why not pop into Oxfam in Dalston from Monday 5th July and see if you can bag a bargain? I'll fight you for the Dior!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell Vintage loves Oxfam

As any vintage lover will tell you, one of the best places to bag an old school bargain is a charity shop. London is home of some of the UK's very best, and I am extremely fortunate to live just around the corner from the increasingly popular and highly praised Oxfam in Dalston.

One of the things I love about Oxfam Dalston is that it has a unique identity despite being part of a "chain", which embraces and celebrates the surrounding Hackney community and its residents. So when they kindly offered me the opportunity to put together an exhibition for their coveted front window space, needless to say I hopped, skipped and jumped at the chance. I'll be putting up my exhibition bright and early on Monday 28th June.

Oxfam Dalston has had some awesome window displays as of late, including an absolutely cracking one from the visual merchandising girls of Harrods:

Photo courtesy of Dalson Oxfam's blog

The pressure is on, so for the theme I've decided to stick to what I know - vintage. To give the window a sexier, more stylish feel, I'm going with a Mad Men inspired look (no Joan-shaped mannequins I'm afraid though. Sigh...).

Not only will the exhibition feature a couple of official one-of-a-kind Swell Vintage jewellery pieces, but it will also include some very kind donations from some of my favourite vintage sellers - the love of my life, Natasha Bailie, the ever so wonderful Retro Chick and the very brilliant Love Miss Daisy. If you're in the market for some high quality vintage, check out their shops right now! You won't be disappointed.

Today Kevin, one of the brains behind the Dalston Oxfam operation, kindly let me into the basement of the shop to have a rummage through the stock to pick out any extra items I'd like to use. It was absolutely incredible down there! A veritable Aladdin's cave of treasures and wonderment, filled with every possible time of donation you could ever imagine. I don't want to ruin the surprise of what my exhibition will look like, but here are a few photos from behind the scenes to give you a sneaky peek:

Some of the lovely donations from Natasha Bailie and Retro Chick.

Found in the basement - a mint condition men's Christian Dior trench coat

Bargainous brogue beauties

A gorgeous Yves Saint Laurent suit!

A little something I'm putting together...

That's all you're getting for now, folks! Like a drug pusher, the first taste is free, but you'll have to wait till the big day to see more! If you live in London, I highly recommend you pop into Dalston Oxfam. There are so many more gems in there at insanely low prices! Not only that, but the staff are lovely too. What more could you ask?

In other news, you know that Motorola competition I mentioned in my last post? Well, in a moment of pure insanity I decided to enter! If you have a spare couple of seconds, I'd be extremely grateful if you could vote for my geeky face. I doubt I'll win, but it's worth a go!

Thank you for reading, and hopefully I'll see you on 28th June!

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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