Jewellery: Vinyl Ring – £4, Black Stone Ring – £5, Necklace – £10
Record – £5
Tartan Skirt – £8
So a couple of weeks ago one of the much loved and extremely successful vintage fairs came to visit my fair city of Sheffield again this year. Having grown from here to taking place almost every single weekend in cities all across the UK they are a true fashion success story and something that as an outsider was quite amazing to watch. I’ve always loved the vintage fairs but the past year or so I’ve never been able to make them either for lack of money, already having plans or being ill. As I was perfectly well, had a bit of money to spare and had nothing else to do I decided to pop down to the one recently and above is the collection of things that I bought from there.
I think as I’ve got that little bit older I’m better at picking out pieces and things that I love, will wear and treasure more than I did when I was a naive teenager who thought she could buy anything and everything and it would be great. That being said I genuinely came away with pieces I wanted and was happy with this time. There was a couple of others things I had my eye on but being on a graduate’s budget you have to rein in your spending more than you would like.
The jewellery is something I can never resist at any vintage fair I have been to, whether it is vintage pieces or quirky, unique, handmade pieces from up and coming companies/designers there is always something good on offer and usually for very reasonable prices. The necklace I absolutely adore with it’s little de-constructed clock cogs and face on the inside, it is just so cute and as someone slightly obsessed with all things clock related this was a perfect buy for me. The vinyl ring I thought was just pretty amazing, there was a whole stall dedicated to vinyl related products such as the usual clocks but also necklaces, earrings, hairclips, things that could easily sit on your desk etc. The black stone ring is just beautiful, I always wear a ring on my index finger of my left hand but my current moonstone ring as much as I love it is now a little too bulky. As soon as I saw this ring I fell in love, I love rings with black stones and the glitter flecks running throughout give it a lovely sparkle when it catches the light. I’m extremely happy with this purchase.
Records are something that as soon as I see I have to go and have a look through to see if there are any hidden gems especially cheap hidden gems. This was £5 which I don’t think is all that bad with a lot of vinyl being stupidly highly priced these days to the point of making it quite unaffordable. It’s a classic song and something I am proud to add to my growing collection of vinyl.
Tartan is massive this season, we all know that, I’ve been on the hunt for a nice tartan skirt which I found at the fair. At £8 it’s a true bargain with a lot of decent tartan products on the high street coming in at more than that. The skirt was mid length but I soon cut it down to form a mini skirt and re-hemmed it on the machine, all in all that took around 5-10 minutes – measuring the length, cutting a neat line all the way round, pinning up a neat edge, tacking the hem, ironing to hold it in place and double stitching the hem on the machine and you are done, simple and all for free. I have my perfect winter skirt for under a tenner and it shows that though an item of clothing may be perfect in one way but not another doesn’t mean you can’t still buy it and tweak it slightly to how you want it for no or a minimal cost.
The fair has grown so much since I last went with plenty of stalls and it is always packed so be patient, take plenty of time to walk around the hall a few times to check every single rail for hidden gems, don’t just glance as you may miss something brilliant and remember you can customise when you get home if it is not an entirely perfect for you piece. Also, as usual there was a brilliant selection of cakes on offer as well as tea, coffee and cold drinks. I obviously indulged in a post shopping treat which was lovely. The vintage fair’s return to Sheffield definitely did not disappoint.
The next fair to take place in Sheffield will be on Saturday 30th November and it will be a Christmas special so it will be a perfect time to get some presents for friends, family and yourself or to get some decorations for your house, tree etc. To find out more about the Vintage Fairs or to find the next fair near you then visit their Facebook page.
Mixtape Couture 