Make your own vintage shopping bag

If you’ve been following our Twitterings recently you will know that we have got our hands on our editor Alysia’s great great grandmother’s book of household tips, all cut out of newspapers from the 1920s-40s. We’ve  also come across this rather nifty article, probably dating from the war, about how to make a rather stylish shopper out of upholstery webbing. Not only is it cheap to make (although, what with the recent demise of Woolies, expect to pay more than 2 1/2d. per yard for your webbing), it’s superbly practical – no more yucky plastic bags – and it totally rocks the 1940s vintage utility look – what more does a girl need!

How to Turn Upholstery Webbing into a Shopping Bag

make your own 1940s style shopping bag

“Since the Government’s ‘no wrapping’ order, a shopping bag, like Mary’s little lamb, goes everywhere with most of us. And how prices for them have soared!

Here is a tough, inexpensive but attractive bag made from upholstery webbing. 8 1/2 yds of string coloured webbing is required. (Woolworth’s 2 1/2d. a yd.) Cut 15 strips of webbing 17 ins. long, then the remainder in two, for the handles.

The completed bag has 7 strips a side, with one at the bottom doubled. Treat this as a central strip, and start stitching the lengths of webbing together from the bottom upwards. When joining on the fifth strip, stitch along for 5 1/2 ins., leave a 5 in. gap for the insertion of the handles, then stitch on to the end. Sew on two more strips of webbing and one side of the bag is finished.

Repeat for the other side, again starting from the bottom central strip of webbing, so that the ribbing effect made by the stitching, points upwards to match the reverse side of the bag. Unless this is done there will be no place for the handle.

When the webbing is all joined, double it, lay it flat on a table, and slope off from the top at the top at both sides, one inch, graduated to nothing.

Next, with a half-inch turning, join the sides of the bag together. Insert the handles. Stitch right across the gap left for them, then sew the handles flat to the bag.

Circular handles for the bag are made by stitching the webbing round thin pads of cottonwool.

The shopping bag can be glamourised by a dip in a dye bath. (Dyes also from Woolworth’s 4 1/2d.) After dyeing, when the bag is dry, a narrow bind of of contrasting colour stitched round the top is decorating and strengthening. Press (iron) the bag when this has been added.

The colour scheme of the bag illustrated is tangerine with a navy bind. Other good ones are cherry and black; and emerald and brown. A small oddment of any strong fabric can be used for the bind.”

80s Glamour by Bethanie Lunn

If you can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, wore biker shorts under your skirts (and felt stylish), and watched Fraggle Rock then you were born in the 80s! A great decade though not usually remembered for its fashion genius. Regardless, the 80s are the inspirational decade of the moment and I have to say, through gritted teeth, I’m liking it.

I’m donning my leggings in the day with an oversized sweater that covers my behind (this is a MUST for anyone in leggings), and my body con dress at night.

Here are a few of my favourites…

Body Con Dresses

I didn’t think I could fit into one without resembling a sausage in too-tight casing but they really do hold you in, in all the right places if they’re made well, though a pair of Spanx won’t go amiss either.

Try the classic Red Ruched Bodycon Dress, £35.00 from Miss Selfridge or to embrace two trends in one hit, choose the Rare Multi Colour Body Con Dress, £40.00  – mini but flattering.

 

 

 

Colour Blocking

Bright colours are a hit every summer, we all know that but this season the way to wear them is in blocks of contrasting colours. 

  Have you noticed how fantastic Dorothy Perkins is at the moment? It’s oozing on-trend styles and covetable accessories and their Black colour block dress, £40.00  is a sure-fire way to make heads turn for all the right reasons.

 

 

Jump suits

Again, not a trend I thought would flatter me but jumpsuits cover a multitude of sins (and heavy suppers!), and if you choose the right one for your height, shape and style – you will look like a super stylish throw back.

Playsuits tend to be all-in-ones of a shorter length, often cropped at the knee or above whereas jumpsuits are often floor length, full trouser suits.

They’re great for work or the beach and both styles are so versatile. The look can change dramatically with accessories. Add a blazer and flats in the day for the office and exchange these for reams of mismatched chunky bangles, draping necklaces and sky-high stilettos for the bar.

For true slinky elegance, my favourite has to be the Karen Millen Jumpsuit, £160.00 (www.asos.com). Made of soft satin with a sash tie belted waist and a mandarin collar. If you check it out on ASOS, it has been reduced to £95.00! (Just don’t blame me if it has sold out by the time you look!)

 

All prices and stockists were accurate at the time of publishing.

Bethanie Lunn is now writing her Girls Guide to Fabulousness for Bookshelf Boyfriend.

V&A Fashion in Motion: Roksanda Ilincic

 

November’s V&A Fashion in Motion programme presented one of London’s most successful young fashion designers, Roksanda Ilincic. The show took the form of five vignettes, specially created for the V&A and featured a selection of key pieces from her past three collections.

After studying both architecture and applied arts in her native Belgrade, Roksanda came to London where she gained her masters degree in women’s wear at Central St Martins College.

Critically acclaimed for her beautifully crafted garments, Ilincic’s distinct style is inspired by the romance and femininity of 1940s and 1950s Parisian couture. She combines these influences with contemporary twists such as raw edges, a-symmetrical lines, strong blocked colours, structural shapes and exaggerated pleating.

Models graced the runway with attitude and aside from harsh eyebrows and sleek hair, the bare minimum of makeup. Each one of them wore towering Christian Louboutin boots.

The choreography showed disparity – the animation of dancers followed by the sleekness of models added a playful tone alongside the silent movie charm of the tinkling piano. Movement enhances the creations; billowing silks flow behind the models and wave with the dancers.

Garments throughout the show played with contrasts, presenting Roksanda’s architecture versus fashion background; the base structures were foundations for lustrous fabrics in playful shapes and bold colour ways, whilst graphic elements went against intricate embellishment, sharp tailoring was set against flowing lines and bright accessories mixed with neutral outfits.

Roksanda’s talent lies in providing simple yet individual chic. She plays with hemlines, shape, structure, and colour; clean lines and boxy shapes counter balance gathering, netting, rouching and one of a kind embellishment.

Ilincic has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including on two occasions, the British Fashion Council Fashion Forward Award, whilst she has also been awarded Topshop’s ‘New Generation Sponsorship’ and ‘Fashion East’ for three seasons. She counts Cate Blanchett, Rosamund Pike, Kate Hudson and Christina Ricci, amongst her clients.

Fashion in Motion: Roksanda Ilincic is brought to you as part of the V&A’s Fashion in Motion series. Featuring some of the greatest designers of our time, Fashion in Motion makes high fashion accessible to a wide audience in the unique surroundings of the V&A.

www.roksandailincic.com

 

[Hannah Eichler]

Fashion vs Sport at the V&A

Through its constant re-invention, the world of fashion has taken influence from a massive range of concepts over the years.

As showcased at the Fashion vs Sport exhibition at the V&A, even the world of sport has come to influence the way we dress. Technologies of sportswear have been integrated into dressmaking in the last few decades, producing higher performance, yet stylistically aware garments.

The polo shirt was the first sportswear item to be worn casually in the 1920s, and since then designers such as Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Prada and Nike have taken into consideration form and function, as well as fashion by producing casual, street styles.

Sportswear giants such as Nike have produced collections which explore the connections between sports engineering and street credibility. The customisation of sportswear which is seen on the street is filtering ever more into designer collections, where labels are combining sportswear with everyday apparel.

 

Designers have always been aware of the way that clothes are used as a different language to express personality and taste. Puma’s range of trainers by Mihara Sutiro convey a playful nature and are used as satirical, almost political statements, whilst Walter van Beirendonck produced an outfit which made an attack on McDonalds and the world of capitalism.

However, through advertising and consumption, the sports items produced by fashion brands now bear little relation to their original function. The combination of sport and fashion has inevitably meant that the status symbol, and therefore the fashion have taken presidency over the sport. Whilst at the exhibition, you only have to glance at Chanel’s surfboard of 2003, or Paul Smiths bike of 2006, or most recently Chanel’s fishing rods of 2008 to see that fashion is now the key feature.

 

http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/fashion-v-sport/

on until 4^th Jan 2009  

 

[Hannah Eichler]

My love affair with Primark…

I cannot deny I love a bargain. The ability to return home with an entire outfit for under £20 excites me. However, earlier this year research by War on Want publicised the working conditions in overseas factories of British high street fashion stores. 

Unsurprisingly, fashion giant Primark was the worst offender paying its employees in Pakistan a reported five pence an hour. So will our love for cheap and cheerful fashion be over-ruled by our morals or are we willing to turn a blind eye in order to bag a bargain?

Before 2003, Primark was largely viewed by fashionistas as an uncredible clothing supplier. I myself would shy away from the store, thinking if I stepped foot inside I would be rubbing shoulders with the unemployed and people who wore shell suits.

However, one day a friend managed to drag me in and despite the shell suits I was captivated by a navy military jacket which was on sale for a mere £10. The cotton was scrappy and the stitching was unfinished, but I bought it anyway, thinking even if it falls apart after two washes, the price per wear is still cheaper than a loaf of value bread.

I’m no Kate Moss but the jacket was featured in Vogue’s fashion pages that month. Primark was officially on the fashion map and like the majority of British women; it has since been my first port of call when shopping on the high street.  The love affair began.

Three years later, I still have the jacket, I haven’t worn it for two of those, but as I look at it now, I consider who the real fashion victim in all of this is? Is it me, for returning to Primark every week and giving in to throw away fashion? Or is the real victim the factory worker who cannot even afford my jacket after working for an entire month to produce it

After some thought, I don’t even like the jacket that much, but like everything that is sold in Primark, and many other high street stores, it is shrouded with the ‘throwaway” fashion mentality.  I’m not saying that from now on I’m only going to buy designer – and neither am I saying that I will never shop in Primark again. However, as I keep thinking about it, I think as a Western world we have become so blaze in our buying habits that we have forgotten the real cost of the latest commodities.

Let us not cut Primark from our lives, it is undeniably a wonder (I bought an electric blue woolen coat for £20 last week), but let us merely adapt our attitudes to it. Every relationship changes and develops; from now on my love affair with Primark will take on a whole new stance.

Hannah’s tips for beating the addiction:

 

• Cut down on weekly excursions to Primark thus providing less support for the sub standard working conditions.
• Instead of merely sending my throw away fashion onto a landfill site I will be dropping them into my local charity shop thus helping another cause
• Plan ahead by deciding what you want before you actually go in, how many floral print dresses does one girl need?
• Last but not least…careful of the items around the tills, slipper socks will never be on trend, no matter how cheap they are.

Hannah has more advice on how to look great and maintain an eco-fashion conscience at BookshelfBoyfriend.com.

[HE]

September festival style

 

Our wet August may be over and Glastonbury, V, Reading and Leeds festivals just hazy memories, but with a host of festivals still to come throughout September, Hannah Eichler has a few tips to get you through the end of The Season…

 

Whether or not your ‘summer’ has been all about the festivals this year, this season has seen a real throwback to 70’s style with everyone from style icon Sienna Miller to newlywed Coleen McLoughlin rocking hippy chic.

Hippy chic remains bang on trend for Autumn / Winter 08 too; with unusually hippyish designs at Roberto Cavalli, to voluminous silhouettes at D&G.

At the recent V festival goers kept it casual in denim shorts, floaty tops and fringed suede boots; while at Glastonbury earlier this year, model Lily Cole took hippy chic one step further with a pretty daisy chain as a hair band.

With the hope of an Indian Summer to come (fingers crossed), here are a few festival essentials to ooze effortless style while still being practical.

1.  Hunters – The classic British wellington, as seen on Miss Moss. Choose a colour to suit your style, from £50 at my-wardrobe.com

2.  Denim shorts. Don’t do a Coleen by bringing your Chanel tote to the mud pit, stay cheap and chic with these shorts, £6 at Matalan.

3.  This Liberty Flower print dress is perfect to make those wellies a little more feminine. £50, Topshop.

4.  OK so it might not be the most trend lead item you’ll take, but it will keep you dry…. ‘nuff said. Drift Jacket, £29.99, Peter Storm at Millets.

5.  Waterproof mascara, Vaseline & Baby wipes. Anymore and you’re at risk of looking like those girls you see teetering in platform heels across the field, wheeling their huge suitcases behind them.

Enjoy at…

Bestival - Isle of White – 5th, 6th, 7th Sept

Sugarhill festival - Wiltshire – 5th, 6th Sept

Weyfest – Surrey – 6th, 7th Sept

End of the Road festival – North Dorset – 12th, 13th , 14th Sept

Big Beach Boutique 4 – Brighton – 26th, 27th Sept

 

Hannah Eichler has been contributing articles to the new Bookshelf Boyfriend style section.

[HE]