Bye Bye Belfast

Hello dear readers! It's been a little while since my last post. A lot has happened in my life in the mean time. After finishing up work in Belfast, my husband and I decided - rather suddenly - to move back to my home country. So now, a month later, we are sort of settled in lovely, chilly and hopefully-soon-snowy Switzerland. I'll be sharing my thoughts on the future of FairEnough soon, but for now, it is time to take stock, look back and say Good-Bye to my dear Belfast.We had a great year in this beautiful city. We met great people and discovered amazing places. As my tribute to Belfast, I thought I would share some of my favourite vintage, second-hand and creative spots with you!

Shops

Rusty Zip

Rusty Zip * 28 Botanic Avenue * Belfast

On the beautiful Botanic Avenue, home to many Queens University students, you'll find Belfast's oldest vintage and second-hand store; Rusty Zip. This gem of a shop has been a huge help to me in my challenge to only wear vintage and second-hand for a year. On its - now much brighter and lighter - shelves and racks you will find an excellent selection of vintage clothes and accessories from a range of decades. The emphasis is on the 60's and 70's, but you may find some 20's and 40's pieces too. Rusty Zip also has a brilliant second-hand selection featuring most high-street brand names, such as Topshop or French Connection. This is a great place to find a real treasure at a bargain price and on Sunday, there's a 10% Discount for students!

Oxfam Botanic

Oxfam Botanic * 88 Botanic Avenue *Belfast

A little up the road you'll find what I think is one of the best Oxfam shops. Those of you who follow my blog will recognize this as the shop I worked in for a day for my Charity Shop post. Oxfam Botanic sells lots of high quality second-hand and great and very cheap vintage clothes. The shop also has a great jewellery selection. The staff in both shops are lovely, friendly and very helpful.

Vintage

Vintage * 78 - 80 Royal Avenue * Belfast

It may not look like much from the outside, but Vintage is a great little charity shop. To be fair, the majority of clothes are second-hand rather than vintage, but I've discovered some real treasures here, including a Vivienne Westwood dress.
Nestled at the top of the Royal Avenue, Vintage is run by the East Belfast Mission. The charity is behind a number of other cool social enterprises, such as Recycle, a bicycle upcycling service.
Out of the three shops, Vintage is by far the cheapest. So why don't you pop down, have a nosy and support the work of this great charity.

Refound

ReFound * 7 Wellington Place * Belfast

I know, I know, I keep going on about this place, but it really was one of my favourites in Belfast, so I just have to mention it again here. ReFound is a great shop based on a brilliant concept. Behind ReFound stands an artist collective that - using their impressive skills - breathes new life into old and unwanted furniture. In ReFound you will find the most unique and most imaginative things to decorate your house with.
All of this is organized by the lovely Jill, who I had the pleasure of working with on different occasions, including the fun 5-9 talks we organized. I will miss this place badly and I wish Jill and her artists all the success in the world. I really hope this place takes off even more than it already has. If you visit Belfast, this is a MUST-SEE!

Markets

I love going to markets and in this respect, Belfast has lots to offer. 

St. George's Market

St. George's Market * 12 - 20 East Bridge Street

Known and loved by all Belfastians, the St. George's market happens every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Friday Variety Market dates back to 1604 (!) and sells a tempting mix of products including local fruit, veg and fish, antiques, books or clothes. The Saturday market focusses on local and continental specialty food and on the Sunday, you will find a mix of both of them, accentuated by a different musical entertainment every week. Lots of local craftspeople and artists sell their goodies at this market. It is a great place to find unique gifts and stuff your tummy with gorgeous food!


Fashion Souk

The Fashion Souk * Spires Mall *Belfast

Wanting to make fashion and shopping greener and more environmentally friendly, founders Aly and Linzi started the Fashion Souk. The bi-monthly market takes place at Spires Mall in the heart of Belfast city centre and offers fashionistas a huge choice of preloved luxury labels, vintage and retro items, as well as locally designed accessories and furnishings. There's always a great atmosphere at the Souk with music and fashion shows making this a truly unique shopping event.
The Souk is now no longer confined to Belfast, but has expanded and is happening all over Northern Ireland. Check out their webiste for locations. The next Belfast market is happening on the 7th of December. Don't miss it!

Frock Around the Clock

Frock Around the Clock Vintage

Featuring up to 50 stalls at any given event, the Frock around the Clock Vintage fairs unite vintage dealers from all over Ireland and the UK. The markets usually take place in gorgeous locations; such as country houses, grand estates and castles. At Frock Around the Clock you'll find high quality vintage and vintage-inspired garments, accessories and home-wares. Prices tend to be a little higher, but you can also catch some real bargains. In conjunction with their vintage markets, they also run the stunning vintage bridal fairs Rock the Frock. If I could get married again, I would definitely go looking for my dress there!

Hangouts

Finally I wanted to share two of my favourite places to hang out and spend time in Belfast.

Black Bear Café

Black Bear Café * 17 Stranmillis Road * Belfast, Pics: Tripadvisor

 Right across from the Ulster Museum is the cozy Black Bear Café in which I spent many hours drinking good coffee and looking though their hipster magazines. Black Bear frequently displays art by local and emerging artists and sells gorgeous organic and vegan food. Their lunches are delicious and they make superb scrambled eggs!

The Black Box

The Black Box * 18 - 22 Hill Street

The Black Box is one of the most versatile venues I've ever come across. The events here cater to even the most obscure and diverse tastes. I visited it for the first time at an upcycling fashion show, which was great fun.
The Black Box gives local artists from every artform a platform to show their work. I love their little café and bar - the Green Room. On the first Thursday of every month, after Late Night Art, one of my favourite events happens here. Real Sketchy invites artists and common folk into the Green room for a sketch fest. You can have a drink, watch people sketch and draw, have a go yourself and buy any sketches you like! Genius!

It seems I could go on about Belfast forever, but now it really is time to say good-bye. Take care, dear Belfast - You will be missed and I promise I'll come back to visit soon!

Swap till you Drop

Swap shops have been sweeping the nation and apparently everyone has been swapping rather than shopping. Having heard of the concept for the first time a few months ago, I decided to try and hold one myself. So here's my guide on how to swap shop:

1. Set a date and invite all your friends, neighbours, relatives (even strange aunty Betty), classmates, colleagues etc. over to your house. The bigger the crowd, the more fun! There's only one condition; they have to bring at least two old items of clothing they no longer wear... (it turns out, most people will bring way more!). 

If they are reluctant to come, tempt them with gorgeous treats and coffee! Me being me, there were lots of chocolate goodies going round at my swap shop. My wonderful mother-in-law was so good to provide us with gorgeous home-made chocolate truffles. Another real success were my strawberries dipped in chocolate. Light and delicious, they are incredibly easy to make!

The gorgeous spread at my Coffee, Cakes and Clothes swap shop

2. Before your guests arrive, set up the rooms and decorate! It's a good idea to get yourself some clothes hangers and rails... we ran out of hanging space very quickly. If you fancied it, you could give your swap shop a theme and decorate accordingly. I tried to create a bit of a vintage-tea-party-feel at mine by using my mother-in-law's good china and tying lace ribbons randomly to things. I also made these size signs... however, organizing the clothes into sizes proved a rather impossible endeavour.

3. Do it for a good cause! I decided to host my swap shop as a fundraiser for Hand of Hope, a small charity that organizes camps and fun events for orphan children in the Czech Republic. At some swap shops, there's a set entry fee. I decided to go with a suggested donation of €10, figuring that depending on how much people got out of it, they may want to give more or less accordingly. 

All the clothes lovingly displayed. Top right: my donation box served on a silver platter

4. As your guests trickle in, lay out and arrange the clothes they brought while they have a chat and a cup of tea. At the beginning of the swap shop, your guests can have a look around, scope out the goodies and try on some things, but they're not allowed to take anything yet! As you can see, it was all very civilized... at the start at least.

5. Then after a certain period of time (I waited for about an hour), you as the host have to give some kind of signal - anything from a bell to a horn to shouting really loudly will do - and let the swapping begin! Basically, your guests are then free to grab anything on offer that they like. NOTE: its a good idea to hide anything belonging to your household and wardrobe that you were wanting to keep! Believe me, at this point, the claws can come out. Things at my swap shop definitely got rather heated :). 

Hunting for that thing you'd seen just a second ago...

We offered up some of the bedrooms as changing rooms, but most girls just tried things on there and then... there was no time to run upstairs, obviously.

6. Finally, once your guests have waddled off satisfied, happily cradling piles of new found treasures in their arms, the only thing that's left for you to do is to clean up and count the money. It was quite an epic clean-up to be fair... (I now know how shop assistants in Primark must feel) but when I sat down with a glass of wine and opened my donations box, I found that we had raised over €150 for Hands of Hope! Not bad eh!                                                                 Overall the event was a huge success, tons of fun and as it doesn't take much preparation, a really easy and social way to raise some funds for charity. I will definitely host one again and I'm so chuffed with my new coat, skirt and swimsuit! The leftover clothes we simply dropped off at Oxfam.

Charity Shop It

Charity shops are a great way to shop sustainably and have been a huge help to me in my year, but I never quite knew how they work. So to find out, I spent a Saturday volunteering at one.

The shop I chose is an Oxfam shop located on Botanic Avenue, Belfast. Close to Queens University, this is a lively neighbourhood full of students. 

This is Tra, the Manager of the store, who was kind enough to show me the ropes and answer my many questions. When I arrive, Tra is running around, just a tad stressed out, trying to run the shop on her own. Her two volunteers hadn’t shown up and on top of that, the checkout system isn’t working and she had to dig out the old till. It’s not that uncommon for volunteers not to show up. Tra just shrugs her shoulders and smiles. That’s the nature of running a shop with volunteers, she says. The only persons paid for working in an Oxfam shop are the store manager and the assistant manager (if there is one). On top of that there are overheads to be paid and volunteers get their travel covered as well as lunch, if they do a full eight hour shift, but the rest of the proceeds go straight to Oxfam’s many charitable endeavours.

Me happily at work, on the right: a shot of the great jewellery selection available at Oxfam Botanic

On the up-side, it means I get put straight to work. Tra has me sorting through a bag of new end-of-line clothes that has come in from C&A, a German clothes brand, in no time. C&A are one of the brands who send their unsold stuff to Britain, because they have no stores here. This way, they’re not making the charity shops their competition. I place the clothes on suitable hangers and price them. 

Piles of work to be done

Tra is looking through a bag of stuff that has come in earlier in the week. As the manager, she is in charge of sorting out the clothes. The bags arrive from collection points, are handed in by people and Oxfam Botanic also gets donations from a vintage reseller. Backstage, the work literally piles up. Tra pulls out battered brown leather shoes and discards them immediately. The same fate awaits a stained and torn suit jacket, some old curtains and a stretched out knitted jumper. She pauses over flowery pillow covers and eventually decides to keep them. A top shop top, a pair of new looking jeans and a vintage dress instantly pass the test.  It’s like in any shop, Tra explains, you have to think of what will work in your location and know your customers. She tries to focus on studenty stuff and the vintage sells extremely well. Her vintage selection is impressive and the prices are amazing. Tra tries her best to keep the selection of clothes on the rails fresh. Having new stuff on display every day draws repeat customers. If something hasn’t sold after two weeks it is discarded and put in the recycling.

snapshot of the lovely vintage collection at Oxfam Botanic

As I’m sorting through my bag, Tra gets me to write a short description off the item on the label as well. When I ask why, she tells me that they have a problem with people trying to switch tags to get things cheaper. She also admits that theft is an issue. Considering that most things in the shop cost a fiver or less and that the money goes to charity, this leaves me feeling rather sad and disappointed with humanity. People, please don’t steal from charity shops... okay?

I got my concentration face on! Steaming clothes is hard work :)

Working away, I watch Tra greet familiar faces, banter with customers and help out some tourists looking for directions. She has a particularly long chat with one lady who seems to visit the shop regularly. In many ways a charity shop is like any other clothes store; there’s the ‘business’ side of things with sales targets, ‘branding’, customer service and presentation, of course all within the limitations of not being able to ‘design’ your stock. In some important ways, however, they’re very different. It’s not just that they’re for charity. During my few hours working at Oxfam, I realise that they’re a place of community for people, especially the disaffected, people on the fringes of society. Of course charity shops, with their low prices, are also here to help out the disadvantaged in our society. I think there’s more to it though. Maybe the local character as well as the bustling, chaotic imperfectness of charity shops makes people, who feel out of place in brightly lit, perfectly clean and stylishly designed retail emporiums, feel at home and accepted.

I really enjoyed my time working at Oxfam Botanic. Volunteering at a charity shop is a great way to support a worthy cause, up your skills and meet some fun people and it won't hurt your CV either. You can find out more about volunteering at Oxfam here. Oxfam Botanic even has a facebook page, so give them a like!

My Five Favourite Vintage Shops in Dublin

This week I'm taking you on a little tour of lovely Dublin, highlighting my five favourite vintage shops over on Ms Wanda's Wardrobe.
I'm so excited to be blogging for this great sustainable fashion blog! Ms Wandas is definitely one to add to your blog reading list.
Head on over and discover all the lovely vintage there is to get in Dublin!

Vintage Home Pop Up

It was a dreary and rainy weekend so what better to do than attend the cozy Kitchen Sink Saturday, a vintage home pop up sale organized by Uncle Shelby Vintage and interior design & marketing company Project Two. A home pop up is pretty much what it says on the tin. For a day or afternoon, you turn your house into a boutique/ jewellers/ haberdashers/ food market, but unlike being the highstreet; you get to make up all the rules!
So I headed on over to 6 Bladon Court in Stranmillis and standing in front of the door, I have to say, I did feel a little nervous. Walking into a complete stranger's house is weirdly exciting and unnerving at the same time. But the lovely hostesses and the relaxed atmosphere soon made me feel at ease.

Caitlin, the face behind Uncle Shelby Vintage, is currently trying to set up her own business selling vintage clothes. During the day, Caitlin works in PR, but at night she turns into a vintage-maniac, spending her hours doing anything and everything to make her dream happen. As with every emerging business, money is tight. A home pop up is a great and cheap way for Caitlin to display her collection, get to know her customers and give them the chance to see and try on her stock. Caitlin hand-picks all the vintage clothes she sells, assuring high quality, and sources them from all over the world. It was so much fun browsing through her beautiful selection in this unique environment.

My favourite of the bunch had to be this gorgeous 70's print dress. I love the lace overlay at the top! It would make the perfect outfit for any garden party or summer wedding.

For the event, Caitlin teamed up with Catherine and Patricia, the creative goddesses behind Project Two. Once again I was reminded of how much power there is in collaborating with people. Project Two contributed toward the design of the event and sold some interior goodies, such as plush cushions, carpets and luxury curtains, and the combination worked really well.

Taking place in Patricia's gorgeous house (I left with a serious case of house-jealousy), the atmosphere was great. There was music, welcome drinks and tasty snacks. The fun thing about a home pop up is that you can really make it your own and treat your customers to a novelty shopping experience.

So if you are thinking about setting up a shop of your own, why not try a home pop up first? It may be a great way for you to dip your toe in the water!

If you missed the event, don't worry, Uncle Shelby Vintage is now also available online and you can follow Caitlin on facebook on twitter to stay tuned for the next home pop up!

Boston and New York Part II

My first time ever to visit New York, I spent a large part of my time realising that I was by no means cool enough! Everyone here seems to have stepped right off the pages of a fashion magazine, well, except for the tourists that is. Apart from being marginally depressing, it was also hugely inspiring and I left with a head full of new style and decor ideas.

As I was in New York for just a few days, I only got to see a fraction of this vast city. There are uncountable vintage shops in New York and just as many blogs advising you as to which ones are the best... Here are a few I stumbled upon and really liked, but I'm in no way claiming to be an expert. 

If you are looking for high-end, designer and more expensive vintage, then Soho, East Village, and Nolita (for North of Little Italy) are great neighbourhoods to check out. 

Spotted: the gorgeous Andrea shopping at Ritual :)

I really liked Ritual Vintage, a tiny vintage boutique on Broome Street. The store has some very unusual pieces and an amazing selection of pre 1950s dresses. Definitely some rarities to be found in this one!

If you like it even fancier than that, then there's Frock just around the corner from Ritual. Set up by Evan Ross, former celebrity stylist, Frock offers designer and couture vintage dating from the 60's to the 90's for the stylish fashionistas of New York. Even if you can't afford them, it's great just to go and have a look at the fabulous pieces. 

Little Fox Cafe, pic from sollifestyle

Close by on Kenmare Street is the cozy Little Fox Cafe, where we thankfully stretched out legs (you end up doing a LOT of walking in NYC) and enjoyed a great cup of coffee while entertaining ourselves with people-watching. 

Not all the shops in lower Manhattan are fancy boutiques though. Head on over to East 11th Street and check out Buffalo Exchange. If you're on a budget, then this is the place for you! 

Opening the doors to its first store in 1974, Buffalo Exchange now has shops all over the US and there are four in New York alone. Similar to the Garment District in New York (see last post), they will buy your old clothes off you for store credit or cash. Buying 80% of their clothing directly from local customers makes this an incredibly sustainable and environmentally-friendly retail model. 

The selection of clothes is great too, with lots of good quality and designer second-hand ware at great prices. My sister almost had to drag me out of the shop!

Another part of the city you cannot miss out on is Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 

You can take the subway straight to Bedford Avenue and enjoy a stroll past numerous hip coffee shops, craft beer pubs, organic grocers and great vintage and second-hand shops. There's a Brookly Flea market here every Sunday from 10am - 5pm, which I would have loved to visit.

Just off Bedford Avenue, you will find the famous Beacon's Closet. Based on similar principles as Buffalo Exchange, Beacon's Closet buys and resells customers' vintage and modern clothing. The selection is a little less mainstream than in Buffalo Exchange and the focus lies more strongly on vintage. The shop is huge, with clothes organized by colour on rails. You need to be in the mood for digging, but with a selection like this one, you're bound to find something. Beacon's closet also donates left-over clothes as well as a portion of their profits to local charities. 

pics from Beacon's Closet Website

Another great place to check out is Amarcord Vintage. This funky boutique on Bedford avenue sells upscale vintage from the 40s to the 80s. The garments are beautifully presented and in immaculate condition. The shops beautifully styled and dressed mannequins are great if you need a little outfit inspiration

Monks Vintage is another inexpensive place to buy vintage and second-hand. Located on Driggs Avenue right next to the Williamsburg Buffalo Exchange, this shop has a thrift store feel to it and sells everything from clothing and accessories to vintage books and boots. Staff were very friendly here and the changing room is a red phone booth with a suitcase that gets put before the door for a lock!

New York can be a rather expensive place to stay, so one last tip of mine would be to check out airbnb, a website that lets you list, discover and book unique accommodations. We used it for the first time  and got to stay in a lovely apartment in the Upper East Side. It's more formal than couch-surfing and a great way to meet some locals. If you don't mind staying in someones place, then it might be something for you.

I'm sure I've missed out on tons of great placesWhat are your favourite shops and places in New York?

Boston and New York Part I

Over Easter break, I went for a short city trip with my lovely sister to Boston and New York. As we were only in each city for a few days, I didn't have time to properly scope out the most ethical or best vintage places to shop. I did keep my eyes wide open though, and here are some cool places I stumbled upon.

With Macklemore singing their praises, thrift shops have become rather famous. Located close to MIT and as old as I am, the Garment District is not exactly a thrift shop, but it certainly has that feel. The grungy store's tagline is to be an "alternative department store" and it certainly is huge! Lined up on rail after rail scores of vintage clothes from all decades and second-hand ware awaits the customers.

It can be somewhat overwhelming and you have to be in the mood to dig! My suggestion: don't go there at the end of a full day of sight-seeing or you'll stumble around, dazed by all the colour and diversity. If you've got your shopping mojo on full go, then this is a great place to find some amazing bargains.

The Garment District also takes in clothing, which is great for waste-management, and allows you to make a few bob from your old clothes. In real thrift shop manner, there is an area for buying clothes by the pound. Unheard of in the UK, this is quite common in America. You basically get a bag, fill it up with clothes that in piles all over the floor and pay by weight... It's hardcore... a bit too hardcore for my taste!




If you're more of a boutique-kind-of-gal then Charles Street in Beacon Hill is a great place to go. All red-brick gorgeousness the street is lined with artisan food merchants, cute boutiques and high-end vintage shops.

Artifaktori Vintage looked especially promising. The beautiful boutique sells eye-popping, colour-loving and pattern-mad vintage clothes that are bound to make you smile. Good News, you can buy their things online on their Etsy shop.


On the same street, there is also Crush Boutique. The cute basement boutique was co-founded by childhood friends Rebecca Penner and Laura Macris and sell well-established as well as up and coming designers. Prices are rather high but if you're looking for something unique and fresh, I'm sure this would be a good place to start.

Pic from here

One last place to mention on Charles Street is the Ruby Door. A paradise for any magpie, this tiny shop sells luxuriously hand-crafted jewelry. Many of the items are made in-house and owner Tracy Weiss reworks vintage pieces into exquisite modern pieces. If you're on a budget, you may want to skip this place, albeit you'll be tempted by all the glitzy gorgeousness. 

Pic from the Ruby Door

My last suggestion for any future Boston-visitors is to head to Newbury Street in Back Bay. Perhaps a little more mainstream than Charles Street, it is nevertheless a great place for sustainable shopping.

Me on Newbury street, note the fairy lights!

First of all, you can find Second Time Around (STA) here. By 'find' I mean, you literally can't miss it as there are numerous ones doted all over Newbury Street. This up-scale second-hand shop is a treasure trove for barely-worn designer clothes. All of the clothing sold here is carefully selected and in perfect condition.

For all the Cowboy-fashion lovers, a visit to Vintage Boots is a must. Tucked away in a basement on Newbury street, this quirky place specializes in vintage cowboy attire. You'll literally find anything here from cowboy boots, to belts and flannel shirts.

If you're the outdoorsy type or looking for a cool t-shirt for a male friend, then you should check out Life is Good a little further down Newbury Street. The local brand started out selling t-shirts and has expanded its range to include baby's clothing, backpacks and car tire covers. The aim of the brand is to spread optimism and it certainly makes me happy to hear that they donate 10% of all its net profits to children in need. 

After all she sight-seeing and shopping we were exhausted and in desperate need for some food and relaxation. Luckily, close by was Trident Booksellers & Cafe, where we got a tasty meal and well-deserved local beer. Selling quirky books, gifts by local designers, hipster trinkets and fair trade chocolate, the Trident is a great place to explore and you can easily lose an afternoon here.

Have you ever been to Boston, or do you maybe live there? Any other suggestions you'd like to share?

Something Old, Something New...

Image from the vintage  singer

It's officially wedding season! the first flowers are blooming and so are the wedding fairs. They're popping up everywhere, trying to lure brides-to-be in and sell them lots of "essential" products for their weddings. But why always buy everything new when it has been done so many times before and with so much style?! Why not try a Vintage wedding? It's beautiful, it's in and it's much more sustainable.
Last week, I went along to the Frock Around the Clock  Bridal Vintage Fair in the beautiful surroundings of Malone House to give you a taste of some of the gorgeous vintage and local design products out there. Believe me, I wanted to get married all over again!

Decadence Vintage  make sure their Frock Around the Clock Vintage Fairs are a real experience. Usually set in gorgeous venues, they not only showcase vintage but recycled and local design wares as well, while retro entertainment and music create a glamorous shopping atmosphere.

"Exhibitors at Decadence events are either vintage dealers who source unique items from across the globe, or local creative designers who produce beautiful handcrafted fashion and jewellery pieces from recycled textiles. Therefore buyers can be confident that they are supporting eco-friendly and local small businesses..."
Becky from Decadence Vintage

Let's start out with the best bit, shall we? Dresses!

1930's silk wedding dress from Archive 12 

Archive 12 sells the most stunning original vintage dresses. Hand-picked by fashion stylist Claire Leese, the dresses span decades from the 1920's to the 1970's. Each dress is restored by Claire herself and brought to a bespoke finish. I fell in love with this cute 1960's dress, what a stylish bride this must have been!

1960's cream lace button front dress by Archive 12

Now that we have the vintage dress of our dreams, we can think about Accessories. One thing I love about attending weddings in Ireland is the hair accessories. Be it a veil for the bride, a hat for the mother-in-law, a fascinator for the bridesmaid or a simple hairband for the girlfriend: everyone gets to wear something in their hair. And hair pieces at Irish weddings come in all the colours of the rainbow with sparkles, feathers and lots of glitter!

If you're looking for a real eye-catcher, a true one-off design, have a look at the beautiful creations of Irish milliner Marie Claire Ferguson.

Left: Marie's stall at the fair. Right: Some of the beautiful headpieces from: Marie Claire Ferguson

Delicate, airy and gravity-defying, Marie hand-makes each of her pieces and tailors it completely to your wishes. Working with her and benefiting from her expert advice, you will end up with a stunning, bespoke design that matches your outfit perfectly.

As a bride you may want to go a bit more traditional with a beautiful vintage-style veil or beaded headband. My friend, the lovely Niamh, and I fell in love with this intricately hand-beaded headband by English designer Donna Crain. Niamh, who is getting married in October, was kind enough to model the piece for the blog. I think it looks amazing on her dark hair.

Left: Niamh wearing headband by Donna Crain, Right: Vintage Veils by Visionary veils

Donna Crain's pieces are hand-beaded so you have to allow up to four weeks for delivery... I think we can understand why! In Ireland her pieces are sold by Visionary Veils. Rebekah McCann-Williams, owner and designer of Visionary Veils, has created a special range of simple veils that go with the Donna Crain hairbands. Visionary Veil is the only bespoke wedding veil designer in Ireland. Rebekah hand-makes all of the veils in her collection. Her vintage range is inspired by iconic shapes and styles of the past. Have a closer look at her gorgeous designs here.

Apart from what you could put in your hair, let's have a look at what you could hold in your hands. A flower bouquet is usually the way to go... but they are not the most durable (Mine fell apart while walking out of the church!). So if you're looking for something a bit more sturdy and quirky, but still delicate and girly, these brooch bouquets by Innocent Chaos might be the thing for you.

Brooch bouquets by Innocent Chaos

Hand-crafted from various trinkets and ornaments, such as vintage and modern brooches, pins, buttons, and earrings, each bouquet has a story to tell. I love that they look as if taken straight out of a fairy-tale  Textile artist Sharon Hay, the face behind Innocent Chaos, will also create bespoke pieces according to your wishes.

Last but not least: Rings. Due to their value, vintage wedding rings are probably the most common vintage "wedding item". I don't need to convince you of their beauty. I thought I'd just show you one of my favourites. This is my friend Emma's sparkler. It's almost a hundred years old, dating from around 1915. Emma is getting married this summer... sure with a ring like that, how could you have said no?

Did you wear anything vintage or second-hand at your wedding? 
Do you know of any great vintage wedding places?