Ladies at...various places hence why they have't been here

Right ladies and Gentlemen. The Time Has Come! The Ladies who do tea will be back in full (scented and powdered) force.
  Apologies for the delay. We have been hard at work/galavanting in Argentina/Uni/Moving house/growing up considerably.

 However, we would like to announce to our diminishing followers (not that we blame you, we haven't exactly been exiting recently) that we shall be coming back with more wonderful, beautiful and darn cool places to go and things to do.

 Among other things, we have decided to introduce the not so vintage aspect of London; don't worry, this is still a vintage blog, but it also acknowledges the fact that, sadly, we don't live in the 50's but to make up for that, this modern world has provided some pretty snazzy places to distract us.

 Coming up you can expect to see the likes of Aimee and Grace in swanky nightspots such as The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town, The King Of Ladies Man and The Portside Parlour to name a few.

 Oh and yes, we do have a new Goodwood Revival blog, late as it may be, to post!


  As always we are open to suggestions.

So stay powdered ladies, tell your friends and await our words!

  

The Word "Trendy"

Now I know this is a little off the subject of what were are about, but in the past few weeks I have noticed people giving me rather odd looks when I use what can only be described as great words. 

  Nowadays we as people have to understand that everything goes out of fashion. And I mean everything. But it does seem a little ridiculous that words can go out of fashion! The other day I said “trendy”. I can understand that this is very much so a “mum” word, but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good one. To make up for “that outfit is trendy” you have to use a whole list of descriptive words such as “that outfit is put together in a way that is fashion following yet with an original twist which results in a combination of clothing and accessories which you wouldn’t necessarily think to match on a day to basis but when you do see them put together they work in a way that is both attention grabbing and inspiring and all together pleasing”. Or you could just say the outfit is trendy.

   But why are we so scared of using these “uncool” words? Who really cares that we don’t seem “up to date”? We do! We care. We, the people who complain that everyone is too judging and should just be themselves, are the very same people who do the judging and will try on three different outfits that they love equally before settling on one that may not be as flattering but is more fashionable.  Despite what people say everyone cares what everyone else thinks. Surely though, people could tell that we are actually “cool” by looking at our groovy outfit and not just focusing on what we say? (is groovy not cool either?) sadly no, apparently not. 

  In todays society we have to be “cool” in every single aspect of our lives, as failings in one area, such as our language, can not be compensated for in other areas, such as our fashion choices. Whats that all about then?! 

  Another difficulty I see today is that what is it to be cool? On one hand we have to be original and self confident, on the other we can’t be too original or arrogant. Oh the pains of being a youth! 

  So here is my promise: I will use words like trendy and groovy and pretend not to notice when people take a second glance at my clothing when they hear said words. I will be happy in my own little ways and that is that because to be perfectly honest, if being cool means I have to not only ask friends their opinion before buying something but read into the looks of fellow shoppers as well, and bite my tongue and think of a more updated word than “trendy” because I scared people may think Im actually a 45 year old mother in disguise, then I don’t want to be cool. I am proud to say I am a comfortable looser. 

Now I have some homeworl for you all, you lovely people: I want you to include the following words into as much of your everyday language as possible. Then tell us about your experiences! 

1) Trendy

2) Groovy

3) Funky

4) Disco

5) Fly (as in "those shoes are super-fly", not "do you fly to Manchester or take the rain?" thats won't count)

Ax

Ladies at...The Powder Room!

Let's go back to the start, the day we started Tea For Two. Beginning our exploration of London, Grace surprised me with a birthday visit The Powder Room. In this charming little neo-1950s style beauty parlor, based in Columbia road Shoreditch, we were greeted by the most delightful staff clad in cute pink and black dresses looking like they've just stepped out of the 50s. With their make up and hair styled with practice and precision, these plucky girls will help you chose your dream hair style, make up and nail colours, and transform you into a proper vintage lady. We were offered a selection of styles from their menu, and you can see the condensed version on their website. 

We chose two hairstyles from the 'Speedy Hair Dos' section. They only took about half an hour but lasted all day in the perfectly coiffed condition we left the salon in, my Victory rolls bouncing back in full defiance of gravity. The shop also offer a range of other pampering treatments including 'In a Jiffy Make Up', 'Pretty Fingers' and some pricier and more lengthy treats like the 2 hour long 'The Works' with full hair, makeup and brow tidy. A diverse range of treatments for whatever the occasion, you can see the full list here. No sooner had Grace and I stepped out of The Powder Room, a few American Olympic athletes asked to have their picture taken with us! Trust us, these ladies are good at what they do.

The contact details can be found here, book as far in advance as you can to ensure an appointment, this is one experience you do not want to miss. Also, it is an idea to leave some time after you have been beautified to have a wander around on your 10 minute walk back to the station. There are plenty of quirky little shops around The Powder Room, so pop in to some of them and splash out on whatever takes your fancy, be it some retro style furniture, cupcakes pretty enough to be displayed on your mantelpiece or even repro fabrics (in a lovely little fabric shop we found just across the road) if you want a go at creating your own retro masterpiece. 

"How do I book and where do I go?!" I hear you ask. The contact details are on the site here, and you can email shop@thepowderpuffgirls.com or phone 02077291365. The closest tube stations are Liverpool street and Old Street, and it's either a 15 minute walk or you can get the 26 bus if you don't feel like traipsing around London in those special heels you have always treated so well (we opted for a taxi, being proper ladies and all). If you call ahead the ladies can also give you a parking permit for your car if you feel so inclined.

The Powder Room also offer party, wedding and events services, anything from Tea Parties to Classy Dinners. We will definitely be going back again and again, and maybe we'll even see you there! So ladies, prepare to sit back with a cup of tea (or cocktail!) and a French Fancy and be beautified by the Queens of vintage beauty themselves.

You can find them on their twitter, online shop and Pinterest! These women are serious about they do.

Dresses By George! Interview by Grace.

Meet Georgina, founder and dressmaker for By George clothing, who sell reproduction 40s, 50s and 60s dresses. I first bumped into her at a boot sale in Chessington, where I commented on how much I loved her dress, a flouncy, floral fifties number, only to be told she was about to set up a website where I’d be able to get my own creation hand made by her. We caught up a few weeks later to discuss how By George came about, and to pick up mine and Aimee’s dresses for Revival!

When did you start dressmaking?

Well when I was young my mum made costumes for local film studios and used to make all our clothes for us. I started sewing at about 6 or 7, moving from dolls clothes onto rag dolls which I sold. I made my children’s clothes and sold wedding dresses, but it wasn’t profitable so I moved away from it for a while. People assume dress makers don’t require a lot of money, but a lot of time and labour goes in, and the cost of materials can really add up.

What inspires your designs?

My designs are created from original 50s patterns which used to belong to my mum, and in fact the other day I discovered that my brother has over 100 of my mums old pattern in his loft which I’d love to get my hands on. But the first patterns I used were from fancy dress shops. I generally pick and choose bits from patterns to make the dress look how I want.

How did you come about starting By George?

Back in April I hurt my arm, which meant I couldn’t work anymore. I went to a 50s fancy dress party where I wore a red and white polka dot dress which I loved, it felt so feminine and the cut was great. After that I made some vintage style dresses to take on holiday with me to go and see my son, and began wearing vintage cuts more often. I received a lot of compliments and requests from people asking me to make them dresses. Originally I didn’t want to make it into a business but after a while I caved and set up the website. Now we’re looking to set up a stall in Camden or Spitalfields.

Do you have any recommended vintage shops/brands?

I prefer to get lucky and find little gems in markets as opposed to shopping with mass produced brands. My latest find was a pink nylon pillbox hat and matching gloves in Brighton.

What are your tips for putting together a vintage look?

I like to start with the dress and match things with it, like little cardigans, vintage bags and chunky beads. I think 40s dresses require more demure accessories due to the tailored nature of the cut.

If you could make a dress for anyone, past or present, who would it be and what would you make?

I would love to design for Paloma Faith, whose style I love because it is so fun and cute. I think I would make her a burlesque inspired outfit and matching hat in keeping with her look.

The dresses are priced from £40 pounds upwards and are definitely worth the price considering the quality of the pieces, and are a bargain compared to a lot of repro brands who charge around £70 upwards. We were really pleased with ours, which we wore with pride to Revival, you can see the photos on our facebook page here :)

If you want to check out her stuff and find out more visit http://www.bygeorge-50sfashion.co.uk/ or go to the facebook page here!

Goodwood Revival 2012

2 weekends ago, sorry for the delay in the publishing of this post (blame Grace :D, not Aimee) us ladies drove down to Chichester for this year’s Goodwood Revival which, for those of you who haven’t heard of it before, is a weekend long motoring event featuring classic cars, planes and vintage fashion. We were blown away by this year’s turnout, the attendees looked absolutely wonderful. Everyone was dressed up in their best retro garb; men donning the uniforms of a soldier home on leave with his pristine wife and child being bounced along on a genuine vintage pram, or the jumpsuit of the original F1 mechanic.

On top of this the whole place was converted into a 1950’s race track complete with bomb shelters and tobacco shops. On the pop up high street several shops had been constructed including Kenwood and a retro Tesco, selling products in the special edition old time packaging (think more Marathon and Opal Fruits as opposed to Snickers and Starburst).

Within a few hours we found ourselves wholly consumed by the vintage vibes, adopting the mannerisms of a different society, at one point having to stop myself calling one elderly man “sir” as I asked to borrow his lighter. Everyone became a little more gracious and composed… If only life was really like this! We were also lucky enough to be with a racing team that weekend, gaining access to the drivers club houses, complete with grandstand seats and meals rationed by coupon books, very authentic. We even bumped into IT Crowd and Bridesmaids actor Chris O’Dowd (one of Grace’s favourites, loving Moone Boy by the way, anyone else?), looking very suave in a red silk suit, who was lovely enough to take a photo with us!

As for the clothes they were beautiful, everyone had made an effort (bar a few but they were all lost in the finery of the majority). If only people always dressed like this, because vintage cuts really do bring out the best in everyone, the men looked very dapper and the women, no matter their shape or size looked stunning. As I said before there was everything from mechanics to soldiers to sailors, but a lot people were simply and stylishly dressed in the outfits that they would have 60 years ago to go out to the races. Here’s a few of our favourite & best dressed looks from the weekend :)

There were also some, of course, who opted for  fancy dress, with big black and white polka dots and frilly socks.   We especially loved these 2 air hostesses looking wonderfully legitimate in their outfits, as well as this wonderful military lot and housewives.

 The hair was also done to perfection, whether this was just two pin curls on either side of the head or a full beehive. The makeup we saw was done in subtle shades to emphasise the contours of the face. Many of the men were wearing three piece suits which looked lovely, they were neat and well fitted which brought out the shape their manly figures, or created the illusion of a manly figure if there wasn’t really one underneath! Both of us commented on how refreshing it was to see a man who doesn’t wear his trousers (well, jeans) half way down his bum! We found ourselves surrounded by men with regular proportions, they weren’t made to look like they were waddling around on awkward little limpy leg stumps. Gents, learn from this! 

The Goodwood Revival is also a place to stock up on everything vintage, be it clothing and accessories or furniture. The market starts at 7:30am Friday and ends around 8pm Sunday, bursting with stalls selling genuine a veritable treasure trove of vintage clothing and accessories, furs, art, Vintage F1 mechanic jackets and team shirts, racing memorabilia and make up. There were also some pop-up shops which included Biba, The Cuban Cigar Co. and our favourite What Katie Did! We popped in to say hi to the lovely bunch and snap away at their little home away from home. Oh the temptation to just buy up the stock! You can find this season’s new collection here, and our experience of the collection release here!

Goodwood is a remarkable place to go, whether you’re a petrol head or can’t tell the front end of the car from the back. Even if you don’t like cars or aren’t that clued up on vintage fashion, we recommend you go at least once in even if only for an afternoon, simply to marvel at the transformation of fields into a 1950’s village, and the way in which such a large number of people come together and play along. It’s a vintage wonderland and a great outlet for anyone wishing they were born in another time. Leaving we really felt as if something great had ended, it was a car journey of mixed emotions and immediate nostalgia...you will definitely see us there next year and we hope to see you too!

If we have featured your outfit or stall on the blog and you would like a high res version of the photos, or you would like to use these photos somewhere else on the web, email us at ladieswhot@gmail.com. Please ask permission before using photos!

Click here to see the facebook album from Goodwood 2012 , we'd love to find you and tag some of these photos!

Grace; Room Refurb. & Relentless Reality

Hi world, Grace here :)

So not a completely on topic blog post, but I have some things I'd like to share, and seeing as this is our blog, I feel realistically we can put whatever we want on it :D Throughout the summer I have been redoing my room (as I'm living at home and the room needs to move on from when I was 13) in little steps and it is starting to fiiiinally come together. I wanted to share some photos of it now it’s nearly done, and I’ll share some more once I’ve got it perfect, as a kind of before and after :) 

I’ve been reading DIY tutorials from blogs like A Beautiful Mess, and Pinteresting my little heart out, so I think there’s going to be some pretty little DIY additions over the next few months :) I have my eye on these Teacup Fairy lights at the moment…but in the mean time, here's my room in progress! WARNING there is still a lot of clutter, those with OCD or neat constitutions, look away now.

I’ve also thrown out and sold A LOT of childhood and random stuff, I mean there were a good 2 black bin bags and about 10 shopping bags. I had to face the ultimate challenge of staring my old toys in the face and accepting that I don’t need them anymore…not easy for someone whose mother describes her as having ‘hoarder tendencies’. I’ve been putting the grim task off ever since I watched Toy Story 3…that motherflipping film had me puffy faced and teary from start to end, promising myself I would never be so cruel as to let my toys go. I had to in the end though... *sigh*

ANYWAY I now have room to put things away instead of piling them up around me, which is quite refreshing :) I have space for all my magazines and DVDs to fit onto the shelves nicely at last! I've always been unorganized and messy, so this is my first real attempt at trying to sort it all out and form something resembling structure. I even got a calendar and everything...here's hoping it works!

Grace,
The Ladies who Do, Tea For Two x

What Aimee did... at the What Katie Did AW12 Launch

Well that was an adventure. As we walked in to What Katie Did, based in the heart of the Portobello market, we were greeted by the lovely staff of The Vintage Patisserie dressed in underwear-as-outerwear (also wearing skirts) offering us alcoholic tea, yes, that’s right, alcoholic tea. This included an Earl Grey G&T and a Champagne & Builders (builders tea, there weren’t mini builders swimming around); as “interesting” as this sounds, the drinks were gorgeous and I had to drag myself away from the tea pots for fear of becoming a little tipsy. Very unprofessional for us Ladies! Instead we both opted for the equally refreshing homemade lemonade with juicy blackberries floating in the cup.

To go with these drinks there were delectable chocolate cupcakes also provided by The Vintage Patisserie, with butter cream icing and white chocolate hearts printed with a picture of either a burlesque dancer or the WKD logo. And all this was on our walk in! I haven’t even got started on the underwear. 

We were given a while to mill around, where we met the lovely Lori Smith aka Lipstick Lori and the super talented Tigz Rice founder of Tigz Rice studios (aka burlesque dancer Raven Six), and admire the impressive range of lingerie before the much awaited unveiling of this season began. We were all ushered outside with a drink where we became an audience to the glass front of the shop. Suddenly the music kicked in (vintage, of course) which was shortly followed by a stream of models garbed in lace, satin and velvet. As they pranced through the shop not only were you admiring the stunning underwear but also their exquisite hair and make-up.

We saw the Autumn/Winter 2012 range (which by the way was just… there are no words to describe the beauty in this corsetry, you’ll have to go to the website and see for yourself) and were then treated to a theatrical striptease. 

It commenced with the cheeky, attractive Sophia St. Villier getting undressed rather lavishly. She discovered a ring on the sofa and no sooner had she put it on than another girl (the blonde bombshell Miss Miranda) appeared, claiming rights over the newly acquired ring. Once Miss Miranda had retrieved her ring she subjected the Sophia to a kinky spanking!

I, Aimee Watts, could not believe my eyes that in the middle of Portobello Green at 3 in the afternoon, a woman dressed in a corset was being spanked by another woman in a corset! Had I walked into the wrong event?! This little show ended up with Miss Miranda, complete with handcuffs, leading the Sophia, now waving a leather whip, behind the curtain! My my, what had we got ourselves into? The show didn’t stop there, continuing sans racy punishments. We were then privy to the Spring/Summer 2013 range which was also stunning, from gloriously coloured satin bras and knickers to equally beautiful high waisted 
bikinis and swimsuits, I know exactly where I will be shopping for my next sunny getaway!

Once the show was over it was back into the shop to eat more cake - I mean inspect some saucy suspenders, and try on some of the items that had been taunting us from the safety of their smug hangers. Immediately there was a queue for the three dressing rooms and had I drunk anymore of that Tea&G&T I would have probably bankrupted myself by buying everything in the shop. We both loved the Satin Bullet Bra/Knickers and Suspender sets, available in black, navy, white or peach. They’re great because they can be comfortably worn under everyday clothes, or worn in rather more... ehem, cheeky situations without looking out of place! I also tried on the classic over-bust corset which was quick and simple to do up, looked amazing and for a few moments, I was the ultimate skinny bitch…! Then Grace undid the laces. But before that, I was thinking how good it looked and how I could breathe really easily! 

Sadly it came time to leave and as we tried to tear ourselves away from those near saint level racks, the only thing stopping me from just setting up home in the shop was the knowledge that we will see them all at the Goodwood revival in a few days.

If you want to see more photos you can head over our Facebook Page , we'll be posting soon with our run up to Revival preparation and our stories from the weekend!

You can also find us on Pinterest, Polyvore, Twitter and soon Tumblr, oh how jolly well integrated we are :)