Its been a while since VS sold clothes on-line, having now moved on to writing and styling, so we are delighted to announce that the shiniest, newest vintage clothing kid on the block comes curtesy of a writer and stylist.

Lynnette Peck Bateman an hour ago launched her shop! Lovely’s Vintage Emporium

Her back ground in fashion and journalism qualifies her well. She was the launch editor of Cosmopolitan Hair & Beauty, Beauty Director of Eve, and Associate Editor of Now. She write features, style shoots, does personal shopping (we like). On the fashion side when she was a young editorial assistant in 1992 (she started on puzzle magazines!) Lynnette worked weekends at a fabulous vintage shop called Steinberg & Tolkien on the King’s Road in London (sadly it no longer exists).

She loved it and learnt so much there: ‘ My customers were people like Paula Yates, Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano – it was brilliant’

She has already had a first ‘customer’, the US rapper Nicki Minaj. ‘Her stylist requested some vintage furs from me when she was in London recently. I threw in a bright 1950s orange turban too, I have in my stock, as I thought it would suit her’

So what will set this apart from the sea of vintage websites? ‘My aim is that it will be like a hybrid net-a-porter/TopShop but for vintage. So all the pieces will be fashion forward, in mint condition and a mix of prices. I am busy sourcing brights, maxi skirts, floppy 70s hats etc at the moment. I am using my nearly twenty years of experience in magazines, styling shoots etc to do this. The website design will be very modern. I don’t see why it shouldn’t look as clean and efficient as sites like my-wardrobe just because it is vintage’. And nor do we, this being an early Vintage Secret concept as well!

We’ve checked out her site and we are LOVING the bright prints and nods to all things 70′s.

Here are some of our favourites:

1970s SUNSHINE ORANGE DRESS

This is a gorgeous plunging-neckline maxi from the 1970s (label says ‘Quad’) with exquisite three-button front and three-button cuffs. Will be great for a festival or party or dressed down for day with flats. Shown here with 1970s snakeskin patchwork handbag

* Size 6-8

£79.00 GBP

1970s LEATHER PATCHWORK HANDBAG

A great 1970s handbag with variants of leather patchwork on the front and plain leather elsewhere, plus the lining is leather too. It has a gold metallic snap clasp fastening at top, one compartment inside with a small pocket and a long gold tone chain. Can be used as a shoulder bag or pop the chain inside the bag and have a clutch. Shown here with 1970s sunshine orange dress.

£65.00 GBP

1970s RAINBOW STRIPE/BLACK MAXI SKIRT

What a fabulous maxi we have here with its rainbow stripes, black background and original big, bold brass tone belt. The shape is a flattering A-line with a full 213.4cm sweep at the hemline. This would go great with boots and a sweater or a little t-shirt and sandals. Shown here with 1970s orange/white ribbed top

* Size 8

£85.00 GBP

1970s ORANGE/WHITE RIBBED TOP

Coral orange top with white print from the 1970s

This orange and white top ticks all the trend boxes this summer. It features ribbed material, tie bow, long sleeves and a vibrant print. Wear this with some three-quarter length trousers for days off and with a vibrant maxi skirt for evening. Shown here with 1970s rainbow stripe & black maxi skirt.

Sizing

* Size 8-12

£55.00 GBP

I rarely write about what I am wearing as this blog is meant to be about things that you the reader, can buy, visit or participate in. I apologise in advance for this momentary indulgence. It was brought on by the sun.

Today in London we saw the first proper day of Spring 2011. Blue sky, sun, and a nip in the air of course. I love this time of year as it allows me to wear a long lost fashion favourite of mine: the almighty matching dress suit.

Todays’ one is a burnt orange 70′s wool dress and short jacket combo, originally from Japan, but found in Beyond Retro. The wool is lovely and fine and the trim is velvet. I have all the buttons for my jacket, but in my haste to wear it, I was lazy and didn’t sew them on.

These outfits are mainly mid 50′s to late 70′s, when they were at their most popular. I will try and wear one once a week and post about it because I love them and no one seems to wear them anymore. This one also caught the eye of the Grazia street style team!

I have accessorised with a car-boot basket, a second hand H&M faux victoriana blouse, and Tiger, the Great Dane, who belongs to my walking companion, Johnny Vercoutre. Oh, and a double chin, but hey, its all about the clothes, right?

Of all the social rituals that suggest a more civilised and leisurely  bygone era, afternoon tea at a grand London hotel has to be among the worth reviving. But while those delicious cakes and pastries take no time at all to gobble up, it requires months of rigorous training to produce pastry chefs skilled enough to lay on a spread like the one which greets you at Le Cordon Bleu’s regular High Teas, hosted by the Mandeville Hotel.

Le Cordon Bleu is the world’s most prestigious culinary academy, preparing thousands of chefs around the world for work across all branches of catering – but before its students can graduate, they must successfully serve a sample meal to real, live members of the public. And that’s why, for the bargain price of £15 (a regular afternoon tea at the Mandeville would cost you £23.50), you can treat yourself to an afternoon of virtually unlimited tea, scones and cakes, all made by the school’s patisserie students.

The scene upon entering the Mandeville’s restaurant for this month’s event was breathtaking: every available surface, it seemed, was covered with exquisite, individually-sized pastries, from macaroons to éclairs, from lemon meringue pies to chocolate mousse cakes, and too many others to mention. Impeccably presented, served on beautiful Royal Albert crockery, and with each type of pastry proudly explained by the trainee chefs who had spent the past 15 hours preparing them (!), these little works of culinary art were almost too gorgeous to eat. Almost.

This isn’t afternoon tea with the full works – there are no sandwiches, for example, so it really is only for those with a sweet tooth. A pedant might point out, too, that it’s not actually a high tea at all – high tea and afternoon tea being, strictly speaking, quite different meals. Minor quibbles aside, though, the quality of the pastries and  the service, the charm of the boutique-hotel setting, and the knowledge that you are not just gorging yourself on cake, but actually helping hard-working culinary students to pass their diplomas – it’s practically a good deed! – make these regular events an irresistible proposition.

The next Le Cordon Bleu High Tea at the Mandeville will be held on 27th April from 3.30 to 5.30pm: tables can be booked directly through the hotel on +44 (0)207 9355599.

Little Vintage Lover Fair returns to the wonderful Dragon Hall on King Street, Norwich on 2nd April 2011.

Little Vintage Lover Fair is a Vintage Clothing & Collectors Fair Circa 1920′s-1980′s. It features Clothes, Textiles, Collectables, Vintage re-worked and Inspired.

Always a great atmosphere, live DJ’s, Tea and Cakes served on Vintage Tea ware. Come join the Norfolk Vintage fashionistas. wear your best frock! x

Visit the Little Vintage Lover Fair for more information

Dance the night away in an original 1920s dance hall to smoking swing, hot R’n'B and Jump Jive.

Tickets are just £5 and you can bring your own food and drink and dance the night away to sounds  from the Swing King DJ’s; Mark’s Kickin’ the Boogie and Woody’s War Department.

A fabulous night guaranteed.

Presenting the MYB debutante DJs:

And the staple DJs of this event: 

Dave Mack (The Cool Off, Nottingham/Sheffield)
Dean Thatcher (Resident)
Stephen Saunders (Resident)

Where?  The Caves, 22-26 Farringdon Lane, EC1R 3AJ

How Much?  £7 before 11.30pm, £9 thereafter

Doors 10.30pm-4am

Click on the flyer for their FB page.

I came across this on my online travels, and had to share! A blog dedicated to Vivian Maier and her amazing photography.

http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

John Maloof is sharing these pieces of history with the world that have never been seen before, here is what he has to say about it:

Vivian’s life in obscurity

Some have suggested that I add more information on the story of Vivian’s work and such. Here is what I know.history book I was co-authoring on Chicago’s NW Side. From what I know, the auction house acquired her belongings from her storage locker that was sold off due to delinquent payments. I didn’t know what ‘street photography’ was when I purchased them.

I acquired Vivian’s negatives while at a furniture and antique auction while researching a

It took me days to look through all of her work. It inspired me to pick up photography myself. Little by little, as I progressed as a photographer, I would revisit Vivian’s negatives and I would “see” more in her work. I bought her same camera and took to the same streets soon to realize how difficult it was to make images of her caliber. I discovered the eye she had for photography through my own practice. Needless to say, I am attached to her work.

After some researching, I have only little information about Vivian. Central Camera (110 yr old camera shop in Chicago) has encountered Vivian from time to time when she would purchase film while out on the Chicago streets. From what they knew of her, they say she was a very “keep your distance from me” type of person but was also outspoken. She loved foreign films and didn’t care much for American films.

Some of her photos have pictures of children and often times it was near a beach. I later found out she was a nanny for a family on the North Side whose children these most likely were. One of her obituaries states that she lived in Oak Park, a close Chicago suburb, but I later found that she lived in the Rogers Park neighborhood.

Out of the more than 100,000 negatives I have in the collection, about 20-30,000 negatives were still in rolls, undeveloped from the 1960′s-1970′s. I have been successfully developing these rolls. I must say, it’s very exciting for me. Most of her negatives that were developed in sleeves have the date and location penciled in French (she had poor penmanship).

I found her name written with pencil on a photo-lab envelope. I decided to ‘Google’ her about a year after I purchased these only to find her obituary placed the day before my search. She passed only a couple of days before that inquiry on her.

I wanted to meet her in person well before I found her obituary but, the auction house had stated she was ill, so I didn’t want to bother her. So many questions would have been answered if I had.

These are my favourites (all courtesy of John Maloof):