Florals: Bloomin' Marvelous!

Greetings Sports Fans,


It's hot hot hot in The Vintage Wardrobe and we've noticed many an eye-catching trend parade it's way through the door. The gift that keeps on giving, florals are everywhere and we think that they're bloomin' marvelous! Getting to the 'root' of our addiction, here's a selection found in store...

Out and about, here's one of our 'Little Shoppers' clued-up on the look...

Flower Power.

VW x

Little Shop of Shoppers 4: Loose Talk Costs Lives

Greetings Sports Fans,


This week, we caught up with Leeds-based guitar heroes 'Loose Talk Costs Lives' to talk embarrassing outfits, crooner crushes and the bother of an ill-fitting mack....

Q: Hello folks! First of all, a wee introduction for those who may not know 'Loose Talk Costs Lives' from Adam; The Recommender said that you're 'as hard to snare as grasping bubbles' - how would you describe yourselves to, say, your Mum?


Ollie: We've been called post-Pina Colada pop before...'


James: 'Post-Mojito pop?'


Liam: 'I guess you'd essentially call us pop, just not like Cyndi Lauper. Probably indie - there are too many adjectives out there!'

Q: We were hypnotised by the video for your single 'Some Nice Flowers' [see below] - it reminds me a little bit of what I imagine 'Lilt: the Musical' would look like [totally tropical] How did it come to be?


James: 'A lack of sleep and a lot of Premiere Pro. We wanted to make a video using chopped-up people dancing. Well, not literally chopped-up - you get the gist.'

Q: Upon first listen, I guess songs like 'Wreck Ashore' have an air of 'Total Life Forever' to them. Are you prone to comparisons?


Liam: 'We get the usual - Foals, Vampire Weekend etc.'


Ollie: 'We once heard after a gig one guy complain that we could have at least played some Vampire Weekend songs - you've just got to roll with it!'


Q: You're playing 'Live at Leeds' again this year with the likes of other hometown bands like Just Handshakes, (We're British) How far does Leeds permeate your songs?


Liam: 'It kind of goes without saying that we owe a lot to Leeds - it's where we're from as band. Something like playing at the Brudenell is the best thing ever.'

James: 'Liam and I are from down South and Ollie's from Chester - Leeds is a bit of a melting pot, everyone brings something to the table.'


Ollie: 'I bring a bit of Hollyoaks...'


Q: Evidently, you're all snappy dressers in very different ways. What's your style in a nutshell?

Liam: 'We kind of have pairs of styles. James and I are channeling Seinfeld. Ollie and Greg [the elusive fourth member of the band and therefore, the coolest due to his enigmatic status. Mystery's a winner!] you're more....


Ollie: 'Poor. Basically, i'm wearing the same things that i've had for the past 5 years.'


James: 'Seinfeld and Poverty. There we go.'


Q: So moving away from the dapper threads you're wearing now, what's the worst thing you've ever worn?


Ollie: 'I had a pair of Adidas Poppers once upon a time...' [reassuringly, they were a safer red and blue pair instead of highlighter orange or slime green number, both heartburn-inducing to think back on.]


James: 'I wore a Von Dutch hat this century. That's pretty bad. Liam what about you?'


Liam: 'I wore a pretty ill-fitting Mack for our Brudenell shoot...'


James: 'An ill-fitting Mack. That's your WORST outfit?!'


Liam: 'Ok, how about buddy holly glasses? They're pretty bad.'


James: 'Actually, I used to wear them to. Even though i had big, prescription glasses, i'd still wear fake ones. I've never thought about that before...' [at this point, James falls into an existential crisis...]


Q: We at The VW are a big fans of basing our looks on cartoons. Who would be your animated dopplegangers?


Ollie: 'These guys would say that i'm Speedy Gonzalez. Not because of speed, but because I can grow a pretty mean moustache' [no matter what shape or size, Ollie can apparently grow them to order]

Liam: 'I'd have to be either Rocko [from Rocko's Modern Life] or Harold from Hey Arnold' [the mono-toothed, Jewish bruiser with a good heart.]

James: 'I don't know who i'd be...'


Liam: 'How about Robin. But not a modern Robin. A 60s Robin.'


James: 'Ok, a 60s Robin or maybe George, from Sharkey and George.'


Q: And finally, you've won the chance to take out any celebrity songstress on a date. Who's it going to be?


Ollie: 'Hayley Williams from Paramore.'


Liam: 'Rihanna [James concurs] I'd sit on her thighs.'


Upon the thighs of Rihanna seems a good place to end. Playing the Unconference, Live at Leeds, Evolution Festival [alongside the likes of The Kills!] and a solo show at The Faversham on May 14th, there's ample opportunity to catch these lot doing what they do best, singing heart-felt lyrics and playing Syphilitic riffs that will have you hitting the 'replay' button more than you thought possible. Away from comparison, Loose Talk's songs are the sounds of four fellas having the time of their lives. What's more enjoyable than that?

If you're down with the audio delights of Loose Talk Costs Lives, Vintage Wardrobe will be stocking a range of band t-shirts, perfect for wearing your support on your sleeves [and chest, stomach etc]

That's all for now folks,

VW out! x

Ollie: '

Polka Dots: Spot On

Greetings Sports Fans,


Today's post comes courtesy of two words which seem unavoidable this time of year, 'Spring Clean.' An antidote to the Summer, Autumn, Winter hoard-fest which is the life of a vintage lover, we too have had a look at our wardrobe and thought, 'enough is enough.'


Leaving no stone unturned, we tackled the shop recently. Having seen better days, we decided a little spruce-up would do a world of good to the stock room [NB: we use the term 'room' rather sparingly. Probably more accurate in terms of size, the term 'Stock Coffin' unfortunately carries too many negative connotation. Besides, I quite love the little room, having all the logistical sorcery of a clown car for storing so much in so small a space!] Whilst banishing all bad feng shui, we uncovered a little gem from long ago....

Unearthed was nothing less than a lovely seventies polka dot day dress. 

Looking around The Vintage Wardrobe, we've clocked-up a fair amount of dots, be they big and bold or black and white. Permeating every decade, there's something we like about them....

As pictured in the Oscar de la Renta gown below, there can be something ultimately elegant about dots, equidistant from their brothers and sisters on a garment - a million miles away from their reputation as "fun" [the word makes me shiver!] adornments on eighties circle skirts or fifties dresses. Pop them on a pencil skirt or blouse and you've got a garment that means business.


 Looking back to our original find, there's something in the colouring of red, white and blue [oh how patriotic!] that we loved, alongside the placing of the dots. Mirroring the sixties trend for atomic furniture, there's something molecular about the dress, the dots bouncing of the lapels and belt, conjuring the thought that it only stays still when your eyes are on it.

Whether you think we're absolutely dotty for loving prints like this, there's no denying that they're only on the up in A/W 11 [did you see the Marc Jacobs show? It was practically a living dot-to-dot from one end of the catwalk to the other!] Just like the leopard, we at VW won't be changing our spots come Autumn.

VW x

Straight Up your Alley!

Greetings Sports Fans!

It's the first Friday of the month and that only means one thing in our night-time diaries - Straight Up!

Once again, it's all hands on decks for the Straight Up mandem, spinning jams like there's no tomorrow! Expect the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Snoop and much much more. There's even a raffle with drinks prizes galore and a cheeky 150 big ones on offer for the best photograph from the evening, destined for infamy on the new Straight Up flyer [note to self: attempting to form a conga covered in Savana with one eye open is not a flyer-worthy way to be. Well, we'll see] Proud to be the events sponsor, we'll see you.....there? [disclaimer: we use the term 'see' pretty loosely as vision tends to flee the nest at around 1am]

Vintage Wardrobe + Straight Up: Bringing sexy back since 2010

Get yer dancin' shoes on amigos! x