Happy Anniversary!

It is exactly one year to this day that I posted my first story on Tales of Endearment. It has come a long way since then. The photography has gotten better, the posts have become more elaborate and the attention has multiplied. Day after day I have seen my readership grow and enjoyed reading all the positive comments, reposts and tweets of everyone who supports my Tales. But above all I would like to thank my wonderful muses. I have shot close to 40 girls now and each one has inspired and motivated me in more ways than I ever imagined. I have established some amazing, lasting friendships during the course of my weekly shoots and I can only hope this trend will persist. Thank you for following and stay gorgeous!
Natalie

Coquette at Kettner's

We are very excited about the launch of ‘Coquette’ at Kettner’s on 9^th April – not least because I will be glammed up showcasing products from Stop Traffic Clothing's current collection including new items from Stop Staring! David Carter’s glamorous ladies’ pampering events entitled ‘Tart’ simply outgrew his beautiful boutique hotel in East London 40 Winks.

Fortunately historic restaurant and champagne bar Kettner’s in Soho came to the rescue. Now 60 lucky guests will be able to revel in the decadent atmosphere once enjoyed by Oscar Wilde.

At ‘Coquette’, ladies will be immersed into a heavenly world of sipping champagne and cocktails from vintage tea cups and sampling delicious sandwiches, cakes and chocolates before being transformed into vintage goddesses by an army of make-up artists and vintage style gurus.

Not only will the delightful Lipstick and Curls team be on hand but Benefit’s head make-up artist Lisa Potter Dixon will be sharing her top tips in an exclusive masterclass. There is even a ‘Benefit’s Best Girl’ award worth an eye watering £300!

The ‘Dressing Up room’ is where you can allow your imagination to run wild with beautiful reproduction labels like Stop Staring! and Bettie Page Clothing from Stop Traffic Clothing & authentic vintage pieces from Rag & Bow Mr Carter will be only too pleased to pose for a photograph I’m sure! There is a prize for the most flirtatious girl…

As ever there will be lots of entertaining talks on kissing, etiquette and cocktail making, plus you needn’t feel guilty about eating lots of cake thanks to ‘Dance with a Stranger’ – a gentle introduction to the mysteries of Swing by Mr Paul Crook.

‘Coquette’ is a truly exclusive event and with only 60 places up for grabs it is guaranteed to sell out. Tickets are £90 including the full champagne afternoon tea, make-over & lovely goodie bag to take home at the end of the afternoon.

Dates: April 9th, June 18th, 20th August, 15th October, and 3rd December 2011

Booking: reservations@40winks.org or 0207 790 0259

thom dolan...

Spring 2011 Thom Dolan is filled with '50s inspiration & bikinis. Lovely, lovely pieces...

{source}

also those shades are killer.

xo, 

Brittany

At Home: Adriano Sack

Yesterday I visited Adriano Sack, a journalist and author who moved to Berlin some weeks ago after years in New York, choosing Kreuzberg's beautiful Planufer as his new home. He found an apartment just by the canal, which needed extensive renovation since the former renters had a distinct preference for wooden interiors (imagine a bathroom with wooden panelling on walls and ceiling, combined with a pink bathtub, or a kitchen completely designed in pine wood). After painting everything white and furnishing it with personal items like the disco ball he found on the streets of New York one day and the beloved elephant lamp, Adriano starts to feel home again in the city he left many years ago.
Adriano is the founder of I like my style, an online style community that started printing a member generated magazine featuring whose new issue is just out!.

/mary

PS, something personal: excuse our lame content production these days (weeks.. months!) I am currently working on several exams to finish my studies and it's harder to combine this with the work on the blog than I thought...

Kreuzberg Beauty

jeffrey campbell is a shoe god...

Jeffrey Campbell nails the platform sandal & perfects vintage inspired lace up heels. The photos below are from spring/summer 2011 lookbook. Try not to drool too much...

{photos : jeffrey campbell spring/summer 2011 lookbook}

Campbell's shoes are always a little pricey for me, but this collection is so beautiful I might have to splurge on one pair... now how on earth do I choose?!

Which pair are your favorite???

xo,

Brittany

An Oosterdam

Can you believe I had never been to Amsterdam? I grew up a two-hour train ride away, across the border from Holland and not once made it there. I guess the city never really had a strong appeal to me. In my mind it was just like Ghent, with the same canals, architecture and folklore. The only difference was the legal supply of marihuana and the Dutch speaking people. And even that isn't so unusual anymore because weed is legal in Belgium too now and the Dutch have planted themselves very comfortably in our tax paradise - go shopping in Knokke for the afternoon and you'd think you were in Holland. Plus, Flemish (what we speak in half the country) is a dialect of Dutch, so we understand each other perfectly, just like the English and Americans do. Sort of.

I had planned to shoot An Oost for a while but rather than take her shopping in Belgium - I have covered most of Flanders now - I thought we should take a trip to Amsterdam instead, right after London Fashion Week, kill two birds with one stone sort of speak. An and I became friends when I had already moved to New York. I was working as Craig McDean's Studio Manager when the Belgian model invasion started, some time around 1999. An Oost and Anouck Lepere were two of the first girls to appear on the scene and create this exciting new buzz. The Belgian girls were boyish, funny and incredibly cool. An had been on my radar for a while, but as it goes, it's all about being in the right place at the right time. One day Craig was off to a casting meeting for a TSE Cashmere ad campaign but right before he walked out the door I ran to dump An's portfolio in his hands, on top of the stack already there. I insisted he take a chance on the new girl. And the rest is history. She nailed the campaign and became a superstar.

An is a mom of two now. She quit modeling when she got pregnant with Holly three years ago.  And her son Oscar is about seven months old. Together with her husband Matthieu, she runs a popular, modern Bed & Breakfast in a beautiful 19th Century building on the Leie river in Ghent (http://www.designandbreakfast.com/indexen.html). Just recently she started designing a collection of unisex children's clothing which incorporates the drawings of Ghent graffiti artist Bue (http://toykyokids.be/). Her husband also runs a design and book store. "I don't miss modeling," she vows. "I do miss traveling and the friends I made, but I am happy now starting up these new ventures and making them grow. It gives me much more satisfaction than a job where everything is prepped and pampered for you."

Amsterdam was foggy, wet and grey. (Yep, also just like Ghent!) Less than ideal weather to shop, let alone do a photo shoot. But we figured we'd replace the missing sun with our stylish imagination and let the clothes shine instead. The first day we walked around in the 'Negen Straatjes' area, a grid of tiny, cobble stone streets split up by a few canals (or "grachten"), with tons of interesting shops, cafes and restaurants. We found Zipper in the Huidenstraat, a vintage store with another affiliate in the Nieuwe Hoogstraat, that stocks mostly 60's and 70's cheap thrills (above).

My vote for best vintage store in Amsterdam goes to Laura Dols. The delightful owners have two insanely colorful and inspiring locations opposite of each other in the Wolvenstraat. We spent hours in there! I found an amazing feather coat for €85 and An got wool pleated pants ("they were the missing link in my wardrobe!"), a cashmere sweater (which she is proudly wearing in her Facebook profile picture), a Prada-esque 50's dress that fit like a glove, some undergarments and a lace T-shirt "that I know I will wear to death this summer". The sales girls at the counter had no clue we understood Dutch and started complaining about us after a couple of hours. Even though we spent quite a lot of money in there....

An used to go vintage shopping a lot. Modeling took her to different parts of the world and there was always the motivated stylist to go shopping with. "My best pieces are vintage. I've never been one to spend a lot of money on clothes, except shoes or handbags," she admits. "I don't even buy designer vintage, but the pieces remain in my closet and part of my daily dressing routine. I never get tired of them." An's sense of style has a modest quirkiness to it and fluctuates between comfortable street style and pretty 60's dresses. She still has that tomboy inclination, especially now with her short hair cut, but her motivation to dress down stems from a need for comfort as a career mom and the fact that in Belgium not many people wear heels or dresses on a daily basis, something I personally find one of the main reasons I could never live there anymore. "I would move away just for some sun! I love everything about Belgium, except the climate, our priests and politicians..."

The second day we did the vintage tour of Amsterdam on bicycles, truly the most effective and fun means of transportation. Petit Salon in the Oude Spiegelstraat is a well-edited consignment store with designers ranging from surprising 80's Comme des Garcons and Margiela to label-less vintage. Lady Day in the Hartenstraat is great for cheap and wearable finds. Jenny De Jager has three annex stores in the St. Antoniebreestraat, one with shoes and fur hats, one with not so interesting women's and men's second-hand but the coolest one is the army and navy stock where I bought army green cavalry pants and navy blue wool customs pants with a red stripe down the side. Coincidently (or not) I saw both styles show up on the Louis Vuitton runway two weeks later! I guess we were in sync, Marc!

I decided Amsterdam is not like Ghent, or any other city in the world for that matter. It's quaint, cozy  and effortless. I can only imagine what it would be like in summer when the roads are dry and the canals are glistening in the sunlight. 

Get it?

A Most Curious Wedding Fair

If you are currently planning your own wedding and would like an enormous amount of inspiration under one roof then head down to 'A Most Curious Wedding Fair' on 16th April. 

After planning her own vintage-inspired wedding in intricate detail, sourcing everything from unique vintage dress companies to florists and stationers, Rebecca Hoh-Hale decided to put her collection of suppliers to good use by starting her own company in 2009 A Most Curious Party - a vintage hire and decorating service, helping to add vintage charm to events ranging from Christenings, birthdays, and even corporate events.  

This wedding fair will give vintage-loving brides a chance to meet with renowned vintage suppliers and experts including the lovely Naomi Thompson from Vintage Secret who will also be giving a talk on wearing an authentic vintage bridal gown.

Pearls & Swine will be displaying some rather saucy vintage-inspired lingerie!

Vivien of Holloway the famous 1950's reproduction dress company are going to be displaying and contributing their affordable yet ultra glam selection of bridal wear to the fashion shows.

Featuring over 50 carefully selected suppliers this fair will cover every thing needed to make your vintage wedding dreams come true. Stands will include wedding cake specialists, stationers, photographers & flortists. Norwich based vintage hair stylist Flamingo Amy and vintage styler and make-up artist the 'fabulous Miss K' will be doing hair demos and consultations throughout the day.

Flamingo Amy

Take a well earned rest at 'A Most Curious Party's very own 1940's style tearoom, complete with sassy waitresses who will serve you tea and cakes from Victoria's Kitchen served on super-cute vintage crockery!

Not bad for £2 entry is it?! The only thing Rebecca isn't supplying is the groom, but this fair looks so appealing I might go along in disguise wearing a fake engagement ring! Do you think anyone will notice?  

The 'Most Curious Wedding Fair' will be held on Saturday 16th April at St Andrew's Hall, Norwich from 11am-5.30pm £2 entry £1 for brides-to-be!