Using the site of an historic Clerkenwell shop, a pop up space will be transformed into an eclectic parlour where friends and family can gather to engage, think, express, play games, and – most importantly – relax and enjoy a unique old-world experience. Vintage Secret will be lending the venture some of our stunning vintage crockery to decorate the Parlour, and Naomi herself will be coming to offer styling tips on the Saturday morning.
The Parlour will take place from March 5th to 10th and will be hosted by Mistress of Manners, Dana Gornitzki, Editor of MIEN magazine – a newly launched website dedicated to etiquette, culture and style.
Dana Gornitzki says: “The idea behind the Parlour is to switch off your mobile phone and return to the roots of what a parlour was used for: a lovely living space where one could receive visitors in the most polite way possible. The Parlour pop up will be a place to write letters, engage in good conversation, play games like cards, drink punch and enjoy music. It’s about simple pleasures.”

The wistful pop up hopes to take guests away from the fast-paced,intense, digital world we live in, inviting them to interact and engage with each other in a charming setting. During the day, the Parlour will be the perfect place to come read a book, write letters (or in your journal!),
peruse art and other anecdotes left by visitors, or have a relaxed chat away from the busy streets of the city. On select afternoons and evenings, the Parlour will feature unique nostalgic workshops and play time: an assortment of delightful happenings including parlour games, poetry recitals, writing workshops, vintage screenings, listening to old records, and a few other handsome surprises. Most importantly, the Parlour will be free of mobile telephones, computers and modern-day gadgets, making time for quality, face-to-face conversations.

I’ve been busy buying up some gorgeous vintage postcards for people to use in Dana’s letter writing workshops, as well as helping her choose some artwork to hang from my friends Tinsel Edwards, Twinkle Troughton and Nicoletta Lafonseca-Taylor to name just a few.

A Taste of the Schedule:

Friday, March 5th
4-6pm Letter writing workshop with Dana Gornitzki, Editor, MIEN Magazine (£3 for note card, stamp and light refreshment)

7-9pm The Fun Fed @ the Parlour – nostalgic parlour games and good old fashioned merriment
(tickets here)

Saturday, March 6th
10am-1pm Cake, morning stretches and vintage styling boutique. Featuring mental repose led by Dana Gornitzki with a reading from the 1927 classic “The Etiquette of Beauty” and vintage styling bliss with Vogue favourite Vintage Secret – thats us! Entry is ‘pay what you can’.

4pm-6pm Poetry at the Parlour in collaboration with Kid, I wrote back (pay what you can at the door)

Sunday March 7th
10am-12.30pm Sunday papers at the Parlour
3pm-5pm Bring your granny and grandpa for tea at the Parlour (tickets here)
6pm-8pm Barrys Lounge spins – relaxing tunes humming from turn tables (pay what you can at the door)

Monday, March 8th
12-2pm writing workshop with Dana Gornitzki, Editor, MIEN Magazine (£3 for note card, stamp and light refreshment)
7-9pm The Fun Fed @ the Parlour – nostalgic parlour games and good old fashioned merriment
(ticketed event)

New artwork on the Vintage Secret site, courtesy of the wonderfully talented Tinsel Edwards!

Our shop should be back online any day now with some wonderful new stock, so stay tuned!

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

What better excuse to invest in some new undies than Valentine’s Day?Whether its a present to yourself or a two-in-one gift to your boyfriend AND you, vintage inspired undies are everywhere. They’re so popular that the likes of Lady Gaga have taken to wearing them as outerwear!At our last Tart event, I was chatting to Katie of What Katie Did, pioneers of vintage inspired lingerie. She was telling me how when they originally launched, people used to laugh at the big knickers and girdles they were selling, but now they’re being modeled on the pages of Vogue! Another Tart guest seller Fred and Ginger also make beautiful undies and nightwear, as do pant suppliers to the Queen, Rigby and Peller, who’ve recently come up with these little beauties. Agent Provocateur and Myla also do delicious smalls, but eeeek; bit pricey for me. Unless of course, you have time to pop to Bicester Village- both Myla and AP outlets there with up to 70%off!!!!For real.
But right here, right now, I’m going to give you a little guide to the lesser know lingerie makers- a couple of the usual Etsy suspects, plus both new and established designers.

Rosamosario: Shouldn’t really start with this one in the same breath as complaining about the price of AP and Myla as this labels uber exclusive, but also so beautiful I had to include it. For more pictures see my other blog. (above)

Wundervoll- wonderful vintage shapes; the bigger the pants, the bigger a fan I am. (above)

Made by Niki: Gorgeous colours.

Vintage Opulence: Handmade, exquisite, definitely too many frills to wear underneath anything, these are for the exhibitionist in you. (top left)

Bunnies Forever: Too cute undies and equally cute website (above)

La Magia: fantastic lingerie site that stocks lots of great labels, including Little Minx, above.

ClareBare: Quirky, handmade peekaboo knickers (above)

Bordelle at Coco de Mer: Dreamy undies from an out of this world sex shop.With everything from vintage erotic books to an erotic apothecary, this little boudoir will meet all your bedroom needs.(right)

N de Samin : another sexy website for underwear and naughty slips like the ones below.

Of course there are also vintage style longline bras and high waisted knickers in high street shops like Topshop and Urban Oufitters, but they are usually in stupid 16-year- old- girl sizes. But I did get a really great pair of hold everything in pants that manage not to be entirely unsexy from M&S recently.Success!

First off we owe you all a big THANKYOU! Vintage Secret won the fashion blog category of the ShrimpSaladCircus blog awards- thankyou all so much for voting.

The Vintage vibe is still spreading like wild fire, with magazines and websites springing up left, right and centre to feed our habit! If you haven’t signed up for their newsletters yet, QueensofVintage has been our bible for a while now, and here are some newcomers on the scene to subscribe to as well.

Chew Magazine; not normally a retro publication but this is a vintage themed issue- I’m a huge fan of Chew, their back issues are all downloadable so check out some of their stunning editorials and photoshoots.

Milkcow Magazine ; dedicated to 40s and 50s lifestyle and culture in the UK, the site has lots of goodies like pin-up girl calendars- great Valentines gifts for guys and gals who are into the retro scene.

Era magazine; the long awaited follow up to the preview issue of Era is out soon, featuring yours truly, so check it out!

Vintage Life; set to launch in March 2012, and according to them ‘To be THE world’s leading nostalgia magazine.’ counting chickens? They already have over 1000 facebook fans, even before launching.Perhaps its down to the Vintage networking site they’re pioneering.

Mien magazine; Want to know the art of the perfect handshake?Or how to improve your posture? A modern day site promoting the values of a more glamorous era, Mien also reviews events like the fabulous White Blackbird Tweed party- see Vintage Secret’s Naomi in their piece on the event. They’ve created some priceless videos like the one below on ‘Mobile Telephone Manners’! Subscribe today as I have top secret insider info that they’ll soon be running a VERY exciting London based project…