Tea at Vien Vintage

I have had some technological problems, my little Mac and BT broadband wireless does not get on which means it is impossible to upload my photographs. But I have decided to press on regardless.  Recently I have found myself spending more time in Crystal Palace.  A bout of flu, tiredness and a certain sense of ennui have taken over. I couldn’t even get myself to Soho last weekend which shows how bad things have been. Even the V&A Cecil Beaton late event couldn’t get me South of the River!

Steadily the Palace continues to get better from a vintage point of view and I like to pop up for lunch, mooch about the markets and vintage shops then grab a glass of wine at one of the many pubs. Recently I have bought a brand new Royal Worcester egg cobbler in a charity shop, a lovely pair of vintage earrings in Haynes Lane and a Stratton compact case with a design of top hat and gloves in Vien. Yesterday I saw a fantastic 50’s occasional table with a design of cocktail shakers and martini glasses; if only I had a home to put it in! If I get my own house I could decorate the whole place from the Palace’s pavements and yards.

 

Vien vintage interior (photography copyright design for life blog)

The Palace is not, mercifully, the East End it; is so much nicer and has a communal bohemian feel that has been eradicated in many other areas. As a result many businesses seem to have a social purpose as well as a commercial one. Bambino’s the bric a brac and collectable shop now spews people drinking coffee and nestling amongst the second hand items spread over the street.  Vien has opened a small, chic tearoom into the back of its store on the same road offering a more refined but equally welcome chance to refuel.

Tea room Vien Vintage

I popped into Vien yesterday, it can always be relied on to have some good vintage stock and I am keeping my eyes open for a fifties day dress, something that on my last few visits they have  had in stock. Unfortunately pulling the dresses aside I managed to demolish an entire rack of frocks! Still they were very nice about it, and I took the opportunity to sit down, catch my breath and have a nice cup of Earl Grey.  Sadly they didn’t have a dress for me, there was a lovely mint never worn and still labelled fifties German day dress which I liked but my cheese eating habits meant the waist was a tiny bit too tiny.  As ever with the vintage market it is a case of repeatedly popping in to see what turns up. It was nice to have a chat with Vivien Bartholomew the proprietor and dealer who runs the place. I have been known to be unkind about vintage clothing dealers but Vien charges the right price for the clothes (many around the £50) which are clean, carefully chosen (no kilo sale raids here) and honestly presented. I’m also appreciative of  a lack of preciousness because whilst there are plenty of authentic collectable vintage pieces (including a beautiful 30s/40s patterned navy day dress) there are also a few gothabilly fifties style new items. In addition, for about £80.00 there are some twenties inspired dresses made from antique lace and vintage fabrics which I was impressed by and that are made under Vien’s own label. I have never seen any reason why new, reworked and vintage should not be side by side as long as the provenance is clear; I think it works.

Vivien, Vien proprietor in her shop.

On Sunday I will be in the Palace yet again, having my marmalade hair set for a wedding fair (the closest I expect I will ever get to matrimony!) and I am hoping the sun will be shining again. Yesterday the view across London was lovely (the second highest vantage point in London) and the place was full of locals enjoying their drinks in the sun. 

Vintage Vien online shop: here

Vintage Vien Samadhi tea shop: here

Bad times may be just around the corner - but we could just cheer up!

Various controversies rage and then go away and rear their heads once more. Body image, sexism, ageism are things that are like an itch, we scratch ‘em but they keep on coming back. The problem is that in seeking to find a plaster for every sore we often miss the point and in my case there are always a lot of ‘sore’ points. In the general scheme of things our gripes as  western woman are indeed minor compared to our sisters in more difficult regions of the world, on the other hand those women are not what we should be comparing ourselves to. We should compare ourselves to the situation of blokes, here, in our own country.  But we don’t, we compare ourselves neither to less privileged women nor to everyone else but to each other and then find ourselves lacking.

Time perhaps to stop hitting ourselves over the head, to stop being miserable and to stop sharing our miseries automatically and electronically with the whole world. It should be share the love and laughs, not share the angst and ennui. I’m not referring to when things go really pear shaped and a bit of a rant, a few tears or bit of sympathy from your mates is required. I’m also not talking about clinical depression or bi-polar conditions. These are ironically more common than our parents or our grandparents would have admitted yet actually far less common than we think. A very few of my friends suffer from these and they know who they are. I am becoming a bit frustrated at a fashion for misery in those who are really just, well, living life. Because, like most fashions it rubs off and really, as so far this year has been a bit rubbish I could do without it. We all have to deal with real causes of unhappiness, illness, bereavement and broken hearts. Why freak out over life in general, our looks and our perceived ‘lessness’? Could we not be magpie like and select some vintage attitudes to match our best frocks? I am of course cherry picking here but why not? We cherry pick the positive things stylistically from the past all the time.  So here goes, inspirations to ‘woman – up’ from the past, I would be interested in anything anyone would add:

The 1910’s.  The Suffragettes saw being feminine and feminist as flip sides of the same shilling. I think they would be horrified to see young women starving themselves on purpose for their looks when they were on hunger strikes or being force fed for equal rights. We need to register the fact that the current government are very particularly attacking women and get angry about that, not the fact we have bingo wings, are not slim enough or have the odd wrinkle. Being a woman is a bloody good thing to be, adjustments not required.

The 1920’s.  Mass unemployment, depression and the realisation that industrialisation and capitalism could make you poor as well as rich. But it was also an age of speed, of deco, of style and the Charleston.  Sod constantly worrying about mortgages, salary freezes, lack of promotion and austerity, pour a drink, put on some jazz and dance. We have the whole world to listen to and dance with.

The 1930’s.  Most women still lived proscribed, limited lives as household drudges. But the movies and their stars offered glamour and escapism and it began to rub off on female expectations. Heroines in films were sassy and even ambiguous.  Finding your man was still important but being a journalist, a writer or an artist was also desirable. Using your brains and your talents still is, more important than glossy locks or a toned botty. Women in the 30's dreamed of escaping, we have every opportunity to do so.

The 1940’s. War, deprivation, death, rationing and possibly the most miserable period possibly to be alive in and what did our nans do? Rolled up their sleeves, put on their red lippy, danced to Glen Miller and fought a war. All we have to do is stop whinging and stop allowing ourselves to be down trodden by elements who, to be quite frank, are a lot less intimidating than the Nazis.

The 1950’s.  Society tried to put us back in our domestic box. But even the WI rebelled over rationing and government strictures. New fridges and ovens turned out to be helpful but really not enough to fulfill women who’d built bombs and put out fires. Jazz clubs, rock n roll, teenagers and beatniks appeared.  Proved that if you have the chutzpah you can wear a big fluffy dress, a bullet dress and still kick ass. So why are we now apologising for our femininity and allowing ourselves to be either coerced into fabric coffins or dressing our daughters up in a million shades of pink?

The 1960’s. We may have been over sexualised but at least it was our sexuality. The pill gave us the chance not to become mating machines and the legalisation of terminations gave us some choice over our futures. Don’t fall for the biological clock myth and become a mother if you want to, or not.  All this deranged depilation, obsessive tweaking, branding and face carving is a sign that certain interests want us self-hating. Why sneer at wags and ex-glamour models when there is so much else that deserves a bit of hate? Female mutilators and people traffickers for example?

The 1970’s. An age of Watneys beer, sexism, violence on the terraces and power strikes. Yet the period also say women running governments, Golda Meir, Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher.  The chance to slug beer from the bottle, wear big boots, pierce your nose and stick your fingers up at anyone who didn’t like it was grasped quickly by some. But although it seems like some kind of Gene Hunt peopled nightmare decade it also saw a steady increase in female presence in almost all spheres accompanied by a Spare Rib tendency to shout at inequalities and a stoic strength. We spend so much time looking inwards we are taking our eyes off of the ball here. Glass ceilings, lower salaries, sexual harassment and lack of representation in business and politics are not what women in this decade anticipated 30 years on.

The 1980’s. Two major recessions, the Miners’ and Dockers’ strikes. Things were grim in the 80’s. At the same time they were wildly imaginative, you could go to a party as a pirate, a nun in a see-through habit or just yourself.  Alternatively you could wear a pie crust blouse and pearls or arrogantly swig champagne in your power suit. This was not a homogenous decade, we were not all scrabbling about trying to be super yummy mummy and professionally satisfied employee. Talk about making a cross and then crucifying ourselves on it.

I’m not sweetness and light and fairy cakes myself but perhaps it does come with old bag status; the acceptance that whilst life can be rubbish it is also rather wonderful. I think that perhaps in the early 20^th century the sense of entitlement that seems to be a problem now wasn’t there as much. This entitlement has been creeping up on us slowly since the 1960’s but seems to be virtually epidemic now. We don’t have a right to happiness or anything else. But I have always agreed with Buddhists in suggesting that we owe it to ourselves and others to make as much happiness as we could. Our predecessors did not accept their lot, but whilst enduring it seemed to make the most of what they could. So rather than enhancing my sense of self- worth or content via vintage style and looks in this post I am proposing a bit of vintage/retro 'get – happy'. I apologise if I sound a bit like a preachy Jehovah’s witness! Also this has been a bit gender-centric but to be honest that is because the chaps, to their credit, don't tend to subscribe to a lot of this self loathing.

'Style Me Vintage, Clothes: A Guide to Sourcing and Creating Retro Looks'

 

I must admit that when I buy books about fashion or design they tend to be monographs about particular designers or art and design history related. This makes sense as I have a degree in Art History. I haven’t really been tempted by many of the guides to vintage/shabby chic/retro style type tomes, partially because I am probably past needing them having hopefully learnt from my many mistakes. However there are a couple of things that put me off some of those already published.  One is that advising me to look out for vintage Dior or pieces of collectable Ossie Clarke is just  pointless, I don’t have the money and if I wanted to know about them I would refer to a fashion historian not some vintage ‘expert’. Another is styling, I hate seeing that gawky modern fashion pose and gormless stare beloved by the contemporary fashion world combined with a thirties day dress. Also I don’t like ‘fancy dress’ styling, you know sticking someone in a wig or having them throw a ‘pin-up pose’.  The final thing is tone, that ‘imperious’ assertion that certain things have to be worn in a certain way because that is 'how it was done' in some past decade that often rears it's head is the worst. As a historian that really peeves me.  Or you get the breathy amateur approach which is to writing what cup cakes are to baked goods.  You can imagine that it is with trepidation I received Naomi Thompson’s new book: 'Style Me Vintage, Clothes: A Guide to Sourcing and Creating Retro Looks.' She is a friend and I know she knows her stuff, but publishers and editors can wreak havoc on even the sanest prose; happily I am impressed.

The author in her cossie.

The book is part of a set of publications which aim to help introduce elements of vintage style, sort of how to ‘be vintage’ or ‘buy vintage’ or even just ‘look vintagy’ and with it’s pretty design and light touch it is, I feel  very accessible to people just dipping their toes into polkadot-infested waters. However the dainty booklook is a bit of a Trojan horse because slipped into its pages is a lot of serious, useful and downright educational material. For example the vital details about checking for holes, inspecting armpits and counting the buttons are clearly explained. The dodgy element of vintage; the pitfalls of being conned into paying for a ‘vintage’ dress that has overlocking, a zip, and care instructions are all mentioned.  This is however nestled away in the recesses of text that expresses the author’s enthusiasm for enjoying clothes and her tone is friendly and conspiratorial rather than didactic, something emphasised by the occasional reference to her own life experiences. Naomi tends to enthuse about all the enjoyment to be had styling clothes rather than elucidating rules or condemning any particular approach. The whole point is not to slavishly follow some cult of 'what is vintage' but to find your own way, something this slim volume somewhat subversively encourages.  Possibly that is why she has kindly included this blog in the resources section of the book. If her publishers are interested in 'Style Me Vintage: The Dark Side' they know where to find me!

Fleur in swirl dress

The book is divided up into decades, and covers vintage fashion (20’s – 60’s) and retro collectable fashions (70’s – 80’s). The book also provides useful advice on accessories. The aim seems to be more to give readers a general feel for the things that condense the feel of a period. What is refreshing here is the use of real enthusiasts as models, not just some volunteers who work for the publishers which has been the case with some previous books on the subject.  This works because the clothes are worn by ordinary women who love them. Christina Wilson's photographs for the book are lovely and it would not let the top of anyone's coffee table down.  The poses quote the eras discussed and the magazine-like punchy page design gives the impression of a book you dip in and out of rather than having to study and digest.  What I particularly appreciated was that whilst Naomi stresses the uniqueness, history, collectability and high quality of  genuine vintage the usefulness of good repro brands and regular trawls of High Street stores is also mentioned. That makes this book useful to those who may not be able to afford authentic vintage or live in areas where markets and fairs are not readily accessible. This egalitarian approach is reflected by the fact that the book refers the reader to vintage dealers, repro brands and resources they can use to find their own way into styles from the past. 

Gemma

If I have any criticism it is that this book could have been longer but as it is the volume is useful, well written and has considerable charm. I don’t think that anyone could read it and not be tempted to invest in, at the very least, a pair of gloves or a vintage brooch.

It can be purchased from good bookshops or via Amazon here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Style-Me-Vintage-Sourcing-Creating/dp/1862059365

2012: A vintage year or just a load of old jumble? Mystic Minn predicts.

The estimable Katie Chutzpah has suggested that 2012 will be better than 2011 if only because it sounds more stylish; ‘TwentyTwelve’ does have the ring of fashionable brand name. So far however I am distinctly underwhelmed. Certainly the Chinese dragon that is supposed to bring good fortune and wealth is not doing its job.  It feels like a good old fashioned English dragon so far, belching noxious fumes across my life, picking at its claws and deterring any knights in shining armour. Admittedly the Chinese year has not been here for long and dragons are infamously temperamental. But what of our own no more scientific traditional astrological system? What does this year hold in store for us? Well I have gone through several ‘respectable’ horoscope sites and one almanac and I present to you: 2012, A vintage year or just plain rubbish?

Aquarius.  Beware of moths in your tweed, bugs in your bed and squatters of indeterminate origin in your garden shed. When under pressure LSD may help. A good year for flamboyance, so now might be the time for Aquarian ladies to buy a big poufy 50’s skirt. Chaps may try multi-coloured brogues,but best not combine the wearing of these with the LSD.

Pisces. Neptune your ruler is in your house (hopefully not squatting in the shed).  You will be right all the time but no one listens. A good year for consuming huge amounts of cava or gin and crying into your duvet. Especially good for Piscean perverts. Beware of shoes and feet in general: travel barefoot on a mobility bike and don’t talk to chiropodists.

Aries. Gambling is a good activity this year and any winnings should be invested in gadgets. Whilst steam punk goggles and Theremins will endear you to your friends beware of buying a new Ipad and boring your companions to death. Something will fall on your head; possibly a bit of satellite.  Also ghosts find you appealing, creepy.

Taurus. This is a gaudy year. Brightly coloured cord trousers and luridly dyed lady locks are necessary. Acquire precious gems wherever possible. Ladies may become engaged, gents may engage in cat burglary. A good year to cross-dress.  Gets a bit dodgy in December, best stay indoors for the month.  Things tied up with knots are good so perhaps pass the time with a bit of light bondage?

Gemini.  Spiky things must be avoided along with all sharp objects. Please eat your dinner with a big plastic spoon lest you injure yourself or others. You need to be careful with money but horses will bring you luck so perhaps a small bet on the Derby? Sporting events are starred, so remember to enter the Chap Olympiad. Peas are dangerous, very dangerous. Oh and someone loves you, secretly. Best check you are not being followed home from the bus stop.

Cancer. This is the party year. You should chase the sun, wear bananas and do a Carmen Miranda impression. If male you should smoke cigars and choose loud Hawaiian shirts. House work is very unlucky so avoid it. Something will bite you, don’t bite back. In fact don’t get into any fights because although you seem friendly you are apparently a bit of a thug and quite frankly I'd like to keep you in the sunshine, in broad sunlight, where we can all see you.

Leo. This is potentially the year of delhi belly and problems ‘down below’ so avoid those kebabs. When not on the loo however you will be very attractive to others. Bed-hopping may of course lead to the problems ‘down below’ so you will develop natural wisdom, or wear iron knickers. Start playing an instrument, if nothing else it will distract you. Also don't go North, pointless advice really as it seems you'll spend most of the year 'south'.

Virgo. This year you may find yourself being a bit manic, please sit down, have a nice cup of tea and calm down. A good year for country pursuits, as long as this doesn’t include shooting everything that moves or joining a drinking excursion in Newquay. Painting would be a good thing to take up (this obviously includes painting your nails or the town red).  Food is a good idea, as opposed to it being a bad idea, not sure what kind of food, sausages?

Libra.  This is the year for a major overhaul of appearance and style. You should also spend the first part of the year saving. As a result you will be able to afford plastic surgery or a decent Savile Row suit. This is a good year for body modification and tattoos.  Do not join any Cults, even if they offer you a free pen and a fried breakfast.

Scorpio. This is a year with a distinct risk of community service so don’t commit any crimes until 2013. You will have a lot of fun with a cad or scarlet woman or both depending on your proclivities. Do not under any circumstances get engaged (particularly watch out for Taureans) or sit under trees in storms although if you have the choice I'd plump for the latter.  Black and white things bring you luck (badgers? Zebras? Zebra crossings?).

Sagittarius.  A year of education and the perfect time to pick up a new skill.  All things furry and hairy are good: might I suggest taxidermy? Or an affair with a very hairy man or woman? You could grow a moustache. A hat brings you luck. Fish are dangerous. As are shoes (again). So a hairy person in a hat with no shoes and no kippers. I suspect you'll need to go to Hoxton.

Capricorn. Oh dear. This is a year for giving up bad habits. Particularly smoking, drinking, overeating and ‘habitual bad life choices’.  On the other hand you have to have these problems to give them up so you need to start smoking, drinking and screaming at barmen in Soho post-haste. It is also a very healthy year, which just goes to show that fags, tequila and a few nights in a cell have their own bracing qualities.

Obviously these predictions are all nonsensical but they have all been culled from actual predictions before being adapted (ie small spherical objects = peas). Should any of this come to pass it will be your own fault and nothing to do with Mystic Minn or Redlegsinsoho. Having said that if you want to bung me fifty quid for your own personal tailored nonsense I am quite happy to help out, especially as I want to buy a new dress. I can cast the prunes and read tea leaves too. I also have a crystal ballcock. xxx

Vintage Beauty Spa: La Belle Jolie

Paint 'em red, jungle red..

There have been a raft of cottage industries, little businesses and concerns that have opened up on the back of a so-called vintage boom. A few are excellent, many are so so and and not a few are rubbish. In any case we now seem to be over served in some quarters, we need no more fascinators, little patchwork brooches or cupcakes. An area in which this is not the case is in hairstyling and beauty where we have to scrabble around to find good hairdressers.  A fair few can style hair for a night out or apply make-up, but far fewer can actually colour and cut hair. Most of us can manage to style hair (or sort of in my case) out of necessity not having the time or the lucre to pay someone to do it for us but only the brave would cut their hair. The rarity of retro friendly hairstylists boils down to the need for real skills, practice and commitment, it is not enough to be a bit crafty, unlike most retro inclined businesses. As for vintage beauty, it has very much become a self-help area, with men and women sharing tips and harassing their elderly relatives for advice.  But beauticians, rather like good hairdressers need good qualifications and training. They also need an understanding of science, anatomy and hygiene systems. I'm afraid a couple of NVQ's don't cut it. Three years of college does. A cowboy salon can, quite literally, harm you. Not surprising then that rather like hairdressers, vintage inspired beauty therapists have been hard to find.

Fortunately though an actual beauty spa with a vintage inspired ethos and theme has just opened in Anerley, right around the corner from Crystal Palace Station (mainline and overground) and very close to the vintage hub that is the Palace these days. It is called La Belle Jolie.

Le Belle Jolie reception.

The proprietor is Ruby Rose who is fully trained and accredited masseuse, beautician, make up artist and hair dresser (although the salon will only offer hair styling for now). She has years of experience in the field. All well and good, London is heaving with beauty salons, so what?

The difference as you walk in is immediate, decorated in soft minky tones using wall paper with Swarovski crystals you are greeted by a burst of Cole Porter from speakers disguised as old wireless sets. The dressing table is Deco, vintage pin boxes and a mini-museum of an antique hair styling apparatus and cosmetics decorate the shelves.  The tendency (also delightful) with retro hair salons has been to adopt a candy coloured late forties - fifties ethos. Ruby has gone more for a 20s/30s age of glamour feel helped by the fact that her shop is in a victorian building. If you were the kind of girl who liked fiddling with her gran's pots, potions and curlers you'll love it. 

Treatment room.

Treatment room.

The treatment room in the back whilst still retro has the feel of a luxe boutique hotel, flickering nightlights and dusky plum walls create a very relaxing space. I am already imagining an aromatherapy massage, with a carefully selected oil, perhaps something redolent of a hot Hollywood evening and Ella Fitzgerald singing gently in the background.  

Reception area.

Deco dressing table.

Bits and pieces.

Ruby is adamant, and I think she is correct, that her aim is to provide high quality, personalised treatment to any customers, whether they are involved in the retro world or not. There is nothing in the place that would intimidate or deter your average South London lady. However from the point of view of someone like me the appeal is largely the fact that I can use the words pincurl, half-moon manicure, Harlow, victory roll, marcel wave, betty bangs and vintage scent without having to embark on a 20 minute explanation. Also I know I am not going to be assaulted by Rihanna warbling in the back ground or eye grinding lighting. I took the pictures with my mobile phone and they don't do the place justice but they give you an idea. I'll admit that Ruby is a friend of mine, and I suspect quite a few people reading this also know her as she has been on the scene, as far as there is one for years. This is therefore not a bandwagon jumping exercise but the fulfilment of a long cherished dream.

Ruby kindly turned me into a ginger Betty Draper.

Future plans include the opening of a further treatment room downstairs and a workshop area so Ruby can teach groups. The back garden/terrace will be turned into a hot tub space. She will also be launching a range of skincare, some of which employ vintage elements. The scented deodorant that comes with it's own little powder puff, the paraffin/petrol free creams that kept our granny's skin so clear, along with modern ingredients.  Ruby is hoping to hold workshops teaching people how to make their own skincare using ingredients from their store cupboard and elsewhere. Not sure I could do that, I don't think soy sauce, taco chips and wine gums would get me far! I must admit there is something very anglo saxon about me so I have never had a facial in my life. However I believe that a little pampering goes a long way. The problem is I don't like salons, the type I would like are often out of my price range and I cannot relax in a room full wipe clean formica and a photographs of adolescents smiling sweetly at me from the walls. Photographs of pin curled starlets, 20's jazz and glasses of champagne I can cope with masochist that I am!

The stylish lady herself.

La Belle Jolie is open Weds - Sunday, with late nights on Weds and Thurs. Ruby is keen to meet any vintage ladies or gents on the loose in the area and their non-vintage chums. So if you are around pop in, she has lots of introductory offers, and tea. To find it. leave Crystal Palace Station, turn left when you get to the main road and it is about 3 mins walk.

She can be contacted here: info@labellejolie.com
Tel: 020 7018 1209
website: http://www.labellejolie.com

Hours	Wed - Thu: 11:00 - 21:00 Fri: 11:00 - 19:00 Sat - Sun: 10:00 - 18:00

Parking	Street

Merry Christmas from London!

Do have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year, no matter where you are and whatever religion you have or don't have. Thank you for reading, as I have no sponsorship, nothing to give away and nothing to sell I appreciate it all the more. A very special thanks to those who commented on posts and hello to new followers. An aloha to those who I have met in person too. Please take care and have a great time. I won't be posting much over the festive season as I will be busy, hopefully, being festive. Meanwhile, Cheers!

2011: champagne bar or wheelie bin?!

It has been a bit of a curate’s egg, 2011. Parts of it have been very stressful others delightful. For me the worst thing was without doubt the Japanese Tsunami which upset me deeply, I am relieved my friends and their families are safe but feel for those less lucky.  The riots earlier in the year simply made me very angry, London is my city and I wish there were some way of simply evaporating those rioting morons out of it forever. The continued popularity of dire reality television and Cheryl Cole make me despair.

However there have been many good things; most of my friends and family have managed to stay healthy and sane. Some new little friends have arrived; hallo baby(s) Erin, Sophie, Veronica, Iris, Johnny and little Mason over in Seattle.  Here, like many others I am nominating things this year that I have personally liked/disliked about the past year. I know it is an unimaginative thing to do, I should really film myself as a bacon fairy torching a reindeer but I am frankly quite tired! So instead my own variation on the dreaded end of year list: Those that belong in the 'champagne bar' and others that deserve to be put in a 'wheelie bin'.

The champagne bar.

Good ‘vintage’ businesses. Because they have proved that if you do something well and with conviction you can rise above the plethora of risible so-called vintage businesses out there. Amongst the good examples this year have been: The Vintage Patisserie, HeydayClothing, Rockalily Lipsticks, Vivien of Holloway, Toprunway, Rocket Originals, What Katie Did and Able Grable . All are surviving the downturn and will survive the bursting of the ‘vintage’ bubble. Thanks for feeding/clothing/improving  me.

Dress from Heyday.

Barflying. It has been a good year for the cocktail bar. Too many have opened /refurbished for me to mention and I am glad as someone who does not really drink beer and is picky about wine to have alternatives. Along with a growth in the number of places taking cocktails seriously the attention to interior design and lux imbibing is appreciated. Subscribe to Diffords or follow Keith Barker Main to find out where to go. My favourite cocktail of 2011? The Twinkle.

The Beaufort Bar at the Savoy

Eurofood. My favourite food this year has mainly been Spanish particularly of the ham/cheese/mushroomy variety. Despite continuing to be fairly poorly for much of the year I have found the small, flavoursome dishes to be perfect and in London these days tapas bars have really upped their game. Sunshine lunches outside Dehesa with girlfriends are a perfect method for passing a summer afternoon. The most fun I have had in the winter has been long meals at Gastro in Clapham, snails in pernod and loads of wine.

Gastro Clapham

Small stylish clubbing. Best new club night of the year for me was the Candlelight Club, Clayton Hartley’s prohibition inspired speakeasy. Other promoters have jumped on this bandwagon but without the enthusiasm, interest and friendly hordes of this night. And you get sandwiches, and cocktails. The other things I enjoyed were the Society Club’s cinema nights at the Sanctum hotel and their shop/café counts as my opening of the year. Somewhere in Soho with dogs, smarts, friendly people and cakes? It’s a no brainer really. The Vintage Mafia Sale and Socials at the Loveshake were also a right giggle and some nice people got some storming and very cheap new togs.

The Candlelight Club.

Period dramas on television, especially the adaptation of the Crimson Petal and the White. Now Downton abbey might be laughable but its massive popularity and the kerching of the international tills means we will get more period drama. And with Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire and Mildred Pierce the 20th century was well covered too. Whilst you could say that TOWIE is Dickensian in its own way it, and its stablemates are dire lazy television. I would much rather have my escapism in a bonnet and my eye candy in breeches thank you very much.

Romola Garai in The Crimson Petal and the White.

The removal of bendy buses. How strange and fancy that: people travelling without paying the fare were also the people stealing your wallet, vomiting on their feet, fighting and not giving elderly ladies seats. Now you can sit down and mind your own business. Unless you are on the 29 which is iredeemable.

A bendy bus.

London cheek. Perhaps it is down to the riots, the recession or the fact you have to sit in a damp tent with no alcohol for days before the media notice you but there seems to be a bit more humour and irreverence on the streets. In my bit of London someone was knitting cosies for lampposts. There is more laughter in pubs, more cheeky graffiti and even the local rozzers have been jollier. A lot more fairs, festivals and open days at grass root levels seem to be happening. And a lot more of that ‘standing up for what you believe in’ stuff. Can’t be bad.

The Streatham Ninja Knitters and their bollard cosies...

The Wheelie Bin.

Mexican food has broken out all over London and on the whole I am very ho hum about it all, mostly it consists of cheap wraps with beans. I rate La Perla in Covent Garden for its excellent tequilas and have a soft spot for Mestizo but otherwise, nouveau Mexican? Yawn.  My other gripe is the Burger chain Byron, taking over nice buildings, distressing the interiors and charging a fortune for cheap food. The London middle classes can be right mugs.

McStupidburger

Colebrooke Row: a good not up itself bar for proper drinkers.

Bars you have to make appointments for even on quiet nights, mainly in East London. You know you climb through a fridge or something, if they like you and they know you are coming. What a load of crap, you don’t have to make an appointment to drink at the Savoy but to sit in some ironically retro interior and sip molecular cocktails with a load of fashionable tossers you do. Well bollocks to that, I’m off to 69 Colebrooke Row for a proper drink.

A rather plain young man called Justin.

Music. Popular musical taste at the moment is horrendous. Of course I don’t have to buy it but I do have to listen to it. I have been forced to leave even really staid High Street shops due to the aural punishment inflicted on me. Rihanna, Beyonce,  Ndubz, Justin Bieber, The Saturdays, The Wanted, Florence and the Machine and that Doolittle girl.  Is it genetic this obsession with wailing R &B, dull guitar rock, remarketed prog-rock and craprap. Warbling singers are a real problem, and gobby girls with no manners and hair extensions, and twee breathy covers of classics like Tainted Love. Waaaaahhh!

Interestingly I had far more problems thinking of bad trends during the year which is positive. There is a lot to look forward to next year. Dickens, Stoker and MR James have notable anniversaries and we get an extra day off for the Queens Diamond Jubilee for which there is an inspired Thames river parade. Unfortunately we also have to endure the Olympics. On the other hand the new Hobbit film comes out at the end of it. And there is the new series of Sherlock, and some very good exhibitions. xxx

What have you loathed/loved about the year?