Posh Swaps Blog

14 November 2010 will be the last of the Primrose Hill vintage fairs this year! So come along for another wonderful shopping experience at Cecil Sharp House. As we are now more or less into winter, you will find a large selection of the most stylish coats and jackets, ranging from tweed, camel, real fur, faux fur, certainly something to suit all tastes and price ranges.

This seasons fashion includes ranges of designer knitwear copied from 50’s style. At the fair, you can find originals of these knits at a fraction of high street prices.

Christmas parties are looming, so an ideal time to look for that very special outfit. Remember all vintage buys are one offs, so the beautiful lacy sparkly dress you find will be totally exclusive to you!

Don’t forget to look for Christmas presents – maybe a pretty piece of affordable jewellery or some other vintage treasure…..

The perfect way to spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon, the fair offers wearable vintage pieces at affordable prices, and for those looking for something extra, there is always a selection of designer labels. Previous finds include Chanel, Biba, Ossie Clarke, Yves St Laurent.

Take a break in between shopping and relax in a The Nice Green Cafe. You will find delicious homemade food all with natural ingredients at a very fair price.

Entrance to the fair is a snip at £3. Please visit vintagefashionlondon.co.uk for the chance to apply for complimentary tickets.

Open to the public from 11am -5pm

Address: Cecil Sharpe House, 2 Regents Park Road, London NW1 7AY

For further details please email fair@vintagefashionlondon.co.uk

I really enjoyed watching Mary Queen of Shops last night, when Mary had the unenviable task of sprucing up a charity shop in Orpington Kent. Not only was I interested to see the challenges that Mary faced trying  to apply her vast skills and experience of high end retail to charity retail with a team of dedicated volunteers to manage through the change process, but I was also really pleased to see that second hand clothes were being valued and not labelled as just a load of old rubbish. Mary has helped to change the perception of many people to buying second hand clothes in charity shops. The thought of getting a Jimmy Choo handbag at a fraction of it’s original price is bound to see fashionistas flocking to their local charity shops.

I loved the way that she change the look of the charity to shop to give the feeling of a vibrant market place and made sure that the clothes were sold at their real value. Even the fact that charity shops were chosen as a subject for the programme shows the growing interest in second hand and vintage clothes in the fashion world. When Mary said that charity shops had untapped potential she is only saying what many second hand and vintage enthusiasts have been thinking for years. Buy jazzing up charity shops (and I hope many more will follow suit), she may be pushing up the prices of second hand clothes but more importantly, she is opeing up charity shop shopping to a whole new group of shoppers, who are not serious rummagers but like their clothes to be arranged neatly in size order.

picture from bbc.co.uk