Miss V Viola

Vicky's blog

Unique Vintage: Billie Swing Dress Review

Leave a Comment

Roll up, roll up! Get your tickets now for the Greatest Show On Earth! Wait, did I say show? That should have been dress… What I meant to say is ‘Get your order in now for the Greatest Dress on Earth!’, because that is exactly how I feel about this unbelievably magical Unique Vintage Billie Swing Dress with vintage circus ticket print. It was created to amaze, and as you can see, it does not disappoint!

For those of you who are new to the name, Unique Vintage is a brilliant reproduction clothing store based in LA who create their own fabulous products as well as a stocking a great selection of other well known brands. They have a *huge* selection of dresses, separates, shoes and accessories online too, where you can shop pieces inspired by the 1920s to the 1970s and find incredible wedding and prom pieces. The best part? They have a killer selection of plus size pieces using the same designs and fabrics as their standard lines. This makes me jump with joy because I often get asked about brands who do and I’m usually a little stuck for places that I love. Oh! And, as a bonus feature on this website, they have a Bridal shop which breaks down into Bride, Bridesmaid and Wedding Guest, taking the pain out of endless scrolling and inappropriate decisions; if I ever get married this will be noted to everyone on my invites, it is genius!

What drew me to the Billie dress is that darling gathered halter neckline; I’ve never seen anything quite like it! This dress has been designed so this neckline can be altered by tightening it; as you can almost see in the image below, there is a very well hidden zipper down the front of the dress. When you put this on you fasten it closed using that, then tie the strap at the front. This makes the dress really easy to put on and it allows you to tighten / loosen it to fit your bust as comfortably (and stunningly!) as possible. That also means there’s no irritating knot at the back of your neck and you don’t have to worry about it pulling out the back of your up-do. Rejoice ladies!!

The cut of the dress is really flattering, I ordered a size medium (I’m around a UK 8-10) but due to how it’s structured, it would fit any body shape with a 28-29 inch waist, which is ideal for ladies with a larger bust. The circus ticket design is one of the greatest novelty prints I’ve seen in a long time as it’s kitschy cute without being childish. The fabric itself is really lightweight which is unusual for a swing dress with such a great gathered skirt, but it’s devine; it’s not heavy to wear, it’s not an outfit that you’re going to be sweating buckets in when your on the dance floor, and it doesn’t take much spinning to get it to a good height on that skirt swirl!

Another thing that has me drooling is the fact that it has pockets. HOORAY! Being on the outside of the skirt they add a really sweet detail to the outfit. The only problem is that they’re cut at an angle, meaning the pocket depth is actually pretty shallow. You can still fit your phone in, but you wouldn’t want to dance too vigorously with it in there. Pockets on a dress though – one cannot complain!

As you can see from this photo shoot I am completely smitten. I got so many compliments during the shoot that I genuinely lost count! They have a few different patterns available in this style, but this particular piece is part of their new circus collection which you absolutely must check out and buy up before it sells out… you’re going to be spellbound!

Thank you so much Unique Vintage, I can’t wait to see what your next collection is going to bring – I have every faith it’s going to be a winner!

Big love to my favourite Edinburgh pinup team for perfecting my look for these pictures! Hair: Lipstick Lashes and Locks Photography: Carolyn Henry

xox

Best Vintage In Bordeaux: Vintage Flea Markets

Leave a Comment

Foire à la Brocante des Quinconces in Bordeaux is one of France’s biggest and greatest vintage/ antique flea markets, so you can bet your ass I was going to make sure I got the opportunity to check it out. It happens twice a year, once in autumn and again in spring, and it attracts more than 200 exhibitors to set up shop for 5 days to sell their wares. The best part? It’s pretty damn affordable, but you’ll have to spend the money you save on purchases on some extra luggage allowance!

Attracting sellers from all over France, this is a great spot to pick up vintage furniture, jewellery and knick knacks from all kinds of era’s, but obviously my main interest is anything mid-century. There was a huge amount of 50’s furniture including kitchen units, tables, chairs, juke boxes and even a remarkable amount of pinball games which made me regret I didn’t come with a van. As I previously mentioned the prices here are really affordable considering the age and quality of the pieces, but note that they don’t mind a bit of a haggle if you’re really in love with something, especially if you’re looking to buy more than one piece from a seller. I recommend you brush up on your French phrases and numbers, although most of the people here do speak English. It always looks better if you’re making an effort to speak their language, even if you are struggling with the translations – nobody likes a tourist who expects everything handed to them on a plate.

The only thing lacking at this market is vintage clothing; although there were a few bits and pieces scattered about, this isn’t somewhere you should go if you’re on the hunt for a retro dress. There were a lot of antique linens etc and more victorian separates than anything else, but the prices on these were pretty high in comparison to the other goods available. Even when I ventured to some of the vintage stores I found that the pieces were mostly from the 70’s, but I’ll get to that in a second…

The market takes place in Place des Quinconces, a big square in the centre of the city. As it’s right beside the bus terminal it’s really easy to get to if you’re not staying locally, but beware that the ground is all rocks and dust, so make sure you’re wearing sensible shoes for your visit because you will get dirty, fast! There is some street food vans set up right beside all the stalls which is handy for snacks, but also note the only toilet near by is the public one at the bus station which you have to pay to use and is pretty darn grim; please note desperate times call for desperate measures!

Another market worth checking out is the St Michael flea market at Place Duburg. This is a more of a car boot sale / yard sale extravaganza, meaning the things on sale are cheaper (!), but it also means there is a lot more junk to trawl through. There is a combination of locals trying to declutter and dealers trying to earn a living, meaning there is a lot more variation on sale, but again, not much in the way of vintage clothing when I wandered around. Keep an eye out for thrifty re-sellers here; I saw a couple of people buying stock from the competition and then selling it on there stall’s with a hefty mark up. If you see something you love, buy it before you get caught out by one of these tricksters! This market is every day except Saturday’s and Monday’s, from around 7am till 4pm. There is also plenty of lovely cafes around the square with outdoor seating to rest at in between purchases.

On a quick sidenote, vintage shops in Bordeaux are called friperies, and most of them are open Tuesday’s – Saturday’s. Although I only had time to visit a couple of these on my trip, I was overall pretty disappointed with the clothing available. Most of my discoveries were from the 1970’s upwards, but they were generally in really good condition and available at around 20€ per dress, which I can’t really argue with. These little stores tend to have a lot of home stuff inside them too – clearly this is what the French are more interested in. Although my wardrobe efforts were fruitless, I still came back with some really lovely pieces from this adventure, all of which fitted really well in my hand luggage which is an added bonus!

For all those away on an epic Bordeaux vintage adventure, you may be interested in reading my previous post sharing my favourite places to see and stay in the city… And for those of you interested in discovering more awesome locations for vintage shopping, be sure to read my earlier blog posts on Malaga, Spain and in the UK, Manchester, Aberdeen and the Scottish Borders. Coming soon: Cardiff, and no doubt some great finds from my upcoming trip to California!

Happy Hunting xox

Best Things To Do: Bordeaux, France

Leave a Comment

I recently hopped over to Bordeaux to explore the city and check out one of the most epic vintage furniture flea markets in France. I don’t know about you, but there is something so wonderful about visiting that continent; they have better weather, beautiful old towns and don’t even get me started on the food! This was my first time to the city, so I thought I would share some of my tips and favourite things with you before I go on to review their vintage scene, because even if you can’t go at that market, this is one place that you have to put on your bucket list, STAT!

I stayed in a typically french (as in, incredibly small roomed) hotel, based right in the centre of the city.  It was clean, there was a good shower and the continental breakfast selection did more than fill a hole each day. French hotels can get pricey really fast, but they don’t really hotel like they do in America (or Disneyland Paris), so I tend to go for a cheap deal and save my money for the food and wine instead. The bonus to the HappyCulture Hotel is that they had a complimentary candy bar, free bottles of water, and most importantly, a portable wifi connecter that meant I could instagram on the go for only 1€ a day. BEST. INVENTION. EVER. How this is something I’ve only discovered in France? I have no idea, but by god I was obsessed with it.

Whilst my visit was only a week long, I’d say that was a really good amount of time to explore the city and see all the sites. They have beautiful architecture, and some really incredible sculptures throughout the town, making it really picturesque, especially because the sunshine out there makes all the colours pop.

Some of my favourite spots include:

The Water Mirror: I actually visited this spot 3 times on this trip because I couldn’t get enough of it. Based right outside the Place de la Bourse and opposite the waterfront, this installation changes throughout the day; water floods the grounds to create the magnificent mirrored effect as you can see in my first picture, then it steams off creating a mystical fog that’s super fun to walk through (see above!) The reason I went back so much is so that I could see it at different times of the day – the nightime glow of the building in the water is 100% worth going back for!

Jaume Plensa’s flat head sculpture, “Sanna” Unfortunately no photographs I took did this sculpture justice; From a distance you just see a giant iron sculpture of a lady’s head, but as you walk closer you start to realise the perspective is off. . . or maybe it’s you! This is a completely flat sculpture meaning it’s been carved to perfection in creating one heck of a magic eye trick; defo one of the coolest artworks I’ve seen in sometime!

The Statue Of Liberty replica She needs no introduction! This replica may be teeny tiny, but it’s still worth the visit, especially if you’re 5 ft and limber like me!

La Cite du Vin: Now, when I first saw that Bordeaux had a Wine Museum I did the most colossal eye roll. A vision of a bunch of old men with giant noses swirling wine, naming obscure smells, sipping and spitting (sacrilege!) good wine did not rank high on my to do list. But, that’s not what’s inside at all! Its one of the most technically advanced museums around. There are interactive exhibits teaching you about the wine making process (surprise!), but they also have incredible smell-o-vision stations, weird interactive dinner-wine-pairing experiences and some super awesome visual and sound experiences too. It’s also in a super incredible shiny building, has great views of the city from their rooftop bar, plus the slightly more expensive ticket includes – you guessed it – a glass of wine at the end! The added bonus of this experience is that from above I spotted that ridiculously cool Alice in Wonderland graffiti, which is two seconds outside the front door. It’s easy to get to as well, but those with a little time to spare can hop a boat from outside the Water Mirror to get there, which is a really nice way to travel anywhere if you ask me!

As I mentioned before, there is more amazing eateries here than you can throw a stick at, so to save you all from infiniate ramblings, I’ve picked my top three spots…

Opera Patisserie Not only does it have a beautiful interior with chandeliers, pastel pink ceilings and totally awesome pop art, the desserts are TO DIE FOR. I worked my way through 3 different kinds, plus I ate half of two (in life, halves don’t count), and I can honestly say I didn’t dislike one single mouth full. They do killer coffee, but you can also get bubbly rose wine, which you know fine well is the combination I consumed before my flight back home.

Le Petit Bois is a magical cafe / wine bar in the old town in Bordeaux and it is a sight to be seen! If you can manage to get a table in the restaurant upstairs, you’ll find yourself sitting amongst two giant (fiberglass) trees! All the furniture inside is old antiques, the walls are covered in incredible old pictures and theres even some fairy lights thrown in for good measure. The food is absolutely delicious, plus it’s so well presented you’ll find yourself photographing it like an old still life oil painting. What’s not to love about that?!

Amorino Gelato Al Naturale – it may be a chain, but it deserves a mention on my blog because THEY MAKE THE ICE CREAMS LOOK LIKE FLOWERS. They actually have special scoopers to do this, and you can even mix and match your flavours for each petal if you like. The gelato is divine, and they have a great selection of flavours (though if you ask me, cherry is always best!) The queue for service here was pretty epic, no matter what day of the week or what time of day – or night – but it’s worth the wait. Plus all the tourists who see you holding one will want to know where they can get one too, because novelty foods are always the best foods.

Ready to pack your bags and book a flight? Me too! Overall Bordeaux is super chill, super trendy and super worth visiting again if I ever get the chance. For those interested in that vintage flea market I mentioned at the start of this post, keep your eye’s out for next weeks instalment!

5 tips to protect yourself from online fraud

Leave a Comment

When Stripe Communications got in touch with me and invited me to a secret event in Edinburgh last week I was totally intrigued. As a blogger, I often get invited to all kinds of things, but none as elusive as this. After the invite got posted through my door I discovered I’d be hopping in a Gett taxi and being whisked over to the Dominion cinema for an exclusive preview of Baby Driver for an event they were hosting with Royal Bank of Scotland. But that’s all they would tell me.

Before the film started, the cinema screen got hacked and before you knew it our faces were popping up alongside a bunch of information you’d think was fairly private. We were being given a glimpse into how easy it is for us to be hacked … and I’m not just talking about bloggers in the audience, I’m talking about everyone!

Interior Cinema Image: www.iangeorgesonphotography.co.uk

No longer is the fear just having a credit card cloned and our bank accounts drained, with technology and our internet usage we all have a lot more information out there. Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and blogs give away our locations, details of our personal lives and take from us email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers and passwords. They link us to our jobs, friends and family and often give a ridiculously good insight into the pattern of our everyday lives. How many clicks do you think it would take for you to be robbed of your savings, given a poor credit rating, have you black listed and your whole world cloned? Upsettingly far less than one would imagine.

As a blogger, I’m not going to let this hold me back from what I get up to online, but what it has made me realise is that I need to take my online activity a lot more seriously. After a discussion with the Royal Bank of Scotland staff, I gathered a few tips for you to try and help prevent cyber hacking…

The Phone Calls: if you ever get a phone call from a company claiming to be your bank (or any other business who would have access to credit cards etc), and they start asking you for passwords / pin numbers / bank details and such, the best thing to do is to hang up and call the company directly. IE: if it is a bank, you can call the number on the back of your card, and go on to ask them if they had contacted you regarding an issue. If it’s a genuine call, they will be able to put you through to the relevant department – and no, there is no need to be embarrassed for your ‘paranoia’, they know more than anyone to be safe than sorry!

The Phone App’s: So, you’ve got a bank account and the phone app downloaded so you can access your finances easily when you’re on the go – but just because you’re using the app with their name on it doesn’t mean it’s secure. If you’re using public wifi your information can still be easily obtained no matter what application you’re using. If you were using a webpage on your phone to access the bank, one thing you should be doing is switching to a private browser. But more importantly, whichever you’re using, you should be using a private internet network to access your information. I think this is the one I’m most guilty of, because I’m always hooked up to free wifi!!

The Passwords: Did you know one in 6 people use their pet names? Duh!! Picking something random is mega important when it comes to passwords, as is changing your passwords for different things. howsecureismypassword.net is an amazing website that will let you see how much time it would take for someone to hack it online. My old password was 42 mins (SHOCK!), but my new one is 10 million years. Take that hackers! Make sure you update your passwords individually to something that’s iron clad when it comes to hackers – it may be irritating to type it out, but it could save you a fortune!

The Emails: Ever wondered if your email address has been abused by someone else? Visit haveibeenpwned.com to find out what websites have been hacked and which of your email addresses are being abused by outside parties illegally. Of my 4 email addresses, one has been hacked 5 times already – and I didn’t even know about it! YIKES!! And if you’ve received a suspicious email don’t open it, just delete it; these things can contain all kinds of nasty surprises for your computer.

The Websites: it goes without saying you shouldn’t be purchasing from any website that looks dodgy. Applications such as Paypal and some credit card companies do help a little with fighting for your money back if you get screwed online, but it’s not always going to be that simple. If you’re making a purchase online, always look for the little padlock that pops up in your browser beside the url – that is key to knowing if the website is secure to start with. And although we’re all lazy and do it often, we need to stop using those ‘auto complete’ options when filling in forms online as the software is super easy for thieves to access. Manual is best kiddies!!

I sincerely hope this blog post hasn’t put the fear into you, because the purpose of it is to help you stay online but stay safer. Unfortunately we can’t always beat the hackers, but we can make their lives as difficult as possible going forward.

Big thanks to Stripe Communications and Royal Bank of Scotland for educating me about all of this, not only did I find it genuinely interesting, but hopefully it’ll save me from a lot of pain and suffering in the future! For those who would like to find out more ways to stay safe, visit Royal Bank of Scotland’s Security Centre

Road Trip Adventures: Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Leave a Comment

Recently, on my drive back from visiting my brother in Cheltenham, I ‘accidentally’  detoured to the one and only Blackpool Pleasure Beach. It was less than an hour out of my way, and it’s somewhere I’ve been obsessed with since I was knee high to a grasshopper thanks to some family day trips, so taking a ‘wrong turn’ was maybe less of an accident than I lead my passengers to believe… For those who’ve never heard of it before, this place is a seaside funfair that time has forgotten bar a few new rides; it’s old, it’s cheesy and it’s exactly the kind of place I like to visit every once in a while! But what people forget is how much of a British institution this is, so I thought I would share some of my favourite facts with you all to reignite your passions and support this traditional holiday hotspot!

At around 120 years old, it’s not hard to believe that this place is going to be home to some pretty incredible facts, but even I am surprised by some of the stories that this funfair is responsible for.

As you all know, I am a huge – HUGE – fan of Disney’s theme parks. But did you know that Walt Disney visited Blackpool Pleasure beach on a fact finding trip before Disneyland in California was opened in 1955? He liked that it was a family park, and at the time it was a higher class of resort. Seemingly he was inspired by the park’s River Caves attraction when he created the Pirates of Caribbean attraction. Where would Johnny Depp be without the Pleasure Beach? Not a sentence anyone thought they would be asking! What’s really nice is that he would go on to give them permission to create their own Alice in Wonderland ride, giving the tale a really nice full circle twist.

Another interesting fact is that Blackpool Pleasure Beach gave birth to the name ‘Ghost Train’ – these were formally known as a Pretzel Rides, which if you ask me means nothing to anyone, never mind it being lost in translation to the British population. So officially, Blackpool launched the first ever ghost train in the world, all the way back in 1930.

 

 

Although the park opened in 1896 and it’s forever developing it’s offering, they did halt the launch of new rides during World War 1, and started to bring in new rides from America starting back in 1921. Possibly my favourite fact is that the park remained open to the public during WW2, providing much needed escape to servicemen, evacuees and family throughout such an incredibly difficult time. I’m at a loss for words to the people who worked hard to keep the park open during that those years. With two RAF sites and thousands of troops training here you’d think it would be top of the list for bombing hot spots in the country. In more recent years it’s been said that Hitler had planned to use it as his own personal playground once he ruled the country – there were even thoughts of hanging a swastika flag from the top of Blackpool tower. Thank god that got nipped in the bud!!

Unbelievably, the Pleasure Beach is in fact a family owned business and is still operated by the Thompson family since it’s inception. The park is still listed as one of the top tourist attractions in the UK and is one of the top 20 theme parks in the world. They’ve also broken a lot of records for their rides, most recently in 2007 for having built the fastest and tallest rides in the world when they launched The Big One, which still holds the record in the UK.

I love that they still have many of the original rides within the park that you can still go on too. They may be rickety old wooden coasters, but you can rest assured they are all still in great working order! I’m now the proud owner of a couple of wooden blocks the size of drink coasters from part of the old Blue Flyer roller coaster; every year they check every single piece of wood for wear and change out older pieces. So, if you’re a theme park nut like me, you too can own pieces from a few different rides within the park’s Kiss Me Quick gift shop, ranging from £5 upwards. A steal? I’d say so!

Rumour has it there is a new ride expected to launch next spring which is bound to be epic, but more importantly I’m pretty excited to see what incredible feats they’re going to achieve in the future.

So next time you’re in the UK and looking for places to see, be sure to pop this on the list. It’s got such an incredible history that needs to be shared and cherished because there is no where else like it on the planet! And for those of you who roll their eyes when they hear the name, I hope this blog post has given you some new perspective.

Visit blackpoolpleasurebeach.com for information on tickets and times… Enjoy!