for love of the dress ...

My name is Claire and, unfortunately, my obsession falls into the somewhat predictable realm of vintage. Vintage dresses to be precise. While I do sometimes venture into skirt and cardigan territory, my first love is well and truly the dress. I am confident that this affection has something to do with the hips. When I was sixteen I discovered that this width wasn’t going away. My tummy ain’t too bad, but the hips…well they are out there for the world to see and my only defence against the hips is a good old a-line dress.

So the hips were the reason I discovered the dress, but to uncover the reason for the vintage we would need to write a whole thesis on our times. Don't worry - I'll give you the cliff notes version. Basically, being a teenage girl during the final days of Sex and the City meant I could not escape the vintage. Then there was the eco fashion revolution and every month the pages of my favourite magazines were filled with guides on 'how to green your wardrobe' and then there was Mad Men.

So, as you can see, this little obsession of mine has been unavoidable!

And now I find myself in deep financial trouble because my obsession with the dress (vintage and new alike) has taken over my life. Becky Bloomwood eat your heart out. I have less business acumen then Becky though and the thought of selling my pretty pretty things makes my heart break a little. Just so you know I have tried to sell them. I set up an ebay and etsy account and was ready to make my millions – or at least pay off my credit card – but when it came down to it, giving up my dusty pink 50s day dress was simply NOT AN OPTION.

You are waiting for an explanation for why I have started this blog and thankfully I have finally come to it. I can not spend any more money on my love of vintage. Not until I have paid off my credit card at least. So what am I going to do???

So glad you asked. My plan is to do my shopping here. Among other things this blog will be my virtual dressing room and ultimate wish list.

I am not a vintage snob, so you will find the odd dress which is less than 20 years old (ShockHORROR), but I do have a certain aesthetic which means I regularly receive the following compliment “That is totally mad-men.” This is fine by me, because I actually dress with that compliment in mind. Joan is my hero!

Thank you for being patient and reading my long, long explanation for why I am taking up this tiny bit of the world wide universe. I hope you enjoy this vintage dressing room and hope that it helps you to find an excuse each and every day to be just a-little-bit-vintage!