The wall

I wore a Twenty8Twelve striped navy backless dress, Armani blazer, vintage Chanel bag, Betsey Johnson sunglasses, DKNY biker boots, gold jewellery and a slick updo.

I felt so comfortable in this outfit, I can’t stop underlining how much I love this blazer’s cut (you might remember it from Richmond). Meanwhile the dress looks very innocent from the front, but very seductive from the back (evidence here).

This is the perfect outfit to run errands in due to the comfy biker boots and the you-can’t-really-see-my-face shades. I chose to soften the look with a ballerina bun, feminine make up and my trusty companion, le Chanel.

This is the wall which I need to tear down as soon as I can. But while it still stands, it can serve as the perfect background for shooting outfits… that and I just really love Pink Floyd.

New oldies – vintage shopping in London

Oh, this? It’s vintage Dior.

Shopping for the old has become wildly popular in London. Slip on something comfortable and hunt for hidden treasures as pret-a-reporter reveals some of the capital’s biggest vintage treasure chests.

• If you weren’t lucky enough to grab a bargain at the Portobello Market, turn to Golborne Road and enter the vintage world of Rellik, especially if you are lusting for labels. Designers include: Vivienne Westwood, Pucci and YSL among others. 8 Golborne Rd, W10.

• Rokit doesn’t only sell vintage, it reconstructs rags into unique pieces under its own brand, if you are interested in quality recycling. If you love the thrill of finding a gem, visit one of their stores in Bethnal Green or Covent Garden. If you’d rather be a couch potato, that’s fine by them – shop online. 42 Shelton Street, WC2H 9HZ or 101 Brick Lane, E1 6SE.

• Beyond Retro is considered by many the ultimate cheap rag empire. Situated in the artistic parts of East London, this vintage warehouse sells it all, from wacky 80s knitwear to silky Victorian dresses. 110-112 Cheshire Street, E2 6EJ.

• Why not attend an event? The London Vintage Fashion, Textiles and Accessories Fair is not one to miss. With hundreds of stalls full of vintage pieces, this fair described itself as “the Rolls Royce of vintage fashion fairs”. Just keep an eye out for the next event.

• Yes, you can get cheaper than that. The Vintage Kilo Sale sells all the vintage you want for £15 per kilo. What’s a vintage kilo ? 5 light dresses or 3 denim trousers. So, can I have 100 gram of YSL, half a kilo of Chanel and just a hint of Dolce?

• If it is second-hand designer bags you’re after, get your fingers clicking on to Bagnificent.com. There, women can sell their unwanted but authentic designer totes for others to enjoy for a fraction of the price. If Burberry, Escada and Gucci tickle your fancy – you have to add Bagnificent to your favourites.

• Kissmequickboutique.com is yet another sweet place to stop and shop. Look through absolutely barganious and sometimes kitschy knitwear, cute dresses and antique looking accessories. Here’s the marvel – the prices are from £2 to £20 at the very most.

• Browse by decades, colours or designers – Myvintage.co.uk provides an extremely user-friendly shopping experience. To make things even easier, you can shop by trend. And that camel-coloured Christian Dior coat is just the one to nail this A/W 2010-11 beiges and browns look.

• This has to be said – eBay. Although full of fakes and counterfeits, it is very possible to find a genuine and collectible vintage piece, just don’t expect to find Prada for a Primark price.

• Your local charity shop. You never know what people deem as unwanted, one man’s junk is another man’s jewel. Give it a go.

Before you start the hunt, double check if by any chance your great aunt left you any heirlooms – those might be the most valuable vintage pieces you’ll ever have.

Here are a few of my vintage finds that you are already acquainted with:

Armani Blazer (Richmond), Chanel bag (Rock & Rose Birthday) and Dior jacket (Halloween photo diary)

(Images: pret-a-reporter & ?)

Richmond

Being fanatical about Richmond, I did not waste an opportunity to show off the area to my visiting friend. Although October is slowly running towards the end, the weather was uncharacteristically warm – eating outside in sunglasses warm. Speaking of food, I could not let Blondie leave without nom nom noming on a true British meal – fish and chips. Duh.

I wore a pale yellow top by Ralph Lauren, vintage oversized blazer by Armani, jeans by Twenty8Twelve, ASOS sandals (which you might remember from the 70s), leather bag (brandless in fact – got it from a leather craftsman back in Lithuania), Gucci sunglasses, silver and turquoise jewellery that the boyf got me from Alexandria.

This was a day before we randomly bumped into Patti Dahlstrom on our way to Tower Bridge.

Alas, it seems as my favourite Blondie leaves the country, so it does the sunshine this cold Tuesday morning, and I already miss both.

She wore Blue Velvet

I have always been a Lynch fan, since my early childhood actually. I loved his films for the specific atmosphere, mysticism, music and of course the very feminine women.

My favourite ones were Twin Peak’s Aubrey and Mulholland Drive’s Rita, yet these are not the characters I’d like to speak about now.

Image: Metro Goldwyn Mayer

For quite a long time I’ve been wondering why I have never favoured Dorothy Vallens of Blue Velvet. Portrayed by Isabella Rossellini, this character has not managed to grab my imagination, and I have recently identified the reason – the blue velvet robe-dress she was wearing (below) has not managed to become as iconic as her backless number (above).

Image: Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Ever since Autumn-Winter collections 2009-10 hit the runways, velvet has been in limbo – it was huge that season but now it’s just wearable yet not on every fashion insider’s wishlist.

But because blue velvet is so strong in both hue and fabric, it is quite difficult to give it the same treatment and status as other iconic garments have received thanks to their simplicity, think the little black dress or the more recent little white dress.

In a nutshell, a blue velvet design can be overpowering – it can start wearing the woman, instead of the other way around.

These are some of the creations top designers have come up with:

Images: Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, Emporio Armani

Image: Stella McCartney, Jean Paul Gaultier, Richard Nicoll

Although these creations are quite strong and with character, I cannot consider these iconic even if the most famous it girl wears it.

And so my venture to find the most striking blue velvet dress continues as Bobby Vinton’s song keeps on playing an old scratched vinyl…