Newcastle’s Affordable Vintage Fair.

Two Sundays ago (Yes, I'm a bad blogger) saw Newcastle’s Affordable Vintage Fair being held at Northumbria University Student Union. I’ve been to the fair a few times now and I’ve picked up a few nice pieces in the past, including a Laura Ashley dress for a tenner. Despite feeling a bit worse for wear (Not as bad as Bryden, she stayed at home due to her hangover!) I made my way to the union about twenty minutes early for the midday opening of the fair. Standing in the queue I was amazed how many young girls were there, all with amazing style. At their age in my early teen years, I was probably still rocking an Adidas tracksuit, not a cute vintage dress and Vivienne Westwood/Melissa shoes!

Once I got in I adopted my usual ‘Shopping at a vintage fair, whilst poor’ routine- 1st lap: Quick browse to establish which stalls were selling what, general prices and what I want to go back to look at in more depth. 2nd lap: Look at my favourite pieces in more detail, check for quality, any loose stitches etc. 3rd lap: Make purchases. I didn’t have a great deal of money that I wanted to spend so giving myself 3 laps of the fair made sure I wasn’t making any impulsive purchases.

I’d spied this vanity case on my 1st lap, but on the 2nd time it had gone from the spot where it was on display so I assumed someone had snapped it up and I felt kind of disappointed that I had been so restrained. Then on then on my final lap I saw that it was still there, it had just been moved. I picked it up to inspect it and had a few girls hovering around me admiring it; I knew if I put it back down it would be gone forever so I held onto it with a death grip and went to pay for it. It was £22, which I thought was a bit pricey but I’ll be using it as both for storage and as a handbag. It’ll probably come in handy for whacking people out of the way to the bar when I go to the clubs (Disclaimer: Trebles and a Mixer do not actually condone handbag/vanity case based violence).

Here's a photo taken of me by one of the girls running the event.


Dress- Topshop, Coat- H&m, Bag- New Look, Belt- ASOS, Brogues- Primark, Puffy tired face- Numerous vodkas and little sleep.

Although there was loads of items for sale at the fair, I didn’t think the selection was as good as past fairs I’ve been to. There was only one stall selling jewellery, which is mainly what I tend to gravitate to at fairs. Despite that I recommend popping along to these events, you never know what you might find. The Facebook group can be found here and the up and coming fairs around the country are as follows-

Oxford
Saturday 19th February 2011
The Old Bookbinders, No 9 Green Street, Oxford, OX4 1YB
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

Cardiff
Sunday 20th February 2011
Cardiff University Student Union, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3QN
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

London
Sunday 27th February 2011
York Hall, 5 - 15 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PJ
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 16:30

Edinburgh
Saturday 5th March 2011
Out Of The Blue - The Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny St, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 16:00

St Andrews
Sunday 6th March 2011
St Andrews Student Union, St Mary's Place, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9UZ
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

Cambridge
Saturday 12th March 2011
The Cambridge Guildhall, Market Square, Cambridge, CB2 3QJ
Opening Hours: 10:30 - 16:30

Southampton
Sunday 13th March 2011
Southampton University Garden Court, University Road,
Southampton, SO17 1BJ
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

York
Sunday 20th March 2011
The Hospitium, Museum Gardens, Marygate, York, YO30 7DR
Opening Hours: 10:30 - 16:30

Oxford
Saturday 26th March 2011
Oxford Town Hall, St Aldgates, Oxford, OX1 1BX
Opening hours: 10:30 - 16:00

Vintage Furniture Flea
Sunday 27th March 2011
York Hall, Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PJ
Opening hours: 11:00 - 16:30

Leeds
Saturday 2nd April 2011
The Corn Exchange, Call Lane, Leeds
Opening Hours: 10:00 - 18:00

Sheffield
Saturday 2nd April 2011
The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

Newcastle
Saturday 7th May 2011
Northumbria University Students union, Newcastle, NE1 8SB
Opening hours: 12:00 - 17:00

Glasgow
Sunday 8th May 2011
Queen Margaret Union, 22 University Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8QN
Opening Hours: 12:00 - 17:00

Chester
Saturday 14th May 2011
Chester Guildhall, Watergate Street, Chester, CH1 2LA
Opening Hours: 10:30 - 16:00

Brighton - Vintage Fair and Vintage Furniture Flea
Sunday 15th May 2011
Brighton Racecourse, Freshfield Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 9XZ
Opening Hours: (Early Bird 11 - 12) 12:00 - 17:00

London
Sunday 22nd May 2011
York Hall, 5 - 15 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PJ
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 16:30


Claire
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