VINTAGE HEAVEN!

Today was one of the best day's ever for one reason - i died and went to vintage couture heaven - but we'll get to that in a moment. So this morning I reviewed my list of vintage stores to explore today and got my map and got myself orgainsed with what tubes to catch etc... First on my list was a store on Portobello Road called One of a Kind. Portobello Road itself hosts a vintage & antique market on saturday's but its incredibly busy and not something I'm yet to brave , so I just thought I'd go discover this store first. I got off at the appropriate stop and walked 10 minutes towards Portobello Road - I stopped by Starbucks and ordered my usual Mocha Frappucino order with whip and some chocolate drizzle coz I felt extra special today :) I scooted down the road to 'One of A kind' only to find a 'back in 10 minutes sign'. I peroused the window.

Vintage Chanel Bags , sat next to vintage Hermes Birkin Bags (sigh) followed by Vintage Christian Dior & Chloe sunglasses. The left hand door was covered in pictures of special, guests that visited the store. Now I read on google that it was a favorite of Sienna Miller's but along with her picture on the door there were pictures of Victoria Beckham , Kate Moss , Lindsay Lohan , Marc Jacobs & supermodel Natalia Vodianova. "This is going to be good" I thought to myself... I walked around the corner to find a cute little store that stocked a few brands I like , Cheap Monday , Ksubi etc and the girl that worked there was aussie so that was nice to hear an aussie accent. When I walked back around to 'One of a Kind' a 30-so year old thin moustached man smoking a cigarette , wearing a navy blue blazer white shirt , blue jeans and boat shoes , greeted me with a "Just a second mate..." he crossed the road , opened the door and walked me into heaven. The store itself is quite small and narrow but is covered wall to wall in vintage amazingess! "Where's the menswear" I asked and he pointed me to the back room. I admired the shoes , touched the luxurious furs and made my way down to shirts and jumpers. I found 2 things that were in my size and a must to try on. A beige vintage v-neck Burberry sweater & a black cashmere/velvet blend original Gianni Versace Couture jumper from Gianni's 80s reign. I picked it up and dangled it infront of my big brown eyes "Its a quirky peice put you look like the kind of guy who gets it , you could pull it off" , "I was thinking the same thing" I replied to him. I walked to the fitting rooms passing the womens furs on the way (sigh again). I put on the Versace and didnt even think twice about trying the Burberry on 'This is It' i thought. You know that feeling when you put something on and its love at first sight. Its like you were born to wear it - maybe its just me but thats how that jumper made me feel. Its very classic. Black. Crew Neck. Ribbed at the sleeves. But it has the most amazing cashmere/velvet blend to it and the fabric is so sumptuous and luxurious it made my skin smile. More than anything, I dont really like current Versace but Vintage Versace I love and anything that Gianni designed himself is an investment! I walked out to the mirror and spotted a leather & chain belt I thought I could wear as a necklace over the jumper. "Could I try it on please" I asked , "its Vintage from the 60s, Twiggy designed it for Harrods" he replied. I put it over the jumper and it looked amazing "You know what you're talking about mate" he said. The necklace was 400pounds so was out of the question 'I'll buy a version from TopShop' I thought. "How much is the Jumper?" I asked with fear , it had no price tag. He told me the price and it was only a tiny bit out of my budget so I was just about to ask him to hold it for me. I kept on looking at the womens clothes and he said "I think you'll find this very inspiring, you a designer are you?" , "Actually yes" I replied. We got to talking and he mentioned a private room he had reserved only for celebrities and VIP Clientele filled wall to wall in exclusive Premium Couture worth Millions of Pounds. "I normally reserve it for celebrities only but you look like the kind of chap that would appreciate it and it will be very inspiring for you" with those words he locked the shop door and took me down the hallway through a mirrored door and into a room also knows as HEAVEN! I couldnt breathe for a moment , hung above my head was a Chanel bag the size of my suitcase "Its worth more than two Birkins put together and Chanel locked their store and filled it with security when they handed it over to us" he told me. I got shivers down my spine. In a cabinet was a crocodile skin Vintage Birkin. (sigh) he showed me original Vivienne Westwood peices from the start of Viv's career. Dresses designed by Christian Dior himself in the 40s. Vintage shoes by Chanel, Westwood, Balenciaga. A lot of amazing vintage Chanel jewellery & some amazing no label peices dating back to the 1900s. When I saw a Chanel brooch pinned to a couture Chanel jacket that Coco Chanel designed herself in the beginning of her career I almost got tears in my eyes. It was amazing! "You should consider yourself very lucky not many people are allowed in there , only a few months ago we had the stylist Rachel Zoe in here and she died in the room she loved it" he told me! I nearly died after hearing that comment! I immediatley told him my story about me moving from Aus to further my fashion career and as he knows so many people in the industry tomorrow i'm bringing him my resume and he's gonna try help me. I will also be purchasing the Versace jumper as he gave me a deal I couldnt refuse. Next store up was Relik - just up the road.

It was quite a cool selection , lots of Westwood and some cool Azzedine Alai peices but no menswear :( about a 20minute walk away was the area of Notting Hill. Something i've been dying to visit because I was told its beautiful (and loved the movie). It exceeded my expectations and was truly beautiful. I wish we could live there its so pretty :) check it out.

I also went past the park where they actually filmed that scene with Hugh & Julia in Notting Hill , its a private park and was all blocked off but i zoomed in and got a pic anyway hehe.
Last stop for today was 'Aboslutley Vintage' which was about a 20minute tube ride in the opposite direction but well worth the trip as it was voted by Elle Magazing as London's best Vintage Store in 2008. On the walls were pics of Kelis, Kirsten Dunst & Jean Paul Gaultier. So it was here I bought me my purchase for the day. So in the spirit of vintage , all this exploring through vintage peices inspired me to step outside of the box. I spotted these striped cotton vintage balloon/harem style pants in the mens section. At first the fabric pattern & colour combination and the silhouetter reminded me of Vintage Vivienne Westwood and something I had seen earlier today at One of a Kind. This high waisted pair of pants caught my eye and I was just telling Ben the other day I wanted to try a mens style harem pant (as they're all over the place here) so I headed to the change room. As soon as I put them on the sheer comfort and roominess of them had me sold and they had some what of a childish charm to them. I feel like a cheeky little kid in them and they make me smile. I know they'll be slightly controversial and probably not many people will like them but thats one of the reasons I bought them , more to the point I love them and I cant wait to rock them tomorrow when I continue my vintage adventures...

I think i'll pair them with my YSL tee and my new Marc Jacobs beanie and some patent shoes! Next was off to the city to my Diesel interview. It was a group interview that went for almost 2 hours and was quite fun actually. We had to play stylists and style outfits and stuff so it was right up my alley. I also made a new friend , she's really nice and she's pretty and she studies fashion marketing so we've added eachother on facebook and hopefully will catch up for a drink which will be nice. All in all a very good day! I look forward to tomorrow. I'll leave you with this picture of me at Picadilly Circus at night - my flash wasnt working but I kinda like how i'm blacked out and all you can see is the lights. Its cool.

Thats it for me xoxo Deni