Debbie Reynold's Iconic Auction Sale

Marilyn Monroe's iconic "Subway grate" dress from The Seven Year Itch sold at Debbie Reynolds Auction yesterday for a staggering $4.6 Million (£2.8m). That price you may say is expected for piece of filmatic history and celebrity memorabilia. It harked to the tones of one of the dealers on 4 Rooms last week who clearly explained to one of the hopefuls when presented with a Moschino jacket from Absolutely Fabulous... "It is hardly an iconic piece such as Audrey Hepburn dress". However in comparison Marilyn's washed the Breakfast at Tiffany's LBD auction price of £467,200  out of the water. 

The William Travilla-designed pleated Marilyn frock was estimated to fetch around $1 million and was only one of many of Reynold's impressive 3500 piece historic costume and prop collection. Reynolds was said to have been "heartbroken" to sell 45 year passion after she was unable to raise the necessary  funding for a dedicated museum. Although saddening that the items had to be broken up in auction the prices fetched for the individual pieces will sure to go down in history also.  

Image via IndieWire
Judy Garland’s Wizard of Oz dress & ruby slippers sold for $1.75 million

Ascot dress and hat designed by cecil Beaton and worn by Audrey Hepburn in 
My Fair Lady sold for $3.7m

 Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hat ($135,300).

ANITA’S BIRTHDAY VINTAGE FASHION FAIR Special:

Come and celebrate Anita’s Birthday with us…

DATE: Sunday 3^rd July 2011   

OPENS: 11am CLOSES: 5pm

LOCATION: 20^th Century Theatre, 291 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London, W11 2QA

ENTRY: Entrance £2 - students £1 with ID children under 16 go free)

Tickets can be purchased in advance via info@vintagefashionfairs.com or on the day. 

Contact: 0208 325 5789 or www.vintagefashionfairs.com for further details.

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-        28 exhibitors all carefully selected for their superb knowledge and expertise

-        Mini Hair & beauty sessions

-        Personal Stylist

-        Craft session & on-hand alterations by Recycle & Sew

-        The infamous Vintage Cafe – Serving delicious homemade cakes and refreshments all day

This small but exclusive vintage fashion event of 28 exhibitors is being held at the fantastic 20th century theatre in the heart of Notting Hill.  The event is a must for all vintage dealers and vintage fans who are looking for exceptional quality vintage fashion and accessories at fantastic prices. An Aladdin's cave of delights to discover, with an array of vintage textiles and trimmings which can add the perfect touch to any vintage outfit and soft furnishings.

A very special fair indeed, as the lady behind the name, Anita, also shares her Birthday on the same day. So why not come and celebrate with us? We have a special birthday gift for the first 50 visitors….expect birthday surprises galore throughout the day.

Enjoy a slice of birthday cake with Anita herself a in the renowned Vintage Café where she will be serving the crowds her famous selection of homemade cakes, and delicacies including a range of refreshments and English tea. With all this and much more, all housed under one-roof, it truly does add the ease to vintage shopping and a unique shopping experience to remember.

Far from a Royal Ascot washout...

Hats galore at Royal Ascot this year and the whackier the better we say... enough to make even Anna Dello Russo feel right at home. Nice to see that many race-goers taking AVFF's advice from their last summer events special vintage fair and opted for unique and classic vintage pieces to accessorize their looks. &7 picked the best vintage and vintagesque looks from 4 day Racing event, the pouring rain didn't put off these starlets... 

A right royal teaparty hat, complete with vintage teacups by Beth Simpson
 worn by Bryony Gordon from The Telegraph

Modern Victoriana

Vintage Royal Ascot: 300th Anniversary

Royal Ascot celebrates it's 300th anniversary this year... It is incredible to think that this landmark event has such an incredible history, &7 looks back at some beautiful imagery from Royal Ascots past... 

Royal Ascot 1946

Royal Ascot 1955

Excerpt from Fashion at Royal Ascot: Three Centuries of Thoroughbred Style (Thames & Hudson)British Newspaper The Sphere, post 1939 

The Vintage Guide to London, 'Best of 2011 awards'

We are delighted with the nominations for The Vintage Guide to London, 'Best of 2011 awards'. Please do vote and celebrate our capitals thriving vintage scene!

&7 will be cheering on and voting as follows:

Best vintage fair/jumble sale:

&7 vote Other: Anita's Vintage Fashion Fairs

Best vintage hair or make-up:

&7 Vote: The Painted Lady

Best London-based repro brand:

&7 Vote: What Katie Did

we would love to hear who you will be voting for this year? Happy vintage voting! 

www.thevintageguidetolondon.com/vote-vintage-guide-london-2011/

123’S Vintage pick & mix is back

For two whole weeks, between Friday 10th and Friday 24th June, 123's infamous vintage sale in East London is back! Rummage to your hearts content by simply purchasing a bag for £10 or £20 and fill to the brim with vintage goodies including menswear, womenswear and accessories.

The sale starts tomorrow at the newly renovated Scout Hut also known as the historical building branding the Vintage for Sale sign, (see below).

    

The packed rails will be repelmished daily with yet more and more tempting designer, and non-design vintage pieces... however be warned, you may want to check it out early to be in with your chance to scrummage for the best bargain items.   

Amelia’s Magazine described the event as:

“The ideal event for vintage enthusiasts and a great opportunity to pick up some new pieces for your Spring/Summer wardrobe.”

&7 will see you there at the Pick & Mix Sale at: 123 Bethnal Green Road, E2 7DG.

GFW: Day 3: Vintage Street Style

Pretty in vintage print: 

Nicole from London Confidential, (above) is effortless chic.   

GFW: Day 2: Vintage Hair & Beauty

&7 caught up with the beautiful ladies at London Graduate Fashion Week. They embraced Vintage beauty and styling and like these girls below they gave the look their own modern twist. Victory rolls, rolled fringes, quiff up-do's, cat eye specks and the all important pillarbox red lips were all on show. 

GFW: Day 2: Vintage Influence

&7 has been extremely inpressed by the high calliabre of students work on show at London Graduate Fashion week... &7 handpicked these vintage inspired concepts on show:

 

Charlie Wilson: Northumbria University

Lingerie/womenswear/trend Charlie_Wilson@hotmail.co.uk

Charlotte's collection: Vintage Rose is a unique & elegant lingerie brand inspired by 1940's utility garments. Using artisan cutting and stitching techniques the lingerie collection is made up from vintage silks and lace.  A beautiful feminine and bespoke collection in a range of gorgeous golden hues.

Ruth Tinker: Northumbria University

Marketing & Events tinker_453@hotmail.com

INcompass is a speak-easy style fusion space dedicated to the arts, providing a place for currrent and emerging artists, designers and performers to platform their work. Based on the rarely heard of historical period of 'Dry' where for 12 years in America from the 1920's all alcohol was banned... It is an insightful and deeply interesting project. 

Reading Vintage Fair:

As always &7 headed on down the Reading vintage Fashion Fair (which takes place on the last Sunday of every month)... All the usual stall holders were there such as Ali from Frock&Roll, Victoriah & Nat from Out-of-Time-vintage,  Georgina of Georgina's Vintage,  and the lovely Debbie... However there were also some great new stall additions to the fair with even more vintage wonders to lust after. 

With exciting news and more events to come in the following months by Vintagenie including a vintage village at South Hill Park for the Park Life festival on 9th July but also a pop-up vintage fair at Forbury Gardens, Reading on 16th/17th July for the Outside:Inside Festival. &7 will be sure to keep you informed of all the details and plans are in place where we will be working alongside Vintagenie to bring you exclusive news and pics. 

Don't forget to visit the next Reading Vintage Fair on 26th June... this time I will ensure my cameras are all fully operational... see you there!    

www.thereadingvintagefair.com

Summer Vintage Street Style

With the lovely weather we have all been enjoying &7 took to the streets to see what the lovely vintage folk are wearing in the summer heat... 

Accessories envy with this beautiful girls wide brimmed hat and the ladies woven clutch, ease summer looks that look incredibly effortless yet full score on the style meter.

Stylish individuals from french Parisian chic left, lovely ladies on her travels from France and Elegant Mother & daughter centre.

AVFF: Gemma Arterton at Vintage Fair

The beautiful Gemma Arterton attended Anita's Vintage Fashion Fair on Sunday and picked up an original 1960's dress she was also accompanied by a very cute companion...

Rebecca Hawkes

&7 would like to say a Big Thank You...

Thank you to all who were able to make it down to Anita’s Vintage Fashion Fair, Mother’s Day Special on Sunday, It was great to see you!

On March 20th 2011- AVFF hosted their 7^th Year Spring Fair at The Battersea Arts Centre (BAC). It was a fantastic success with guests, trade buyers, designers (and even some celebrities) able to sample the delights of the vintage fashion from the wide selection of exhibitors. 

Offering a unique shopping experience open to all appreciators of vintage fashion while paying homage to Mothering Sunday. Mum’s indulged in the delights of vintage fashion and were treated with some well-earned pampering. Sharing in the memories of yester-year, the styling team recreated the cherished looks from beautiful old photographs, truly a nostalgic journey for all.

Retro Photo booth. by Lulu & Mimi

As special features, there were styling and pampering from “LULU & MIMI’s” vintage hair & beauty, photo-booth team and the chance to pick up expert alteration tips from the lovely mother & daughter duo at “Recycle & Sew”, who specialise in restoring and restyling vintage clothing of all eras. 

Recycle & Sew

DJ Duo Truckin' Laura's  www.myspace.com/truckinlauras

The lively atmosphere flowed with the soundtrack of live music by Retro DJ duo Truckin’

Laura, & the Vintage Café did a sterling job in serving the delicious Afternoon tea and the extra special Red Nose Day cupcakes.

Vintage Cafe & Cupcakes

To those who were unable to make it on this occasion, fear not as AVFF will back with yet another fair brim-full of vintage treasures at The BAC on May 22^nd.

Vintage at the Oscars

Vintage in it's original form did feature on the Oscar carpet elsewhere, and although not as prevalent or as memorable as say Julia Roberts Vintage Valentino (2001) moment and Resse Witherspoon intricate Vintage Dior gown (2006), this year there was still undertones of it... see below the gallery of vintage starlets. 

Although both ladies in their retrospective vintage frocks did not win over any critics they did however fly the vintage flag for the evening with Marisa Tomei in vintage Charles James and Elizabeth Banks chose Vintage Versace to wear to the Vanity Fair Oscar Party

Then to the almost vintage but not quite gallery...

Anne Hathaways pre-show Oscars dress was 'Valentino Archive' from 2002, Florence Welch also in Valentino Couture, the dress was more than a little vintage inspired. And last but by no means least Hailee Steinfeld wowed the crowd in a specially designed, 50's inspired Marchesa gown again praised for her age appropriate dress she again looked so beautiful and classic she could show a few 'olders' (mentioning no names) how it is done. 

Triumph or travesty Livia Firth Eco/Vintage Oscars dress?

There has been a bit of a twitter uproar, to say the least in regards to Livia dress at the Oscars. A keen purveyor of ethical & sustainable fashion, Colin Firth's wife has undertaken a 'Green carpet challenge', whereby she will only where items considered ethical or green which she then documents on her Vogue Blog. From can-ring-pull bags to fully customised items, her dresses and accessories of choice for such prestigious events have always stood out and represented her moral angle. 

For her imminent Oscars dress, consideration were in full swing months before and the designer of choice was East End Gary Harvey renowned for his sustainable collections. The Oscars being, one of the most esteemed events of the year and The Kings Speech predictably taking center stage, all lights and flashbulbs will be bountifully facing in her direction, her dress was always going to be a focal point and a major notch in her green-carpet challenge. 

A selection of the 11 vintage pieces used to make Livia's dress.

So who are you wearing?.... The question asked by Journalists doing the rounds on the red-carpet on Oscars night...

The concept behind her dress as Livia revealved, "Eleven dresses in one, vintage/thrift/charity shop buys all from the era of The King's Speech", At first we must say we thought wow what an incredible idea and to link it with the decade of The King's Speech (1930's) is a nice touch and then.... as  mentioned before the flood of shocked tweets asking the question how could she?.... how could she butcher 11 vintage dresses just just make one? 

If this was 20+ years ago most people would of not battered an eyelid if someone decided to cut up some vintage pieces, but now with the histieria that surrounds vintage and the rarity of finding garments which age such as the 1920's/30's pieces you cannot deny why people objected.  Yes indeed she looked extremely beautiful however &7 also cannot help but think that what is now going to happen to this one dress? we cannot imagine her donning such a stand-out piece again for any awards ceromony so has this now one dress made of 11 to promote stunistainbility infact reversed the idea by the lack of wear?  

&7 also think the design lends itself more so to that of a wedding dress, which in our eyes would be an item to treasure and pass down generations, and therefore the idea or remodeling 11 other dresses would of been a worth while task in that case. when &7 first heard her renounce the origins of her dress we assumed they may of been 11 well-worn, unusable 1930's dresses which were then transformed into a wearable piece, to me that made perfect sense however when we began to explore her blog and discover that some of the dresses appeared to be almost immaculate, it seemed such a shame cut away from the original/classic design and instead create a rather generic looking 'wedding-esque' gown... we would love to know what you think or feel in regards to Livia's choice of Oscar dress?