A Delightful Tea Party & Vintage Fayre

On April the 12^th Make Me Pretty Shop hit sleepy Earlsdon in Coventry for what turned out to be a rather lively and truly delightful tea party and vintage fayre.

Organised and curated by Ria Hatt from Vintage Dream Days – a talented wedding and event planner and florist – the event was held in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Vintage Dream Days event invite

Ria Hatt, Vintage Dream Days

I was asked by Ria to book a stall after she visited my stand at Judy’s Vintage Fair in Leamington Spa earlier in the year.

I love doing local events and this one was for a great cause, so I snapped up a very reasonably priced pitch and donated one of my Alice in Wonderland cameo necklaces as a raffle prize.

Held at St Barbara’s Church, I was expecting a pleasant but sedated affair, but boy was I wrong.

Yummy homemade cakes

Ria and her family and friends did a fantastic job in promoting the event, so much so guests were queuing to hand over their £1 entrance fee.

The event promised to be ‘big’ and it didn’t disappoint, with things planned for every age group not to mention tonnes of tea and cake all served in vintage china.

Betsy Harmony

Betsy Harmony – a fabulous vintage singer - performed on the day (@BetsyVintage) serenading shoppers as they browsed stalls and tried their luck on the raffle.

Miss Ellie's Homemade

There was a small but perfectly formed selection of vintage clothing stalls, handmade jewellery, alternative wedding bouquets and other crafts, chutneys and preserves and a tombola.

Those who wanted to look the part could got their hair did – vintage style of course – and a makeover for just £5! Needless to say, the stylists were booked back-to-back all day.

Vintage hair

Fresh flowers in cute vintage styled jam jars and old rustic tea tins donned the crisp white linen laid tables, frequented by all who sampled the great bakes and lashings of tea on offer.

Vintage table setting cute jam jars and old tea tins

I’m thrilled to say Make Me Pretty Shop did really well too.

While I was anticipated a good day networking, handing out flyers and a few possible sales, the event turned out to be one of my best yet – Earlsdon you clearly respect style, respect vintage!

Make Me Pretty vintage dress

My first sale was to a very stylish young lady working the door, who snapped up a great nautical dress before the event started – got to get in early with vintage! Later on the lucky lady’s boyfriend returned to buy a number of jewellery items for her.

With the sunshine out and spring in the air, people kept rolling in and so too did the sales. It was great to see lots of my vintage beauties lovingly rehomed.

Me on my stall

My jewellery also went down a storm, which was a particular buzz as I spend hours designing and handcrafting my creations so it’s reassuring to know others value them too.

I invested in a few seasonal decorations given Easter is round the corner, which I think made for a rather attractive stall – bunting, a colourful basket of freebie sweet treats for little ones and some cute fluffy chicks.

Make Me Pretty vinatge and handmade items

With different price points to suit all pockets – from £4 tea rose studs and retro bobby pins in pretty pastel colours to owl and tea cup pendants at £10, paper and fabric flower statement necklaces between £14 and £22 and of course plenty of vintage frocks ranging from £10-45, Earlesdon your were spoilt for choice.

Make Me Pretty jewellery

The raffle, which included a whole host of fabulous prizes, was a huge success and rather entertaining, especially for me who decided it would be the opportune moment to nip to the loo, only to be called back twice to pick prizes in quick succession!

Joking aside, the most important part of the day was money raised. Proceeds from entrance fees, pitch money, tea and cake sales and raffle tickets means a total of £1,244.68 will be winging its way to Marie Curie Cancer Care in the next day or so.

Tea drinkers enjoying the spoils

All-in-all the event thoroughly rewarding, but mainly because it was one of the most pleasant and charming ‘good feel’ events I’ve had the pleasure to attend.

The day had a real sense of ‘community’ with whole generations of families attending. It reminded me of the so called ‘good old days’ and for that Ria Hutt you should be truly proud.

So, if you’re looking for someone to deliver you a fantastically authentic themed vintage wedding or event, please do check out Vintage Dream Days they rock!

And, if any of you would like to check out my stock pop into Blighty Bazaar in Leamington, check me out on Etsy or catch me at the next Judy’s Vintage Fair at the Custard Factory.

Lisa x



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A pretty prairie pick up in pastels!

Today’s Make Me Pretty Shop #fridaysfrock is a super cute 1970’s floral pastel number by the much-loved California designer, Candi Jones.

Candi Jones 1970's dress

Now I may have missed last week’s instalment of #fridaysfrock for which I apologise, but hopefully this little beauty and some exciting news will make up for it.

This dress is perfect for spring, given the pretty pastel colours of coral, yellow, blue, green and ivory, and its fabulous flirty sleeves and short length.

The detail on the garment is really flattering, with cute matching fabric ties at the tops of flutter sleeves and a blouson style bust.

While the label seems popular online, I can find little on the designer, which leads me to believe her designs were for a small boutique with a limited marketing budget.

Candi Jones California label

There is however a lot of chatter about Candi Jones’ designs being similar to the famous Gunne Sax brand known for its prairie and bohemian style 1970’s dresses.

As I there is no record to date the label online I would guess this is an early 1970’s frock. 

The silhouette, is looser fitting than later 70’s designs and the pattern less in your face than those entering the disco era. The length also makes this more likely.

All-in-all the dress is in a good pre-loved condition.  

There’s a small pull just on the hip, which isn’t really noticeable given the busy pattern, and a small part of the fabric has been re-stitched to the elastic at the waist, but again is not visible given the blouson bust which drapes down.

I'm sure you’ll agree these minor flaws don’t detract from the beauty of this frock, and if anything add to its character. So, if you’re bored of cookie-cutter high street fashion and fancy a flirt with a 70’s sweetheart then this dress could be for you.

Oh, at the start of my post I promised some exciting news and here it is. As well as doing another Judy’s Vintage Fair this weekend, this time at The Custard Factory in Birmingham, I have secured some space for Make Me Pretty in a local shop – Blighty Bazaar.

I really hope the shoppers of Blighty love my vintage frocks and handmade retro jewellery – I just can’t wait to see my stock on display. So, if you live in or visit Leamington please pop in! 

Best wishes,

Lisa xxx

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Perks of the job

Just a quick photo post today of a gorgeous 90's dress I picked up at a vintage kilo sale while looking for stock.

There has to be some perks to a job right? Well after a great thrifty haul purchasing stock I just couldn't resist keeping one of the dresses.

I just love the flattering cut of this dress on the bust and waist, and the circle style skirt means my hips are nicely skimmed.

The red floral pattern is super cute and gave me a good excuse to wear my vintage C&A red suede bag and matching shoes.

I decided to accessorise the outfit with a red studded belt, red nails and lippy!

I wore this dress for cocktails with the girls and was glad of the long sleeves, given the chill in the air and spattering of rain.

Fret not though I was restrained and kept lots of gorgeous vintage dresses back for Make Me Pretty Shop, which will be at The Custard Factory this coming Saturday for another fab Judy's vintage fair, so stop by and say hi!

Lisa x

Pussy-bow baby but no Iron Lady

I always enjoy playing the dating game with a vintage frock, but today’s Make Me Pretty Shop #fridaysfrock was somewhat of a conundrum.

Vintage dress by "Tony Ruocco" for Alper Schwarz

I picked this good-looking American up at a recent vintage clothing kilo sale, and after delving into its history I’ve pinned the production age down to late 60’s early 70’s.

Pussy-bow necklines were popular with American manufacturers in the 60’s. And, while they became synonymous in the UK with Britain’s first female Prime Minister, this darling is more American Beauty than Iron Lady.

Silhouette wise, the dress is not as figure hugging as later 70’s clothing. The shirt is loose fitting and the smart navy skirt is more A-line, flaring slightly at the hem.

A good quality garment, this dress is in excellent condition, complete with original fabric covered buttons on the cuff and belt loops, but unfortunately no belt.

Tags are a good starting point when dating vintage and this splendid girly fuchsia shirt with attached smart navy skirt has a number of them. The first says “Tony Ruocco for Alper-Schwarz”. 

Neither name features on the Vintage Fashion Guild Label Resource, but I did find a helpful blog post from Pin Tuck Style with some insight into the manufacturing company.

Alper Schwartz was manufacturing fashion by the early 50's in Philadelphia. Owner Samuel Alper later sold to Bernard Schwartz. By the mid 50’s the label was sold in the upper tier regional department stores to junior customers who wanted current fashion styles. 

There’s no record of designers, beyond the "Tony Ruocco" name which appears on some 60’s labels, but the general construction of this dress definitely shows quality craftsmanship. 

The seams have been ‘pinked’ with zig-zag edging to prevent fraying, a process that was typical before the late 60’s, but better dressmakers would have used a number of treatments. The dress also contains a plastic zip, a popular material of choice from the 60’s onwards. 

The second tag includes the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) name declaring the product is union and the inclusions of code ILGWU-AFL-CIO suggests the garment was produced between 1955 and 1995. A wide timeframe, but other tags hold more clues.

While a ‘dry clean only’ label remains, the remnants of a paper tag – typically removed after the item was worn - could have held further care instructions.

Care tags became a requirement in 1972 after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission passed a regulation for textile manufacturers to include them in their products.

Overall, this is a very versatile outfit that could be easily transformed from day to night. A truly a fabulous, but most importantly, wearable vintage gem. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Lisa x

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Resources: The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping by Melody Fortier, Pink Tuck Style on BlogSpot.