It's hip to be swell

The time has come, my lovely friends! FINALLY I can tell you all about the Motorola photoshoot!

Just over two weeks ago, the other four competition winners and I were brought to the glamorous Holborn Studios in the heart of London for a very hip photoshoot. We were there to be snapped with the brand spanking new Motorola FLIPOUT with MOTOBLUR technology and to generally have fun while pretending to be models for the day.

Stu-stu-studio

The FLIPOUT phone of many colours

The shoot was being styled by the gorgeous Alize Morand and Matthew Zorpas of PR Wonderland. I had met Alize and Matthew before, so it was really nice and comforting to see their friendly smiling faces. They did a cracking job sourcing all sorts of dreamy fashion pieces - colour was definitely the theme!

What a pair of beauties - Alize and Morand

All the colours of the rainbow

The INCREDIBLE Georgie Bee shoes I got to wear

Marc Jacobs ring...don't mind if I do!

Not only was the styling amazing, but the rest of the crew were absolutely outstanding. The make up by Becca Harrison was stunning, the hair by John Birchall was totally insane and the photography by Adam Lawrence was mind blowing. In fact, everyone was wonderfully welcoming and talented. It was such a fun day.

Other winners Sabina and Amy get dolled up by Becca and John

Nic gets snapped by Adam

Anyway, I think I've done enough 'behind-the-scenes' stuff. I think it's time to show you the final products:

Lady in blue

Woman in black

So there we have it! What do you think? I'll be honest with you, my dear readers - I was in a state of absolutely terror throughout the whole shoot. As you can see, I am quite obviously not a model, so doing something like this where I was the focus threw my far, far away from my comfort zone. However, I am really pleased with how the photos have come out, and I think it's a testament to how talented all the people behind the scenes are.

I want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone involved for an amazing day and for giving me this experience. I also want to say special thanks to the gorgeous Nik Thakkar and Milly Hill of JCPR for organising the whole thing and making it so much fun. It's definitely something I will never forget!

To see photos of the other winners, as well as some extra bits about the brilliant FLIPOUT phone, visit http://www.motorolasquare.com/.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

Blogger love, actually

On Friday I had the distinct pleasure and joy of meeting up with roughly 20 of my closest blogger friends at The Drunken Monkey in Shoreditch. I know it may sound a little strange to have blogger friends to some people, but I believe we have to accept that in this day and age the online world is fast becoming the key place to connect with others. Twitter in particular has introduced me to so many wonderful people that I am extremely proud to now call my friends, and I hope it continues to.

Dim sum was nommed, cocktails were drunk and good chats were in abundance. In short, it was an awesomely fun night. Here's the proof:

My one true love, Natasha Bailie, and I


The lovely Katie of London Plinth, Fiona of Save Our Shoes and Natasha


Alex of Alex Loves, Kate of The Fabric of my Life and Lira Leirner of The Portmanteau


Fiona and the beautiful brain behind Style East


The gorgeous Reena of Fashion Daydreams and I


Maria of mediacation, Mariana of Sketchbook Magazine, Kb of I Want You to Know and the dashing Nik of mediacation

It was geniunely a pleasure to spend the evening in the company of so many brilliant people, and I can't wait for the next opportunity to eat, drink and be merry with them all again. See you there?

In other news, the Motorola shoot went well! I've got behind-the-scenes photos, but I think it'll be better to wait for the final shots...tune in next week if you fancy a look!

Until next time...

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

Phone-a-face

Apologies for the quickie nature of this post. I hope you don't feel cheap or used at all.

I just wanted to say a HUGE "thank you" to everyone who voted for my face in the Motorola #hip2bsquare competition. Turns out I am one of the five lucky winners, and my photoshoot is taking place this very weekend - eeekk! Between you and I, because you're a good friend of mine, I'm absolutely terrified! I'm not a model by ANY stretch of the imagination, but I think the whole experience will be a lot of fun. Please cross your pretty fingers for me?! I'll need all the luck I can get!

Here's the sexy new Motorola phone that my face will soon be associated with:

Photo courtesy of Motorola

If you're nosey or bored on Saturday, you can see how the shoot is going by following me on Twitter (@swellvintage). While you're there, you should also follow the fabulous brains and stylists behind the whole shoot - Nik Thakkar (@nikthakkar), Matthew Zorpas (@prwonderland) and Alize Morand (@alizemorand).

In other news, I'm also very excited to be attending a brilliant blogger meet up on Friday, kindly organised by my dear friend Fiona of Save Our Shoes. I will be taking lots of pictures for your viewing pleasure. Hopefully I shall see you there, lovely ladies and gents!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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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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Jewellery loving

As a "jewellery maker", it's always nice to observe the work of other people who are far more talented than myself! Earlier this week I was lucky enough to attend an event at EC One, a gorgeous jewellery boutique on Exmouth Market, to celebrate the fine work of Nicholas King and Fiona Paxton.


Apologies for my terrible photos! In my defence, I don't think I could capture the true beauty of their pieces on film anyway...and yes, I'm a terrible suck up. Both Nicholas King and Fiona Paxton have such bold styles, but each brings a totally different flavour to their work.

King's chunky cuffs have been published all over the place, and it's easy to see why! This Diamante Knot Cuff is absolutely huge, and is totally worth the extra weight.

Image courtesy of ECOne.co.uk

My dear friend Fiona of Save Our Shoes even treated herself to these rave-tastic bangles. The lovely lady from EC One assured us they also glow under black light - what more could you want for your wrists?


Fiona Paxton's jewellery evoke a strong glamazon-warrior feel that would make any outfit a show-stopper. Needless to say I was ever so jealous of Dolly, the shop's mannequin for getting to wear one!


Not only was the jewellery gorgeous, but I also had the pleasure to meet long-time Twitter buddy Alex of Alex Loves in the three-dimensional flesh! Meeting Twitter friends can be somewhat daunting at times, but Alex is just as charming and lovely in real life as she is online. If you haven't read her brilliant blog yet, I highly recommend that you do. You will fall in love with the things she loves!

The lovely Alex

In other news, my dear friends at Motorola are currently running a fantastic competition to find the new face for their super cool new phone, the Motorola FLIPOUT™ with MOTOBLUR™ technology! The theme is "Hip to be Square", so if you think you've got the perfect geek-chic style to front their campain, head over to www.motorolasquare.com and upload your photo right now! The public will judge the hippest, squarest and best photographs, and the selected winners will become one of the faces of the very hip and square Motorola FLIPOUT. The photoshoot will be styled by some pretty amazing bloggers (names to be revealed soooon), so it should be a lot of fun.

That's all for now, folks! I have something VERY exciting to tell you soon, so watch this space.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Fashion confusion and other animals

One sunny day last week, I walked into my office wearing my brand new cream lace jacket. I like my lace jacket. It's light, dreamy and romantic, not to mention very practical considering England's infamous skitzophrenic weather. As an old lady trapped in the body of a young girl, the very idea of wearing lace sends me to a softly-lit ethereal dreamland, filled with hazy pinks and elegant muted tones.

My lace jacket (from River Island, in case you're wondering)

As soon as I near my desk, my colleague Luke approaches.

"Frankie, my Nan called." He said.
"Oh yeah?" I reply, feigning interest.
"Yeah...she wants her curtains back."

I couldn't believe it! I'd just arrived at work. I'd been there a grand total of three seconds, and already I was being faced with outfit jibes.

I don't know about you, but I have been the victim of what I like to call "fashion confusion" on a number of occasions. There have been several instances where I have met up with friends, colleagues and even members of my own family, and they simply haven't understood what I'm wearing and why I am wearing it. "What's to understand?" I frequently respond. "I just wear things that I like."

I'm sure I'm not alone in this, so I'm opening up my blogger's heart to you, dear reader. Have you been the victim of "fashion confusion"? Are you regularly met with grimaces of horror at your outfit choices? I want to hear about it. As the dashingly handsome Pharrell said on the last episode of Frock Me, "Worry about the comments later. And by the way, if they're commenting on you, they are watching you". Wise words indeed.

Together we can rise up and fight for fashion open mindedness!

Who's with me?

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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