Kukoo Fair Liverpool (21/11/2010)

I've been to a couple of vintage fairs since arriving in Liverpool but this was the best by far! I can't wait for the next one! Set in the amazing 'Aloha' bar the atmosphere could not be more perfect for Kukoo Fairs. The bar looks as if it is straight off the set of 'South Pacific' with its bamboo clad walls, tiki heads and a glorious selection of rum and tequila cocktails presented in a variety of vessels (all from £3.50! Bargain!) - befriend them on Facebook.

The stalls themselves had a brilliant selection of clothes, accessories, jewellery and even cakes (YUM!) with a range of prices - I actually found them really cheap compared to the prices back down south. One of my favourites was All About Eve and, although I didn't buy anything due my gigantic size and odd proportions, I could have spent a fortune, especially as she had a great supply of What Katie Did underwear and some absolutely stunning 1930s inspired cocktail dresses. I did, however, get the purse out for Geek Vintage where I saw a gorgeous fawn coloured woolen A-line skirt with lovely panelling at the front - perfect with a silk blouse and heels or a chunky knit and brown, knee high boots.

Other stalls included:

• Lemon Flirt: Handmade jewellery with a very English feel, full of roses and quaint, quirky bits
• Vintage and Retro Gems: More fabulous handmade jewellery this time with a bit more edge, with pieces including "I love Sailor" necklaces and skull charm bracelets.
• Shameless Originals: Amazing bespoke 'off-the-peg' pieces of clothing including some rather tasty looking fascinators.

I think it can safely be said that this monthly vintage fair will be inked into my schedule for a long time and I am saving my pennies for next months!

Royal Weddings

On hearing the news that Prince William and Kate Middleton have officially announced their engagement I thought I'd take a look back over the 20th century's most famous royal weddings.

The first took place between the Duke of York, Prince Albert, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on 26th April 1923. As the Prince of York, Albert could never have imagined he would have gone on to be George VI, but never the less the royal couple chose to wed in the grand Westminster Abbey, having a very public event. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons wore a wedding dress typical of the time with a lace cap covering her dark finger waved hair.



Possibly the most scandalous royal wedding of the 20th century was that of Albert's older brother, Edward to an American socialite, divorcee, Wallis Simpson. The marriage famously led to King Edward VIII's abdication in 1936 due to resentment from the constitution, allowing him finally to marry the woman he loved. Awww, isn't that sweet?

In November 1947 Princess Elizabeth, later Elizabeth II, married Philip. It was a romantic engagement that had to be kept secret due to her age, but the two were obviously in love. Princess Elizabeth, as she still was, saved up her ration coupons (there was no escaping that, not even for the royals!) in order to afford the material for her wedding dress.

"Made of ivory duchesse satin woven from silk from Chinese silkworms at Lullingstone Castle, the dress was decorated with 10,000 white seed pearls, imported from America, silver thread, sparkling crystal and transparent appliqué tulle embroidery. Attached at the shoulders was a 15-foot star-patterned full court train, embroidered in pearl, crystal and appliqué duchesse satin. The ensemble was completed by a silk tulle veil held in place by a diamond fringe tiara, lent to the bride by her mother as 'something borrowed', and ivory duchesse satin high-heeled sandals, trimmed with silver and seed pearl buckles."

Yes..I think that would require a lot of saving!

Most certainly the most famous royal wedding was that of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer. The entire nation was gripped by the wedding of the 1980s (Yes, apparently it was better than Charlene and Scott's in 'Neighbours'!) with 600,000 people lining the streets of London hoping to glimpse at the royal couple, and a further 750 million people watched worldwide on their television sets. Princess Diana's dress is possibly the most famous wedding dress of all time, with its lavish 25ft train and trend-setting qualities.

So, I think Wills and Kate have got quite a lot to live up to, don't you think?

When can I expect my invite?

Advent Laptops

Note to self: never, ever, buy an Advent laptop from Curry's again!

I got this laptop for my 18th birthday, so it is little over a year old. Already I have had to have the hard-drive completely replaced and now the charger is dodgy.

The hard-drive was the first problem. The laptop had never performed as well as it should - programs would often freeze the computer, the keyboard was unresponsive and the speakers are, to be frank, awful quality. This was enough to annoy me as I know it was not a cheap laptop. Then one day in June, the laptop wouldn't even turn on! Having taken it to Curry's we were told that there was nothing they could do in the store and we would have to fix it ourselves. Now don't get me wrong, I may look like I live in the post-war years but I do have, wait for it, colour television and an internet connection (I hear it's open on Sundays now!), but to ask me to fix my laptop myself is beyond the joke! Eventually it was taken away and fixed and came back all lovely and sparkly and it worked perfectly.

However, turning it on yesterday I encountered another problem; the battery died on me even though I had it plugged in. Silly old me had not noticed that the battery had not been charging as shown by the icon on the screen, and I had just accepted that the plug in had been charging the battery. Evidently, it had not. The connection was loose and so I now have to fiddle and wiggle it around to make sure the laptop remains charged. This is a pain, so I decided to take the trip into town to buy a new one. What would you say was the average price of a new charger? Well I would have said £50 maximum, so you can imagine my shock when they told me that would be one hundred of my British pounds! That is a third of the value of the laptop from new!

So, the moral of this story, ladies and gentlemen, is NEVER BUY AN ADVENT LAPTOP!!

Vintage Hair Lounge

In January I was sat at my laptop when up popped an email; my regular newsletter from Besame Cosmetics was here! At the bottom I read about how they had a new stockists at Vintage Hair Lounge which excited me greatly! After a few prayers to the gods of all things vintage and glamour I clicked the link to their website and jumped for joy at seeing their salon would be at Southampton!

I quickly headed down to where they said the salon would be but was disheartened when I saw the salon was empty and, practically, a building site. However there was a sign on the glass door saying that they had a temporary base in the Bargate Shopping Centre. Soon I took another trip and met the owners, mother and daughter team, Gloria and Sharon Holloway, who were just as lovely and amazing as I imagined! We talked for hours and have now become good friends with the both of them.

Their theme of 'Keep Calm and Carry On' was their backbone of morale during this time and was celebrated at their Tea Party in August. Here ladies and gents discussed all things vintage whilst the ivories were tinkered in the background. Stall holders could sell their wares, including Besame Cosmetics and Dolly Cool jewellary whilst the salon took bookings for cuts and stylings.

The ladies were invited to be a part of the very first Vintage @ Goodwood, which was another roaring success and were later asked back for Goodwood Revival, so it can safely be said that these ladies are making names for themselves!

The salon stayed in the Bargate Centre for a few months until October 2010 when they moved into their fantastic salon at Kimber House, 118 High Street. Now they are set up and business is booming with beautiful VE Day themed window displays adding something eye-catching and different to Southampton's highstreet.

Call in and book an appointment! You won't be disappointed! With their specialisation ranging from the 1920s til modern, and Sharon's background in theatrical cosmetology they can make you into anything from Greta Garbo, to Marilyn Monroe to the Bride of Frankenstein!

Find them on Facebook and Twitter, and read their official blog.

Why hello there!

So for my first blog I thought I should probably introduce myself. So, hi!

As you may have guessed, my real name is not Roxie Roulette - no parent would ever give their child such an exotic and awesome name! My real name will, however, remain secret; I think it adds to the mysterious allure, don't you agree? I adopted Roxie Roulette when I started doing a little bit of modelling, but more about that later.

I currently live in Liverpool, having moved there nearly two months ago to start my university course - Archaeology BA if you cared to know - and I love it! It's so different to my home town of Southampton! Southampton is tiny in comparison and it can't really measure up to Liverpool's vibrant life.

As I said before, I grew up in Southampton with my family and friends all around me, but have now branched out into the big wide world of 'adulthood' (so they say anyway!). My family are what some like to call 'Throwbacks' meaning they live in another decade; our's, thankfully, being the 1950s rather than something hideous like the 1970s. My dad has the classic slicked back quiff whilst my mum sports flaming red hair done up in the styles of long, long ago.

It is my parents and their friends that I have to thank for my passion and love of vintage and rockabilly. I admit that I am not as dedicated as I would like to be, but when I can I like to sleep in rollers, wake up and put on my Freddie's of Pinewood Jeans and add a touch of red lipstick. I suppose I'm more dedicated in the summer when you can more than likely find me at a car show or rockabilly weekender - this summer myself and my dad managed to make a show every weekend!

From my vintage lifestyle I got into a little bit of modelling, focussing on classic glamour and pin-up. I was always told that I could be a model because of my height, but when I got to my teenage years it became obvious that I was no skinny rake. Pin up seemed obvious as it embraces the curves of the female form, so when I was eighteen I had my first ever pin up shoot, and I loved every moment of it - even though it was on a freezing February afternoon in a studio with no heating! Now, I'm not suggesting I'm the next Bernie Dexter or Fleur de Guerre, but I would like to persue it a little bit more.

So, now you know a little bit more about me! Stay tune for more!