There is a huge flea market coming up in Stockholm this weekend! 'On the Flea' in Kistamässan is said to be one of the biggest flea markets in town. And it is not only in Stockholm, here you can see all the cities that it will attend in the future.

In a couple of weeks I will attend to an Oriental masquerade. I already have another outfit, this is not the one. But it goes to show how inspired I am of the concept. This hysterical, lovely, vintage sequin top is from Beyond Retro's stock sale. Beyond Retro once priced it to 77 dollar and now they sold it for 6 dollar. Yes 6 dollar, that was not a misspelling. And the Beyond Retro sale continues; tomorrow they have 'Late night shopping' with sales, at Åsögatan in Stockholm.

The hairpiece I wear is actually a black pearl top. I formed it with some hair needles and shaped a veil. The lace skirt once was my mothers. I love her wardrobe.

Here is two of my stock finds from last week's Beyond Retro sale! I have been locking for ages for a pair of high waist, square patterned pants. And there they where, in mustard and brown. Perfect length to fold up, and to show of my new pair of leather shoes. The pants ones costed 42 dollars and shoes 76 dollars. I got them for 6 dollars and 7 dollars. Now that's a sale!

The lovely turban is from the 1940:s. If you ask me, I think we wear turbans too seldom.

Today was a great day! Or should I say that it was a great morning - it is still early afternoon. The reason for this great morning is not because it is Valentines but because I went to Beyond Retro's stock sale! I bought clothes for 70 dollars, that would have cost me 384 dollars if it weren't for the sale.

The Beyond Retro stock sale was crazy and it will be opened this whole weekend. If you can go - make sure you do! You will find it in Zinkensdamm in Stockholm. But be prepared that it will be crowded. I came when it opened this morning and it took about 5 minutes until it was packed. However everyone was super nice to each other. And hey it is in the most crowded rooms that you will find the best and cheapest second hand! 

The vintage white lace dress that you can see above was a find at Beyond Retro that I made some years ago. Since then it has actually been a favorite of mine. However the real magic in the pictures is the rare vintage sailor hat. It comes from the beginning of the 20th century. Around 100 years old, it once belonged to a young boy. It has the lovely 'Donald Duck string' and it is numbered inside. Maybe it was part of his Sunday best?

The lovely feather toque was such a find at the Megaloppisen in Solna, outside Stockholm! This delicate vintage hat is made out of lovely feathers and decorated with silver pearls. It dates back to the 1920:s, hard to believe that it has made it for 90 years in such great condition! It is perfect for weddings or just for finer dinners.

The flea market in Solna was last weekend, and I unfortunately missed it this time because I was visiting Finland. However now I have some vintage tips in Helsinki for you guys:

- Explore the street Fleminginkatu! If you have your eyes open you will find a lot of small second hand stores and vintage boutiques! You will also find a lot of cool cafes and bars. 

- At Fargo Vintage you will find a lot of special things, furniture and clothes. I, for instance, found a lovely carrying tray from the 1940:s. In the cases on the top the girls had ice cream, and to carry it around your body you had leather straps. The same trays that the lovely cigarette girls had:

- At Ansa second hand I found a lovely petticoat from the 1920:s. I was so surprised because I have never seen one from that era before. Adorable!

- Another awesome place was Soul Vintage. You will find it at Helsinginkatu 6, close by Fleminginkatu. Here I found this awesome backpack, for you who adores the 1980:s and 1990:s. And the clock actually still works. For more vintage tips from Helsinki look here.

This petit vintage frame charm was a find at Solnahallen Megaloppis, a huge flea market outside Stockholm. It is actually time for it this up coming weekend! The charm has a leather back and brass plated surface. When I asked the seller he told me it was from the 1940:s. Sadly though the glass is gone, but there is a plastic piece instead which makes is possible to put whatever you want inside. You could put a picture, or why not some lace? 

Today I have a picture of my great grandmother Annie Serrander inside the charm. I know that I have mentioned Annie here before; a woman who was a fan of masquerades. In the summer of 1896 she was born into a poor family at Södermalm in Stockholm. However she was adopted by a woman from an old noble family. In the picture above she is 30 years old, sitting on deck beside her adoptive mother. The text on the back of the pictures says: "On the way to Gustavsberg with little Master at Wolles vacation." Wolle, Woldmar Serrander, was her husband, probably the master behind the camera. How different couldn't her life have been?

This lovely vintage sequin one-piece reminds me of an old theater. And once in its life it has been on stage. The brand is 'Taffy's showstoppers' and behind the label it says: "Great styles for action". And it sure was great for action! My excuse for buying it was an upcoming masquerade for Cabaret and Great Gatsby - you can all see how that worked out here!

But to be honest I have been looking for a vintage showgirl costume for a long time. It was not easy to find though, I had to scan the net with different keywords like "burlesque dance", "showgirl" and even "sequin bathing suit". Finally I found this gorgeous thing at ZoomVintage at Etsy!

I don't smoke, so to get a sense of old times, this black, mat nicotine free e-cigarette does the trick! And people, just look at those lovely seams.

Aren't I just in love with this manor? I had been looking for an abandoned garden, which is not always easy to find in Sweden. Instead I found this mansion that was build 1917, by a man who had won the island (yes, it's on an island) at a casino in Paris. It was one of the hot spots in the 1920:s. In it's heydays socialites and celebrities had fabulous parties in the now dilapidated garden.

What could be more suitable here than a vintage smoking jacket combined with some classic finger waves? The smoking jacket was brought to Europe in the end of the 19th century. It often had exotic oriental motives and was made in either velvet or satin. It was used to protect your fancy clothes from cigarette ash and odor. Sometimes you combined it with a fez to protect the hair.

The shoes and dress are flea market finds, 1 dollar each. And for a non-smoker like me the e-cigarette with no nicotine has become a lovely accessory. Especially this one which we spray-lacquered into black at home. 

 The mansion is called Villa Kassman and has lovely owners that tries to take care of what's left of its glory. It is now used as movie sets and whatever can help pay the bills of stopping it from totally falling apart.

So I can finally show you the lovely details of this vintage corset. It has a bare back, which I adore, and delicate flower detailed lace.It was made by the Swedish corset and lingerer company AB Corsettindustri which have been making underwear since 1932. The company was placed in Borås in Sweden and with the name Abecita and it still makes underwear and bathing suits today, however in a more modern touch. This corset dates back from around the 1950:s, maybe even earlier. I found it at the Vintage fair Bakåt:framåt in Stockholm last autumn. When I bought it I had no idea that I would use it as much as I do, some pieces just go straight to the heart. 

There is just something romantic with the ballet aesthetics. I mean look at the lovely picture down below from Dancer. She was a Russian ballet dancer called Anna Pavlova, the picture is taken around year 1905. She played in The Dying Swan, the original The Swan, and danced the part over 4000 times. If you are for the lookout for ballet dressed and skirts, like the one I wear above, I can recommend Dance & Gymshop in Stockholm. They don't have vintage items but a a lot of dance attributes like shoes, ballet dresses and tutus in many colors which you can use until you find that perfect vintage ballet dress that you are after.

It is the day before Christmas eve and I wanted to show you some Christmas goods. 

The black sculpted hat is typical for the 1940:s and 1950:s. To make it hold on to your head you don't need any good balance, but you do need hat pins. On the top picture you can see how the hat have a lining inside where you can stick the hat pin. It goes through the fabric, in your hairdo and then back out again. The tricky part is that you won't see what you are doing, but you will get used to it. And the positive thing is that hat pins are gorgeous little things! This one I got from my great grandmother Annie. You can see her here. (She was such a sucker for masquerades).

The hat was a Christmas present from my boyfriend, together with the dark velvet gloves. They are so smooth and thin. I would guess that they date back from the same period as the hat.

The dress is an actual ballet dress. I had a craving for it when I was 16, and I am still glad that I bought it!

Merry Christmas, for you who celebrate! 

And you who don't, have a great week!