Vintage Treasures

This week has been filled with treasure hunting!

Every now and again I have a browse around the pages of eBay and find something that takes my fancy. I've never had much luck with actually buying anything though - I usually get outbid. However, this week, my eBay fortunes changed! Having spotted this 1950s knitting bag, I tentatively put a bid on it and waited for the auction to end. Imagine my sheer delight when I found out I'd won! I love the patterns - they're so typical of the era and the colours are still so vibrant.

I couldn't resist a trip to my favourite vintage shop when I was in Malvern the other day - Richmond House Antiques. It's an absolute treasure trove and it's all I could do to stop myself from whooping with delight at everything I saw! The whole shop is packed with vintage loveliness, but my favourite has to be the two rooms of vintage fashion. This 1950s skirt just had to come home with me. I can't wait to wear it! This skirt wasn't my only purchase...

...I also found 2 linen tea towels, complete with the CC41 Utility mark. I don't think they've ever been used. The cloth is rougher than you'd usually expect linen to be. No doubt due to wartime restrictions.

I love collecting Utility pieces...they speak so much about the era that they come from.

I've always been a fan of vintage ephemera. I saw these diaries in the window of the shop and couldn't resist them! You can pick up so much about what life was like from reading things like old diaries, letters and newspapers. I haven't read them all yet (the writing gets worse as the years go by), but from the ones I've looked through, there are tales of the weekly wash day, who came to visit, what was eaten for dinner and great details about the weather!

This page os one of my favourites of the ones I've read so far...Monday, 31st January 1955 - 'W. went to Worcester. Wet day. Very poor shopping day at Worcs.'...Tuesday, 1st February - 'Tea very expensive. Brooke Bonds 1/11 a quarter pounds. Pikelets.'...Wednesday, 2nd February - Cake making and burnt it. Back is better.' A note in the memo section at the bottom of the page reads, 'Monday is a poor day to go shopping at Worcester'.

It's fascinating to read about someone's life from their own first hand accounts. I'll be sure to share any more gems with you all that I find amongst the pages.