Vintage Fashion Shoot

A couple of months ago I mentioned HERE

that I was relaunching my vintage clothing business

and that my home was rendevouz central for a fashion shoot,

the clothes were sourced from my online shop

for the Christmas fashion feature in the December edition

of our city's glossy magazine Carlisle Living.

It came out yesterday and l'm pretty pleased with it,

if only a little disconcerted that a model is standing

in the middle of the garden conifers,

my conservatory couch is incongruously

(sorry should that read edgey?!) on the wet lawn

and a 'drunken blonde' is badly hovering my living room carpet!

All's fair in love and fashion, I guess!

www.sarasattic.co.uk

if you click twice they will enlarge!

all featured dresses & more available from

or direct from Sara

Reopening soon!

Since 2002 I have run my own small business, an online vintage clothing website.

www.sarasattic.co.uk

It has grown from strength to strength, mostly in footfall and in profile. It has received favourable reviews from The Sunday Times Culture, Country Living, RED, Daily Mail, webUser and the Independent's magazine voted it the best UK website and 3rd best vintage shop in 2005. I was thrilled.

A business will only give back £'s relative to the amount of time one can contribute to it.

So as I am stretched very thinly around my family,

my employed work and other commitments, this has in recent months taken a back seat.

Therefore early last summer, I took down all the stock,

recycled the majority in true vintage fashion and

kept the best LBD's (little black dresses) and gems.

During the self induced hiatus I mulled, cogitated and mumbled

about the pro's and con's, the why's and wherefores and on my best list making stationary,

I planned and plotted the future worth of my tiny, mini empire.

I reasoned that with 5 million hits in my best years' trading -which averages out to approx 75,000 unique visitors per year, I could make a better go of it.

Plus I had the stock, the experience to add to the visitors

(a decade of fashion buying and retail management)

so as to not let this drift off and flounder altogether.

So! I decided to specialise in Party wear and frocks,

handbags and a few select accessories.

I also decided to relocate the 'Attic' to the Etsy platform.

I respect and admire their ethos of recycling and eco friendly products,

crafts, handmade and vintage. A perfect new home for the Attic.

I have some lovelies to showcase in the new shop very soon,

in fact as soon as the planned photo shoot -all day Monday- is done and dusted.

The shoot is for a Christmas Vintage Party wear

for the new glossy Carlisle Living magazine.

Etsy formats and creates the pages for each item and so gives me more time,

no longer having to resize crop and edit images in several sizes.

Bringing my customers to my new location,

will benefit Etsy and potentially all the other shops on Etsy.

Drop by soon and see what you think of the new Attic and Etsy itself.

Be very careful, you can indecently while away the hours on Etsy,

at every click you will be in the den of beauty and wonders!

'Wonderful tonight...'

I wanted to share a little of the excitement and joy I experience with my small online business.

Sara's Attic

I have had a vintage clothing shop online since 2002, after my passion for vintage fashion went into uber-drive!

Sometimes customers send pictures and share their 'story'.

This is the story of Hayley and a stunning mid 1980's Frank Usher gown.

I had the dress in stock for sometime and was about to take it off the site to turn the stock around to keep it fresh.

The dress is a strapless column gown, in an asymmetrical style in contrasting post box red and jet black. A large sash bow to the side of one hip.

However Hayley contacted me from the United States asking about the dress and postage. She was considering it for her Senior Prom. I furnished her with the relevant information, and subsequently posted it to her stateside.

A few months ago my day was pleasantly uplifted by her email and the photographs of her all ready on the night of her school Prom 2008, at The Regency Center, San Francisco

I think you'll agree she looked,

'WONDERFUL TONIGHT!'

Sara's Attic

Hayley & Jason

My first day of school

Yes I do remember it and another thought provoking question from David Authorblog to stimulate the grey cells!

I was barely four in Sept' 1962 as I was an August baby. (My mother, moannie & MEG , has just written a comment to correct me, I was five!) She handmade me, I remember her sitting stitching it, a grey flannel skirt with straps. My parents made a big fuss of me being so grown up and I was excited but apprehensive too, as there were no nurseries etc to acclimatise us to big school in those days.

I remember walking into this huge brightly lit room, and being asked to sit at a table in the front of the class next to the teachers desk. Everyone else was already in class, l didn't understand why.

The teacher had a wide smile and big teeth, I can see her now. She smelt of cigarette smoke and the thick powder which covered her face. I was always mesmerised by her heavily powdered skin and face. She kept a powder compact and a packet of cigarettes on her desk. I remember the packet had picture of a bearded sailor or stuck through a navy and gold circle, Players l think? She coughed a lot.
I stayed in this teachers' class, whose name for the moment escapes me, as the other kids went up a class I stayed with her, I liked her a lot, she was kind and encouraged me and I soon caught up with my contemporaries. It was my first feeling of inferiority. I remember her very clearly but not so the other pupils. I can only remember their reaction to me when I had caught fleas, from one of them! They called me flea bag forever or so it seemed. On a Friday afternoon we would all squeeze into Mr. Hake's class for story time, my favourite time of the week. I was happy when I left.

We emigrated to Canada in '66 and then moved to Mexico in '67, by the time I returned to the UK system in late '68, I was well behind the others. I soon lost interest and the study ethic and I never really found it until my 40's. I now study with the Open University and I love it!