OXFAM are getting all old school on us and teaching everyone how to make do and mend. As far as I know, you don’t have to be attired as in the pic on the flyer, though that could add a whole new angle to the event… There’ll be live music, food and drink, stalls, goody bags, a fashion show and a customisation corner to add that touch of individuality to your clothes.Tickets are £5, rock up from 2pm on the 28th November.

By the way- 20% discount off everything on the site, just email Naomi@naomithompson.co.uk before you order- our Christmas present to you!

After the success of Tart, our vintage pampering theme seems to have caught on! For any budding brides to be out there, you might like to check out My Sugarland’s event on the 26th. I absolutely love this store- a great mix of vintage and brand new designers in a very quirky setting.For more information, check out their blog.I love their ‘alternative bride’ look book- perfect if you want to invest in a really gorgeous dress that you’d definitely get away with wearing again after your wedding day.

Last weekend our first TART event took place at the glorious 40 Winks. Sumptuous food from Vintage Patisserie, plenty of sophisticated booze as well as vintage frocks from yours truly, alongside new collections from up and coming designers of hats, lingerie, accessories and clothes.
Lipstick and Curls transformed ladies’ hair and make-up, whilst our co-host Fleur de Guerre handed out vintage beauty and style tips- see more photos on her wonderful blog here.

David Carter’s iconic hotel, 40 Winks, was the perfect location for this pampering extravaganza- contact him at reservations@40winks.org to book your place- very few left for the 12th December, and nearly all sold out for the January date too, so get booking.

Would you like to see your man dressed up in vintage uniform?Or maybe knab some accessories for your own outfits? Legendary costumier Angel’s is opening up its warehouse once again to get rid of 250,000 high-quality items of authentic uniform and equipment dating from 1900 onwards. On the 28th November, you can head to the warehouse and grab a gas mark used on the set of Saving Private Ryan or a helmet from the Dad’s Army wardrobe. With lots of events coming up that require WWII allied uniform dress; The Blitz party, Prohibition and the Home Front Christmas Ball to name a few, this is the perfect opportunity to get costumes for you and your man sorted. Word of warning though- having been to the last Angel’s sale extravaganza, you should know that it is utter madness- not only is it a fair old trek outside what I count as London, queues for the last sale started at 5 in the morning, and by the time I roled up at about 2pm nearly everything had gone. Having said that, this sale hasn’t been publicised half as much, and of course is only military clothes so hopefully appealing to a smaller, more niche audience, i.e us!

It starts at 8.30am and goes on til 5pm, the address and further details here and here.

Parties, stalls, workshops- we are so busy in the coming months we barely have time to blog about it- but here you go;all the latest and greatest from Vintage Secret.
Firstly, you may have seen that our very own Naomi Thompson is giving a vintage styling workshop in association with QueensofVintage- its going to be at the gorgeous Betty Blythe fine food pantry,( which our very first blog post was about!)

with only 20 exclusive places available at £35 a head, including tea. Naomi will be sharing her top tips on collecting vintage pieces, what to wear for specific eras and particular body shapes, how to mix and match with modern pieces as well as the best places to buy vintage.
You may have seen our new monthly pampering event, Tart, mentioned in the magazine of The Times on Saturday- a huge piece on David Carter’s glamorous home/hotel where the event will be held. Here are the pictures from the piece, and you can read the article here.

You can see more lovely press about the forthcoming events here, including a wonderful blog post from The Times journalist and author, India Knight. India’s god-daughter Nina Dolcetti will be showing her amazing shoes at Tart,(see pic below) as well as some other great new designers who’ve come on board since I did my last post about the event, including underwear label Bunnies Forever- have a look at their website, its so cute!
Also coming up at David’s is a new series of Bedtime Story events, now to be curated by renowned storyteller and good friend of mine, Rachel Rose Reid. Its a testament to how amazingly talented she is that Rachel has managed to make a career out of storytelling, earning fame everywhere from the Edinburgh festival to New York City. Have a look at the line-up on our events page- think Sherlock Holmes, Oscar Wilde and special Valentines Day story nights next year. David’s little hotel is often home to A- list actors when they spend time in London, and rumour has it that he’s managed to convince one such star to come and do some storytelling- stay tuned for further details. Some of our musical friends will also be gracing the nights with their talents- do email David to reserve your place now as these events have always sold out very quickly.

Hello everyone! Apologies for the lack of blogging-we’ve been super busy organising Tart- our new series of glamourous pampering events at ’40 Winks’ boutique hotel. Somehow, we’ve also managed to make time to lend some of our lovely clothes to a few new clients. Have a look at the gorgeous 1950s dress from Vintage Secret, borrowed by Jacques Fath for their new handbag collection.
SKIP theatre borrowed some of our 1950s swimsuits for their performance:LENGTHS- synchronised swimmers moved through the crowd drawing reference to swimming galas and Busby Berkeley choreography. The perfomers gave out goggles to the guests and smeared them with vaseline to give a soft focus/under-water effect, the guests were then invited to join in with an imaginary swimming race. All to the soundtrack of a swimming pool, at the Hospital Club in Covent Garden.