Miss Naomi Thompson

"Don't pick an era because you think it's fashionable"

Afternoon lovelies, I am writing this while watching my daily intake of trash tv. Today is The Real Housewives of New York City. I shamefully love this program and find it easier to work while watching some gentle, relaxing easy-watching tv.

So, today's post is a total contrast to all of that as it involves the forever glamorous Naomi Thompson!

The Fashion Society was very lucky to have the vintage vixen come all the way from Portsmouth to give us a talk on how she managed to get where she was today and of course all things vintage. Now, for those of you who may not have heard of Naomi (I'm sure you have ;) ), she is an absolute darling. As well as being part of the well known Vintage Mafia, she is also the self proclaimed first Vintage Personal Shopper that the UK has seen and has appeared on The One Show, Channel 4's I love the 1950s and featured in prestigious magazines such as British Vogue. 
After studying Law at Uni, Naomi found herself in one of the most creative and unique places on earth; London. The madness and creativity of this cultured city just encouraged Naomi to explore with vintage. However, nowadays, you can find her at her home in Portsmouth. 
Naomi was lucky enough to be brought up around vintage as her Grandmother worked on old sitcoms. This meant that the gorgeous lady was surrounded by amazing items and treasures and soon her bedroom became like a vintage walk-in wardrobe. 

"At one point, I had about 600 dresses in my house!"

As well as talking about her up and coming book: Style Me Vintage: Clothes: A Guide to Sourcing and Creating Retro Looks, Naomi also gave our girls some top vintage finding and sourcing tips. 

How to date Vintage:

- Look at the fastening- post 50s will have a zip down the side and many plastic zips are late 50s. 

- Shoulder pads came on in the 30s so don't assume it's from the powerful 80s! Early shoulder pads were smaller and stitched into the garment. 

- Pre 1940s- Generally no zips although they were used during the 40s. 

- Pre 50s- Bra Strap holder was stitched into garments to stop those embarrassing slips!

- Stitching- older garments have a zigzag seams. 

- Post 50s- had labels with washing guild lines. 

              "Good clothing of any era is worth collecting"

Buying Vintage:

- Dress under £50

- hold everything up to the light to see faults

- shop with your hands! If it feels good, then it is good. 

- don't buy in bulk- buy quality

- check armpits for wear and tear

- check labels

Labels:

- don't take the size as it says. Just like with different shops, different eras had different sizing guides. 

- Usually, per decade, you drop a dress size.

http://www.vintagesecret.com/


You can pre order Naomi's book here: CLICK FOR BOOK