GIVE a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world. So said the iconic Marilyn Monroe, to the joyful shouts of "Hear! Hear!" from women around the globe.
But I'd go a bit further and add the frock, the handbag and possibly even a many-layered petticoat. You see, since I discovered the wonder of "dressing vintage" about four years ago, it has changed my life.
I can remember the day it all started, as clear as a bell. I was on holiday with my husband in Cornwall and we stopped to look in the window of the most beautiful shop. It had dresses, lingerie, cosmetics, but the thing that drew me in most of all was the rainbow of layered petticoats at the back of the shop.
Tentatively, in case this wonderful emporium was well out of my price range, I stepped inside. And from that moment I was hooked.
Since I was a little girl I've always loved pretty clothes, especially dresses, and still haven't lived down the well-worn family anecdote of my granny buying me a pink dress with a full skirt and a sash for 10p at a jumble sale when I was about six. I refused to take it off all summer.
I started to try on some of the dresses in the shop and at the end of a very happy hour-and-a-half had settled on a 1950s Audrey Hepburn-style black shift dress, a 1940s-style tea dress and an original Mappin and Webb red lizard-skin handbag.
Fast forward a few years and my wardrobe is full of dresses in 1940s and 1950s styles, my spare room wardrobe is kept purely for petticoats and my favourite weekend pastime is rummaging at vintage fairs.
I dress "vintage" most of the time and have even been known to whiz down very large slides at soft play areas with my two-year-old son in full 1950s frock and petticoat – I got some very funny looks that day, I can tell you!
I love the way that wearing a dress, heels and carrying a nice handbag make me feel. I am stopped in the street – mainly by people of the older generation, I admit – and complimented on my dresses, and that does wonders for my self-confidence.
I'm not alone in my discovery. Over the last few years, "vintage" has really taken off, whether that be "real" vintage or repro.
And Gemma Miller, who runs fairs under the moniker of the Vintage Suitcase, has seen her business grown from strength to strength in just 18 months.
With a family history steeped in the Potteries of Stoke-on-Trent, Gemma originally ran a business putting on vintage tea parties using her vast collection of vintage crockery.
But with the baking and preparation for each party taking three or four days, she launched the Vintage Suitcase last summer, thinking it would be easier for her to run from home and fit around her family.
The mother-of-three held her first small fair in Matlock in June 2013, and now holds regular dates across Derbyshire, as well as two huge events at Uttoxeter Racecourse, one in the summer and a Christmas special.
She, too, is a lover of the 1950s and can often be found at the school gates in full frock, petticoat and a slash of red lipstick.
"The school run is hard enough, why not cheer it up with a bit of lippy?" she said. "I love the nipped-in waists of 1950s dresses and I don't just wear them for special occasions or nights out, it's a waste!"
She believes the rise in the popularity of vintage is, in part, down to the trend to repurpose, restore and upcycle prompted by the recession.
"People are aware that we have become a very throwaway society," she said. "Yes, you can go into a shop and buy four or five things for about a tenner, or you could spend a bit more and buy something with history and heritage – something that will last you a lifetime."
I couldn't agree more, and in fact one of my favourite vintage buys is my winter coat – a 1930s musquash, with the most exquisite scalloped lining and the original owner's initials embroidered in it. I love the mystery of it – who had my coat, who was it made for and where has it been?
Gemma also credits Dawn O'Porter's Channel 4 programme, This Old Thing, which ran for six weeks this summer, with a surge in interest.
In the show, members of the public who had a real aversion to vintage, labelling it old, smelly and charity shop rejects, were taken shopping with Dawn and shown how, with a little imagination and effort, they could create a truly unique outfit.
"People come up to me at my fairs and say they would never have looked at vintage if they hadn't seen that show," said Gemma. "For it to have been given a prime time midweek slot on Channel 4 did wonders for vintage."
The Vintage Suitcase recently won the Breakthrough Business award at the National Vintage Awards, and Gemma said: "For a business that was supposed to take up less time than the crockery hire and tea parties, it is now even bigger! Traders come to our fairs from all over the country, from Hull, Liverpool, Stockport, Manchester, Lytham St Annes and we get hundreds of people turn up.
"I remember going into town shopping with my granddad and he would always be smart in a shirt, tie and a hat – you did in those days, even if you were only going shopping. For a lot of people that's coming back – we're starting making an effort again and that's brilliant."
GEMMA MILLER'S 6 TOP TIPS FOR BUYING VINTAGE CLOTHES
1. Always wear something easy to get in and out of when on a vintage shopping trip. Even at fairs, ask the stall holder if there is somewhere you can try items on. It's also handy to have a tape measure to double check your measurements against items. There is nothing worse than getting a beautiful dress home to find it doesn't fit!
2. Check items carefully for wear and tear, paying extra attention to buttons, fastenings and zips. A certain amount of wear and tear in vintage items is expected but a missing covered button will be virtually impossible to replace, which could mean sourcing and replacing a whole new set of buttons.
3. Hold items up to the light and check for staining, especially under the arms and around the neckline. When washing items for the first time hand wash in cool water or place inside a pillow case on a delicate setting.
4. With this in mind, unless you are confident in doing the repairs (or have a friend who can do them easily for you), think twice about pieces that need altering or repairing before they can be worn. I don't know any vintage clothes lover who doesn't have a "to be repaired" basket overflowing with projects waiting to be worn!
5. Talk to sales assistants in shops or stall holders at fairs, as they know their stock the best and can usually put their hand on an item they think will be perfect for you. They are always more than happy to answer questions and if you can't see something there and then ask if they have a Facebook page or Instagram account. It's the best way to see new stock as soon as it arrives and it will fill your feeds with amazing vintage fashion inspiration.
6. Make a whole day of it and have fun! Shopping for vintage is so much more exciting than shopping on the high street but can be a little more time consuming as you search the rails or rummage in trunks. But nothing beats the thrill of finding that one-off piece.
VINTAGE FAIR DATES
Sat Sep 20: Imperial Rooms, Matlock
Sun Oct 19: The Dome, Buxton
Sat & Sun Dec 6&7: Uttoxeter Racecourse
![Vintage Fashion: How chance glance in a clothing shop changed my life forever]( "Vintage Fashion: How chance glance in a clothing shop changed my life forever")
