Portsmouth Vintage Fair

I am a little cautious of doing selling events such as Vintage Fairs.  My price point is quite high so there are not many people who impulse buy from Betty Blue's Loungerie.  People tend to have to think about their purchase and save up for a splurge, so often the cost of the hire of the stall far outweighs my sales.  Last weekend however I changed my mind about stalls at events.

With the Queen's Diamond Jubilee I felt as a British girl born and bred I should really do something to celebrate.  So when I saw Naomi at Vintage Secret and of The Vintage Mafia advertising the Victorious Vintage at Portsmouth's Historic Docks, I jumped at the chance to take part.

Gratuitous Boat Shot

The last time I went to the Portsmouth Docks must have been when I was about 7 or 8 with my school to see The Mary Rose.  Driving through the Docks to set up my stall was lovely, I can't say I remembered it, but the boat houses and general area had a lovely historic feel about it.  A perfect location to celebrate all things British at the sight of the Victory and The Mary Rose!  There were also some big modern looking boats docked there too but I can't remember which ones they were. 

I shared my stall with the lovely Katie at Katie Vale Designs.  Her skill is in Millinery and her hats were a perfect compliment to my loungewear; being around the same price point and a similar target customer.  Here is Katie looking very patriotic in her own handmade red, white and blue hat.

(Later on in the weekend a young man tried this hat on and we all agreed that it actually suited him more than any lady that had tried it on haha).  You can see a few of her lovely creations in this picture and some of my posters in the background :).  Katie hand makes each and every one of her hats.  Some of her hats take 5 whole days to craft, now that is dedication for you!

A shot of my "poodle hair" for my twitter friend @splendidstitches :)

The weather was surprisingly good in Portsmouth considering London and pretty much the whole of the rest of the country was a wash out.  So on the first day I wore a pretty red and white cotton dress with a blue cardi..........I must admit the dress was a wee bit too tight for me teehee.  I haven't got another pic of it unfortunately so the above will have to do!

What was lovely about this event is that it was a really family orientated event.  There were lots of family's milling around and even my Mummy came down to help me out on the stall.

Mama Blue's, Betty and Stylish Customer

I was glad not to be the only stall holder who's mum occasionally helps out.  The lady in the stall next to us, which was a vintage clothing stall, had her mum helping out as did Ellie of Darlings Vintage :).

My mummy even brought this cake along which she made, to give out free to people to help celebrate for our Queenie.  The cake originally had a Union Jack around the picture of our Queen in 1952, but it broke up whilst putting on the cake so we rescued it with gold glitter and gold balls!!  (The glitter makes your poo glittery ;) teehee).

Sneaky peek at the Tempest set ;-)

On the Sunday I wore my trusty Rita Siren Suit.  The weather forecast lied and said it was going to be cold and rainy, so for most of the day I boiled in this; although the green looked sooooo pretty in the sunshine.  In this picture I am posing with my trusty mannequin that got me through Uni.  Her name is Maria (came with the name, I'm not one of those crazies that names inanimate objects) and Maria certainly got lots of attention that weekend!  Maria is wearing the new, never before seen, Tempest Babydoll, Bed Jacket and Knicker set.  A sheer black delight, with girlie ruffles, inspired by the infamous video clip of Bettie Page and Tempest Storm.  The wind kept blowing her bed jacket open and exposing the sheerness of the babydoll ;).  The men of Portsmouth were certainly impressed!!

The highlight of my weekend must have been the following pictures.

On my lunch break I went to the little tea house around the corner from my stall and saw this awesome display!  The brown teapot at the back has a smaller decorative teapot on the lid!!  This thing was HUUUGE and £315!  I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!  If all my readers could please go to my website and order some items of beautiful loungewear it would be much appreciated, because then I would be able to buy this much needed item!  Alternatively if someone would like to donate me some money so I can indeed buy this then please get in contact :) betty@bettybluesloungerie.  I think you will all agree this is a bargain at £315 teehee.

The crinoline lady and racing car teapots were also some of my favourite, but not as much of a statement piece as the big brown one ;-).  They were also a lot more affordable at around £35/£45.

Anyway back to Betty Blue's Loungerie!  Details of the Tempest set will come soon, I am in talks with a new factory at the moment so will hopefully have more info on them very very soon for you all :).  I will leave you all with a picture of another Jubilee themed item.

A quilted Union Jack cover for 'The Throne' ;-).  I'm so proud my mummy won a competition at her quilting club for this.  She won on the novelty/giggle factor, not necessarily her quilting skills teehee.

Lots of Love
Betty xxx

P.S Hi to my blog followers who talked to me at the fair!  Was lovely to meet you and I'm glad you are both enjoying my blog, and your lovely red Nell Robe ;-)