Woodhall Spa 1940s Weekend

On the 19th and 20th of July this year we went to the Woodhall Spa 1940's weekend which we look forward to attending every year. The event is only in it's 3rd year but right from the very beginning it has felt very well established which I think it due to it being so well organised. Plus the entire village seems to take part so it has always been quite large and well attended. This year was busier than ever with a jam packed schedule of singers, fly pasts, speeches, and re-enactments. And not to mention the shopping, oh the shopping!

The first year we went back in 2012 I had the time of my life because it was the first time I ever met Lola Lamour. We chatted to her and Kevin for a little while and I think just grinned like an idiot. I wore my trusty blue and white gingham sailor dress which I think I wore this year too because it's just so comfortable. I bought the dress from Etsy and wear it all the time in the summer.

In 2013 we went along with our friend Zac and again the event did not disappoint. We saw Lola perform but unfortunately didn't get to speak to her though we did manage to catch Brandyn Shaw performing outside the Petwood. He really is a fabulous performer and while we watched him we had a cream tea which really was wonderful. Indi and Zac just looked too handsome in their suits that day.

I wore and outfit which I had bought at the Festival of the Forties not long before we went to Woodhall Spa. The trousers are reproduction but I forget who made them. It's funny because I must have only worn them once since then even though at the time I was totally in love and thought they were the bees knees. Oh dear I am a fickle creature! 

And finally this year we went along again and all over again had a wonderful time in one of my favourite little towns (is it a town or a village?). I wore a wonderful little cornflower blue dress which I bought from Tasty Vintage here in Lincoln. It's actually from the 70's but is 40s looking when styled properly. 

 

It did rain a fair bit on the Saturday morning but that didn't seem to put folks off and Sunday the weather was wonderful anyway. We really this event for all the reasons I said before plus we just love this little place anyway. One day soon I shall have to show you the Kinema in the Woods they have there because it's just the most wonderful thing. Do you have any events in the year which you really look forward to above all others?

ttfn!

Outfit Post - Baston in the Blitz

Dear Reader,

Just a quick little post to show you my outfit from a couple of weeks ago when Indi and I went to Baston in the Blitz. It was a really lovely little wartime event held just on the Sunday in the village of Baston. We hadn't particularly made plans to go to it as we didn't know where Baston was but that weekend we were staying at my parents house while they were away. On the Saturday we were driving down to Market Rasen as we had booked a table in the new Iron Horse Ranch House which is an American Bar and Grill; if you are ever in the area their food is amazing. Anyway on our way down we spotted a sign for Baston and since it wasn't far away at all thought we would swing by on the Sunday to see what it was all about. It was a lovely event with some great performances from the likes of Lola Lamour and a wonderful community spirit. There was even an impromptu sing along outside the beer tent with a pearly king and someone playing the spoons!

 

Jeans - Freddies of Pinewood

Blouse - London Boots

Belt - Frockahula

Sunglasses - ebay 

The Asylum - Lincoln Steampunk Festival 2014

Dear Reader,

I hope you are enjoying these early September days as much as we are when it begins to feel autumnal but it's yet to turn cold. In early September every year Lincoln every year uphill Lincoln is invaded with Steampunks and Retro-Futurists for the Asylum Steampunk festival which is the largest purely Steampunk event in all of Europe. I find that quite amazing and as it it right on our doorstep, it quite literally used to be when I lived uphill, we have attended every year albeit the first year it was on was purely by accident. I love it when other unsuspecting folk stumble upon it and wander around in awe, part of me hopes they think Lincoln is like this all of the time as it's a wonderful event to behold.

We love Dieselpunk as it's of the eras we already collect and enjoy the science-fiction slant that is added which makes it so creative. The other events we attend during the year are so much fun but you do get some who will comment that you button is 2mm too big to be period accurate where as, I have found, at The Asylum everyone is just so wonderful and looks upon it more as an overall aesthetic rather than niggling over if there's polyester in your fabric.

I tried a little harder with my outfit this year as Indi had found me some cool round sunglasses and had made me a hydra, from Captain America, badge but I need to get more inventive with the science-fiction. Nevertheless people were still very complimentary on our outfits and some even snapped our pictures. Yesterday I wore a reproduction dress made by Collectif, which I wore last year also, with a hat I bought from Twinwood festival a couple of years ago. I also wore some very impractical shoes which fit me last year but seemed to slip off my feet all the time yesterday. In the end I went home and changed into my pair of Miss L Fire shoes; a perk of living so close by, but they also slipped a bit as I walked. I think I've lost weight only on feet, it's the only explanation I have!

Today I was wearing a far more sensible outfit but still felt quite special and got a few compliments. The best compliment of the day came from The Vampire Master from over on The Fedora Lounge. He asked if he could take our photograph and as we were chatting I realised he looked so familiar. Although I no longer go on The Fedora Lounge very much any more I remembered him because he's always so well dressed.

My outfit today was more 1940s than Dieselpunk and I wore a skirt which I picked up from the Kustom Kulture Blast Off show the other weekend with a sunny yellow jumper that I bought from La Vida Vintage here in Lincoln. The skirt is St Michael and as soon as I saw the fanning kick pleat at the back I knew I had to have it. I must apologise though because I didn't think to get a picture of it.

We didn't buy wristbands to get into all of the attractions as we find that just wandering around the Bailgate and castle gives us plenty to do. We were glad that we did go into the castle as when we were there they had a Steampunk wacky races thing. This was a lot of fun and I really hope they elaborate on this next year; it would be fun as a Steampunk version of the Chap Olympiad.

I already can't wait for next year's Steampunk weekend and have already begun planning outfits including an aviator ensemble. Did you go to the Steampunk weekend? If you did I hope you had a wonderful time and will return next year. We certainly will so I hope I will see you there!

ttfn

About Me

Hello fellow time travellers! Thank you very much for stopping by and I hope you rest a while before continuing on your way.

My name is Rowena and I live in the historic city of Lincoln in England with my boyfriend and fellow time traveller, Indi. By trade I work for Adult Social Care and have done since I was 19. About four years ago I began to be interested in the fashion of the mid-twentieth century thanks to the beautiful Lola Lamour. I watched a documentary called Time Warp Wives in which she starred and I remember it was a total revelation. I was hooked and watched the 30 minute show repeatedly, still do from time to time! I have always loved different eras from the 60's in my childhood to the 80's in my teens but as I grew older I felt I should dress "normal" in an effort to be more adult. I never really felt like I was being myself and wished there would be a style where I could be individual and yet still feel others would take me seriously. I feel that finding vintage has helped me to express my personality through my outward appearance and achieve that balance.

My style tends to vary between actual vintage and a rockabilly twist and Indi and I spend our weekends in the summer attending events for the 1940's and also some rockabilly shin digs too. I'm not too bothered about being 100% accurate and prefer to wear what I feel happiest in so I try not to limit myself to just one decade. We both love the aesthetics of the 1920's to the 1950's. Most days I wear either vintage, vintage-style / rockabilly and the dream is to have a full vintage wardrobe one day; I'm working on it!

I hope you enjoy visiting my blog and reading all the things we have been up to. If you feel like dropping me a line I would enjoy that ever so much and I always welcome feedback of any kind. If you wish to email me you can do so here.

TTFN