Calling all vintage brides to be!

For the last few months I have been on a mission to clear out stock and make space for new stock coming in (of which there is a constantly growing amount - exciting!) and I recently found a large box full of vintage wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses. It was lots of fun looking through them, but, while we have dabbled in bridal vintage over the last few years, it isn't something we really want to pursue anymore. So I'm auctioning them off on eBay, so it is a good chance to pick up some bargains.

They are a mixture of styles and eras, dating from the 1950's to the 1980's. We've got a cute lace tea length fifties beauty (you can see it above) that is adorable, as well as some demure long 1960's and 70's dresses that would be ideal for a beautiful boho bride. They are all sold as they are, I have not done any repairs or revamps on them, some are pretty much good to go while others need a little bit of love and attention. You'll find all the listings here... happy shopping!

We Love Vintage Moschino!

We've always been lovers of a bright and bold print here at Minimum Mouse, and we always enjoy clothes with a sense of humour. So it's probably no surprise that we're pretty big fans of Italian fashion brand Moschino. Their belts and bags are always in high demand at vintage fairs and online, but there is so much more to them than that!

The brand was founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino. They soon came to be known for their colourful designs, often using text and punctuation marks within the designs. Moschino liked to poke fun at the seriousness of some other fashion brands, and turned the notion on its head with their tongue in cheek designs. Their website beautifully captures the feeling of fun, larger than life glamour and undeniable style that the brand represents. What other designer brand would have a random image of a goose on their front page?!

James (one half of Minimum Mouse!) has been collecting Moschino shirts for some time now - if you ever come and see us at a vintage fair there is a good chance he'll be wearing one! His collection covers everything from circus animals, gothic text, flock vikings, seventies inspired prints, pirates, playing cards to cows with bows in their hair!

We also sell quite a lot of vintage Moschino from the 1980's and 1990's in our eBay shop. It's mainly menswear, but we do get the occasional women's piece. Here are a few pieces we have on offer at the moment-

We have also set up a Pinterest Board to share some pictures of some of the classic pieces we have sold (and some we have kept!) over the years. Hope you enjoy it!

Vintage Weekend By The Seaside

We might be sitting in (still) snowy Birmingham right now, but our minds are still on the south coast, where we have just spent a lovely weekend trading at two super events organised by The Vintage Fair. First up was Southampton Vintage Fair at the Guildhall on Saturday. The hall was bustling with shoppers pretty much all day, it seemed the perfect escape from the cold, drizzly day, and the hair salon and dance workshops really pulled in the crowds. The range of stalls was excellent, we spied all kinds of goodies, including a splendid range of hats...

 

Best Dressed - Southampton

We see so many well dressed people at the vintage fairs we trade at, so this weekend we decided to try and pick our favourite outfits of each fair.  It wasn't easy! But here is our pick for Southampton-

This is the lovely Amy Baker, who treated us to a superb performance of nostalgic tunes on Saturday afternoon. We just loved her 1950's peach dress and embroidered cardigan combo. She completed the look with classic court shoes and sparkly earrings. So pretty!

Art Deco Splendour at The Cumberland Hotel, Bournemouth

 

We usually find ourselves in the more basic end of the hotel spectrum when we're away working, but this weekend we treated ourselves to something a little bit special. We're suckers for a bit of Art Deco and love nothing more than watching an episode of Poirot of an evening, so when we spied this Deco gem we just had to stay there. The Cumberland didn't disappoint, with classic Art Deco styling inside and out, the lobby and lounge were beautiful and there is even an outdoor swimming pool (which we didn't try out, unsurprisingly given the Siberian winds currently battering the UK!) and stylish deck area. We had a meal in the Red Door restaurant which was lovely, as was breakfast the following morning. The only slight disappointment was that our room wasn't decorated in quite the same style as the rest of the hotel, though it was very nice. Here are a few snaps of the place...

Sunday-The Bournemouth Vintage Fair, at the Pavilion

On Sunday we found ourselves in the stylish Bournemouth Pavilion for the Bournemouth Vintage Fair, with a view from our stall of the sea and a funfair. How lovely! We might have fancied abandoning our stall for the day and frolicking on the sand and eating ice cream, but we managed to hold off and get set up for the day ahead. The fair was just as busy as Southampton, and there was another great range of stalls. Our friends from Mooch Vintage, Little Old Me, Goldrush Vintage, The Vintage Revolver and Used had come along for both days, but there were lots of local traders who were fresh for the Sunday, so there was plenty of scope for us to have another good browse of the the stalls. We spoke to lots of people who were very excited that the fair had come to Bournemouth, and we're glad it did, by the end of the day we were utterly exhausted!

Best Dressed - Bournemouth

Best dressed in Bournemouth on Sunday had to go to this smart couple, in beautiful authentic vintage outfits. We particularly loved the zingy lemon yellow swing coat and matching shoes. Superb!

So, all in all, it was a fantastic weekend, we met so many enthusiastic and friendly shoppers, and they cleared us out of an awful lot of vintage. We can't wait to return to the south coast, hopefully it will be a few degrees warmer next time!

New Season Looks from Minimum Mouse

Forget the snow and gloomy weather and get ready for summer 2013!
The festival season is just around the corner! Go floral with a pastel cropped blouse and a pretty headband made at Minimum Mouse head quarters. Pair with some acid wash Levi shorts and a must have vintage satchel and the look is complete. If it gets a bit chilly complete the look with a cute knitted cardigan or denim jacket.

 Still looking forward to the summer! Focusing on the retro comic trend that has appeared on the high street. We have picked out this Minnie Mouse  vintage Disney vest and created two looks. Firstly teaming the vest with a pair of  on trend blue polka dot peg trousers and accessorizing the outfit with a bright statement bowler hat gives the look a smart edgy feel. When the temperature rises and the sun starts to shine style the top with a pair of Levi shorts and some white sneakers keeping the look casual.

Black Country Museum

 

A few weeks ago we went on a trip to one of my favourite places in the Midlands, The Black Country Museum. If you love history (or even if you don't, really) it is a great day out. It is a whole town of recreated and relocated buildings where you step back in time and discover how people lived in days gone by. You can go down the mine, visit the Victorian fairground and go to a cinema and enjoy a silent movie. There is an old fashioned pub, sweet shop and chip shop for refreshments, and loads of shops packed to the brim with period details. Not to mention you get to have a nosey around people's houses!

What makes this place extra special is the fact that the people who work there really get into character. In every shop or house you walk into there is the proprietor or resident, who is ready (and very keen) to tell you all about what life was like for them, and they really do stay in character! It's so much fun. 

We took quite a few photos on the day and I couldn't resist playing around with my new photo editor to make them look a bit old! Like we really did step back in time...