Gorgeous Gerties in Dorking

This one goes out to all of you vintage lovers – we are popping by Gorgeous Gerties in Dorking

I visited Gorgeous Gerties in Dorking for the first time last week, and was so surprised to find such a wonderful vintage adventure in a town that I thought I knew inside out!  Under their roof you will find a vintage tearoom, an olde world sweet shop, a beautiful collection of vintage jewellery, vintage accessories and vintage crockery – and on top of all this you can also sign up to their creative workshops and get your imagination and creativity going!

Lovely scarves and fabulous dressing gowns – of course in the romantic vintage rose pattern 

You know when you are running through all the shops in London, trying to find a nice present for a friend’s child’s birthday, but everything looks exactly the same?  Well, guess where I will be getting my pressies from now on?

The perfect dress for a little summer princess!

… with a very reasonable ticket to go with it!

A lovely collection of vintage toys and games

Upstairs in this charming 15th century building you are surrounded by vintage fabrics, old vintage patterns for making your own pieces of clothing, a children’s department, a vintage jewellery section and some beautiful items for the house.  I would come love to come here when I am decorating my future house one day, as I can’t imagine a better place to find unique pieces that give the home a very personal touch.

Gorgeous Gerties Vintage Dorking, Surrey

I love this – so very French country

Some charming vintage patterns for all you amazing people who make your own clothes!

Whenever I have spent hours searching the shops in vain for a specific design that I have in mind, I always decide that one day I will design my own clothes!  I might just start collecting vintage patterns like these so that I am prepared for that day when I finally have a sowing machine!

Some lovely vintage fabrics 

The DYI corner at Gorgeous Gerties

The Vintage Jewellery Corner, where I may or may not have bought something….

The shop and café combined is just such a well-thought through concept.  I love how they are promoting independent designers and dealers, as I am always much more inclined to shop at places like this, than at high street chain shops!  They call it a “modern day vintage department store”, which is a perfect description, except that it is so much more charming and intimate than a regular department store!

The olde sweet shop at Gorgeous Gerties

Do pop by for a cream tea! 

 

Peeking into the charming tearoom at Gorgeous Gerties

Through this window we get a preview of what they have to offer in this fabulous “vintage department store”

Gorgeous Gerties

61 West Street

Dorking

RH4 1BS

Afternoon Tea at the Fig Tree Coffee Lounge and Tea Room

 

Afternoon Tea at the Fig Tree Coffee Lounge and Tea Room at Christique Antique Centre

After a few hours of shopping in Dorking we ended up at the café at Christique Antique Centre, called the Fig Tree Coffee Lounge and Tea Room.  To get to the café you will go through the most alluring vintage and antique jewellery section, where glass cabinets so proudly show off their treasures, and basically it is just impossible to get to the café without buying a few pieces that one really needs!

The sun shone so beautifully on us while we were enjoying our cream tea

Afternoon Tea at the Fig Tree Coffee Lounge and Tea Room

The café is such a welcoming place, with these big windows instead of a dark ceiling, that let in all the lovely winter sun and show some nice greenery – of course including a fig tree!  We arrived at lunch time and at least I was didn’t know how I would ever be able to choose what to have, after seeing all the lovely dishes that the other guests were enjoying!

We finally decided to go for the cream tea, and it was generously portioned with two big homemade scones per person (there were three of us, and we managed 1. 1/3 each!), some glorious butter that I don’t know how they made as it was so light and tasty! – and of course lots of strawberry jam and clotted cream.  We all chose the Darjeeling tea, which was a nice change from my usual English Breakfast, and a new favourite.  It was such an enjoyable afternoon tea, as you could tell that everything had been made with thought and care, and the surroundings were so peaceful even though all the little tables in the café were taken – it clearly is a very popular spot in Dorking!

A delicious cream – I can second that!

Oh how I adore these kitschy little vintage teacup collections! 

My vintage teacup heaven at Christique Antique Centre

I just adore this little teacup – can you see what a funny little foot it has?  I wonder what fabulous tea parties it has seen in its days?!

The fabulous thing here is that after your lunch or tea you can continue to wander through the shop Christique and admire the jewellery, furniture, paintings, glassware… you name it!  In one section we ran into all these charming little tea cups, and it just reinforced my wish to collect lots of different teacups and saucers, so that I can have my own little Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in the future!

Christique Antique Centre

11 West Street, Dorking

RH4 1BL

 

I am very pleased to give the Fig Tree Coffee Lounge and Tea Room 5/5 Decades of Elegance Rings:

Aladdin’s Cave at Christique Antique Centre

A stunning old picture, ca 1920s, that so beautifully overlooks the vintage jewellery  

So I spent a lot of time in Dorking last week, going through the never-ending treasure troves that are the antique and vintage shops: I visited two divine afternoon tea cafés and found the most glorious vintage glassware in the shape of champagne coupes and wine glasses.  I had a reeeeeally long wander through Christique Antique Centre, as around every corner you find something new that you just HAVE to have!  Love it.

Rummaging through these cabinets and imagining what stories the vintage pieces would tell if they could speak…

I will write a few posts on Christique and I wanted to start out by taking you to their vintage clothing and accessories section, which is located up a winding staircase in which you will bump your head in the low tudor style ceiling if you are not careful!  It is all part of the charm!!

An old wedding dress just waiting to be worn again – pretty sure you could find a whole outfit for your wedding in this shop – check out the fabulous gold heels on the right!

In there you just want to get dresses up in one of the beautiful gowns hanging from the rails, drape some pearls around your neck and wear lots of red lipstick, 20s style!

Just one of the rails with beautiful pieces of vintage clothing.  I would recommend going to a vintage shop to buy for example a dress if you are going to a wedding.  It is just lovely to see the exquisite designs and also knowing that no one else will wear the same dress! 

You can spend hours sifting through the clothes here… and yes, I know that vintage furs are a hot topic – is it alright to buy them or not?  Would be interested to hear your thoughts on it… would you wear vintage fur? 

Diving in, head first into this glorious treasure trove of vintage jewellery and accessories!

I have a couple of weddings coming up this year, so I am definitely coming back here for some fabulous accessories that will go with my dresses!  I am quite tempted to wear a hat but I will be travelling quite far for both weddings, so might have to give that a miss… but when one tries on these beauties it is hard to think rationally!

Christmas Gift Ideas and the beauty of Vintage shopping

Most fabulous collection of vintage clothing and accessories at Vintage Shrewd in Dorking

So it seems like the trend for Christmas shopping this year is choosing sustainable and environmentally friendly presents, which I think is lovely, with vintage and antiques being just what we were looking for!

I visited Vintage Shrewd yesterday – yep, they are also open on Sundays throughout December – and I found a million things that I wanted to buy!  There was a 1960s minidress in bold colours and patterns; a 1940s evening dress with the most delicate buttons at the back; and everything from vintage clutches and handbags to pretty sleepwear and gorgeous coats!

The most beautiful vintage evening dresses at Vintage Shrewd

Just take a look at all the beautiful vintage hats and accessories in the top photo – you are bound to find the perfect present among these!  And the vintage evening dresses above were to die for – I tried on the canary yellow dress to the left and it was the most stunning 1960s piece!  A little bit too big for me, but the right lady will enjoy it for many many years to come.  And how about the red dress to the top right?  Ahhh can someone throw be a party so that I can get all dressed up in an evening dress!?

Some fabulous night attire from Vintage Shrewd

One of my favourite things when it comes to buying vintage is knowing that the person who receives the gift gets something unique.  Their dress won’t be worn by three others at the Christmas drinks, and their handbag won’t adorn every arm on the streets of London, Stockholm, Helsinki and Cape Town!  The fact that the price is just a fraction of what we pay for contemporary fashion and the quality a million times better are obviously just huge bonuses.

Christmas Brooches at Vintage Shrewd

I love these little guys – so very retro! 

I loved this little collection of Christmas brooches – such a fun little talking point when worn to a Christmas party, maybe securing a lovely scarf around your neck…

Christmas Brooches at Vintage Shrewd

So let’s take the opportunity this Christmas to encourage our independent vintage and antiques shops, by buying our Christmas presents there.  Shopping with a good conscience is always a treat, and for me this is definitely one way of making that happen!

1960s glamour from Vintage Shrewd

There are a few women in history whose sense of style influenced the whole world around them to the degree that when we today see a specific style of outfit, our thoughts are immediately drawn to that person.  Well, I immediately thought of a beautiful lady on Saturday, when I popped by Vintage Shrewd and saw this beautiful wool skirt and matching suit jacket.  Yep, Jackie O was my first thought:

Chanel-style 1960’s dress and suit jacket at Vintage Shrewd

Jacqueline Bouvier was a mere 24 years old when she married John F. Kennedy, yet she already presented a sophisticated style and taste.  She had a love for classic, tailored suits and ladylike dresses in strong, solid colours and very much influenced the style of the ladies in the sixties.

This dress and jacket are indeed from the 60s, and this what I just love about vintage shops: you find the most stunning pieces for no money at all, as this little combo is yours for just £75 ..!  I also that the high street chains are just getting ridiculously expensive now (a dress for £150 – it is so not reasonable!) so all the more reason to turn to vintage, where you can get pieces that will last another few decades for a fraction of the price!

A close up of this beautiful, soft pink suit jacket

Can you imagine wearing this with a fabulous handbag and some heels to work?  I didn’t buy it as I had to hurry to another appointment, but I am really having second thoughts about it.  It would be the perfect outfit for a day at work in the antique shop!

Some more treasures in the Shrewd-window…

… and a few more pieces in a heavenly blue-colour scheme

And above are two more sneak peeks into the current Shrewd collection… as the days are suddenly getting a bit chillier these autumny-coloured ensembles looked very appealing to me!

Golden vintage hues

Hello my lovely, I have finally stumbled across an internet connection here in beautiful Cape Town, which is wonderful news indeed as I have been wanting to share the third post in our golden vintage hue-series with you.  The first and second ones you can find here:  Messy Side Ponytail with a Vintage Pearl Brooch and Bumped Up Hairstyle with Loose Waves.

White and golden vintage cocktail dress from Vintage Shrewd in Dorking

So it is my turn to feature in this post as I was wearing this white and golden vintage dress with some interwoven silver strands from our favourite shop Vintage Shrewd in Dorking.  The above is a behind-the-scenes-photo where my dear sister is sorting something out on my dress for the shot.

I just love the sweet buttons at the front, and the subtle colours on the dress make it so versatile.  It cost me close to nothing in the Vintage Shrewd sale by the way, so make sure you go and get some fabulous finds of your own in the next sale!!

You might remember that I found this dress last summer at Shrewd, but it was a million sizes too big so Liz the Seamstress worked her wonders on it and made it just perfect!  I thought it would be a fabulous choice for our afternoon tea, and I paired it up with some sparkling ballerinas and a pair of vintage-style pearl earrings as you can see above.

I am wearing a vintage dress from Shrewd, my sister is in a second-hand Topshop dress with a vintage brooch in her hair, and Lady L can be seen wearing her 1920s style sparkling earrings from the Decades of Elegance-collection.

And you know that I very rarely put photos up here on the blog where you can see people’s faces, but the photo above captured the spirit of the day so well with all the vintage pieces, so I couldn’t help but include it!

Alright, a review of the famous Afternoon Tea is indeed coming up shortly, so keep watching this spot my dear!

Vintage wedding dress inspiration

A very exciting post is coming up about a wonderful dress agency in Dorking, and today I wanted to give you just a sneak peak of what I found in the shop last weekend…

Such a beautiful vintage fabric with a peacock pattern – on an Edwardian mannequin

While photographing the dresses in the shop I stumbled across this breathtakingly beautiful vintage fabric!  We draped it onto an Edwardian mannequin to best show off the pattern, and I love how the two complement each other.  You can tell how lovingly the peacock pattern has been made, and how much thought has gone into the intricate design and colour combinations:

Vintage fabric with peacock pattern

… unfortunately someone has washed it so that the colours have run, but parts of the fabric are still usable.  In fact, Liz the Seamstress suggested that one could make a beautiful vintage headpiece/wreath/tiara out of the part below:

This would make such a romantic headpiece, like a wreath of tiara for example… 

I think that a very skilled designer could create the most beautiful vintage-style wedding dress using the fabric.  Can you imagine what soul and grace a piece like this would add to a dress?

I get such a buzz from being around creative people, listening to their ideas and seeing their work take shape.  I also love trying to picture all these beautiful garments that will one day be created – and that will add another touch of beauty to the world.

Vintage fabric with peacock pattern

I would love to hear your thoughts!  Does it inspire your creative side?  Do you have a dress design in mind that you think it would be perfect for – or does it remind you of a fabric/piece of clothing that you have seen before?  Leave a comment for me below dear!

Vintage Dress Alterations and Late Summer Roses

Good morning lovely!  I wanted to start this week with a few photos of late summer flowers that I came across at the weekend – straight from the garden:

Arthur Bell Rose and Gerrie Hoek Dahlia in the background

Orange Roses

I mentioned in an earlier post that I bought two glorious 1960’s dresses in the Shrewd sale, and that I would have to have them resized.  Well, I finally dropped them off with Liz Robinson in Dorking where she pinned them onto me for that perfect fit.  We will see the results next week – oh so very excited!

My two 1960’s dresses – one baby blue and one white and golden with typical 60’s buttons.  Marilyn is also excitedly waiting to see the results!

Liz is a wonderful seamstress whose acquaintance we will make very soon, but for now I can let you know that she is able to help with alterations, and specialises in vintage wear and wedding dresses.  Do let me know if you would like to get in touch with her – she is based in Dorking.

50’s high waisted shorts at Shrewd

I popped by Vintage Shrewd the other week and had a lovely browse around the shop.  I actually ended up buying two 1960’s dresses that we are just resizing at the moment, and I can’t wait to start wearing them!  One is a baby blue colour and the other one is more festive in white and gold, with some typical 60’s buttons – I will make sure to post some photos once they are done.

Vintage heaven at Shrewd in Dorking

But the one thing I wanted to share with you today is a pair of 1950’s high waisted shorts that another customer had just tried on when I walked in.  I saw so many of you wear a similar style this summer, which made me think of how fashion comes back again:

High waisted 50s shorts at Vintage Shrewd

These specific ones reminded me of a Bond Girl-look – they would look fabulous when worn with wedges and a loose top/shirt – and it is a style of shorts that is incredibly flattering on the figure and make your legs look a million miles longer.  I love how Sonja has styled them above with the top and scarf – and of course the glorious vintage necklace which goes in the right tones with the rest of the ensemble!  She had a whole range of vintage jewellery that I thought we could look at later on this week.

What are your thoughts on the shorts?  It is a style you would wear and what would you team them up with?  Is there anything specific in fashion history that you would love to see a comeback of?  Anything you don’t want to see again?

Have a lovely Monday dear!

Chantecleer Antiques in Dorking, Surrey

Today we are visiting my favourite antique shop: Chantecleer in Dorking, Surrey.  We have been able to admire the furnishing and collectors’ pieces, principally from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, since September 2009 when they opened up on 48 West Street.

My favourite room in the shop: the spacious half-timbered barn at the back of the shop.  This is what my dream home will look like one day!  At Chantecleer 

Bruce at Chantecleer has been involved in antiques for decades, so I thought he would be just the right person to tell us a bit about buying antiques, and here is his message to us:

“Why buy a piece of antique furniture, and how?

Just to arrange priorities in proper order…..the purchase of a piece of antique furniture is primarily an investment in pleasure; the pleasure of a small or large piece of  historic cabinetmaker’s art which will add a depth and warmth to one’s domestic surroundings as well as utility, if it happens to be a dining table, chairs, wardrobe, chest of drawers…..the list goes on! 

For those who have a natural eye for discovery, a piece of period furniture is a potential adventure, a journey of discovery, beginning with the period style in which it is made, the historic period itself: Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, and then the techniques and skills of the artisan, bringing together quality materials, solid timber, brass etc., into the unified whole.

 

An interesting observation about antique furniture is that particularly in the earlier periods, there are seldom two pieces the same, unless they have been consciously made as a pair; the largest proportion of pieces were made to order, according to the customer’s requirements, so that they are all, to a greater or lesser extent, “bespoke”.

 

Which other principles to apply, apart from the fact that the buyer should like the piece? Answer : quality and condition. Always look for the best possible quality in the best possible condition, and as one is dealing with pieces of a certain age, old, original finish is a preferred condition, but not always indispensible.

 

How to satisfy oneself about the aforementioned? Well, nothing replaces the experience of the long-time enthusiast. Ahead of that however, a thorough physical examination, front, back and sides, inside and out, and a healthy discussion of the piece in all its aspects with the vendor. If he or she is an enthusiast it should be possible to make the experience a useful part of the adventure and journey of discovery!

– Bruce at Chantecleer Antiques, Dorking“

Ships are popular subjects in antique paintings, as they were used to transport food all over the world, before airplanes came into the picture.  At Chantecleer Antiques

Close up of these fabulous antique pieces

Beautiful motifs and colours on antique china.  I love how timeless the designs are and I would be very happy to have this gorgeous collection in my house!

I wanted to give you a shot of the stunning old barn at Chantecleer.  The high ceiling makes the room bright and lovely, and provides the perfect backdrop to the beautiful collection of antiques

The motifs on the antique paintings tell the most fascinating stories about life hundreds and hundreds of years ago

“An interesting observation about antique furniture is that particularly in the earlier periods, there are seldom two pieces the same…” 

Antique mirror at Chantecleer Antiques, Dorking, Surrey.  Half the fun of browsing antique shops for me is imagining how and where these pieces of furniture were used back in the days

Mid-Victorian fire-screen in oak ca.1860 – part of a pair 

Description and price of the chest of drawers in the photo above (behind the fire-screen)

Chantecleer welcomes browsers as well as enthusiasts, and I love how knowledgeable the associates in the shop are.  They are always happy to talk you through any specific piece that catches your eye, so don’t be shy to pop by just because you might be new to antiques – there is always something new to learn or an interesting story to hear!

 

Last day of our summer offer at Cafe Rialto Gelato, 33 South Street, Dorking

Today is also the last day of the fabulous offer at Cafe Rialto in Dorking on 33 South Street, where you get a free scoop of ice cream when you buy at least one scoop of ice cream on its own, upon giving the password ELEGANCE so make sure you pop by the restaurant for a summer treat!