Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair
After many long awaited months, the travelling vintage fair came back to Lincoln’s Engine Shed so I could rummage my way through some vintage bargains.
The vintage fair covers 22 cities including Nottingham, Leeds, Edinburgh, Brighton and London. It offers an abundance of vintage stalls selling affordable vintage items, for vintage lovers.
Usually vintage can be expensive, but the fair offers bargains and excellent gems if you’re willing to jostle and rummage.
I’ve been a vintage enthusiast for five years now but apart from the odd trip to Camden, I don’t have great access to vintage items apart from online and the odd section in boutiques.
Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair understands the demand for vintage fashion and the lack of access there is to it.
The other great thing about a post Christmas vintage fair? SALES.
As someone who admires vintage fashion, but often doesn’t find anything wearable, my eye was drawn to a red gingham shirt at the first stall. An old men’s shirt, it had been altered so it was tighter and elasticated at the waist, and much more flattering for a woman’s figure. The sleeves had also been altered to create that rolled up ¾ length look.
And that’s the great thing about these stalls, they bother to alter them to make them wearable for modern day. It’s all very well rummaging in charity shops, but unless you want to look like you’ve stepped out of a time warp, you need to make it suit your style and modern conventions.
Next my eye was caught by a dress, a silky white top sewn onto a floral vintage pattern skirt. The perfect mix of modern and vintage styles, ladylike but trendy. The dress reminded me of what I often find in boutiques. The perfect mix of past and present.
The shirt was £10 and the dress £12, both in the sale. For £22 I got two great items, which would often be the price for just one of these on the high street.
From 30s to 80s, there were clothes from every decade to choose from. Think 70s dizzying prints and 80s padded shoulders. An inspiring step through time for any fashion lover.
For those not daring enough to dress vintage, accessories were in abundance. From handmade jewellery to vintage bags from every decade. With satchels still popular on the high street, and another burst of popularity still to come, vintage is an excellent way to go so you don’t find yourself one of many with the same bag. As well as at a fraction of the price and better made. In the past, things were made to last, rather than cheap fast shoddily made fashion we have on our high street today.
Rummaging through each stalls many vintage bags, suddenly a beacon shone out at me. A white vintage Chanel bag. My heart skipped a beat and as I held it in my hands, it felt so wonderful. Seeing my eyes lit up, the vintage dealer approached me, I asked how much. “£30, we were just talking about it.”
“Oh, it’s a fake?” I sighed.
“No, we think it’s real, but somebody’s cut the serial number out which is annoying. With it, we could sell it for loads.”
I sighed and looked at it. Should I spend £30? I ummed and ahhed, and finally left it at the stall. It could be a fake, and I thought maybe I should wait until I could afford the real thing. In hindsight, a mistake, I still can’t get that gorgeous bag out my head. When I went back to the stall, it was gone.
You win some and lose some when it comes to vintage. Thankfully the fair had a tea and cake stall, where I could drown my sorrows with tea in a vintage cup and saucer and the most delicious cupcakes I’d ever tasted. One taste of a moist moreish sponge and sweet creamy frosting is enough to console anyone’s heart.