Steal Her Style - Iris Apfel

 "When you don't dress like everyone else, you don't have to think like everyone else." - Iris Apfel

I'd seen pictures of Iris Apfel before and loved her style, but then I recently watched the Iris documentary on Netflix and was absolutely inspired and amazed by her! This lady is a real ambassador of colour and individuality - both of which we adore at Retro Room!

Do you want to steal her style? We have all you need in our RetroRoomUK eBay shop with unique and artful oversize costume jewellery by Porr's Collection... and handpicked vintage clothing pieces in a variety of fabrics and patterns.

The necklace above is a new addition featuring varied beautiful colours of agate stone, onyx and sparkling crystal glass, it would look great with one of our retro kaftans or floral cotton shirts!

I also love the idea of wearing lots of turquoise pieces layered over each other. The semi-precious stone choker or the chunky turquoise heart necklace we have available online would look great in addition to longer strands!

Personally I find that when I wear lots of colour, it not only brings me joy on a grey day but it can make others smile too. So how about it? Colour isn't just for summer.. and if you find yourself getting tired of big winter coats this month, could you pin on some pretty brooches and wear bright vintage scarves for some variety? :o)

Iris Apfel images from Pinterest

Product images from our RetroRoomUK eBay shop

Retro Room Outlet @ Manchester Christmas Markets

We're back again for the Manchester Christmas Markets this year.. with a Retro Room Outlet on Market Street! The stall is located opposite H&M.

It's no joke... EVERYTHING on our stall is £1, it's ideal for gifts and stocking fillers!!!

Here's just a little taster of what we have... beautiful bracelets, hair accessories, rings and earrings, all £1 each.

If you're in Manchester, make sure you swing by! 

The markets are on until 21st December 2015.

We hope to see you there with a mulled wine in hand! :o)

If you can't make it to our stall, don't forget you can always shop online with eBay.

Take care and be safe, friends!

xoxo

Understanding Vintage Sizing & Fit

As a woman it's all too often that you find that you are one size in one clothing brand, and two sizes bigger in another shop. Add the stress of trying to figure out vintage sizing from all different eras and it's enough to make your head spin!

At Retro Room, we try to size the clothing as closely as we can to modern sizing, so if a vintage item is labelled as a UK 14 but fits more like a 12, we will be honest in our listings. However.. the best thing you can do is to find out your own measurements, and use this info as a helpful tool for buying online.

Below we've outlined the 3 main measurements you'll need...

• Use a sewing measuring tape to measure the fullest part of your bust (over your bra.)
• Measure the smallest part of your natural waist line (around an inch above your belly button.)
• Stand with your feet together and measure the fullest part of your hips.

Once you have your measurements, you may want to add an extra inch if you want your clothes to be comfortable or loose fitting but that's your decision! We'll always say in our listings if it is a loose fitting garment. We lay out the garments flat and fastened to measure the bust/waist/hips, and then double the measurement. We measure in inches but you could always use a conversion calculator like this one if you prefer them in cm. Sometimes we list clothing from other countries which do not have a size. In this case we may label the garment as Small/Medium/Large etc and then provide the measurements and an estimated size where possible.

We've also included arrows on the picture to show how we measure the length of a garment and the length of sleeves (usually from the shoulder seam.) You could measure the length of your favourite dresses/blouses to compare how an item we've measured may fit you! 

Personally I find that the clothing in my wardrobe ends up being any size from 8 to 18. Does it really matter? As long as a piece of clothing fits and looks good, that's all that should count. Don't get hung up on sizes, just know your measurements, find styles that you know flatter your shape, and enjoy shopping!

- Katy xoxo

Steal Her Style - Cheryl's Power Dressing

Image from Huffingtonpost.co.uk

Power dressing has packed a real punch in fashion this year, and this retro outfit on Cheryl is no exception! Do you want to steal her style?

This double-breasted Japanese vintage dress from Retro Room is an original 1980's and we just adore this vibrant purple colour and gold buttons. We can imagine that this would make a great work outfit with a pair of court shoes..

..and it's now available to buy through our eBay shop!

xoxo

RetroRoomUK on Instagram

As many of you know, our 2good2Btrue shop in Chester has now closed, and our Retro Room shop in Knutsford will close near the beginning of August. We're now in the middle of our closing down sale! After that we will be focusing almost solely on our eBay shop (which means better looking listings and a lot more of them, yay!) We'll also be busy planning vintage events. 

One of the best ways to keep in touch with what we're up to is our Instagram account. Are you following us already? If not just search for retroroomuk or click here! We're also on Facebook and Twitter.

Have a great week!

xoxo

Spring Into Vintage This Season! (Part 2)

Image taken from allaboutyou.com

Hello beauts! In our last post we looked at two current Spring/Summer trends and how they could be interpreted with vintage clothing and pretty jewellery from Retro Room.

We're now back to share some more with you... enjoy!

Gingham

This classic pattern looks crisp and clean when paired with other solid colours, but here at Retro Room we love to clash it with florals and other prints for a fresh take on this trend! Pair gingham dresses with pretty necklaces for even more gorgeous girlishness.

Pussybow Blouses

One of the 1970s remix trends that we adore is vintage pussybow blouses. Here are three from our current collection available in our Knutsford shop (currently £4.95 each.) They look so pretty with tapered trousers, a smart choice for work and after-work cocktails too!

Romantic Whites

White lace and delicate fabrics look amazing on tanned skin, so it's no wonder that it's such a favourite trend for Spring/Summer 2015. If our feminine white blouses and cardigans aren't your thing, try adding a touch of class to your outfit with a simple hair accessory or freshwater pearl piece of jewellery.. we have lots of different styles to try in store!

Pop by our Knutsford boutique soon, we have all of these items currently in stock and lots more! The vintage clothing pieces we carry are one-offs and start at just £1, so once they're gone - they're gone! We also have vintage clothing, retro kaftans and costume jewellery available in our eBay shop too.

Happy shopping.. 

xoxo

Spring Into Vintage This Season! (Part 1)

Spring is the most exciting time... we've spent months wearing dark colours, heavy coats and tall boots, and now it's time to plan a fresh wardrobe for the season!

With that in mind we're going to look at some of the new trends, and how these can be interpreted with vintage clothing and some pretty jewellery.

Fringing

Part of the 1970s throwback style which is key this Spring is to add fringed items to your look. Here at Retro Room we've been picking out a few light knitwear options... these are just £4.95 each in our Knutsford shop!

The black would be lovely to wear for an evening out, but the blush pink is perfect for a girl's lunch or a shopping date, and would be perfect festival wear with shorts for summer!

Pictured with Vintage DKNY Trousers, Size 12, £21 and a handmade cuff by Porr's Collection

Vintage Florals

Another go-to for this Spring/Summer is vintage florals. Here at Retro Room we have lots of florals among our vintage blouses, dresses and skirts, jewellery and lots more! Pictured below is some of our new crystal glass hair accessories and necklace, a floaty kaftan (£7.95) and vintage scarves (just £1 each!)

Hopefully this has given you all a little styling inspiration 

..and we'll be back soon with Part 2!

Thanks for reading..

xoxo

Retro Room Wholesale on eBay!

We're now selling small wholesale job lots on eBay of Retro Room and 2good2Btrue clothing and jewellery!

See what bargains we have on offer and keep a look out over the next few months as we add more vintage gems..

xoxo

Retro Room & 2good2Btrue @ the Vintage Bizarre (Part 2)

2good2Btrue had it's own stall, and the second fashion show at the Vintage Bizarre, with all jewellery, accessories and pre-loved clothing for just £1!

Three of our models became human 2good2Btrue jewellery mannequins, much to the amusement of the crowd! 

 

Hannah modeled a blouse and skirt from the £1 pre-loved clothing range..

and we had a few more outfits modeled too, love these prints.

We can't believe it was a month ago already, time flies!

xoxo