London

After a week of hectic travel back and forth across England (Josh's tour schedule isn't as practical as it could be), we finally had a couple days off to hang out in London. We met up with an old friend of mine who I studied abroad with in Italy 9 years ago (I can't believe it's been that long!!), and she and her husband were very gracious hosts.

 We spent a good amount of time yesterday walking around the Brick Lane neighborhood. It's a very hip part of town that used to be the industrial corridor, but now all the old factories have been converted into trendy coffee shops, bars, Indian restaurants and load of vintage shops! There were so many, I did not get to go into all of them. . . but Josh was a very good sport, letting me drag him into a good number of shops.
My main objective was to check out Blitz- London's first "vintage department store". I had read about it several weeks ago, so was excited to see it for myself. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. It was big, but not huge-- about the size of most Urban Outfitters. And they had some nice things, but (like all of the vintage stores in London) it was very pricey and carried mostly 70's, 80's and 90's casual-wear (polyester day dresses galore!). I guess I'm a bit spoiled by vintage shops in the States. . .

Well, now we're heading north-- we'll be in Scotland tonight!

Cheers,

Jess

So we've been in England for a few days now, and unfortunately I haven't had as much time to blog as I thought I would. . .we've been traveling so much! We spent our first night in London, then drove up to Chester for Josh's first show, then the next day down to Dorset for his second show. In effect, we've already driven across more than half of the country! Yesterday, we were on our way back to London from the South and stopped (very briefly) in the city of Winchester. What a fortuitous stop it was because they happened to be having a vintage fair! The open-air arts/crafts/vintage market led up to this gorgeous old building that housed several dozen more vintage vendors. I was in heaven! Unfortunately, though, we could not stay long because Josh had to be in London for a radio spot. So it was bitter sweet. But I did get to chat with one of the vendors a bit who said that most of their clothing is imported (in bulk) from the States. She was very jealous of all our thrift stores and flea markets. . . funny.
My Vintage Madison friends and I have often talked about hosting a vintage fair in Madison so I found this very inspiring!

I will post more photos soon. . . but now we have to get back in the car and drive North to Sheffield!

XO,

Jess

British Invasion

This Tuesday we're finally embarking on our much-anticipated five week European tour across the pond! Wednesday morning we land in London and are spending the first week hopping around England, before moving on to Scotland, Ireland and (fingers crossed) Paris and Amsterdam. I started packing today, and couldn't help but think of all the "classic" British styles that I wanted to emulate. So here's a little tutorial (a refresher course, I'm sure) on some of the more popular fashion trends that have emerged from Merry Ol' England.

MOD-1960's
Design characteristics: bright colors, geometric patterns, short a-line shift dresses, knee-high boots, bold eye make-up
Fashion icon: Twiggy

 Sunglasses and Shoes for sale on Etsy

Punk- beginning in the 1970's London music scene

design characteristics: denim, leather, band tees, "bedhead", lace-up boots, studs
Fashion Icons: Sid & Nancy, the Clash, the Ramones, Vivienne Westwood

Leather jacket for sale on Etsy


Prep-School
design characteristics: plaid, tweed, blazers, ties, tailored suits, oxfords, trench coats
Fashion Icons: Kate Moss, Burberry models

red plaid skirt for sale on Etsy

Ok, now I have some serious packing to do!

XO,

Jess