Quick March!

We can't believe it's almost time for the first Dawlish Antiques and Vintage Fair of the year. 

On Saturday March 14th we're back at The Strand Centre in Dawlish and there'll be the usual fabulous array of antique and vintage items on offer. 

It's still FREE entry and the cafe will be open so you can have a lovely cup of tea and slice of cake in between all that shopping. We'll see you there! 

Tie Society

Not long ago a chap wouldn't have left the house without a tie, now you only tend to see them on school kids, waiters and ticket inspectors. 

On the one hand it's a real shame as ties are one of the few ways a man (or lady...or anyone in between) can easily make a fashion statement and smarten up an outfit, on the other hand it's great for us as we can pick up some vintage beauties for a fraction of their original price.  

From classic wool to posh silk and on to groovy 60s polyester numbers we've got loads of great ones in stock too, so there's never been a better time to become part of tie society!  

 

Top G-era!

When people ask us what era of clothing we like best it's impossible to answer.

Is it the power dressing and big shoulder pads from the 1980s? The psychedelic designs and bright colours of the late 1960s? Or the elegance of fashion from the 1920s and 1930s?

Buying and selling vintage clothes has helped to increase our knowledge about fashion but the exciting thing is that we've still got so much to learn. There are so many designers and different labels to discover, so many trends to look at and a whole world of fabulous fabrics to explore.   

We're currently putting together our vintage clothes rail for our first fair of the year on Saturday March 14th (at The Strand Centre in Dawlish) and we'll be previewing some of the items we'll have for sale (unless they're snapped up beforehand!) so keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages for your vintage fashion fix. 

Here Today, Fair Tomorrow!

The Devon antiques fair season starts again tomorrow with the first Newton Abbot antiques fair of the year. Held at the Newton Abbot racecourse, it's free to get into and as you never know what treasures you'll find it's always well worth a visit.

The Marsh Barton Antiques Fair at Exeter Livestock Centre's another one that we never miss. Although it's not free entry the fair's vast and has a great range of different stalls. We particularly like the outside ones, fingers crossed it will warm up soon, as we tend to do well with our outdoor pickings! Their first fair of the year's Saturday 22nd February.

The other very exciting news is that the Dawlish Antiques and Vintage fairs which we, the Old's Cool Traders team, run start again on Saturday 14th March. Small and very friendly, the fairs are free to get into, have a great range of different stalls selling a very wide selection of vintage and antique goodies. You can pop to the cafe too and enjoy a lovely cup of tea and slice of cake. We'll see you there, make sure you come and say 'Hello'!

Wonderful Waistcoats

Every wardrobe should have a vintage waistcoat (or three!) in it. Whether it's a tweed one, a traditional one, a psychedelic one or a flowery one, here's our short guide to why we think waistcoats are a fashion must have:

1. They add that final touch to your outfit.   

2. They keep you warm.

3. They give you a sense of style and help you stand out from the crowd .

4. They're essential if you're going to wear a fob watch and chain...and who doesn't love a fob watch and chain eh? The extra pockets come in handy for small change, Werthers originals (other boiled sweets are available) and small pouches of rough shag. 

5. Finally, once you start wearing them you'll never stop!

We've got some wonderful waistcoats for sale so keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages and get in touch when you see one you like or, as ever, let us know if you're after something in particular!

'Wear' do you begin...?!

Finding your own vintage style can be a bit of minefield at first! What do you feel comfortable with? What fits in with your everyday life? What suits you? Where can I find these items? These are just a few of the questions you'll ask yourself along the way and trust us you'll find you make more than a couple of mistakes, but that's all part of the fun of discovering your own distinct style. Whether you mix it up with current items in your wardrobe or go the whole hog buying and dressing in vintage from head to toe, it's entirely up to you.

My own style for the colder months is either a tweed jacket or overcoat, waistcoat, checked shirt, woollen tie and brogues. Accessories are key too and I'll generally be sporting a pocket watch and chain, it's a simple way to jazz things up and you can pick up a chain and pocket watch for relatively little if you hunt around. It's amazing how often people ask what's on the end of the chain... 

Harris Tweed is always good to look out for when it comes to buying a decent jacket. There are plenty around and they'll last a lifetime. If you can find a hand tailored one even better. A lot of tailors would sew in a label on the inside breast pocket but check out the inside of this pocket too, this is generally where they record who the jacket or suit was for and when it was made. Expect to pay anything from £10 to £40 for a decent jacket, £20-£100 for a suit, £10-£30 for a waistcoat and £3-£10 for a tie depending on where you buy it from and how good it is.  

We'll be selling a selection of menswear through our Facebook page and Instagram account so please keep an eye out for the items we've got for sale but if there's anything particular you're looking for just let us know!

Happy New Year, New Decade and New Look!

Last year saw us finding our feet and thinking about what we really want to focus on and the one thing we've always loved selling is vintage style, everything from Harris Tweed jackets to 1960s compacts to cool fashion books. 

So that's going to be our main focus from now on and, in a world that's hopefully getting fed up with cheap and nasty 'fast fashion' (bad for the planet and even worse for your image!), we reckon that buying vintage is not only the stylish choice but an ethical one too.   

With the help of our fantastic and striking mannequin heads, Dottie and Vi, and our amazing 1960s Adjustoform mannequin (lots of love to Father Christmas for both) we'll be posting more photos of the gorgeous items we've got for sale on our blog, Facebook and Instagram. 

If you're after anything in particular for that special event please let us know or keep an eye open for our posts and snap up a vintage bargain today!

Santa-tastic Saturday!

Roll up! Roll up! The Dawlish Christmas Antiques and Vintage Fair is this Saturday December 14th and we're very excited!

There'll be plenty of Christmas shopping bargains plus those extra special one off gifts that you just can't get on the high street, The cafe will be serving up mince pies and their usual range of goodies, there'll be Christmas songs and all in all plenty of Christmas cheer! So we'll see you at the Strand Centre on Saturday, we'll be open from 10am - 3pm as usual!

Make it a vintage Christmas!

Old's Cool Traders' Christmas tree's up and the deccies have been brought out so the festive countdown's officially begun! And this year we're celebrating along the way with our Christmas Antiques and Vintage Fair on Saturday 14th December.

The fair starts at 10am so bring your Christmas shopping list with you and snap up something truly unique and special for your loved ones! 

The cafe will be selling mince pies, we'll be spinning some Christmas songs and we may even be sporting a Christmas jumper or two. 

See you there!

Date Expectations!

The waiting's over! We're delighted to announce that the dates for the 2020 Dawlish Antiques and Vintage fairs have just been confirmed. 

They are as follows:

March 14^th 

April 11^th 

May 30^th 

July 18^th 

September 5^th 

November 7^th

Please pop them in your diary or stick them on your Peaky Blinders/Game of Thrones/cat/dog/fine art (delete as relevant!) Calendar.

Don't forget our last fair of 2019 on Saturday 14th December! It's going to be very Christmassy!

Retro-mendous News!

Very exciting news!  

We've always loved Hello Retro in Teignmouth, especially as every time we visit there are loads of cool and quirky 1960s and 1970s retro items for sale. We've picked up some amazing things there including a  'very groovy baby' Tootal tiger print necktie! 

Well, the last time we visited Nicola, the shop's lovely owner, asked if we'd like to put some of our fab clothes in the shop. Of course, being Hello Retro fans we jumped at the chance and over the last few days we've been collating some clothes which we think will fit right in and they'll be in Hello Retro from this Friday (November 29th), so don't miss out! 

Be there or be square!