Brand love: Mrs Pomeranz

Whilst browsing the interwebs earlier for vintage reproduction frocks, I came upon this exciting, vintage-inspired line by a lady of the name of Mrs Pomeranz. What I love about her creations is that she uses vintage sewing methods, top quality fabrics and many of her dresses come with interchangeable collars. Take a look!

First of all, there's the bright and sunny blue shirt-waister with a people-print belt...

          

Then this divine navy blue number with red shirt collar or white lace...

This next dress is so pretty, I'm regretting buying an inferior but similar number from Joules recently...

And finally, this checked shirtwaister with detachable frilly bib (is that the right word?)

The Mrs Pomeranz website is currently undergoing some work, but luckily, all these dresses are available on my new favourite website Pin-Up Polly!

Enjoy!
Kate x

The Kindness of Others

I am constantly amazed by how thoughtful people can be. A lady at work came into my room this morning with an M&S carrier bag, saying that she had something for me. Inside it was a lovely taffeta dress belonging to her grandmother, who died last week, aged 88. She said that when sorting through her things, she'd come across it and couldn't bear to throw it away, so thought of me. It must have been her grandma's 'best' dress, having not had much money in her youth (her mum was so poor after her dad died that she was sent to an orphanage until she was old enough to work), and I'm so touched that someone wanted to give me this part of their family history.

It does make me so glad that I followed my heart into wearing vintage after holding back for so long. I feel that by being myself and not following the crowd, my colleague understood that I would appreciate, care for and do justice to this precious item. Is it me, or is there something about vintage wearers which makes others feel naturally inclined to share, in a variety of ways?

The dress itself is a tad large around the bust, and could do with being taken in a notch. The label inside states 'Percy Trilnick', who owned a store on Regent Street in the 1940s, I believe. A quick google tells me that he was "leader of the British Womens Fashion Trade Export Group in North America, a forty-three year old bachelor. Apparently he was never seen without a white carnation in his button hole."

 Percy Trilnick himself!

I am modelling (badly) this dress with another new acquisition - a Mulberry Ledbury bag, bought unused for half the retail price via a local forum. It's my second Mulberry bag, and I was so upset that my first has to go back for repairs (Mulberry are wonderful and charge pennies for this service) after five years that I decided to cheer myself up in the interim with a replacement! Frivolous, I know, but I have been existing off the same two handbags for 5 years, and I don't have one in black!

Have you ever been gifted something wonderful and vintage out of the blue? I'd love to hear any cheery stories!


Kate xxx

Moving On

Dear readers,

For the millionth time, I am forced to apologise for my absence on the blogging front - maybe a sign saying 'SORRY' should just be my permanent photo?!

Anyhow, these last few weeks have been tough. I have come to the realisation that not only does my boss not like me, but that the school has no intention of promoting me in the near future, as they had heavily 'hinted' at, probably to stop me from moving on. Well, they've shot themselves in the foot there, as I'm applying for other jobs. The aforementioned school have managed to wear down my confidence so much, that I was just looking at regular teaching jobs at first, until the Head of English at a local school asked me why on earth I was underselling myself and nudged me towards applying for Second in Command. Now that's a title I like!

So, this week I have been spending hours filling in application after application, but I am feeling hopeful of a change. Cross your fingers for me!

Thankfully, this weekend is a Bank Holiday, so I get an extra day of not stressing and definitely not thinking about work. The young man and I are currently in Suffolk, mere minutes from the beach, surrounded by 3 acres of fields in a 1930s pink cottage. Heaven.

Even better, there are some great little boutiques dotted along the coastline, and we spent an hour in a vintage shop yesterday, trawling through their wares. Sadly, I didn't find what I was looking for (a 1940s-50s cotton dress), but P's dad managed to pick up some wing tip collars for a song. Later, as we were trawling through Aldeburgh, I came across this sweet floral dress and just had to have it, as I have a christening coming up and nothing to wear...

It reminds me a lot of the Bernie Dexter Chelsea dress, but I find this shape more forgiving on my figure. Obviously, I won't be pairing it with wellies!

Today, we're off to an airfield, then to the pub for Sunday lunch. Apparently, this pub is infamous for the fact that horses wander in without anyone batting an eyelid! You wouldn't find that in London!

Oh and before I forget, I have discovered the wonders of pinning! Take a look...

Toodle-oo!
Kate x

Birthday Delights

Tomorrow, I turn the grand old age of 26. My day will be spent at school, from 8am to 5pm, with the only good thing being the promise of these presents to come home to...

What Katie Did 'Marlene' underwear set from my young man.

Bernie Dexter 'Swan' dress from my mum.

I'd better keep off the cake, then, so I can enjoy them comfortably!!

Have a good week,

Kate x

Disappointment leads to new frontiers...

Remember a few weeks back, when I posted in excitement about buying this pink dress which I'd been watching for months?

Well, after a long wait, it finally arrived two weeks ago. In my state of joy (and slight annoyance that the floral flocking was grubby), I dropped it off at the dry cleaner's on my way back from the post office without trying it on. Big error. I then left the seller some feedback saying that the dress was lovely but noting their communication had been poor. Bigger error. Admittedly, the seller emailed right back (which they hadn't done when I'd contacted to ask where on earth my very late package was) and apologised for their slow communication, but even then, they had said they'd ship in 48 hours, and then waited a week to actually do so. If there is going to be a delay in posting, at the very least, you'd expect a quick email apology.


Upon picking the dress up last week and trying it on, I discovered that the measurements were not 35/27/free as stated on the listing, but at least an inch smaller all round. Too small for me. I emailed the seller straight away about this issue, but (big surprise!) they didn't reply. They've clearly decided that seeing I'd already left feedback, they didn't need to please me any further. Seven days later, I have emailed again, but don't anticipate a response.


Therefore, I have two things to share:

1. If you value good customer service, do not purchase clothes from Very Vintage Store on Etsy.
2. The doors of my very own Etsy shop are now open (Link now works!)! I have listed only a couple of things so far, including the lovely pink dress, but hope to list more in the coming weeks.

And to continue in the theme of disappointment, how gorgeous are these Norman Hartnell suits which I was outbid on at the local auction house?

I was so desperate for the bow jacket and blouse, but a telephone bidder pipped me to them! Oh woe. Hopefully, next time...

I hope everyone is having a fab weekend!

Kate xxxhttp://www.etsy.com/shop/KissMeKateVintage

Om Nom Nahm

It must be a year at least since my last jaunt to a Michelin starred restaurant with the young man. As it's the school holidays, P decided to treat me to lunch at Nahm, which is described as "an inimitable experience – for serious gourmets who value originality and strong, fresh flavours." It was mentioned recently on MasterChef when David Thompson appeared in the semi-final Thailand challenge, and as we love Thai flavours, we opted for Nahm!

The restaurant is situated on the ground floor of the Halkin hotel, just off Belgrade Square, and seeing as we were a bit early, we went for a stroll... only to find that Belgrade Square is locked to commoners like you and I!

Squinting in the sunlight in a vintage dress, Able Grable capelet and vintage pearls.

 Bag - Mulberry

Shoes - Carvela

Belt - Monsoon

Still, we managed a quick hello to Chris Columbus, and off we trotted for lunch.

The first think you notice about Nahm is that the staff are very friendly. They are so attentive and not at all scary like some Michelin-starred service people I could mention... Our waiter recommended a very lovely wine to go with my starter, and we were off!

To start, I had chive cakes with chilli and soy sauce. Disappointingly, one of my chive cakes was over-cooked, and the soy sauce was tremendously overpowering. More wine needed!

Half eaten starter, luckily the second chive cake was better.

For mains, I had a Thai vegetable salad with deep fried banana blossom (the only vegetarian main on the menu). At first, it was heavenly: creamy coconut rice, crunchy veg with a lime zing and crunchy deep-fried banana blossom. But then, about halfway through my main, the sensory onslaught really took its toll and the abundance of herbs and strong flavours made me sluggish and full. I now understand what Michel Roux Jr. means on MasterChef when he says a portion is too big - I never thought it possible until now! P, on the other hand, loved his crab fried rice and chicken soup, and scoffed every last morsel.

And then for dessert! P's choice of moist coconut cake with some sort of posh rice pudding was delicious (minus bits of corn on the cob..?!) but my Thai wafers with meringue, shredded coconut and nuts seemed dry and unbalanced. Slightly disappointing.

However, it all came right at the end of the meal with a nice cup of Earl Grey with a slice of lemon - and would you believe it? The Michelin starred waiter thought you put milk in it! I only asked for lemon because I knew it was the posh thing to do!!

All in all, service was top notch but the food didn't leave me feeling that satisfied, so I think next time we venture for a posh meal, we'll try one of the other gastronomical delights London has to offer.

On the way home, we stopped off at a shop in town called 'The Button Queen' - a specialist in vintage buttons and the place to get anything you're looking for! I still need to re-button my Horrockses dress and luckily for me, they managed to find me some which are very close to the originals, but minus the dirtying with age!

Finally, I was a little bit weak and splurged on another Benetton cardigan - my third so far. I love the  softness of the wool, and the pearl buttons look so ladylike, so with 30% off, I couldn't say no!


Anyhow, I hope everyone has a fab weekend and enjoys the sun!
Kate xxx

Dragging oneself out of the doldrums

I'm ashamed to say that yesterday and the day before that were spent in my pyjamas. Not only in my PJs, but in bed, in my PJs, feeling thoroughly gloomy and not at all industrious. The black cloud had descended.

Now, in my mind, there's two options when this happens. You let the murk settle, or you don't. And when I say don't, I mean whip up a good old storm of activity around it! So, after being plagued by another night of restless sleep and nightmares, I got up this morning, pincurled my hair into an up-do and pondered: "What would Grace Kelly wear?"

You see, to me, Ms Kelly was the epitome of cool, calm, controlled femininity. You wouldn't see a deadline or a horde of teenagers ruffling her pristine feathers, oh no! And as old as it sounds, getting glammed up really does make a world of difference to one's mood. I admit, I wasn't quite in the glamorous bracket today, but compared to the previous day's Paul Frank tee and floral Gambian trousers, I was fit for the palace! Take a look...

 I love this top! It is a cashmere blend and is so soft and snuggly; perfect for cheery-up days!

Glasses inspired by Ms. Kelly herself!

See!

All the best, lovely readers.

Kate xxx