A fine vintage

The closest I've ever really got to owning 'vintage clothing' is when I've come away from the charity shop with something. And that hardly counts as vintage, as it's probably only a couple of years old and was no doubt owned by someone just like me who lives two streets away and wore it doing something just as ordinary as going to work (yes, Zara blazer, I'm referring to you. Love you though I do). And while I do own a couple of fabulous gold and white belts from the 70s and 80s (thanks Mum), and these do actually count as being vintage items, there's something about trawling through the magical items in a real vintage store that gets your heart truly fluttering.

And so it is that I ended up in the marvellous Beyond Retro on London's Great Marlborough Street today. A veritable treasure trove of vintage goodies, it's like entering a glittering cave of nostalgia. If you haven't been (there's another one in the East End and also in Brighton www.beyondretro.com), make sure you give yourself a couple of hours, as you'll want to try everything on. In fact, you'll need to, as there's no real size guide when it comes to vintage. And there are hats, sunglasses, boots, bags, belts... and all for bargain prices, considering the quality of the stitching, beading and embellishment involved.

Just thinking about the life that was led by the person who once owned the floor-length, lipstick-red gown peppered with glittering glass beads on the far rail between the prom dresses is enough to get me going. Were they perhaps a singer in a smokey nightclub in Montmartre? Or maybe a glamorous socialite who had similar dresses for every night of the week ready to throw on when yet another yacht party invitation came through the door? I get like this with secondhand books, too. There's more of a mystery to them, a back story. As if opening a doorstop of a novel isn't exciting enough, with its promise of a nailbiting page-turner of a story, replete with beguiling protagonists and intoxicating sentence structure. But when it's been owned by one, two, who-knows-how-many people before you, then the image of someone else curling up in a 

cosy nook with a cuppa and enjoying each twist and turn of the plot the way that you will too, is enough to throw me into an escapist daydream of a world.

Vintage shopping is more than just secondhand - it could be fiftyhand! Or it could indeed be secondhand. The point is, you just never know, so you can create all sorts of images in your head of the life of the person who last wore the item you're holding. Which just makes it all the more exciting, if you ask me. And what else makes it exciting? The fact that, should you buy this mysterious garment full of potential history and fantastical stories, you'll be owning a One-Off, ie, that elusive item that only crops up in a handful of occasions:

a) When you've bought couture

b) When something has been tailor-made for you, or you've run it up yourself (should you have a knack with the sewing machine, lucky thing)

c) When you've made an item unique by customising it.

While I am as much a high-street queen as the next girl, the idea of turning up to an event wearing something identical to the person applying her lippie next to me in the bathroom mirror is a scary one. Particularly when you're a stylist and these things are Not Meant To Happen To You. So buying vintage gets me away from that potential horror story, and is a Godsend if I have a big do coming up.

From everyday pieces, knits, jeans and tailoring to some fabulous over-the-top frou frou frocks, sparkly belts, dress-up-box hats and lite-your-nan-used-to-own handbags, Beyond Retro essentially gives you the thrill of walking into a fancy dress shop.Which is why you need to have a care not to let your inner magpie get too overexcited. 
A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, once entered Beyond Retro one day with a hangover, 
and left the proud owner of a belly dancing costume. 
You know who you are.

     The belly dancing hangover outfit!