Ica Bergqvist Vintage at Vintagemässan

People watching at vintage fairs is the best, as so many ladies and gents will make a real effort to get dressed up in the most period accurate outfits – and this one was no exception!  This gorgeous young lady was dressed to the nines in 1940s gear and rocked the look!

Hello my lovely, as mentioned last week I am having a few quite busy weeks at the moment, which is why our blog posts are so few and far in between!  I was just looking through photos from Vintagemässan in Stockholm last April (I can’t believe that it has been a year!) and realised that I had missed out on telling you about one fabulous shop that had their things on display there: Ica Bergqvist.

This is such a glorious necklace!!!  I love how summery it is and I think that I would wear it with a little white shift dress

Such sweet daisies – the perfect necklace for a summer party

It is time to start thinking about our summer wardrobes (this is usually my philosophy in February when the sun comes out for the first time in three months, but at least now it is April!) and the photos above of this beautiful Daisy necklace are getting me so inspired to go for a sweet and flowery style this year!  The fabulous statement necklace gets a nice contrast from the more structured yellow 1950s dress and Chanel-style handbag.

“Handmade jewellery by Elenor Bergqvist”

A lovely little golden angel playing his instrument for us, among all this beautiful jewellery! 

Vintage jewellery treasure hunting, always a favourite!

A collection of gold and brass necklaces – definitely a style that has stood the test of time  

I love visiting vintage fairs with friends because they will inevitably look at things that I wouldn’t have thought of looking at.  This time around I went with my sister, who was looking for a new handbag and so she ended up trying quite a few – and I managed to get a few photos of one of her favourites:

My sister was looking for a vintage handbag at the time, so I snuck a few paparazzi shots of her checking one out

Love the buckle!  I am quite content with my handbag collection at the moment, with a nice mix of vintage bags from grandma and my great aunt, a few beloved Mulberry bags and a glorious teal coloured leather bag that I bought in Italy a couple of years ago.  But then again, a girl can never have too many handbags…

Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa at Vintagemässan in Stockholm

Today’s post is another treat especially for you Sweden-based readers, as we are visiting the stall of Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa at Vintagemässan in Stockholm:

Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa, Vintagemässan i Stockholm

Their collection contained everything from old cinema posters to accessories and dresses…  It was all so beautifully presented as well, which could be why people kept flocking around their stall at all times during the vintage fair.  I had to be very quick with my camera to get photos of all the lovely pieces in between all these gorgeous ladies – all dressed up in vintage attire – browsing through the collection:

We love this lady’s 1940’s inspired hairdo 

Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa, Vintagemässan i Stockholm

Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa, Vintagemässan i Stockholm

I love how their costume jewellery collection was displayed, with the draped pearls making you feel as if you had just stumbled into the dressing rooms of classic Hollywood movie stars like Vivien Leigh or Ava Gardner!

Ava Gardner, by the way, came out with the following famous quote in the 80’s:

“I either write the books or sell the jewels , and I’m kinda sentimental about the jewels.” 

She was speaking with a journalist about potentially writing an autobiography since she was in need of cash, and it was obviously a choice between writing a book about her life or selling her treasured jewellery.  She never ended up writing the autobiography – some people say that Frank Sinatra, her ex-husband, offered her financial support so that she wouldn’t reveal things about their life together.  A book was however written after her passing away, based on the conversations that she had with this journalist.  In case you are curious to read it, it is called  Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations, and it had the blessing of the Gardner estate, so you can read it with a good conscience!

Cinema Lobby Pictures at Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa

Cinema Lobby Pictures, Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa, Vintagemässan i Stockholm

My dear sister was looking through an amazing collection of old cinema lobby posters – for a mere 150kr/each (ca. £15).  I would love to have a couple of these in my house one day, maybe in the hallway as the first thing you see when you enter.  The ones that I choose would obviously have to feature some old glamorous actresses all dressed up in jewellery:

Cinema Lobby Pictures, Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa, Vintagemässan i Stockholm

Fiffi’s also featured some gorgeous vintage frocks, and I happen to know that they have quite a few up for sale on their website: Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa – for a very reasonable penny.

Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa, Vintagemässan i Stockholm

Fiffi’s Vintage & Kuriosa, Vintagemässan i Stockholm

At Fiffi’s I also found out about this very interesting Vintage Fair which is coming up the last weekend on May, so keep an eye on this space.  The fair might in fact end up featuring one of the rare Decades of Elegance appearances, so I will let you know as soon as I know more!

Tidningen Swing / The Magazine Swing

Today’s post is mostly aimed at our Swedish speaking readers, since this lovely magazine Swing is written in Swedish.  If you English speaking ladies and gents find it interesting maybe we can convince them to create an English version as well!

Tidningen Swing

At Vintagemässan, the Vintage Fair in Stockholm on Sunday, I met a lovely lady in full vintage gear who presented this exciting new vintage inspired magazine to me: Swing.

Vintage hairstyle inspiration in Swing

I started reading it on the flight home and couldn’t put it down!  It is aimed at swing dancers as well as the culture around it, and you will get to read about the history of dance, interviews with people involved in the swing world etc. etc.

Frankie Manning and his son Chazz Young during a performance – from an interview with Chazz Young

In issue nr 4 which I managed to get my hands on there is a fascinating interview with Chazz Young, the son of legendary Frankie Manning who was by many seen as one of the founding fathers of the Lindy Hop.  If you are just as clueless as I was when it comes to lindy hop, I would recommend that you do a quick search on Youtube; it is a style of dancing that I am sure you will recognise, and the moves are just incredible!

All you Swedish speaking sweethearts, do pop by Tidningen Swing’s website to find out a bit more!

Vintagemässan i Stockholm 6 April 2014 / Stockholm Vintage Fair 6 April 2014

A wonderful invitation has come through to us – this time in the beautiful city of Stockholm:

Vintagemässan Stockholm, Debaser, Sunday 6 April!

As you can probably guess, I will be popping over to Sweden for the weekend and I just can’t wait for Sunday to come around!  I am bringing my camera, my sister, my mum and a friend to this fabulous vintage fair, and they will all get to model some of the pieces that these amazing traders will be showcasing.

I was initially put in touch with the people organising the fair when my sister bought this stunning vintage maxi dress from the shop 59 Vintage Store in Stockholm:

Yellow vintage maxi dress from 59 Vintage Store in Stockholm

Yellow vintage maxi dress from 59 Vintage Store, Stockholm – especially love love love the back!

The fair is organised by Bakåt:Framåt, who also run Retromässan and Skivmässan in central Stockholm.  Since 2012 they have also been organising flea-markets at the weekends, and it is wonderful to see that Sommarloppisen at Trädgården in Skanstull, Strandloppisen in Hornstull and Cityloppisen on Drottninggatan attract 1000-2000 visitors every weekend!  For a good six months they have also been running Bruno Vintage Market on Götgatan (one of my favourite streets in Stockholm – an absolute must next time that you visit this beautiful city!)

So do pop over to their websites as they are advertising so many fabulous fairs – just to mention another one:

Megaloppis i Stockholm, Kistamässan 24-25 maj

Keep an eye on this space my dear, as I will be reporting back from this exciting event next week, and to all of you lovely ones who happen to be in Stockholm this weekend: hope to see you at the fair on Sunday!