The most eclectic of eccentricities...

Do you ever want to go back in time a little bit and tell yourself about something that's going to happen, just so that your past self can be like "Get out of town!"

This is totally how we feel about our latest stockist, the ever brilliant Eclectic Eccentricity.

We've been huge fans of the 'jewellery with stories to tell' brand ever since their launch in 2004. Their story is pretty similar to that of ours - humble, hobby craft beginnings from the living room coffee table into an empire beyond the wildest dreams of the (seriously lovely) creator, Lucy. Now a team of a dozen-strong tea-drinking magpies, Eclectic Eccentricity is run from their head office in Norwich. We've totally soaked up the brands' journey over the years; from becoming regulars on the celebrity circuit to retaining their identity in the arguably saturated world of costume jewellery. My favourite thing about their brand is the cute as a button product names - in fact, when I was thinking of how to name products way back in the depths of 2010, whilst the fashion was to give products irrelevant girls' names, Eclectic Eccentricity's bon mot, tongue in cheek product titles certainly influenced how we decided to name some of the names of our earlier pieces.


Which is why it's pretty apt that they've chosen to stock a range of our Whole Lotta Rosie crowns. Who else was brought up on a musical diet of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and AC/DC? If it was just me, our Whole Lotta Rosie crowns come from an AC/DC track of the same title. Our Purple Haze bobby pins? That's courtesy of Jimi. And our Purple Rain butterfly crown? Well, that's one my Pops wouldn't approve of, but the ultimate karaoke song by Prince.


A selection of our Whole Lotta Rosie and Not a Lotta Rosie crowns are available to buy at Eclectic Eccentricity now.

Crown and Glory at Vintage Style.Me

Today I'd like to introduce you to one of our latest stockists, Vintage Style Me!


Established in 2011 by 24 year English Literature graduate Rhiannon Alexander, Vintage Style Me is not your average vintage fashion store. For one, Rhiannon unashamedly and exclusively carries 80s and 90s clothing, and keeps her head held high when naysayers cry out 'how can you call this vintage!' "Vintage can mean anything from the 20's to 90's, so why does it have to mean specifically 50's style clothing? I love the garish prints and fun florals the 80's gave us. Sequins, sparkles and amazing shapes, it's exciting and that's what I wanted to do. I was starting my own business so I wanted to do what I love." Says Rhiannon. The pieces are chosen with current trends in mind, and laundered, altered and embellished as the piece sees fit - you'll find no mouldy granny dresses here!


Alongside the ever-updated collection of vintage, vintagestyle.me carries a number of modern concessions - clothing, jewellery and accessories to complement the main lines. "I wanted Vintage Style Me to be an experience as well as just a store. I pride our store on having lots of beautiful lookbooks for inspiration, unisex t-shirts so the boys aren't forgotten about, and fun accessories which really make your outfit. The concessions definitely carry the VSM mark, animals being the main one! Cat t-shirt, cat jacket, cat ears anyone?! It's girlie and fun and thats what I wanted the experience to be, for girls to fall in love with fun and (most importantly) affordable items."


My personal favourite, the build your own animal pocket tshirt, enables me to channel my inner cat lady without having to wear one of those hideously naff fleeces. Winning! (Rhiannon added here "THOSE FLEECES ARE COOL!" I'm reserving judgement until I meet her in a couple of weeks time!)


A little over a month ago now, Rhiannon contacted me asking to become our latest stockist. "f there's one thing I've learned, it's that girls loves cats. Your cat ears are what first attracted me, and the floral crowns are beautiful. It's completely different to anything we do, and it adds that extra lust-fueled experience to the site."


Together we decided on a core collection of our main concession pieces - 80s-tastic glitter bows, animal ears and printed and velvet turbans. When asked what made Rhiannon choose these pieces, she said "I loved these pieces because they're all very vintage inspired. The glitter bows look amazing with back-combed hair and an 80's dress, and the floral crowns really compliment the boho 70's look. Although they're completely different to the VSM stock, it fits in perfectively with the whole vibe."


However the collection doesn't stop there! Alongside these pieces, we felt it was only fitting for us to combine our skills and create one of a kind hair scarves, created from reclaimed vintage materials - sourced by Rhiannon, stitched by me. When Rhiannon offered to send me a big box of fabric it was like all my Christmases had come at once! My personal gripe, with vintage shopping, is that horrible moment when you spot an amazing print but realise the floral dress of your dreams won't get over your disproportionate bust. Turning remnants into an accessory makes the gorgeous prints, which Rhiannon has such a good eye for, accessible no matter what your size and shape.

Shop our Vintage Style Me collection here: http://vintagestyle.me/collections/crown-glory
Follow vintagestyle.me on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/vintagestyleme
Like vintagestyle.me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vintagestyleme
Read vintagestyle.me's blog: http://vintage-fashion.com/