"Oh I do like to be beside the seaside..."

The reason it's been a little bit longer between posts is because I was away down in the south of Britain, in Worthing and Brighton.

Firstly I would just like to say that Brighton is my absolute favourite place in the whole of the United Kingdom, and it always will be. When I was working in the UK just over 18 months ago I got to work in Worthing, which is only a 10 minute train ride to Brighton, so I got to visit Brighton on all my days off without having to pay the rent price tag if I was living there.

Here is a picture of the Brighton seaside:

I was fortunate enough to get a really sunny (and quite hot I might add) day in Brighton, I was even tempted to go for a swim in the water but I decided to avoid walking on the pebbles and get an ice-cream instead which was just as lovely and still gives a nod to the British summer.

I won't go into all about Brighton, but while I was there, I did come across some new places and things that either weren't there 2 years ago, or I just didn't notice them at the time. So here's a few:

Now Brighton pier has always caught my attention for all the rides, arcades, bars, restaurants and all sorts of attractions. I turn into a massive kid when I go to the pier because it's like a showground but it's even better because all those attractions are held up on the pier over the sea. This time however I got EVEN MORE excited because there was a new ride I had never seen before, and it was insane! I'm not sure how to best explain it or what the actual name is, but it looked like a crane and there'd be about maybe 4 or so people sitting in one pod and at the other end of the crane there would be another pod again with the same amount of people; the crane would then slowly tilt each side like a see-saw before getting really fast so in the end it wasn't like a see-saw but a really fast ferris wheel by moving in a circular direction; not only this but the pods themselves were moving, spinning around just as fast in all different directions. Yet this isn't the best part about the ride, what made it so insane is that when the crane moved around you literally would be over the ocean at some point during the ride. Here's a photo (the crane is standing tall in the middle because it wasn't moving at the time):

While the Brighton sea-front is beautiful and filled with a lot of fun, really the highlight of Brighton (and what it's renowned for) is the lanes. My cousin and I went wandering through them, and the usual places I love were all still there. What I love about the stores in the lanes is that they are all unique, and this is why I love Brighton, because you can find one-of-a-kind pieces, labels, and designers, and no where else in the UK or even the world will have them. I came across a new store while my cousin was shopping for a new clutch bag, it was called "Beretun Designs" and at first I thought it was just a wedding store but I soon discovered they had many accessories and shoes to offer (although the wedding clothes, shoes and accessories were absolutely amazing!). The owners design and hand craft all the shoes and accessories themselves - I saw one particular shoe that had a crystal encrusted butterfly on the front of a white shoe and it was then I thought "I must come back to Brighton specifically for wedding shoes and accessories!". My cousin found the bag she had been searching for all day which was equally as beautiful and unique as the shoes I saw: 

Luckily for all of us who don't reside near Brighton, there is a Facebook page, so if you want to check out some of the wicked accessories and shoes, search on Facebook "Beretun Designs by Linda Johnson", or alternatively here's the website www.beretundesigns.co.uk.

That's all about Brighton for now, but I will be posting a little more about Brighton (just about my facial pamper session I got for free with my cousin) and about Worthing too, but unfortunately at this present moment I have to get ready for my next train journey to Scotland :)

Keep an eye out for some upcoming posts this week!

Tasha's Top Vintage Places in London

There's no doubt about it, England has some of the coolest vintage and retro stores and markets in the Western world... well in my opinion anyways.

After visiting Camden Town yesterday I thought I would write this post on some of my favourite vintage stores I've so far found in England.

Here are my picks:

• Camden Town markets - right near the entrance to the stables, there is a line of vintage and retro stores. Some are a bit wacky with their clothing, but this is always useful if you have to go to say a disco fever themed party. However there are some really good quality clothes as well - you'll find cashmere, leather, German war parkas, fur coats (yes, most of the time it is real fur) among some of the garments available. One of the stores even has old school bikes!
• Beyond Retro - you can find this in London and Brighton (and can also order online see: http://www.beyondretro.com/). Personally, my favourite is Brighton as it is a bigger store, but in both of them you'll find loads of clothes, shoes, and accessories. This store literally has anything you can think of, and it is arranged in an easy and organised manner, so if you're looking for something in particular, like cable knit jumpers, you will find them all on the same rack together. One of the things I love about this place as well, which you'll also find on the website, is that it states the quality and wear of the garment which justifies the price, so for example it could have "never worn, hardly worn, extremely worn" and will also point out if it has any stains or damage on it, but majority of the clothes they have are in really good quality and still are pretty cheap in price. 
• Brighton - there are so many vintage and retro stores in Brighton, too many to name (and I've forgotten many of the names), and you can find them in the high street but also in the lanes as well. I definitely think Brighton has the best vintage and retro stores, particularly because of the range and variety it has. So if you're ever in Brighton, the best thing to do is just look around and you'll come across a vintage and retro store in a matter of minutes.
• Portobello Market -  another one of my favourite markets in England, the best time to go is on the weekend as this has everything from food markets, to antiques, to clothes. There are many different stalls of clothes, and it's all out in the open as it is a road market. This is probably the best place to look for fur coats, when I've visited before I had found a large range of fur coats at many of the stalls, and in all different varieties too such as long ones, short ones, vests, etc. These markets are a bit of a win or lose for clothes, unlike the other places mentioned, so you just have to look more at the quality of the clothes here but all the coats were in really good quality. As these are road markets, you're most likely find these are cheaper vintage clothes too. 

Well that's all I have for my list for now, they are my favourite ones I have so far come across in my time in England, but I am sure they are many more to find!

      ^ The vintage stores at Camden Town ^


Feel free to comment if you have any favourite vintage and retro places in England, or places you think I should check out :)