Love Benefit Cosmetics?

Well do I have a treat for you!!

The fabulous Miss Hana Amelia (you'll have seen her photo popping up in most, if not all, of my photo entries!) is launching a V.I.P Benefit counter in House Of Frasers in Glasgow and to celebrate she's offering free Makeup lessons worth £20! All you need to do is drop her an email quoting 'Miss Lottie Lou' at hana4benefitcosmetics@hotmail.com with your name and telephone number and she'll get back to you with details. You can even take a friend along with you and make a day of it :)

I'm so excited!! I've used Benefit for years and can't get enough of it! I LOVE their Badgal lash mascara, couldn't live without it. In my poor student days I couldn't afford to keep up my Badgal habit so I tried to find a cheaper alternative but to no avail. I quickly learnt my lesson with rubbish cheap mascaras and went back to Benefit and haven't looked back since! I could talk all day long about which Benefit products I use and how fabulous they are but I'll let you all find out for yourselves :)

So email her and come play! Guaranteed it's going to be a fun event and everyone is going to leave looking amazing! I'll be there so hopefully I'll bump into some of you :)

Lottie x

Rockabilly Rave

Two posts in one day?! Wowee! This one though is just a look at our pretty outfits one :)

Sigh I miss it so much!! Now saving for the Rhythm Riot in November :D

Lottie x

Too cute!!

Hello all, hope you're having a good weekend :) Last night I was in Kilmarnock at O'Shannons Irish Bar seeing a band called the Troubleshooters and my Dad was the DJ for the night. Was a good night. Can't wait for All Tore Up! on Saturday to see The Ceazars. This weeks mission is to make a toga ready for then :)

This is just a quick update to show you my latest creation...a super cute reversible tie top!! It's the first reversible item I've made and it turned out really well. So well that I was very sad to see it go to a new home. Of course I snapped some photos before it went on its way:

I miss it already! I got some awesome vintage cowboy material so I'm going to make myself one from that :)

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Lottie x

I got Made In The Shade!

Well Saturday was the big day...Made In The Shade!! I was so nervous I couldn't write my price tags out I was shaking that much :( But it was such a good day and I had some sales!! Was awesome! I didn't get chance to have a look round at everything else, but I hear there were some cool things. My friend Lee bought loads of stuff! And another friend Kat was early enough to get a free goody bag and she was kind enough to give me her badge which had a pug dog on it!! I'm not sure if I've ever expressed my love for Pugs on here before, but I'm crazy about them! One day I will have one!

Anyways here are photos from my stall! I was going to take photos of the whole event but I didn't leave my stall all day! So check out MITS blog and Flickr for photos :)

My Mum and myself having a cake break!

Commissioned dress that was just for show. This got the most attention out of everything on my stall! Everyone kept coming over to touch it!

My table with fabric covered buttons and neck ties. In the corner you can just see my suitcase with fabrics in for people to have a look through.

Me stood next to my rail! I wore a vintage jumper, headscarf and dress Miss Lottie Lou and beautiful Vivienne Westwood shoes :D (I also have them in cream!) Originally I was going to wear a high waisted red Miss Lottie Lou pencil skirt but on the morning I went to get dressed and it was miles too big! Made me happy but oh so stressed! Luckily I had this trusty little black dress :)

My stall :) Well more space than stall. I had people signing up or my mailing list all day! Even if they didn't buy anything they jotted their email down which is ace :)

After the event was over I was so super duper tired but I had a 50th birthday party to go to and then at 11pm-3am I was working on the door for a night called Shout Bamalama which was super busy as they had famous London DJ Gaz Mayall up for the night. Was a good night but by 3am I had past the super duper tired stage and ended up being wide awake! Embarrassed to say I slept till after 2pm on Sunday and even then I only woke up because my Dad came and woke me up!

I've now applied for another selling space at a different event in May, still in Glasgow though. Fingers crossed I get that one too as I really enjoyed the day and the whole experience. I want to say a big thank you to the Made In The Shade girls, my parents and friends for making the day possible :) I also want to thank Leah over at Leah Halliday for all her tips and advice and her friendly chat before the event and on the day, much appreciated!

In other news my Mum bought me some vintage trousers in a pea green colour which have pleats going down the front of each leg...they sound pretty strange but they're beautiful!! Unfortunately they don't quite fit me :( I can do them up, they're just too tight to wear yet. Which is annoying as she'd bought them to replace my mustard trousers as they're too big for me! I need to wear a belt to hold them up which makes them gather. Doesn't look too bad but it's not ideal. Sigh the in between sizes stage of weight loss is most annoying!!

Eeeeee today me, my parents and my fabulous big sister Hana (not real sisters, we're just like sisters!) booked for the Rockabilly Rave!! I'm so excited!! Just short of 9 weeks to go woo! Anyone else going? I've never been to the rave but I've done the riot which is held in the same place. It's awesome going somewhere where you don't get stared at or asked what's with the costume as everyone is 40s/50s! Today when I was out charity shopping (I only got some wooden anchor buttons) I had several old ladies come up to me and tell me I looked like I belonged in Land Girls. This sort of thing I'm cool with, because I do haha! But when I'm getting asked what's with the costume and or why are you dressed funny or something else along those lines, it's just rude. So I'm rude back to them and just ignore them. There are nice polite ways to question my clothes and when this happens I'm more than happy to tell them about my look. Rude people really get my goat!

Sorry got a little ranty there!

My plan for today is to clear up my bedroom/workroom as my fabric and button boxes exploded all over the place...Hope you all have a much more exciting day!

Lottie x

Where has the time gone?!

Well happy April and happy Easter to you all...a little late yes, I hadn't realised it had been so long again. My poor neglected blog!

Right what have I been up to? Preparing for Made In The Shade that's what! I have Miss Lottie Lou stickers and different coloured tissue papers all ready for packaging items, business cards designed and awaiting print, card labels ready to be tied onto items with essential information on the back, and my stall set-up all sorted out! On top of the little bits and bobs I've been making clothes which I will post photos of shortly once I've taken them. Today I made a full skirt which, I know I'm slightly biased, but it is so super cute I want to keep it all to myself! And over the last few days I've been making fabric covered buttons both to sell at Made In The Shade and to use on garments. I can't believe how amazing they look! Makes me wish that I had been making fabric covered buttons forever. I can't imagine my life without making them now!

Also I have a confession. I'm addicted to buying fabric. Now it's not as bad as it seems as I never buy fabric from a fabric shop (unless it is a customer request) so I'm not going out and buying brand new fabric, it is only ever vintage or recycled fabric. Even so I'm running out of room and getting overwhelmed at all the prettiness!!! Some mornings I wake up and can't decide what I'm making or with what fabric as I want to use them all right away!

As I said though I can't stop buying fabric. Now I don't usually go on Ebay, I find it all far too stressful with the last minute bidding and the possibility that I won't get what I want or I'll end up paying more than I want etc. However a good friend of mine, Miss Amelia, showed me some cute peach and white checked cotton from the 1950s that had been woven in a Lancashire mill and asked if I would make her something from it. Well from there it spiralled. I ended up 'winning' that one and three others in the same style but different colours. Then my Dad showed me some beautiful silk kimono fabric again from the 1950s and I ended up with a green piece with bamboo and flowers and a bluey piece with flowers. By this point I felt I was on a 'winning' streak! So I bid on some vintage deep green with squares and a vintage burgundy piece. Then the guilt and realisation that I had to pay up hit me!! I'm waiting on the Japanese silk to arrive but the other 6 I have. I was really disappointed in the peach and white one though as it is filthy, like its lived on a dirty floor having people trample all over it for I don't know how long. Fingers crossed it's ok after a good wash!!

Along with the clothes I also have a whole load of new material to photograph :)

Of course amongst all this working and bidding I went out to play! I've mentioned before about All Tore Up! It's a 1950s record hop that happens the first Saturday of every month in Glasgow at a place called Blackfriars. It's always an excellent night that attracts a mixed crowd of students, hardcore 1950s people and those that have stumbled in off the street for a nosey. This month was particularly rock and roll as the DJs blew up a speaker! It gave off the most awful smell! Of course the night kept going and it gave everyone a story! At the next All Tore Up! on May 1st we have a band called The Caezars playing so if you're in Scotland come and see one of the most popular bands on the scene right now. I'll be there in a toga :) Seriously.

Right to try make up for my lack of posting and photos of things I've been making and buying, I'll leave you with some photos from All Tore Up! which was on April 3rd. Enjoy :)

Hana and myself

Hana and David

My Dad 'hard at work' DJing

Hana, my mum, Aaron the DJ and All Tore Up! guy and Ellie his wife

Valarie and Neil

Awwww!! Yup my parents are as much in love now as they were when they got together aged 15!

My mum dancing at the end of the night

My dad having a bop at the end of his DJ set

Lottie x

More photos as promised :)

This is me outside Vintage Guru in Glasgow. I know Alice in Wonderland is being done far too much just now but that still doesn't take away from how cute the windows are!

This is my mum and dad having tea and cake in Auntie M's Cake Lounge that it is kitted out in 1950s kitchen and living room things. It's beautiful and the cake is DELICIOUS!! If you're every in Glasgow you should swing by it. And pop into the Made In The Shade Maisonette while you're there :)

The super awesomely cool teacup that my peppermint tea came in at Auntie M's! I want a set so bad!

Neil, Dad, Mum, Me, Hana

This was Saturday night in Edinburgh at The Spiders Web seeing a band called the Blue Flames. Was a fun night :) And the calico bag you can see on the table, I made it to advertise All Tore Up!'s new record label. And yeah you might have noticed that I hang out with my parents a lot... I always have because they're so much fun and really cool to hang out with. They're not just my parents, they're 2 of my best friends. Some of my friends think its weird, others are a little jealous that I've always got on so well with them. But all my friends know if they ask me to go out over a weekend that I'll check what my parents are up to first!

Today I got an order for a whole summer wardrobe! Miss Hana Amelia went through my fabric stash picking out the fabrics she liked and assigning garments to them! Was a fun little afternoon drawing up plans for all the fabrics. There's going to be high waisted shorts in various colours, a love heart print playsuit and sleeveless tie-up shirts in a variety of colours and patterns. All very exciting however I need to get everything finished for my Made In The Shade stall so those things are on hold until after April 17th!

Tomorrow I have a job interview for a receptionist position...yay and boo. Right now I need a steady income to pay off my debts from uni and to support my fabric and vintage clothing habits. It's only a temporary position which is ideal as I can work and pay off all my debts and then once it's over I can focus on Miss Lottie Lou full time with a clean slate. Plus I don't know about anyone else but when I think of receptionists I think pencil skirts, pretty blouses and pearl necklaces!!

Hope you all had a good Monday and enjoy the rest of your week :)

Lottie x

Party time!

Hey so last night was Holly's birthday party. This is the one who's dress I made but everything about it was a secret, nobody knew what colour or style it was going to be. It turned out really well and she loved it! She kept thanking me all night and I got a special mention in her speech which was ace. And everyone kept coming up to me and saying well done and that it looked great so it really was a success :)

Holly and Me both in Miss Lottie Lou dresses

As you can see we have very very different styles! When we first started work on the dress she said she wanted a gold sequinned halterneck....I think I delivered! Her original idea for the skirt part wasn't feasible with the fabric we'd picked out so we went with making the dress all in one as opposed to a separate skirt and bodice which made for a much nicer streamlined dress. When she came for fittings she kept saying tighter, shorter! Then the night before the party she said make it longer...now you can't make fabric grow! Luckily I had made the hem quite big just incase of such an event! Can't believe how horrifically pale she makes me look. The dress I had made for myself was just a simple knee length shift dress with square kneckline on front and back out of beautiful rose print fabric that I had in my stash.

It was a really good night but I don't drink very often but my goodness when I do I end up very drunk. Fun at the time but the really sore head the day after is not so much fun. Which yup means today was not a productive day.

I shall be up bright and early tomorrow though to do lots of work before I take my Mum out for Mothers Day. We're going to see Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at the GFT which is a beautiful old cinema with original features. Are you guys taking your Mum's anywhere nice?

Right I'm heading off to bed to try catch up on my sleep after all that partying :)

Lottie x

Whoops...

I didn't realise how long it had been since I last updated! I would love to say I have lots of new things to show you but it's not the case. Over the last couple of days I have finished finished Holly Sawkins's party dress. The best part of making something for someone is seeing them in the garment jump up and down squealing "I love it I love it!" I'm so pleased she's so pleased with it! If I'm not back from the party too late tomorrow I shall put up a photo of it.

I have also been working on a leopard print dress. It's one of those projects that right from the start I've not been 100% into. The fabric is lovely but because it's satin it's all slippy and I'm finding it a bit of a nightmare to work with. Then my overlocker broke!! Was not impressed. Luckily all it needed was a good hammering so all is well now :) I just need to get my head down and do it and stop getting distracted...

One distraction was a new blog I stumbled across: http://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.com/She is currently doing a self imposed challenge called Me-Made-March which is excellent and you should go check it out to find out what it's all about! I don't know about anyone else but when I come across a new blog I like, I read it from the start so I'm up to speed with what's going on. Zoe's was a delight to read; humorous, insightful and full of pictures. I think this is something I'll make a regular thing of doing, highlighting a blog that I really like.

Now I haven't just been reading blogs, a friend of mine has brought round a pile of vintage clothing for me to alter. Unpicking is a nightmare!! And the things she's brought round are really well made with multiple lines of stitching argh! So I have started tackling them.

I also started on a black rose print shift dress...I'm making it to my size because I might keep it! I can't really afford to keep it all for me so I might just prance about in front of the mirror for a while before we part ways.

And I know I have plenty of fabric to be getting on with, but I couldn't resist getting some more today. I would put up a photo but I can't find the lead for attaching my camera to my laptop. However from this secret material, I now have a full skirted dress and a just a full skirt in the pipeline. I also bought some excellent wool material that is actually part of my present for my Mum for Mothers day as I'm making her a pencil skirt out of it. I promise to get to work and finish things off so I can show you photos!

Other than that I've not been up to much. I did get told I had great style today by a random lady I passed which really lifted my spirits. I'd just thrown dungaree jeans on with a checked green shirt and a doo-rag so I didn't think I was looking all that great, how wrong was I!

I'm going to leave you now with a photo that was taken a couple of months ago at All Tore Up! which is an awesome 1950's record hop in Glasgow. Happens once a month on the first Saturday in Blackfriars basement so if you're about come! I work on the door so you'll be greeted by my smiley face :)

Hana, My Mum Sam, Me, Valarie, Ellie (and baby bump)

Until next time, take care.

Lottie x

All Tore Up!

Well well what a busy/lazy weekend! Friday I lined the woollen skirt but since then work has been put on the back burner and partying took over...

Friday night I was in a pub called The Wise Monkey in Glasgow listening to the All Tore Up! DJs play some records. My wide legged green trousers got another outing and I got lots of compliments on them which is ace :)

Saturday I spent the day catching up with family friends who were only in town for the day. Then Saturday night was All Tore Up! which is a 1950s record hop in Glasgow. I help out by taking the money on the door which is actually so much fun as I can check out everyone's outfits! I did lots of bopping and a little bit of strolling which is my workout for the month ha!

And then today I spent the day snuggled up with a blanket watching films and recovering, not from drinking but from tiredness. I can't party like I used to!

Tomorrow the work starts again which I'm looking forward to. In fact I'm going to prep my sewing station now so I'm ready to go in the morning!

Hope you all had a good weekend,

Lottie x