Maximum Style Minimum Effort

Getting all dressed up is great fun. I love vintage and retro dresses with fantastic prints or teaming that perfect shirt with a sharp pair of trousers. But sometimes there are days when it's just all too much effort and all you want to do is sling on jeans and a t shirt.

Today I am having one of those days. I would like you to imagine that I am sat at the laptop tapping away elegantly dressed in a 50s summer dress complete with petticoat and heels, but I'm not, in fact I'm still in my pyjamas (at 11am! Nooo!) But when I do get dressed and venture out into the rain I shall be making sure no one knows I can't be bothered today with the addition of a few old favourite accessories.

A good bag, belt, maybe a scarf, can transform a boring old outfit into something exciting and glamorous. At least to the casual observer.

So here's my top pick of 5 great vintage accessories to jazz up an outfit on a can't be bothered day....


Bad Hair Day? Get a hat! On days when you can't even pluck up the energy to wash your hair this fantastic 1940s dark brown velvet beret, just £18 from Candy Says will make sure you keep looking stylish!





Jazz up any outfit by belting in your waist with a bright red vintage belt. This 1980s Country Casuals belt is from Retro Chick and is just £6.99. The bright colour and funky buckle will create a focal point for the most boring can't be bothered style.



Every girl needs to take their handbag with them, so if you can't be bothered today, why not grab a statement bag to keep all your essentials together for instant style points. This seriously cute red and blue 1960s handbag is from Damn Good Vintage and costs $40.


Last but not least consider the humble scarf. Wrap it round your neck, tie it to your handbag, cover up a bad hair day or whip up an impromptu evening top out of it it's super versatile and a great way of crow barring some essential fashion trends into your wardrobe when you just really can't be bothered! This vintage 1970s Stork print scarf from Retro Chick picks up on this seasons trend for whimsical animal prints and will keep your neck warm all at the bargain price of £4.99.


Of course, accessories have their place in a well thought out, glamorously put together outfit too, but I can't be the only one who can't always be bothered? Or am I!?

Avon Empowering Women

Today I received my Avon empowerment bracelet. It's a simple elasticated blue bracelet with a silver plated infinity symbol and costs just £1.50. 80% of the profits from it's sale go to Refuge, the national charity supporting women and children who experience domestic violence.The other 20% go into Avons newly created Avon Empowerment Fund.

The Avon Empowerment Fund has been set up as a public private partnership with UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and will contribute $1million to the UNIFEM-managed UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women.

I'm all for the empowerment of women and this is a lovely bracelet and at only £1.50 is a great way to demonstrate your solidarity with this important cause and donate money in the process.

Women across the world are still more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence, poverty and malnourishment. On a global scale they are less likely to have control over their own economic, political and personal destinies than the men in their communities and any chance to help redress this balance is worth showing support for.

Reese Witherspoon, Avons Global Spokewoman is also honorary chair of the fund and has this to say about it.

“As honorary chair of the Avon Foundation, I’m very excited to introduce Avon’s first global charity product designed to save and improve women’s lives worldwide.

Purchase the Women’s Empowerment Bracelet for yourself and your friends. It’s a symbol of unity that represents a future without limitations for all women. It represents everything I love about this company.

Bracelet proceeds will be used to create a new Avon Empowerment Fund. The first $500,000 from bracelet sales will be matched by the Avon Foundation for a total donation of $1 million to UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, for projects that will empower women around the world.

Show your support, show your solidarity, show off your bracelet.”

Women can make sure they empower themselves by taking responsibility for their own education and economic stability and that of other women in their lives.

Some great resources and further reading in the following links.
UNFPA
Rights of Women
Empowering women with ICT
Empowering women at work
Empowering women for participation in Democratic Politics in Sierra Leone
Spiritual Self Empowerment

Gifts for Girls

Summer always seems to be a time when a lot of gift buying required. An abnormal amount of birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and baby showers all seem to fall between the months of May to September, when hopefully there will be a little break before the Christmas shopping frenzy begins!

Gift buying is a minefield, you don't want to look cheap and spend too little, but also you don't want to spend every penny you have on something that is going to get lost in a huge pile of expensive gifts piled upon the recipient.

It might sound obvious, but I think so many people often forget that the key to successful gift giving is *thought* not money (though money can help...)!

I'm a big one for putting together little gift boxes for people full of little things I think they'd like. A selection of whiskey miniatures, individually chosen and beautifully wrapped with love and tasting notes will stand out more and be more memorable to a whiskey lover than a full sized bottle of Macallan, for instance.

A variation on this kind of thing is these gorgeous little mini kits from running press. I've got a selection of them for sale in the Retro Chick shop. Personally I would group them together with some other beautiful things, but I think they make a really good starting point for a thoughtful gift.

So seeing as I've got some time on my hands today here's some quicky suggestions for beautiful gift boxes for beautiful people :o)

If you know someone who is going through a break up or having "relationship issues" then maybe the Boyfriend Replacement Chocolate Recovery Bath would help? It's a great retro styled box with a booklet of tips for getting over your ex and chocolate scented bath goodies and a candle.


Continue the chocolate theme while making sure she gets her vitamins with these gorgeous fairtrade chocolate mango pieces from Cocoa Loco.


Pop it all in a funky dotty gift bag with a bottle of fizz and hopefully you'll cheer her up for long enough to offer you a piece of Mango!





For an unusual retro birthday gift, particularly good for a milestone birthday, why not opt for this gorgeously vintage styled Teacher Family Lemonade Kit. It contains instructions, straws a mini juicer and little wooden scoop for sugar as well as a For Sale sign for setting up your very own roadside Lemonade stand.


Pop some Lemons, a little bag of fair trade sugar and this funky vintage 50s Lemonade set in a box and then wrap the whole thing up in this funky lemon print wrapping paper that won't get lost in the pile!







Know someone who's going travelling? Maybe a Gap Year, or just a summer holiday. Not normally an opportunity for gift giving, but if you're feeling particularly thoughful or they're going for a long time this Dirty Girl on the Go Travel kit is a fab centre piece. It contains lip balm, luggage tags, an illustrated travel journal and a handy lily scented towelette, perfect for keeping fresh on the go and making sure you don't lose your luggage!


Get her some luxury travel size toiletries, a funky Radley passport cover and package it all up in a gorgeous vintage suitcase for a gift that will make sure they remember you no matter how long their travels!

Festival Fashion

Festival season is upon us. You can tell this as it hasn't stopped raining for the last week.

This year I probably won't be attending any festivals, lack of cash, means I can't afford the increasingly expensive ticket prices of the main festivals, Glastonbury, Reading and V, though there is always the chance I might choose to attend a smaller one at the last minute!

If you are cooler, braver and/or richer than me and ARE attending one or all of the festivals this year then you'll be planning your capsule wardrobe I'm sure....

Festival fashion has moved on from the days when bin bags taped up to your knees was de rigeur for a rain spattered Glastonbury and photos of Kate Moss and her ilk looking glamorous, yet casual in wellies and hot pants has raised the bar for everyone. But how do you look stylish without a VIP lounge and flushing toilets?

If you're camping you'll want to pack light, you'll have to lug everything you have half way across the site, possibly in mud, so you don't want a suitcase on wheels! My focus here is on looking stylish, so skimming quickly over your essential easy eating lightweight foods, tents, sleeping bags, bin bags and toilet roll, I would reckon that these are essentials to keep you feeling cool and relatively presentable, regardless of the weather.

• Baby wipes - Lots of them; I once cleaned up 2 very muddy cold miserable friends with a tub of these after they had been photographed rolling in the mud for the cover of the NME. They laughed when they saw I had them on arrival.
• Dry shampoo or talc and a comb - greasy hair feels rank. Keep it tied up or take an alice band
  
• Deodorant- obviously. I'd go with a spray rather than roll on.
• Multi purpose make up - You don't want much, but who wants to go bare faced? A foundation stick or concealer, mascara and lippy to double up as a blusher is all you need
• Moisturiser - When you wake up feeling awful, in a tent after a night of excess this will help bring back some humanity.

So as long as you are feeling vaguely clean, you'll want to not look like a total mess. With the British weather you need to be prepared. Long sleeves in light fabrics can be warm in the chill and keep you safe from the sun, if there is any. A pair of flip flops or gladiator sandals are lightweight to stick in a bag in case of sun, and a pair of wellies are an essential must for 6 foot of mud after 3 weeks of rain, they are also easy to slip on for late night toilet trips, ugh.

If anyone has any amazing hints and tips for being the belle of the ball then I'd be delighted to hear them. Every little helps!

Here's my top 2 festival outfits, one for sunny weather and one for the rain.


If this sun is shining this vintage 1970s Long sleeved floral maxi dress, £19.99 from Retro Chick has splits up the side for a flash of leg and ease of movement and long sleeves for protection from the sun and to keep you warm into the evening.

Skip the fussy accessories and just add a chunky carved bangle from Retro Chick, comfy but funky gladiator sandals £35 from Top Shop, A hippy tooled leather waist belt $48 from Urban Outfitters
Pick a roomy leather satchel bag to carry all your essentials round in. This one is $795 from J Crew but you can pretty much buy identical ones in vintage stores everywhere!



When the rain starts falling we hope it's not going to last.

This vintage floral shift dress, £14.99 from Retro Chick means if the sun does come out you won't be stuck sweating in a big heavy jumper, team it with leggings to keep your pins warm, vintage gloves for warm fingers to hold your beer and a pair of funky wellies, these are from Joules Clothing and cost £19.

A hooded trench will shield you from the rain and keep you warm and snuggly for £65 from Top Shop, then the final essential is the bag big enough for your toilet roll and baby wipes, £35 from Top Shop.