A Very Vintage Day Out...

Miss Monique Sweet photographed by Jana Greissner

Today on the Telegram, Creative Director Rose Jackson reflects on five years at the Very Vintage Day Out, outlines Glory Days special celebrations and amazing giveaways that will be on offer for people who visit the Glory Days stand and gives three lucky people the chance to win a double pass to the event. (And don't worry, everyone who can't make it along to the VVDO will have an opportunity to win prizes as well!)

Gosh, how time flies! One minute you're starting out in your vintage beauty business with a friend, helping out at your first market stall at a new event. The event ends up being so busy you can hardly keep up with the customers and then, five years later, you've created a magazine, a multitude of events and met the most incredible community of people who all love looking at modern life through a beautiful vintage lens! 

This was my first experience of the Very Vintage Day Out way back in 2012. One of my Glory Days co-owners Claire had started her own business selling Besame (a vintage cosmetics range) and offering vintage styling in Wellington and I was gearing up to do the same in Auckland. Claire invited me along to help at her stand and I happily agreed, imagining that I would play shop for the day while she made over a few ladies to demonstrate the products.

Our first stall way back in 2012. Please excuse the crazy hair, it was a crazy day!

Boy did we get that wrong! Right from the get go, it was all hands on deck... the posters wouldn't fix to the partition boards so we were trying to grab anything sticky to get them up on the wall, the customers went crazy for Besame and we couldn't keep up with demand, literally everyone wanted a makeover so without very much training at all I was thrown into the deep end and did my best to style on the fly. Talk about baptism by fire!

It certainly showed us that there was a huge demand for recreating looks from the past and so began an incredible journey into the world of vintage style. Following our foray into vintage beauty, we met Natasha when she came to one of our styling workshops as a journalist covering it for North & South and we decided on a whim to create a vintage magazine. You can read more about that in an article that Natasha and I featured in recently for the Sunday Star Times, it's a tale full of serendipity!

Natasha and I posing with mag for the Sunday Star Times

Over the next three years at the VVDO, Glory Days headed up the Pamper Parlour (going through cans and cans of hairspray), twice judged the Miss Pinup competition when Miss Victory Violet and Bettie Rage were crowned winners, featured Miss Pinup 2014, Miss Victory Violet, on one of our covers and got to meet so many of the wonderful people that make up our burgeoning community.

Team Judgement 2015 for Miss Pinup NZ with Miss Ruby Rabbit and the divine Tami Neilson

This year the judging and pampering will be left to others and thank goodness for that as we think we deserve a bit of a party after all that hard work! Perfect timing too, as we will be launching our Party Issue at the VVDO. It may be our party but we want to give you the presents and so we have partnered with some of our favourite people to offer you gifts you can't refuse!

Firstly, everyone (over 18 of course!) who buys a new subscription will receive a beautiful bottle of Ruby Rose from Young Estate. Ruby is the life of the party! Her fruity style – the sassiness of strawberries with the softness of cream – fills every room with vibrancy and exuberance. Ruby’s sweet nature is alluring, but she is not one to underestimate; this one has a feisty spirit!

Then all subscribers, whether new or existing, go into the draw to win a bespoke Estelle of Brighton clutch bag! We are so in love with Estelle's designs that she makes by hand from individually dyed linen fabrics, leather and beautiful cotton prints. Coupled with her impeccable embroidery and stitching, these bags are truly works of art and we could not be more proud to offer a Glory Days inspired clutch to one lucky subscriber. We will have the clutch on display on Saturday for everyone to admire!

Next in the prize cupboard is Soundtrack for Seduction selected by the inimitable Dita von Teese. Everyone who buys a copy of our new Party Issue is in with a chance to win! Be seduced by music that inspires Dita – the Queen of Burlesque with this very limited edition pink vinyl album created by 12 on 12. As the evening begins, tracks on Side A set the mood for the perfect strip tease. Flip to Side B and indulge in a steamier playlist selection for the fun that comes after the strip tease! If you can't make it along to the VVDO make sure you enter your details on our Glory Box competition page by Monday 11th April at 8pm.

Don't have a ticket to the VVDO yet? Today is your lucky day! The Very Vintage Day Out has kindly offered Glory Days readers not one, not two but THREE double passes to giveaway worth $44.00 each! To be in to win, simply tag a friend that you would like to take along to the VVDO before Thursday 7th April at 8pm on our Facebook page and we will choose three winners at random!

ABOUT THE VERY VINTAGE DAY OUT...
The Very Vintage Day Out is returning again this year for the fifth time on April 9th at Alexandra Park in Auckland. The VVDO continues to be a celebration of vintage culture including all-day entertainment, shopping, high tea and the hotly contested Miss Pinup NZ competition that attracts entrants and fans from all over New Zealand. This year the VVDO is also having a bake-off to celebrate their fifth birthday, an up-cycling fashion competition and a Tiki Party on April 10th at The Backyard in Northcote.

Image by Emma Joyce