Sutton Vintage Fair

You think you know what this event is all about, but a few things may cause a surprise.
Jams and chutneys, for instance, hardly qualify as vintage, and yet here they are, hoping some kind of Englishness or hipster-​friendliness sails them within the description’s borders. Cupcakes are in on it too. Multi-​coloured frosting carrying on as if it’s a lifestyle choice has an ability to annoy me. But even if little silver balls amounted to a way of life, it is not vintage. It’s not retro. It’s cake. 2012’s cakey tears. Bespoke notebooks are nice, but from yesterday; a Christmas present for Notting Hill’s Sebastian, not a pre-​loved jotter from the sixties.
Perhaps this is why there seems to be over-​compensation which effectively amounts to cosplay. High-​waisted, chain-​swinging, pin stripes can be seen here, not on hangers but actual men-​legs. People have been known to swing on stage too, in the cleanest sense of course. Just be advised then that while there are countless stalls of bric-​à-​brac, jewellery and clothes stretching across several rooms, some of it amounts to what I consider to be padding. I was going to tell a cosplaying cigarette girl in crazy red lippy, but she fainted when I took out a mobile phone and spoke of the allies’ victory.

This is Birmingham’s biggest (and best?) vintage fair which boasts 80 stalls of fashion (including bridal fashion), retro homewares, jewellery and cakes. This is proper vintage for proper vintage lovers — most of the clothes stalls feature clothes that are actually y’know quite old, the Puppini Sisters play on an almost constant loop and if you don’t see at least three Betty Page lookalikes during your visit then you’re not trying hard enough! Stalls worthy of note — and I am slightly biased here as I have bought items from them prior to attending the fair but that’s because their stuff is GOOD include:
Ragged Rose Jewellery
Designed by the lovely Becky Knight — Ragged Rose Jewellery offers a range of very lovely hand made jewellery incorporating locally sourced materials with semi precious beads, freshwater pearls, Swarovski Crystals — when I want to work my inner Liz Taylor (sadly on my wage I can’t afford real diamonds) this is where I head!
Queenie Love
Featuring plates, cups, cake stands etc lovingly ‘vandalised’ with fab images — if you’ve ever wondered what an image of the Rotunda might look like on one of your Nan’s plates then this is where you should head. All of them are one off pieces and they are gorgeous.
FeatherPuNkS
An unusual stall this that offers real feather extensions and clip ins — when I wanted to try a blonde streak but didn’t quite have the guts to go the hairdressers this is where I headed — the clip ins are temporary but with proper care can last for ages and look really fab.
For more details please see the photos I’ve uploaded or better still head over to Sutton — their Summer fair is happening soon.